My client CB was hit by an on duty POLICE officer while he was riding his bicycle in Joliet. The incident occurred at night and the Joliet Police Department claimed that he was riding without any identifying material on his bicycle such as lights, reflectors etc. We conducted a thorough search of all the evidence, including the photos taken by the evidence technicians employed by the Joliet Police Department. There were dozens of photos of the accident scene taken, including many depicting the damage to the police vehicle and the debris field around the accident.
But in one of these dozens of photos taken of the debris field, there was (in the corner of the photo) evidence of a flashlight that had become disconnected from the bicycle due to the severity of the collision. Only one small part of one photo showed this flashlight. No close ups, no photo of the flashlight taken alone, nothing! The City of Joliet continued to claim that CB was riding his bicycle without lights, when a careful examination of their own evidence photos would have shown otherwise.
After they presented this theory of the case to the jury, we were able to show that their theory was contradicted by their own evidence! By knowing how to keep this information in reserve until the defense presentation of their case was completed, my office was able to get a verdict in excess of 2.9 million dollars. We believed CB and we were able to get him the compensation that his very serious injuries deserved!
Kevin O’Brien – Attorney at Law