Plaintiff Seeks Third Trial In Accident Suit Lasting More Than A Decade

The plaintiff in a personal injury case that has lasted for more than a decade and has been tried in front of two juries is requesting a third trial.

According to plaintiff Cecil Dial Jr., he requests that a May verdict in the second trial of his suit against Bradley Joiner be set aside because of the improper testimony of an expert witness and “repeated” personal attacks against his attorney.

The initial suit is over injuries Dial says he suffered when he was struck by Joiner’s SUV while crossing the street near a middle school in Edwardsville, Illinois. Dial, then 11-years-old, claims he suffered a massive head injury among other injuries.

Joiner argued that Dial stepped into his vehicle’s path and he was unable to see the boy prior to impact and had no chance to stop.

Dial is seeking damages in excess of $1 million.

A July 9 case management order said that Dial’s plea would be heard on July 30.

The initial trial took place in 2004. Jurors were sequestered and at one point, there was a move for a mistrial. The first jury found for Joiner.

The case went to appellate court when Dial’s move for a new trial was granted by then-presiding judge, former Madison County Associate Judge Ralph Mendelsohn. That decision was appealed by the defense, but the appellate court agreed with Mendelsohn’s decision and the case was sent back to Madison County in 2005.

The May 2005 retrial was overseen by Madison County Associate Judge Clarence Harrison II.

At points during the retrial, the defense counsel questioned the tactics of the plaintiff’s attorneys, at times employing charged language.

During closing arguments, one of Dial’s attorneys told jurors that the defense attacked him and his partner because he was unable to disprove that Joiner was responsible for Dial’s injuries.

In the June 15 move for another retrial, Dial argued that the testimony of expert witness Nathan Shigemura was wrongly allowed into the case and that the attacks on his attorneys denied him a fair trial.