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The lawyers of Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C. have made protecting the rights of people unjustly injured the focus of their practice since 1982.
Now, they’re sharing a behind-the-scenes look at some of their biggest trials in history on Beating Goliath: A Plaintiff’s Pursuit of Justice.
Join Patrick Salvi II, Managing Partner of the firm’s Chicago office, and host Marcie Mangan as they take a deep dive into how Salvi Law attorneys won these incredible, at times record-breaking, verdicts and found justice for their strong and persevering Chicagoland clients.
Through interviews with victims and key witnesses, archived media coverage, and recounts from Patrick himself, they’ll bring these life-changing cases to life through audio.
Season one trials will include an Iraq War veteran’s fateful encounter with a forklift, a young dancer paralyzed at the nation's third-largest airport, and a 13-year-old who lost his life after being struck by an ambulance.
Tune in to hear how the Salvi team pursued justice and, ultimately, defeated Goliath.
From the Chicagoland law firm of Salvi, Schostok, and Pritchard, this is beating Goliath, a plaintiff's pursuit of justice. Case number 3, part 3, Tierney Darden versus the city of Chicago. In our last episode, Tierney Darden's attorneys presented her case to a Cook County jury. After both sides completed their closing arguments, the case was now in the hands of the jury who would decide how much Tierney should be compensated for her injury. During closing arguments, Tierney's attorneys suggested a verdict of around a 175,000,000, while the defense attorneys for the city of Chicago suggested just about 30,000,000, a number not much different than their original settlement offer.
Marcie Mangan:It was clear both sides believed in their case, but it was only a matter of time before the jury would return their verdict and Tierney would hopefully and finally see justice.
Patrick A. Salvi, Sr.:They deliberated about 5 hours, which was was good. There was a few questions in between. We wanted them to take their time and go through each element and discuss it fully.
Patrick A. Salvi II:They were trying to settle the case, but it just wasn't coming up to the right number. And we just felt so good about it given how everything went, and closings were so powerful.
Patrick A. Salvi II:After closing arguments, but before we heard from the jury, was that there were negotiations as it related to what's called a high low. A high low agreement is one where both sides are looking to mitigate their risk. Those discussions were going on here in the Darden case, whether or not there should be a high low, and, ultimately, no high low came together.
Patrick A. Salvi, Sr.:We were offered a high low of that where the high was 75,000,000, and the low was something like 40. But we didn't feel that it was likely to be less than 75,000,000. So we turned that down and decided to take the verdict. I just felt in my gut the the odds were it was gonna exceed 75. I remember getting the getting the word that we have a verdict.
Eirene Salvi:The judge's clerk will call the parties and let us know that there's a verdict. So we jump up, get all our things together, call the family, make sure that they're there. And it was a pretty crowded courtroom.
Patrick A. Salvi, Sr.:It's always very, very exhilarating, but a nervous time as you await a verdict. It's very dramatic. A lot at stake. And I remember the defense lawyer asking me one last time whether or not I would agree to the high low. We said, no.
Patrick A. Salvi, Sr.:We're gonna take it. We're just gonna take the verdict.
Eirene Salvi:Eventually, we get to the courtroom. We sit down. And the were percent the jury were percent that the group elects to be their spokesperson or so to speak tells the judge they have a verdict.
Patrick A. Salvi, Sr.:Generally speaking, not always. Not that always the case. But if if the jury if most of the jurors look at you or certainly if they look at you kind of favorably versus coming in and not just, like, avoiding eye contact, each and every one kinda like they're they're not too anxious to sit in the courtroom and disappoint you. So I as I recall, it's not like they were giving thumbs up to us as they walked in, but I just generally had a favorable sense that they you know, if a jury senses that what you're about to hear is gonna be you're gonna like, they can't help.
Patrick A. Salvi II:They get a little bit They're not as poker faced as they were during the trial. The verdict form was handed to the judge, and the judge went to read the verdict. And she said, we, the jury, find in favor of Tierney Darden and against the city of Chicago in the amount of, and it started with 100. And I think I blacked out at that point.
Eirene Salvi:The judge reads, we, the jury, find for the plaintiff Tierney Darden, and against the defendant, City of Chicago, we assess the damages of the sum up, $148,190,997 , itemized as follows, and she reads the breakdown. But I remember when she read, we assessed the damages in the sum of 140, and we were just like, oh my god. Like, I didn't hear the rest of it.
Trudy Darden:I knew it was going to be a good verdict. I just did not expect that. So I think I inhaled very sharply, and I don't think I could even breathe for a while because it was it was just so stunning.
Tierney Darden:When the verdict was being read, I can't even, like, describe how great it felt because it it felt great, but it was a shock. I wasn't expecting that much.
Patrick A. Salvi, Sr.:I had my son, Patrick, and my daughter-in-law, Eirene, was they were very important parts of the team and as were Jeff and and Tara. And and having Tierney and her parents there, it was it was it was great. It was like being a moment I cherish every day of my life.
Tierney Darden:At court was when they were reading the verdict, he held my hand the whole time. And then I believe he was crying and hugged me, and he just felt like family. Everyone felt like family.
David Darden:When the verdict was read, first thought was relief because now we knew that Terry's needs wouldn't be covered. There is cons the whole the main reason we brought the case forward to the first place was because there is no way I was gonna be able to pay for Tierney's continued care.
Tara Devine:It did feel great, and it also it felt great for me to know that the jurors recognized to the best of their ability what Tierney had gone through and what she'll continue to go through.
Eirene Salvi:There's kind of a vindication that you feel at the end of all of the blood, sweat, tears that went into your preparation of everything that your client went through. And and just for them to just knowing that she felt seen and heard a kind of understood by this group of 12 people who didn't even know who she was 10 days ago.
Patrick A. Salvi, Sr.:Every juror wanted to hug Tierney. They lined up to hug her before they left, each one. If you recall my my story of the problem juror replaced by the alternate, and it was this alternate, this who became the 12 juror, who came up to me and said, I'm sorry, mister Selby. I tried to I tried to get you more. When you get a very favorable verdict, it's a very emotional thing.
Patrick A. Salvi, Sr.:You've been on trial several weeks. There's a lot of anxiety. You're very tired. And so when you get a very favorable result, it's very exhilarating and emotional for the lawyers, for the plaintiff. But it's a it's, it's tough for your opponent, and you you have to be professional.
Patrick A. Salvi, Sr.:They expect you to celebrate to some extent, but not over the top at in the courtroom. And it's more hugging and and then and shaking hands with your opponents. Because it's we've we've all been there where we did not get a favorable result. So you're not you you wanna be professional and and recognize the the the good work that they did and good effort that they made.
Eirene Salvi:The next morning, we had a press conference across the street from our old office at a hotel, and I was shocked at how many different newspapers or news channels or how many different organizations were represented at the press conference. This was a really big deal, and it felt very surreal. It was like we could finally breathe again, knowing that we made the right move and turning down 30,000,000.
Patrick A. Salvi II:I can't say that I was expecting that number. Do I think she deserved it? Absolutely. The verdict was represented by far and away the highest compensatory award ever in the history of Illinois that continues to this date approaching 6 years later. But it's not so much that we set the record.
Patrick A. Salvi II:It's that Tierney's injury was so severe that it demanded we set the record.
Eirene Salvi:It was a very long 2 years for her and her parents just having to adjust to everything. And sometimes the parents were really nervous about the risk, I guess, rejecting the 30,000,000. It's it's natural. It's a natural response, but, you know, you just can't lose sight of the fact that this needs to last for decades, a whole lifetime.
Patrick A. Salvi II:While this verdict seems like an eye popping number, it really doesn't even do justice to what Tierney has to go through. If there were an ad in the paper that said, we will pay you a $148,000,000 And for the rest of your life, you will be paralyzed from around the belly button down. You will have pain every waking moment. You will live hour to hour on what your next pain medication will be. Most movements will be painful.
Patrick A. Salvi II:And every relationship that you have in your life, every last one of them will be diminished in about as significant a way as you can imagine. And in terms of any emotional connection, it'll always always be interrupted by your physical condition and the constant pain that you feel. And you're gonna have to do that from your mid twenties for 50 years. Nobody would take that job, and anybody that did would regret it immediately.
David Darden:Would you prefer your leg, or would you prefer her the money? You know, I'm sure she would pro would give back all that money if she can only walk again.
Patrick A. Salvi II:The verdict only entitles you to a judgment. It doesn't entitle you to any actual money yet because there can be post trials and appeals. And so
Tara Devine:Unless you have some other agreement in place, when a trial is done, they're even on admitted liability trials, there's always the potential for an appeal. One of the biggest concerns about an appeal is your client has now waited how long. Appeals can take several years, 2, 3 years, depending on how high up it goes.
Eirene Salvi:The verdict came in August 23, 2015. We went through post trial motions so the defense had filed a motion to lower the verdict and because of x, y, and z rulings that they felt were not correct. They gave us
Tara Devine:a lot more for our future medical expenses than we had asked for, and so that was also one of the reasons why we knew that there was a potential for appeal or at least reduction because, in essence, the jury awarded an amount for future medical expenses that was above and beyond even what we suggested.
David Darden:Obviously, the the defense viewed her continued needs, her future needs, etcetera, as as much lower than what our side looked at. But when you looked at some of the things that they had in their list of what she might need, to me, it looked like it sort of, jury considered both sides and combine the 2.
Tara Devine:Our concern was that the courts would say, this is too much, and a jury cannot in this situation, which we knew was a bad situation, under the laws here in Illinois, that is too much. And and the verdict wouldn't stand for that amount, and they would have reduced it. And then we're setting a horrible precedent for all of the cases that come after us because now they have a number out there that the courts now in Illinois will have could have found, potentially, that you could never get above. Even if it's a clean case and everything goes in well, as I said, there that doesn't mean that there can't be post trial motions. Doesn't mean that there is not a risk of appeal.
Tara Devine:So that's why our firm and our clients readily agreed to participate in post trial, post verdict settlement because we wanted to remove that risk for the clients.
Eirene Salvi:We went to mediation in January 2018, and it was an all day thing. We had one of the best mediators, well respected by both side both the plaintiffs at defense bars, and we were able to reach a settlement agreement at the end
Tara Devine:of the day. This was never going to bankrupt a company or put the city of Chicago at they had so much insurance. This was a quarter of the insurance or whatever they had at the time. I think they also wanted to put an end to the bad publicity that they had already received.
Eirene Salvi:Tierney can finally pick her life back up and get the treatment that she needs.
Patrick A. Salvi, Sr.:It ultimately resolved very favorably for Tierney and provided her literally with all of the resources necessary for her to get the best best best medical care. It has been best pain management care in the country, which she has taken full advantage of and and has really improved her. I'm very happy to say has really improved her life. That would not have been possible, but for the unlimited resources that she has at her disposal.
Tierney Darden:The verdict really did help me out with everything from medicine to supplies, which you don't know how many supplies you can go through in, like, a month, but it's fast. It's basically been, I guess, kinda like the rock in surviving this. It's really helped with going to rehab, be able to work out, and just having that stability is is something that not a lot of people have, and so I'm very thankful for it.
David Darden:We first learned about HuelI through a company called Broadspire, But QLI, their their philosophy is opioid's bad, activity good.
Trudy Darden:The nurse who recommended QLI, she could not stop saying enough about it. And then when the representative came and spoke with us, it was like, oh, she's going there.
Tara Devine:It was like this amazing place where they help wean you off of your opioid medications and give you other tools and skill sets to use.
Trudy Darden:I think she was very depressed when she went out there. I think that she was very resigned going out there. None of us were in a good place when she went out there. And we were hoping, hoping that it was going to be something that was gonna be beneficial to her, which then in turn would be beneficial to us because then we would get our daughter back.
Tierney Darden:I, like, diminished down to, like, this sad, slow, sloth being. It was bad.
Trudy Darden:She was at a point where she knew she needed to do something, but I also know she was very scared, very, very scared to be in a completely different environment with nobody around.
Tierney Darden:Weaning off the opioids was probably the most difficult thing I did there but being off opioids and I guess learning how different of a person I was because I thought I was acting normal.
David Darden:During the the wean off it was it was calls in the middle of the night where she was just in absolute pain. It is time when after she was weaned off where there's less of those calls. They said her weaned off period was longer than most, that they have because of the amounts and of opioids and her need for opioids. It was sort of rough, or it was rough, not necessarily for me, but for her during that wean off period because she was her body was, you know, missing that medication, but they were working on getting her into different activities, different mindsets that she could use to focus away from the need for opioids.
Tierney Darden:They tried to get me to eat healthy, and then I talked to a therapist and which I did before Quli, but this was more geared on how to manage your pain and not focus on your pain. I would say Quli changed my life.
Tara Devine:I think Tierney, despite everything that she went through, I think her entire life she was just someone who had a bright shining light inside of her, and I truly believe that it was her innate nature and positivity that got her through her recovery.
David Darden:When she got off the opioids, her hands steadied up. She became more clear. She's more alert. She's doing new things. She's got a trader at export.
Tierney Darden:I used to do art and I stopped because my hand was shaking so much. But now I'm steady as a rock and I can paint again. So I'm trying to get back into that, like, artistic streak.
David Darden:She's a lot more clear. That handshake is gone, but she's able to return to her art. She's thinking for herself. She's taken over her own handling of her medications. So previously been me taking care of all her medications, making sure she was taking them on time, and now she's got clear enough head where she can do that kind of thing herself.
Trudy Darden:She's in a better place. So I know she's taken care of. I know she can take care of herself. I have my daughter back. She's her funny, silly self again, which is what she was before the accident.
Trudy Darden:She's so much more self sufficient. She's cooking dinners. She's driving herself places, driving us to places. We go to painting classes together now. She goes and works out now.
Trudy Darden:So it was life changing.
Eirene Salvi:And it always makes me happy because she's making art again. And she's seeing her little nephews, and she's she's picked up hobbies again. And these are just things that she just was not gonna be able to do before she underwent all of this treatment, which obviously was not available to her before, and that was a matter of resources and access. So it certainly helped her improve her quality of life. I mean, that's really what this is all about.
Trudy Darden:I think one of the proudest moments was when she got her driver's license. It's another accomplishment for her. Another thing you can do whether you're in a wheelchair or not.
Tierney Darden:My life is much happier.
Tara Devine:Mentally, she is in a great place. I think, emotionally, she is in a great place for it not to her catastrophic injury to not define her future and define her. So it's like the most you can hope for.
Trudy Darden:You have to try to always see the best in the situation where some days it's impossible to do. Wake up the next day and see if you can't find some gratitude in what that day brought. We got so very lucky on so many levels. We went to the right hospital with the right doctors. We went to the right law firm and got the verdict that we needed.
Trudy Darden:We were able to go to the right rehabilitation places.
Tierney Darden:I wanna pay it forward now and make sure that other people in my situation are able to be comfortable and have a nice easygoing life like I did and help them out with the type of rehab that I had and because not a lot of people get that opportunity. And not a lot of people, if they do get that opportunity, get to stay as long as I did. I wanna be able to provide the stability that I had to other people in my kind of condition.
Trudy Darden:Tierney can do anything she wants to do if she sets her mind to it. So she has literally very few on what she can or can't do. The only restriction she has are are what she places on herself. So how can I not be optimistic because I don't I don't see anything but a bright future for her?
David Darden:Charity's injury has helped with it's got those shelters out of O'Hare, so it won't happen to somebody else. It's got people thinking, where else are there issues? So that's a positive.
Patrick A. Salvi II:A verdict like this is certainly a message to anyone to be specific that has the responsibility of maintaining premises, particularly public ways. I hope and pray that the city of Chicago,
Eirene Salvi:Tierney and her health and her journey to improving her condition, but it was also extremely important for the city to take responsibility and take note of their lack of care, their carelessness in maintaining premises where there's millions of people who go through O'Hare. You bet that they're they've got a routine now for inspecting these these shelters.
Tierney Darden:I think now I've gotten to the point where I'm just like, you messed up and you had to deal with the consequences and I hope you learn from your mistake.
Marcie Mangan:Thank you for listening to beating Goliath, a plaintiff's pursuit of justice. Special thanks to Tierney Darden for allowing us to share her story. Feeding Goliath was written and produced in house at Salvi, Schostok and Pritchard, sound designed by Eric Sirianni, and editing by the talented team at Salvi Media. To learn more about this case or to listen to more episodes of Feeding Goliath, head to salvilaw.com/podcast. Until next time.