Carter v. Chicago & Illinois Midland Railway Co.

The appeal marks the third appearance of this star-crossed case in this court. All three grow out of a tragic accident in which the plaintiff’s wife and infant daughter were killed in an automobile-train collision at a public crossing in Menard County on October 9, 1981. A jury trial seeking damages for the wrongful deaths was held in Menard County in January 1984 and resulted in verdicts for the plaintiff of $120,000 for the death of his wife and $5,000 for the death of his daughter. The verdict for the wife was reduced by 90% under comparative-negligence principles. Finding that the damages…