Episode Details

This week, your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Timothy Trecek of Habush, Habush & Rottier S.C. (https://www.habush.com/). 

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Episode Details:

Two-time Wisconsin Association for Justice Trial Lawyer of the Year Award winner Timothy Trecek of Habush, Habush & Rottier S.C. shares how he successfully represented Edward Vanderventer, Jr. and his wife Susan after Edward was rendered a paraplegic following a traffic accident due to a seatback defect in the 2013 Hyundai Elantra. In July 2015, Edward was driving a Hyundai Elantra when he slowed down to make a left turn and was hit from behind by a 17-year-old driver. Upon impact, Edward's headrest flew backwards into the back seat and the headrest guide poles within the seatback deformed toward his spine. The headrest guide poles separated his spinal column, rendering him a paraplegic. Despite Hyundai's attempts to blame Edward's spinal injuries on the rear-end crash and a degenerative spinal condition, the Racine County, Wisconsin jury found Hyundai negligent in the design and testing of the driver's seat. In February 2020, the jury awarded $38,164,263 in damages to Edward and Susan Vanderventer, resulting in the largest single plaintiff compensatory award in Wisconsin history and a landmark victory for Timothy Trecek in the same courtroom where he experienced his first trial victory as a high school mock trial attorney 36 years earlier.  

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Guest Bio:

Timothy Trecek

In 2020, as lead trial counsel, Tim Trecek obtained a $38.1 million verdict against Hyundai Motor Company, for a defectively designed seat back and head restraint system in his client’s 2013 Hyundai Elantra (see news story). The verdict is the largest single plaintiff compensatory award in Wisconsin history. The verdict included $7.77 million for the plaintiff’s spouse, another record for Wisconsin verdicts. Based on the significance of his 2020 verdict, Tim was honored to receive the Robert L. Habush, Trial Lawyer of the Year Award, the second time being recognized with said award (read acceptance speech). He was also awarded The Litigation Counsel of America’s Tommy Malone Outstanding Verdict Award, an honor bestowed upon one attorney in the US whose verdict is extraordinary in amount or significance.

Tim is the Vice President, Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Secretary of Habush Habush & Rottier and has been a member of the law firm since 1995. He is a managing partner of both the Milwaukee and West Bend offices. Tim specializes in all types of personal injury litigation. He has successfully litigated cases involving automobile defects (airbags, seatbelts, seats and structural integrity), construction accidents, mis-filled prescriptions, car/motorcycle accidents, truck/semi accidents, slip/trip and falls, dog bites, injuries involving horses, brain injuries, RSD (reflex sympathetic dystrophy), machine defects (saws, chippers, cement mixer defects, deer stands, snow blowers), child car seats, personal watercraft, and specialized experience with serious burn injuries from events such as explosions and utility/electrical accidents.

Tim has worked on cases throughout the United States. Due to his significant trial experience, he has been certified as a Civil Trial Specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy and has been selected for exclusive membership in the American Board of Trial Advocates. He was recognized in the January 25, 2006 issue of the Wisconsin Law Journal (see article) for holding three of the state’s top five settlements in 2005. In 2009, he obtained the third largest reported award in the State of Wiscon