Illinois Jury Mulls Man’s Suit in Pizza-Delivery Case

A jury in southwestern Illinois is deliberating how much in damages should go to a man who claims he suffered permanent disabilities in a crash involving a pizza-delivery driver he says was driving too fast.

The (Alton) Telegraph (http://bit.ly/roYbys ) reports that Matthew Bruntjen has asked Madison County jurors for $11.2 million in his lawsuit involving the Imo’s pizza chain. Attorneys for the driver, Kenneth Lyerla, suggested as much as $600,000.

Bruntjen was a passenger in a van hit head-on in 2009 by the pizza-delivery driver.

Bruntjen’s attorney contends his client never will regain full capacity to earn a living because of the crash-related brain damage. The defense counters that Bruntjen never earned much more than $10 an hour and still can work.