On May 12, 2014, Judge Daniel Gillespie entered summary judgment for an Indiana engineer who was a defendant in a personal injury action filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County. Plaintiff is an Illinois ironworker who was injured while off-loading and staging I-beams at a construction site. Plaintiff alleged that the I-beams were constructed in such a manner that they were top heavy and side heavy and that instability caused the beams to shift unexpectedly resulting in crushing injuries to his legs. Plaintiff brought the action against the general contractor and various subcontractors involved with steel fabrication and erection. Plaintiff also named the project engineer. After taking only one deposition, TDR attorneys Dan Stanner and John Fitzgerald established that the engineer owed no legal duty in connection with the delivery or staging of the beams. Accordingly, Judge Gillespie entered summary judgment for TDR’s client at the very early stages of the discovery process.
