csicoverage posted on December 14, 2011 11:42
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (AP) — A jury in southwestern Illinois has awarded $2.3 million in damages to a man who claimed he suffered brain damage in a crash involving a pizza-delivery driver.
The (Alton) Telegraph (http://bit.ly/uPFJ1S ) reports Matthew Bruntjen asked Madison County jurors for $11.2 million in his lawsuit involving the Imo's pizza chain. He claimed the driver was going too fast. Attorneys for the driver, Kenneth Lyerla, suggested as much as $600,000.
Bruntjen was in a van hit head-on in 2009 by Lyerla's vehicle.
Bruntjen's attorney contended his client never will regain full capacity to earn a living. The defense countered Bruntjen never earned much more than $10 an hour and still can work.
Jurors found the company that sells the Imo's franchises 30 percent responsible and the franchise's owner 70 percent responsible.