Woman Struck By Dead Man’s Body May Sue Man’s Estate

Hiroyuki Joho, an eighteen year old Illinois man, was struck and killed by a train during a heavy rainstorm in September 2008. A large part of Joho’s body flew through the air and hit fifty-eight year old Gaynae Zakhrabov while she was waiting for the Metra train. As a result of the accident, Zokhrabov suffered injuries to her leg, wrist, and shoulder.

According to the First Judicial District of the Illinois Court of Appeals, Zokrabov may now sue Joho’s estate for damages because the injuries she suffered were foreseeable and Joho owed her a duty of care. The court reversed a lower court’s ruling that the accident “was not reasonably foreseeable and was instead tragically bizarre.”

See Debra Cassens Weiss, Bystander Struck By Flying Body May Sue Dead Man’s Estate, Appeals Court Says, ABA Journal, Jan. 3, 2012.