Cases

Truck Accident

$2,750,000.00

(combined insurance policies limit)

Maciej Ordonʼs client was a truck driver whose collided with another truck. He suffered a serious injury resulting in a prolonged hospital stay and several surgeries. Based on the initial reports it was unclear who was at fault for this accident. After Maciejʼs investigative work was concluded it was firmly established that his client was not at fault in this accident and was entitled to receive compensation to the full extent of the law. After the policy limit of the other truckʼs insurance policy ($800,000.00) was offered Maciej discovered that there was additional coverage available. As the accident occurred in California and must have been filed in California Maciej secured services of a California lawyer as a co-counsel. The final result was $2,750,000.00, a combined policy limit of the three liability policies involved in this case. In addition, Maciejʼs client had a Workersʼ Compensation claim against his employer. His employer had no Workersʼ Compensation insurance coverage and it was unclear whether Maciejʼs client was an employee within the meaning of the Workersʼ Compensation law and thus eligible for compensation pursuant to Workersʼ Compensation Act. On the other hand, Maciejʼs clientʼs employer had a claim for property damage to its truck for about $100,000.00 which would reduce Maciejʼs client recovery. Maciej was able to force his clientʼs employer to waive its claim which resulted in Maciejʼs clientʼs net recovery being increased by about $100,000.00. Maciej has devoted a lot of time and attention to this case. When needed he flew twice from Chicago to San Francisco on a short notice so his Clientʼs rights were properly protected.


Car Accident

$650,000.00

Maciejʼs client was struck by a car while he was crossing a street. He suffered leg fracture which required a surgery. Maciej immediately filed this case in court and proceded to litigate all contested issues. The defense was claiming that Maciejʼs client was not crossing the street on a crosswalk and was questioning the extend of his injuries. In order to address these issues, Maciej conducted a thorough investigation as well as a number of depositions of witnesses and experts. In order to make his clientʼs case as strong as possible Maciej also hired a vocational expert and professional video company. The case was resolved at a pre-trial conference with a judge. After Maciejʼs presentation of the case the judge recommended $650, 000.00 and the defense agreed to pay it.


Wrongful Death

$975,000.00

Maciej was representing a family of a person killed in a car accident. A driver that caused the accident was driving home in his personal vehicle which had liability insurance coverage of $250,000.00. Initially, there was no indication that the use of his vehicle at the time of accident was anything else than personal which would limit the insurance coverage in this case to $250,000.00. Maciej immediately filed a lawsuite and after a thorough discovery of the case was able to determine that an argument could be made that, based on the facts of case, the liable driver was, in fact, acting within the scope of his employment at the time of the accident, which, if proven in court, would result in additional insurance coverage of$1,000,000.00 from his employer’s liability insurance. At this point, after negotiations between Maciej and the opposing counsels, it was agreed to attempt to resolve the case by mediation. The subsequent mediation resulted in $975,000.00 settlement. Resolving the case by mediation allowed avoiding the inherent risk of a trial where it was possible that jury could have determined that the liable driver was not within the scope of his employment which would limit insurance coverage to a maximum of $250,000.00. In addition, the case was litigated in one of the predominantly rural counties of Illinois where compensation awards are substantially lower than in Cook County. In fact, this $975,000.00 compensation obtained in this case stands as one of the highest compensation awards ever obtained in that rural county. In the final stages of this case, after it was agreed that the case would be mediated, Maciej worked on this case together with his co-counsel.


Workersʼ Compensation Accident

$21,247.41

As a result of an accident at work, Maciejʼs client suffered fractures of two bones in his foot. He had a full recovery without surgery. The first offer was $2,124.72 and based on Maciejʼs recommendation was rejected by his client. Eventually, after setting this case for trial this offer was raised to $11,519.66. Again, Maciej recommended to his client to reject this offer and to try the case. After the trial, the arbitrator awarded Maciejʼs client $21,247.41. This case by no means represents the largest workers compensation case handled by Maciej, he certainly handled many bigger cases. However, it clearly shows Maciej’s persistence in achieving the best possible result for his clients in every and each case.

Driving under the influence of alcohol

DUI defense

Maciejʼs client was arrested for a DUI (driving under the influence of alcohol) after her car got stuck on a rock situated by the road. An arresting officer asked Maciejʼs client to conduct field sobriety tests, which in officerʼs opinion Maciejʼs client failed and asked her to take a PBT test which showed Maciejʼs clientʼs alcoholʼs blood level over the legal limit. Maciej filed a Motion to Quash Arrest. After a hearing before a judge at which Maciej questioned arresting officer and presented a video from the arrest, Maciej was able to persuade the judge that there was no probable cause for the arrest and thus the arrest was invalid. The judge granted the Motion to Quash Arrest and the case was dismissed.

Car accident

$250,000.00

(policy limit)

Maciej’s client was involved in a car accident resulting in a shoulder injury. The other driver’s policy limit was only. $25,000.00 but Maciej was able to use the appropriate provision of his client’s automotive policy which resulted in the total of $250,000.00 recovery rather than $25,000.00.

Workers’ Compensation Accident

$300,000.00

Maciej’s client had an accident at work resulting in a shoulder injury. Maciej assisted his client throughout his medical treatment advising him on various matters involved and making sure that his client’s benefits, which were often delayed by the insurance company, were eventually paid. Maciej set the case for trial in order to force the insurance company to settle the case and the case was settled a day before the trial. Earlier the case was pretried and it was the Workers’ Compensation Commission Arbitrator’s opinion that $300,000.00, in this case, would be a very good result for Maciej’s client. The case got settled exactly for this amount.