Kenneth J. Allen & Associates, P.C.

BY ANNETTE ARNOLD
219.548.4359 | Saturday, August 30, 2008 |

VALPARAISO | Kindergartners at Thomas Jefferson Elementary School received a gift from local attorney Kenneth J. Allen on Friday morning.

Allen and his wife, Nina, donated money to United Way of Porter County so that all kindergartners in Lake, LaPorte and Porter counties would be equipped with child ID kits.

The goal is to equip parents with a record containing their child's DNA, fingerprints, photos so that they can provide this data immediately to the authorities in case a child turns up missing.

Melissa Castle-Kirincic, resource development director with United way of Porter County, handed out the kits to the children.

"From Ken and Nina's very generous gift to United Way, we've dispersed more than 18,000 child ID kits, thus far, to elementary schools throughout Lake, LaPorte and Porter counties," Castle-Kirincic said.

Allen spoke to the kindergartners in Elaina Spratley's class.

"You kids are all very special," Allen said. "It is important that you talk to mom and dad about safety, and it is important to know about strangers. Always stay by people you know."

Allen said credit for the donation goes to his wife.

"This was my wife's idea," Allen said. "We want kids to take these kits home and have a discussion with their parents about safety and strangers."

BY KEN KOSKY
http://www.nwi.com/articles/2008/08/30/news/porter_county/doc50d36aac0be03b7d862574b4007e8050.txt
219.548.4354 | Saturday, August 30, 2008 |

One of the workers who was badly burned by flames in a molten steel accident a year ago at ArcelorMittal's Burns Harbor plant filed a lawsuit Friday seeking more than $55 million.

The worker, Jeremy Schoon, 31, of Valparaiso, filed the lawsuit before Chief Lake Superior Court Judge John Pera.

Attorney Kenneth J. Allen, whose firm is representing Schoon, said Schoon has incurred more than $1 million in medical bills and is physically and emotionally scarred for life as a result of being burned on 60 percent of his body. Allen seeks at least $5 million in personal and monetary damages and at least $50 million in punitive damages.

"As the mills make record profits, death and injury to steel workers continues to increase. Something needs to be done to stop it," Allen said. "The goal of our suit is to send a message to the steel mills and the contractors they hire: Change your business model. Put worker safety first, above increased profits, not the other way around. This is an especially important message on Labor Day."

The lawsuit targets ArcelorMittal; EQ Engineers, which did design work at the facility; and Graycor Industrial Constructors, Inc., which constructed EQ's design work.

Schoon was one of seven workers burned Aug. 28, 2007, when flames and molten steel shot out of a basic oxygen furnace. Although the victims were wearing protective clothing, the heat was so intense they were burned.

Allen said companies like ArcelorMittal should be using some of their record profits to increase safety, but he said safety is actually decreasing.

Schoon's wife, Veronica Schoon, said her husband's life is forever changed, as daily stretching, medication and therapeutic baths consume his time.

She said the hardest thing for her husband is "not being able to do with the children what he's always done."

The Schoons have three children, ages 2, 7 and 10. Veronica Schoon said her husband, who was hospitalized for about a month, is back to work, but in an office because he must be in a temperature controlled environment for the rest of his life.

"It's been hard," Veronica Schoon said, crying.

Allen said Schoon is the first of the seven injured men to file suit, but he expects others to follow.

A spokesperson for ArcelorMittal did not return calls seeking comment.

BY KEN KOSKY
219.548.4354 | Friday, August 01, 2008 |

VALPARAISO | A Valparaiso construction worker -- paralyzed when an "untrained" and "incompetent" heavy equipment operator struck him in the head with an excavator shovel and knocked him into a hole -- will get a handicapped-accessible van, a scooter and perhaps a home.

Bruce Johnson, who is in his mid-60s and currently being cared for by his sister in Florida, is getting a $2.2 million settlement from the responsible parties.

Attorney Kenneth J. Allen negotiated the settlement for Johnson after another Porter County attorney and some Chicago attorneys were unable to help him and declined the case.

"I'm very thankful to (Allen's law firm) for winning my case, especially after the Chicago lawyers all said it couldn't be won," Johnson said.

"This settlement is going to make my life easier and give me some freedom."

Allen said, "It's nice to be able to help somebody."

"It (the settlement) was all he could possibly get, and coming into it he was looking at getting nothing essentially."

Allen said injury victims generally can't sue their own employer, but rather just get workmen's compensation. Johnson and the heavy equipment operator both worked for companies owned by the same individual.

"There are exceptions to that rule (that employers can't be sued)," Allen said.

The defendants in the case were Local Service LLC; Roger Tomlinson, who controlled the job site; M.T. Broviak LLC; Roland Machinery Co.; Mark Fisher, equipment operator; and Komatsu America Corp.

Although the terms of the settlement were sealed, the facts were spelled out in court documents Allen filed Thursday to protect his client from a previous attorney. One of the attorneys is trying to collect more than $10,000 in attorney's fees even though he ended up not helping Johnson.

Johnson was struck April 14, 2004, by a 16-ton excavator operated by a man with no special training, who didn't know standard hand signals for operating heavy equipment, who was an accountant by education and who had a history of embezzlement and forgery, according to court documents. Documents also say the excavator had a broken, missing or defective side mirror.

As a result of the accident, which occurred at a residential construction site at 4407 Goodrich Road in Valparaiso, Johnson became paralyzed. He has limited use of his upper extremities.

Allen said the settlement will pay the hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills and pay for Johnson's continuing care. Before becoming a construction worker, Johnson worked at Bethlehem Steel for 36 years until it went bankrupt.

"At least this (settlement) gives him some mobility, some ability to engage in life again," Allen said.

BY MARISA KWIATKOWSKI
| Friday, July 04, 2008

CROWN POINT | Eighteen-month-old Christopher Bartzis' last words were "Uh oh, Mommy," said his father, Chris Bartzis.

When the beaming little boy died of meningitis April 17, 2002, his Hammond family shattered.

"He was the best baby I've ever seen in my life, and not just because he was mine," said Bartzis, now of Whiting. "He was the light in our home and in our family."

Chris and Karen Bartzis accepted a $1.25 million settlement last month from the Indiana Patient's Compensation Fund and Munster-based pediatrician Azra Sheriff in connection with their son's death. The now-divorced couple sued Sheriff in Lake County Superior Court after a medical malpractice panel found in 2006 that the doctor committed malpractice in caring for the toddler.

It is the second time a panel determined malpractice in Sheriff's care of a patient, the state compensation fund's online database shows.

Only 10 percent of complaints filed with the panel are found to involve malpractice, according to a Times review of data in the Indiana Patient's Compensation Fund 2007 annual report.

Although it found malpractice in the Bartzis' case, the medical panel determined Sheriff's conduct did not harm or cause the death of Christopher.

"Dr. Sheriff gave excellent care in this case," said the doctor's attorney, Sharon Stanzione. "We do not feel she did anything wrong. However, we were very concerned about the sympathy factor to a jury, given the death of a child from meningitis. It was in all the parties' best interests to have the matter resolved."

The Bartzises contend Sheriff caused their son's death by incorrectly diagnosing his meningitis as a stomach problem.

"Dr. Sheriff was not vigilant or in tune with (Christopher's) symptoms," said attorney Kenneth J. Allen, who represented the Bartzises. "She was not doing anything to alleviate them."

Christopher died of an "extremely rare" form of meningitis, Stanzione said.

Sheriff had vaccinated the child against the most common types of meningitis, Stanzione said, adding Sheriff has been a doctor more than 25 years and is board certified in pediatrics and neonatology.

Christopher's first symptoms showed up April 6, 2002, after a birthday party, court records say. The normally cheerful toddler was irritable, throwing up and screaming.

Karen Bartzis tried to take her son to Sheriff but didn't have enough money for the visit, Allen said. Instead, she brought him to an emergency room, where personnel sent him home.

Christopher continued to get worse, so Karen Bartzis brought him to Community Hospital in Munster, where he was put back under Sheriff's care.

He continued to decline. On April 12, 2002, Christopher had a seizure.

The family and Sheriff say they initiated Christopher's transfer to the University of Chicago Hospitals, where he was diagnosed a short time later with meningitis.

An antibiotic treatment and brain surgery failed to cure Christopher, and he died April 17, 2002.

The medical panel determined Sheriff's actions on the last day of Christopher's stay at the Munster hospital amounted to malpractice, claiming the doctor should have done a spinal tap and administered antibiotics earlier.

"It's the most devastating thing that's ever happened to me," Chris Bartzis said. "I've dealt with a lot of death in my life ... but he was so young."

BY BOB KASARDA
Monday, June 23, 2008

VALPARAISO | A jury is expected to be chosen this afternoon to hear the case against an Ohio truck driver accused of running a red light on Ind. 49 and killing a 91-year-old driver.

Sampson Boadi, 42, of Columbus, is charged with felony counts of reckless homicide and criminal recklessness and misdemeanor counts of criminal recklessness and reckless driving in connection with the crash at 12:30 p.m. Oct. 8, 2006, at the highway's intersection with County Road 400 North, or Vale Park Road.

Boadi is accused of running a red light while traveling north on Ind. 49 and striking a westbound car driven by Earl Eaton, of Liberty Township.

Eaton died as a result of chest injuries, according to emergency officials.

The case will be heard in the courtroom of Porter County Superior Court Judge Bill Alexa.

Deputy Prosecutor Andrew Bennett will pursue the case, and Eaton will be defended by attorney Gary Germann.

Surviving family members of the accident victim filed a wrongful death civil suit against Boadi and trucking firms Q.S. of Illinois, Quality Services and Hub Group.

The suit accuses the trucking companies of negligence for hiring and retaining Eaton, who had prior violations of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, according to attorney Kenneth J. Allen.

The offenses include logbook violations, Allen has said.

The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount of money.