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Illinois Trial Lawyers Association

ATRI Laments Both Small and Large Trucking Injury Verdicts; Ken Levinson Weighs in on Fair Trials

January 5, 2022 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Trucking industry complaints against small and large verdicts have been released in a new American Transportation Research Institute report, stating that even verdicts of less than $1 million have a lasting, cumulative effect on the industry, allowing it to experience significant financial strain.

The report also made sure to point out that trials consisting of cases involving deaths or injuries lead to larger awards, although it is unclear why this isn’t a no-brainer.

“The reality is that a jury and a judge hear evidence to value a case, and many times, families are left devastated and people are killed,” explained Ken Levinson of Levinson and Stefani. “Then, the verdict is high because the consequences and damages are so high due to unsafe behavior. I think any complaints against this are all propaganda to make more money for the insurance companies.”

In ATRI’s study, named “The Impact of Small Verdicts and Settlements on the Trucking Industry,” ATRI worked to dive into expensive litigation outcomes and the impacts even smaller awards have on motor carriers.

“While cases of this size are not individually as devastating to motor carriers and thus do not attract the attention of media outlets, in aggregate, they have a significant negative impact on the trucking industry,” the group said in its study.

Levinson noted that pointing to smaller cases that have deeper impact on the industry is tactical, and doesn’t give an accurate outlook of this particular litigation landscape.

“It’s more propaganda for the trucking industry to save money,” he said. “They’re using examples of outliers and distorting the facts to propagate their agenda and scare people.”

ATRI’s study had support from one attorney of Carlisle, Pennsylvania transportation law firm, Marcello & Kivisto LLC.

“This analysis proves a theory that I have always had: there are two markets as to the value of cases–the settlement market and the trial market,” firm attorney Doug Marcello, who worked with ATRI in its report. “There should be one market, and that is what a case is objectively worth.”

Levinson explained that this belief has little basis in the reality of the legal process.

“That’s absolutely absurd,” he said. “There is no objective value of a case—that’s why we have juries. This isn’t like a breach of contract, where the contract was made to provide a good or service for a million dollars and someone made a breach in contract. We’re talking about human lives—there is no objective value. That’s why we have a jury of unbiased citizens in the community hearing the evidence and assessing what they think the value is.”

In its report, ATRI claimed that cases involving severe injury have high average verdicts of around $368,237, and that cases involving deaths have the highest average verdicts of around $607,532. It also lamented findings that settlements typically lead to larger verdicts than jury cases.

“All sides present their case in a fair courtroom, and the jury, based on the evidence and facts, decides what they believe is fair and reasonable,” Levinson explained. “The other premise is that there’s a difference between settlement value and trial value—of course there is. Because there’s no objective value of a case, all sides of the equation evaluate the facts and the evidence and assess what they think a jury would do and they settle a case based on their best estimate and the assessment of risk. That’s why it’s different.”

Of course, cases involving any severe injury or fatality are deserving of large verdicts to mitigate those medical costs as well as the trauma endured.

“That’s why we have a jury of unbiased citizens in the community hearing the evidence and assessing what they think the value is,” said Levinson. “If there was an objective value, we could just plug it into a computer and it would spit out a number. There is no such thing; that’s like saying there is an objective value as to who should have won the last ten presidential elections. That’s why human beings make decisions. When you’re evaluating the death of a spouse or a child or a loved one, there’s no one objective value. That’s not how life works.”

Ken Levinson appointed State Delegate for American Association for Justice

July 6, 2016 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Ken_Headshot

Levinson and Stefani founding partner Ken Levinson has been appointed to serve as the Illinois State Delegate for the American Association for Justice (AAJ), a designation that carries Illinois Trial Lawyers Association (ITLA) Board status. Levinson’s appointment is effective immediately and runs through 2018.

“Like so many attorneys, I have benefited a great deal from ITLA, AAJ, and their missions,” said Levinson. “It’s been a tremendous and important resource for trial lawyers when it comes to protecting our injured clients. I’m grateful for this opportunity to work more intimately with AAJ and ITLA.”

State delegates work on behalf of AAJ to raise awareness among new and existing trial attorneys about the organization. To date, AAJ has earned distinction as the world’s largest trial bar and a safeguard for victims’ rights, most notably the right to trial by jury. As part of his duties, Levinson will oversee institutional relations and work with board members to strengthen the wellbeing of both associations.

Levinson is the co-author of Litigating Major Automobile Injury and Death Cases, the newest reference litigation series published by AAJ Press/Thomson Reuters. He was listed in the Illinois Super Lawyers Top 100 in 2016, his second appearance on the list.

Levinson is the founding partner of Levinson and Stefani, a Chicago-based law firm offering client-first legal representation. The firm focuses on truck, auto and bus-related accidents, as well as child injury cases.

Download a PDF version of the release by clicking here

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