(DOWNLOAD) "Mihailovich v. Laatsch" by In the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit # Book PDF Kindle ePub Free

eBook details

Title: Mihailovich v. Laatsch
Author : In the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
Release Date : January 05, 2004
Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
Pages : * pages
Size : 86 KB

Description

A one-car automobile accident on a curved roadway maintained by Cook County, Illinois (the "County") caused Helen Mihailovich to suffer a spinal cord injury. Mihailovich filed suit against the County in state court, alleging that it had been negligent in its care and upkeep of the roadway and that the condition of the roadway was a contributing cause of the accident. Attorney Gary Laatsch and the law firm now known as Pavalon, Gifford, Laatsch & Marino (collectively "Laatsch") filed the suit on Mihailovichs behalf but withdrew from the case approximately six months prior to the scheduled trial date. The attorney who succeeded Laatsch was unable to convince the court to continue the trial date, and after Mihailovichs new counsel was unable to retain an expert and to identify other individuals who might testify on her behalf, the court entered successive orders barring Mihailovich from presenting witnesses and then granting summary judgment in favor of the County. Mihailovich, now a citizen of Florida, subsequently filed suit in diversity against Laatsch, charging him with legal malpractice. The malpractice suit proceeded to trial, and the jury held in Laatschs favor. Mihailovich appeals, contending that the district judge erred in certain evidentiary rulings that constrained her ability to show that the roadway on which her accident occurred was dangerous and that she would have prevailed in her suit against the County but for Laatschs alleged malpractice. Because we conclude that the district court abused its discretion in excluding evidence of other accidents that had occurred at the location of the Mihailovich accident, we vacate and remand for a new trial.