$910,000 Award for Bicycle Accident

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (CN) - Madison County jurors awarded $910,000 to a boy who was hurt at a construction site, and his family.

Trevor Brady was 13 when he suffered facial lacerations and injuries to his mouth and teeth while riding his bike near a construction site on March 5, 2010.

Plocher Construction was building an office for the law firm of Byron Carlson Petri & Kalb in Edwardsville, the Madison County Record reported.

Trevor's cheek was torn off when he hit beams that had been loaded onto a backhoe and were protruding two feet into the sidewalk, according to testimony. Trevor lost some sensation on the right side of his face, has had more than 60 visits to physicians and has had plastic and oral surgeries.

Plocher admitted negligence for allowing two 20-foot angle iron beams to protrude onto a sidewalk without barricades at the construction site, the Madison County Record reported.

Jurors awarded Trevor $725,000 in compensation for his injuries and $185,000 to his parents, Brian Brady and Dannette Dorsey.

It was a far cry from the $3.5 million sought by Trevor's attorney, Richard Witzel. Witzel sought the damages for disfigurement, loss of normal life, pain and suffering and emotional distress.

Plocher attorney David Simkins argued that Plocher accepted responsibility the day of the accident and that Trevor was living a normal life, which includes dating and plans for college, according to the Madison County Record. Simkins suggested that the jury award $250,000 to the family, which included actual medical expenses.

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