Plaintiff wins dispute over forum; Cook County deemed best for all

Toxic Tort Talk

By Craig T. Liljestrand

Craig T. Liljestrand‚ a partner at Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP‚ has experience in toxic tort litigation. He practices in the areas of asbestos‚ silica‚ welding fumes‚ lead paint, chemical and occupational disease claims. His client base includes Fortune 500 companies in which he has defended various industrial product and equipment manufacturers‚ contractors and premises owners in numerous toxic tort cases throughout the country. He is also the regional counsel for a major industrial manufacturer.

Posted August 9, 2019 10:09 AM

Recently, the 1st District Appellate Court affirmed a Cook County Circuit Court judgment entered in favor of the plaintiff in a wrongful-death suit after finding the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying an intrastate forum non conveniens motion.In Alley v. BNSF Railway Co., 2019 IL App (1st) 182509-U, Randall Alley was a brakeman and locomotive engineer who worked for BNSF for more than 40 years and died of lung cancer in 2016.Alley’s work on trains as an engineer and was exposed to various toxic …

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