Francis Egan Newsbrief
Chicago Daily Law Bulletin
October 25, 2005 Volume: 151 Issue: 209
Electrician gets settlement for fall
By JOHN FLYNN ROONEY
Law Bulletin staff writer
A $2.3 million settlement was awarded on Tuesday to an electrician who suffered severe injuries after falling 15 feet at a job site, according to his lawyers.
Francis Egan, a Brookfield resident now in his mid-30s, was employed as a journeyman electrician by Prime Electric Co. on Dec. 27, 2000. Egan was working on a renovation project at 205-225 N. Michigan Ave. in Chicago.
Egan was tying up some dangling electrical wires next to a column in an area where a wooden barricade had been placed to prevent someone from falling through from the second floor to the first. But someone removed the barricade and failed to replace it, said John R. Wrona, who represented Egan in his personal injury lawsuit along with fellow partner Thomas G. Gardiner, both with Gardiner, Koch & Weisberg in Chicago.
Egan fell from the second-floor lobby to the first-floor lobby. He crushed his heels and lower right leg, Wrona said.
Egan, who is unable to work as an electrician, uses a cane to walk and can't stand for more than 10 minutes, Wrona added.
Clune Construction Co. was the general contractor for the project, while Anning-Johnson Co. was the drywall and barricade subcontractor. MTH Industries was the ironworker subcontractor on the project. Clune, Anning-Johnson and MTH were all defendants in the case, while Prime Electric was a third-party defendant in the case.
Brian L. Crowe, a partner with Shefsky & Froelich Ltd., acted as a private mediator and helped settle the case, Wrona said. Cook County Circuit Judge Susan F. Zwick approved the settlement on Tuesday morning. Francis Egan v. Clune Construction Co., et al., No. 01 L 12502.
Insurers for Clune Construction, Anning-Johnson, MTH and Prime Electric contributed to the settlement, according to Wrona.
Patricia J. Hogan, a Cassiday, Schade & Gloor partner represented Clune Construction, while Andrew R. Gifford, a partner with Lord, Bissell & Brook LLP was the lawyer for Anning-Johnson. Also, Byron D. Knight, a principal of Knight, Hoppe, Kurnik & Knight LLC in Des Plaines, represented MTH Industries, and Michael J. Higgins of Law Offices of David A. Izzo & Associates was the lawyer for Prime Electric.
