After only 45 minutes of deliberation, a Cook County jury awarded a plaintiff less than $64,000 in a personal injury case in which the plaintiff had asked for over $1 million in damages. The case involved a rear-end accident, with the plaintiff sustaining a torn labrum that ultimately resulted in hip surgery. HeplerBroom’s Isaac Melton, who was defense attorney in the case, noted that it was a team effort and particularly noted the contributions of legal secretaries Yvette Ligon and Tarhonda Jones; HB associate attorney Joe Fay; and HB partners Jim DuChateau and Eric Moch.

Melton, a partner in the firm’s Chicago office, focuses his practice on first- and third-party insurance defense and insurance coverage cases, along with fraud and bad faith litigation. He also does extensive work counseling and representing insurers on issues involving medical fraud.