Jury
awards $55 million to accident victims
(As
reported in the Chicago Sun-Times, Monday,
February 11, 2002)
By Brandon Loomis
Associated Press
Rafael
Apulello said a $55 million jury verdict may be a stiff
penalty for a railroad that ignored safety precautions before
a train-car crash, but cannot restore a marriage effectively
lost to brain damage.
"She was my buddy-- best friend,'' Apulello said of
his 40-year-old wife Lilia, who functions at the level of
a 9-year-old after a Chicago, Central & Pacific Railroad
freight train struck her sport-utility vehicle in January
2001. "Now I don't have it.''
A
Cook County jury late Friday awarded $55 million to Lilia
Apulello, of Carol Stream, and her parents, 73-year-old
Fidel Velarde and 72-year-old Francisca Velarde, of Addison.
All suffered brain damage in the wreck.
Under
the settlement, Apulello and her husband will receive $34
million and her parents will receive $21 million. Family
members said Monday the award will only help them cope with
medical and rehabilitation needs.
"It's
not going to bring them back,'' said Fidel Velarde Jr.,
the Velardes' son and Apulello's sister. "It's really
not going to do much.''
Canadian
National/Illinois Central Railroad has accepted responsibility
for the accident, which occurred after a dispatcher approved
a 50-mph train through a Bloomingdale crossing that had
no functioning warning lights. Authorities said a dispatcher
erroneously lifted a "stop and flag'' order intended
to safeguard motorists. A subsidiary of the company operated
the train.
But
railroad spokesman Jack Burke said the companies will appeal
the award amount.
"We
have never denied liability in the case,'' Burke said. "We're
going to ask the court to take another look at the award.''
Apulello
initially remembered everything and was treated only for
a broken hand. Within two weeks, though, she was losing
her memory and diagnosed with brain trauma. One of her attorneys,
Terrence Lavin, said she was bilingual as a child but now
can speak only Spanish and is unable to work, drive or dress
herself.
"She's
like a kid lost in the mall unless she's at home in her
own bed,'' Lavin said.
Jerry
Velarde described how his family takes turns caring for
the three, because, until now, they have been unable to
afford home health care. He said his father seems fine some
days, but on others cannot eat or go to the bathroom by
himself.
"We
do what we have to do,'' he said.
The
Velarde's attorney, Tim Cavanagh, said a safety crackdown
is needed at the many railroad crossings in the Chicago
area, noting that the same Bloomingdale crossing experienced
a false signal on Monday morning, possibly tempting motorists
to drive around gates when no train appeared.
"This
(verdict) sends an important message to the railroad industry
in this state,'' Cavanagh said.
