Ohl
Madison County Circuit Judge Andreas Matoesian transferred a case originally planned to go to trial in his courtroom on Wednesday to the small claims division.
The case involved a 2009 car accident.
Plaintiff David Lay claims a driver who made a U-turn was responsible for an accident in Edwardsville on May 14, 2009.
His attorney changed the amount of damages sought from more than $50,000 to between $10,000-$50,000. Matoesian ordered the case to go to case management in small claims court.
Lay was driving a 1994 Dodge Grand Caravan east on West Gateway Commerce Center Drive when defendant John H. Norman, who was driving a 1997 New Flyer west on the same road for co-defendant Agency, attempted a U-turn into the eastbound lane, causing Lay to strike him, his suit claims.
Because of the accident, Lay became sick; suffered pain and injuries to his chest, neck, head, shoulders, arms, knees, wrists and elbows, incurred medical costs and sustained internal derangement of the injured parts of his body. In addition, he was unable to attend to his usual daily activities, the suit states.
Norman negligently failed to keep his vehicle under control, failed to see Lay's vehicle, failed to reduce his speed to avoid a collision, failed to yield the right-of-way and made a U-turn when it was not safe to do so, the complaint says.
Norman and Agency for Community Transit claim Lay's negligence is determined to be less than 50 percent of the cause of his injuries, and any damages allowed must be diminished in proportion to the amount of fault attributable to Lay for failing to use care and keep a proper lookout in causing his own injuries.
Richard G. Reed of Reed and Bruhn in Belleville represent Lay.
Donald Ohl represents the defendants.
Madison County Circuit Court case number: 10-L-320.