Confidential 3rd Party Defendant operated a large manufacturing facility on the south side of Chicago where it manufactured steel and other metal parts for the automotive industry. The manufacturing process would create an extensive amount of metal scrap. Confidential 3rd Party Defendant contracted to sell the metal scrap to Confidential Scrap Iron Company, whereby Confidential Scrap Iron Company trucks came to the facilities multiple times a day to haul away the scrap which had been collected and placed in the Company’s containers left on the premises for that purpose.
Plaintiff was struck by a roll off container truck which was backing up at 2-4 mph while in the process of dropping off an empty scrap container. Plaintiff was walking with his head down (i.e. facing the ground) and with cotton in his ears to minimize factory noise associated with his job. The defendant truck driver testified his back-up alarm was fully functional on the date of the occurrence. An eyewitness testified he saw the Acme truck initially backing up and plaintiff was “nowhere around” but he suddenly just “came out of the blue.”
The plaintiff sustained a right femur and ankle fracture, torn meniscus in right knee, skin grafting on left thigh and swelling of left leg. Robert J. Napleton represented the plaintiff.