Geneva fatal farm tractor accident lawsuit settled
A settlement has been reached in a wrongful-death lawsuit filed after a 47-year-old man was killed in 2014 after heavy machinery rolled on top of him while working at a farm near Geneva.
Kane County Judge James Murphy on Tuesday dismissed the lawsuit brought by Karyn Santiago of Rockford last year against her brother-in-law Louis Bork in the July 2014 death of Joel Bork, 47, formerly of Elgin, according to court records.
Santiago sued Bork, owner of a farm at 32W640 Fabyan Parkway between Geneva and West Chicago, for unspecified damages after her son was killed when the front-end loader he was driving rolled over and crushed him.
The lawsuit argued that Louis Bork was negligent in not providing a "rollover protection structure" on the equipment.
Joel Bork was using a front-end loader to replace damaged drain tile on farmland about 300 feet south of the newly constructed overpass near Route 38 and Kautz Road when he was killed, according to the lawsuit.
Defense attorney John Higgins declined to comment on the financial settlement paid for through Bork's insurer.
Higgins said Joel Bork was like a son to the elder Bork and had lived on the farm. "It was a very tragic situation, very unfortunate," Higgins said. "(Bork) was devastated by the loss."
Santiago's attorney, Tim Reuland, could not immediately be reached for comment.