Steven Levin of Levin & Perconti and Stephen Gorman, Attorney at Law, have announced a recent settlement in a lawsuit in the Circuit Court of Cook County. Levin and Gorman filed a personal injury lawsuit on behalf of Anastasia Gadomski who was severely and permanently injured when Cater Minnis struck her with his car. The defendants settled for $1.85 million.
Anastasia, or “Sissy” as her friends and family know her, was a vibrant and active woman who enjoyed spending time with her family and was always involved in her community. However, the accident has robbed her permanently of her former personality. Sissy was struck by Cater Minnis’s vehicle as he backed out of a parking garage while on business. Minnis is a State Farm Insurance agent based on Chicago’s south side.
Sissy’s injuries included severe trauma to her head which has resulted in a permanent change in her personality and will require continued care and therapy. Her family reminisces that Sissy was “always the boss,” but now she is no longer capable to control her own daily life: Sissy will require constant care and supervision as she is no longer able to handle even basic activities without supervision. Additionally, Sissy’s brain injuries have altered her speech, memory, and cognitive functions. According to her family, one of the greatest frustrations is not being able to share family stories with her anymore because she can no longer remember or understand the context from the past.
Steven Levin filed the case on behalf of Sissy’s guardian, Matthew Gadomski. According to Levin, this case was unique because $100,000 came from the agent’s individual auto policy, $1,000,000 from the agent’s business policy, and the remaining $750,000 came from State Farm Insurance Company, despite their claims that Minnis was merely an independent contractor.
Levin stated that State Farm accepted responsibility for Minnis’s actions: “Normally, State Farm claims that its owner/agents are independent contractors, meaning that the company is not responsible for their actions and liabilities while on State Farm business. Here, State Farm changed their tune and assumed liability for Minnis. We pierced through State Farm’s claim that this was an independent contractor relationship. We showed that State Farm treats its owner/agents as employees when they injure someone on business. For future cases, this means that State Farm insurance agents really are ‘agents’ in the legal sense.”
Gorman added that Minnis did not necessarily have enough insurance on his policy to cover the cost of Sissy’s injuries. “You would think an insurance agent would know to carry the right insurance.”
Additionally, Levin says that he is happy he was able to help Sissy and her family seek justice in this case: “I am especially proud that my firm could help Sissy and her family get fair and reasonable compensation for her injuries. She is very lucky to have such a caring family who has sacrificed so much to help her survive, including moving to a smaller house. I’m glad that they can move forward knowing that Sissy’s medical expenses and future care will be less burdensome to them.”
Levin & Perconti is a nationally renowned law firm concentrating in all types of personal injury, medical malpractice and wrongful death litigation. The lawyers at Levin & Perconti are committed to protecting and vindicating the rights of people who are injured by the negligence of others. Please contact the firm at (312) 332-2872 for more information.
