Brustin and Lundblad, Ltd. Announces Global Positioning System (GPS) Device Fails to Convince Jury in $4.7 Million Dollar Settlement.

CHICAGO -- Chicago law firm Brustin and Lundblad, Ltd. announced today that a federal court jury returned a verdict of over $4.7 million dollars against Crete Carrier Corporation in a Michigan motor vehicle accident. The jury deliberated for 6 1/2 hours following a seven day trial and returned the verdict late September 19th in Federal District Court for Northern Illinois Judge Leinenweber's courtroom.

The case was tried by Marvin A. Brustin, Milo W. Lundblad and Mark Szaflarski of Brustin & Lundblad, Ltd. Adrian Richmond, the plaintiff, was originally offered $200,000 from the defense, which relied on information obtained from a state-of-the-art Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) installed in the truck involved in the accident. Crete claimed that according to their records none their trucks were in the area at the time of the crash. Crete's original computer data validates that claim; however the jury questioned Crete's records and thought there was a margin of error. Crete Carrier Corporation, based in Lincoln, Neb., is part of one of the largest privately owned trucking companies in the country offering a wide range of transportation services operating throughout the United States and Mexico.

The accident took place in March 2004 outside Kalamazoo, Mich. Crete Carrier Corporation has denied that its vehicle bumped the Plaintiff's van, which skidded off the slippery interstate highway and rolled over. Richmond was ejected from the vehicle. An eye witness account was disputed by Crete as being physically impossible. Crete further defended the action relying on state-of-the-art Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) operated by QUALCOMM Incorporated, an independent company headquartered in San Diego, Calif. QUALCOMM's GPS systems are used by 85 percent of the trucking industry.

Crete also alleged that Richmond was not wearing a seatbelt, a defense permitted under Michigan law, which allows the defendant an unrestricted comparative negligence defense. The jury found the Plaintiff 15 percent negligent for failing to wear his seatbelt.

Richmond was ejected from his van and was treated in a Kalamazoo hospital for numerous broken ribs, a fractured shoulder blade, fractured writs and a broken collar bone. Due to his chest fractures, he was placed in a medically induced coma for six weeks. He was treated for both respiratory and renal failure prior to being transferred to the Schwab Rehabilitation Hospital in Chicago. Due to his prolonged coma, he was treated for contractures in all his joints, abnormal bone growth in his shoulder and lost 75 percent of his vision in his right eye. He underwent extensive physical and occupational therapy and continues to have difficulty.

"This is a case of machine innuendo versus good Samaritan," said Brustin. "The thread of this case is that we had a witness who stopped at the scene even though she didn't have to. There are still some good people out there."

About Brustin and Lundblad, Ltd.

Marvin A. Brustin and Milo W. Lundblad are Chicago-based trial attorneys whose law firm specializes in serious and catastrophic injuries. Brustin is Honorary Nepalese Consul General in Chicago and is a director of the American Nepal Medical Foundation, which promotes the advancement of medical training and practice in Nepal. He was also elected as legal counsel and advisor for the Chicago Consular Corps., a group composed of 79 foreign consulates from throughout the world representing their countries in Chicago and the Midwest United States.