Attorneys Joseph Power, Sean M. Houlihan, and James Power of Power Rogers & Smith, LLP, represented the family of a man who died tragically on a construction site. He was working late at night on the renovation of a restaurant when sections from a structurally unsafe wall fell upon him. DK Global was asked to create a 3D animation explaining just how negligent the construction company was in not providing a secure environment for their workers.

The animation begins with a 3D model of the outside of the restaurant and a lateral view of the interior of the wall on which the construction team was working. The animation clearly illustrates how the brick was unintentionally laid, not mortared, in place. The steel rod, with no mortar inside the wall, had no way of connecting to the masonry inside the wall. The camera then pans around to the main scene, showing how cinder blocks were placed upon the free-floating parapet that was atop the exterior wall of the building. These cinder blocks were not adequately secured to the parapet wall. A Professional Engineer was also never hired by the construction company to perform and submit the mandated survey of this site. Next, the presentation shows the workers, including the deceased man, performing their tasks in the area that they assumed to be safe. As some of the men operated equipment to chip away the face of the exterior brick wall, the vibrations from this work and the lack of supporting brick caused the cinder blocks to fall. The Plaintiff was looking down, completely unaware of the falling structures until seconds before they hit him. He was tragically crushed under some of the massive debris and did not survive. This visualization allowed Attorney Power to show the viewer that there was no doubt the Defendant was at fault. The team of attorneys were able to secure an 8.1 Million dollar settlement for the family of the victim.

Attorney Joseph Power has obtained more than 200 jury verdicts and settlements in excess of $7 Million, including the largest jury verdict in Illinois history for a medical malpractice case of $55.4 Million and a recovery of $100 Million in a trucking case which led to seventy-six criminal convictions, including the former Governor of Illinois in the “licenses for bribes” scandal, which triggered the retesting of over 2000 truck drivers. He has recovered over $2 Billion for his clients. Recently, Joseph Power and James Power obtained a verdict of $95,477,464.00, reduced 10% to $85,929,717.60 for contributory negligence for a plaintiff who lost both of his legs when he was working as a truck driver, and the cargo he was transporting fell onto him. This is the largest personal injury verdict in Illinois history for a contested liability case. The day after obtaining that verdict, Joseph Power, Larry Rogers, Jr. and James Power set out on another complex trial and obtained a verdict of $33.4 Million for their clients in a negligent security case against Allied Barton. Recently, Joe, Sean and James obtained a $20.5 Million verdict in a products liability case for a 70-year old man with a closed head injury.

Sean M. Houlihan is a partner with the Chicago personal injury law firm of Power Rogers & Smith. Since joining the law firm in May 2002, Mr. Houlihan has successfully represented families and individuals in personal injury litigation, including medical malpractice, aviation accident laws, premises liability, and automobile liability matters.