$5,000,010 Wrongful Death Settlement Reached
On December 22, 2003, the Lake County Probate Court approved a $5,000,010 wrongful death settlement on behalf of the estate of James Culliton, 40. The lawsuit had been filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County.
Culliton was killed on November 30, 1999, at the Dolton piggyback yard of the Union Pacific Railroad. Culliton was a truck driver for UPS and at the time of his death, he was dropping off a trailer. After parking his trailer, he exited the tractor and was working on the driver*s side of his own trailer. Shortly after Culliton left his tractor, a trailer driven by defendant, Grzegorz M. Chmielewski, an employee of Pacella Trucking Express, backed his own trailer into a spot to the side of Culliton*s trailer. In the process of making this parking movement, Chmielewski struck the trailer immediately adjacent to where Culliton was standing. This impact caused the middle trailer to move sideways and pinned Culliton against his own UPS trailer. Culliton died of asphyxiation.
Corboy & Demetrio represented Culliton's estate. Culliton is survived by his wife, Victoria, 42, and two sons, James, 17, and Jeffrey, 13.
Pacella Trucking contributed $5 million toward the settlement, and In-Dash Terminal Services contributed $10,000 toward the settlement.
