Attorney Blog

Truck driver killed in accident

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EST

A speeding car hit a tractor trailer last week in Connecticut, causing the truck to jackknife and rollover. The driver of the truck was killed in the accident. According to news reports, the cab of the tractor trailer came apart during the rollover accident.

As an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer, there are a few things that come to mind when reading a story like this:

The family of the deceased truck driver is entitled to worker's compensation benefits;
A skilled lawyer will know to look into the issue of whether the truck driver is covered by uninsured and/or underinsured motorist coverage through the policies on the truck he was driving at the time of the accident. These can provide a significant additional amount of compensation for the family of the deceased truck driver; and
It is worth investigating whether a products defect suit against the tractor manufacturer is viable. The power units in a tractor trailer are not subject to the same kinds of regulations that cars are, but the basic design principle of crashworthiness still applies -- that truck drivers should be able to survive foreseeable crashes such as the one involved here.

Car pulling out of restaurant parking lot hits motorcycle

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EST

In Indiana last week, two riders of a motorcycle were taken to a hospital after a motorcycle accident in which they were hit by a car emerging from a parking lot of a restaurant.

This is yet another example of a car failing to yield the right of way to a motorcycle. In the Midwest, we can expect an increased incidence of this as car drivers not ready for the return of motorcycles to the road after the winter fail to keep alert for motorcycle riders.

On thing that also grabbed my attention about this news story is the fact that the car was pulling out of a restaurant parking lot. This is something which raises a question about whether the driver of the car was driving while intoxicated.

If there is anything to indicate that this was so, that investigation must be undertaken immediately, as cases under the Illinois Dram Shop Act have a 1 year statute of limitations.

Woman dies of heart attack following dog bite attack

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EST

A woman from South Carolina died last week following a dog bite attack from a pit bull owned by her nephew. The autopsy performed on the woman showed that she had an enlarged heart which may have left her predisposed to having a heart attack.

This story brought to mind a truism in the law which is that the tort defendant takes his victim as he finds him. It is also referred to as the eggshell plaintiff rule.

What this means is that even when the accident victim has a preexisting condition which left him or her more susceptible to injury, the defendant is liable for all of the damages that he causes, even if it is more than you might have otherwise expected. An example of this is if the victim had a skull that was as thin as an eggshell and was killed as a result of a glancing blow, the defendant is still liable for the wrongful death.

Because of that rule, in this case, the owner of dog is still liable for the death of this woman even though she had an enlarged heart which left her predisposed to having a heart attack during a dog bite attack.

Nursing home resident suffers facial fractures in fall

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EST

A former resident of a California nursing home has filed nursing home abuse and neglect suit against the facility for injuries she sustained in a nursing home fall. She had been living at home with the assistance of her grandson, but when he had to travel out of town for medical testing for himself, she was admitted to a nursing home for a short-term stay.

At the time of the admission, the grandson was careful to let the nursing home know that his grandmother was a fall risk and that she needed extensive assistance with walking and getting up and down from a seated position. A care plan was put into place for a two-person assist when getting onto and off the toilet.

Unfortunately, one CNA tried to assist her from the toilet by herself and lost control of the resident, causing her to fall forward and hit her face on the floor where she sustained multiple facial fractures. She had to be hospitalized and is now a long-term resident of another nursing home.

Nursing home fall suits are often very different from traditional slip and fall suits. In a normal slip and fall suit, there must be an object or substance that causes the fall or a defect in the property that causes the fall. There are some nursing home fall suits that focus on the resident tripping or slipping on a substance or object, but many nursing home fall suits are not prosecuted on this theory.

The key issue in most nursing home fall suits is the development and implementation of a fall prevention care plan. When a resident is admitted to a nursing home, the staff must assess the extent to which the resident is a fall risk and develop a care plan for preventing falls in the nursing home. The staff then must implement the care plan. They also must assess the effectiveness of the fall prevention care plan and if it is not effective, revise it.

As an experienced Chicago nursing home lawyer, there are four basic areas I consider in every nursing home fall suit we prosecute:

Failure to properly assess the fall risk;
Failure to develop an adequate fall prevention care plan;
Failure to implement the care plan; and
Failure to assess and revise the care plan.

In this particular case, the focus of the case will be on the implementation of the fall prevention care plan. The care plan called for two people to assist her from the toilet, but only one person did so. This was a violation of the care plan, and led to the resident's fall and fractures.

Another lawyer calls out Allstate's claims practices

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EST

South Carolina personal injury lawyer Trey Mills posted a blog on his South Carolina Injury Law Journal about his take on Allstate's car accident claims practices. Allstate has an undeserved reputation as being a "good" company to deal with if you are involved in an Illinois auto accident claim.

The reality of dealing with Allstate is that they have a systematic practice of failing to pay reasonable settlements. Their claims practices have been the subject of a book called "Good Hands to Boxing Gloves" and a number of news pieces, some of which are linked in the "Resources" section at the bottom of the page on Automobile Accidents of my web site. You don't have to take my word for it, CNN and Business Week are saying the same kinds of things.

At least a couple of times a week I speak to someone who has been involved in a car accident with an Allstate insured, and they are reluctant to hire a lawyer because they are concerned about the lawyer fees (we work on a contingency fee basis) and they are dealing with a "good insurance company" in Allstate.

My response to anyone who has been involved in an accident with an Allstate insured: look past the "good hands" advertising and take a good look at the information that is out there about how Allstate treats accident victims and decide for yourself whether you are likely to be treated fairly by Allstate. If the answer is no, then you are not doing yourself any favors by not hiring an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer sooner rather than later.

Nursing home suit filed over amputation

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EST

An Illinois nursing home abuse and neglect suit has been filed against the Glenbridge Nursing & Rehabilitation Centre in Niles after a male resident of the nursing home fell and suffered an injury to his finger which eventually resulted in the amputation of the finger.

The resident was at risk for falls and fell in his room at the facility on December 7, 2008. His finger struck a heater. There was no charting as to the condition of his finger until December 19, 2008 at which point, the finger was noted to be swollen and should be monitored for the next 5 days. There was no further charting on December 26, 2008.

On January 4, 2009, he was admitted to Lutheran General Hospital, where the staff described the finger as painful, swollen and necrotic. It was amputated on January 9, 2009.

As an experienced Chicago nursing home lawyer, there were a few issues that came to mind immediately upon reading about this nursing home abuse and neglect lawsuit:

The fall itself may be a legitimate basis for a lawsuit. Nursing homes must assess each resident's fall risk and for those who are consider to be fall risks, there needs to be a fall prevention care plan that is put into place and actually implemented. Failing to develop a care plan and carry it out is a form of nursing home neglect, and if that was the case with this man, the nursing home would be liable for all of the injuries which resulted from the fall, even if the occurred days or weeks later.
After a nursing home resident falls, most facilities place the resident on a 72-hour fall watch to monitor for developing signs and symptoms of injury from the fall. The lack of charting is a strong indicator that there was inadequate follow-up monitoring.
When there is a change in resident's condition, the nursing staff must notify the patient's doctor so that the doctor can either make an order over the phone, come in to see the patient himself, or order the patient sent to the emergency room. Failing to notify the doctor is substandard nursing home care.
When there was a note to monitor the condition of his finger for 5 days, the results of the monitoring needed to be charted. How was the each nurse who saw the resident supposed to know whether there had been a change in the baseline condition from the prior shift if it was not charted?
Most people are surprised to hear how seldom nursing homes can chart and still comply with federal regulations, but even when the minimum is being done, good nursing home care requires charting when there are changes in the resident's condition.
The fact that the finger was gangrenous and necrotic when he was admitted to the hospital speaks to this being a long-standing condition, not something that developed recently. It also indicates that the nursing staff was not checking the condition of this man as frequently as was needed.

Illinois nursing homes and liability insurance

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST

I recently saw an editorial in a Mississippi newspaper about the current battle in the legislature there to require nursing homes to carry a minimum of $500,000 in liability insurance for nursing home abuse and neglect cases. As you might expect, the nursing home industry is fighting that legislation tooth and nail.

The reason for the $500,000 figure in the legislation? There is a $500,000 cap on noneconomic damages in Mississippi, and many nursing home residents have do not have significant medical expenses (because so few survive the poor care they receive) and almost none have any loss of earnings claims. In light of this, the figure seems to be a pretty reasonable one -- one that requires them to be able to make good on any damage award that the courts hold them accountable for.

I guess that accountability is a little too much to ask for when it gets in the way of making money.

That story got me to thinking about one thing that surprises -- no, shocks -- many people about nursing homes in Illinois: they are not required to carry any liability insurance at all.

Over the course of my career, I have handled several cases against nursing homes that carried no insurance or carried inadequate insurance. Insurance policies sometimes have adjustable limits that are reduced by defense costs. Identifying the nursing home's insurance situation is one thing that we do early in the case and to some extent, it shapes our prosecuting strategy as well as the recommendations we make to the client.

One-third of fatal traffic accidents in Cook County linked to drinking and driving

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST

The Scripps Howard News Services did an analysis of the fatal car accidents in Illinois for the years 1994-2008 and determined that for that time frame, one-third of the fatal traffic accidents in Cook County were the results of drunk driving car accidents. The numbers were actually higher in more rural counties where there is less public transportation, greater distances between places, and rural roadways.

The study underlines what we already know: that drinking and driving puts not only your own life at risk, but others in your vehicle and on the public highway.

Motorcyclist hit by prescription drug user

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST

An Arizona motorcycle rider is in critical condition after being hit by a car that failed to yield the right of way and pulled in front of him, causing the motorcycle. When officers arrived to investigate the accident, they noticed that she appeared to be clumsy and when asked, she admitted to them that she was under the influence of prescription medications.

There are a disproportionate number of motorcycle accidents that happen when the car driver fails to yield the right of way to the rider. The incidence of this has increased with more distracted drivers on the road. With more and more powerful prescription medications being offered which impair a driver's ability to safely operate a car, we can expect that prescription medications will play an ever-increasing role in causing motorcycle accidents.

Executive killed in motorcycle accident

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST

A banking and real estate executive was killed in a motorcycle accident last week in Florida. The wrongful death motorcycle accident happened when a Jeep failed to yield the right of way while making a left turn.

When considering the damages in any wrongful death suit, one of the key elements of compensation for the next of kin is the economic losses. When the person killed is a high-level earner as was apparently the case in this accident, one thing that must be done is to carefully quantify the extent of the losses. This is something that may require the assistance of an economist as an expert witness.

Also, the likelihood in this case is that the driver of the Jeep did not carry sufficient liability insurance to make good on the damages caused by this car accident with a motorcycle. This would be true even where he had $100,000 in insurance coverage.

Because there was not likely enough liability insurance, the family of the man killed will probably be making an underinsured motorist claim on their own policy, assuming that they carried full coverage on the family's vehicle at adequate levels of coverage.

Quality of care problems persist in for-profit nursing homes

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST

Late in 2008, the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services began issuing star ratings for nursing home. The rating scale is on a 5-star basis, with the greater number of stars being the better rating.

The ratings reflect the quality of care that is being given at the nursing homes as determined by inspections, also known as surveys, and a review of quality indicators such as the incidence of pressure ulcers at the nursing home. Poor-performing facilities are given a low number of stars.

Approximately 20% of the nation's nursing homes receive one- or two-star ratings, which are indicative of significant quality of care deficiencies. A review of the data shows that the vast majority of the nation's poorly-performing nursing homes are operated on a for-profit basis.

One recurrent them we see in the Illinois nursing home abuse and neglect suits we handle is that many of the for-profit nursing homes do not provide enough staff and resources to provide proper care to the residents they serve. That lack of resources eventually shows itself in poor care outcomes for the residents.

It is a classic result of the choice of profits over people. When that choice is made by people to whom we have entrusted our parents and other people who are badly in need of good care and assistance, that is simply wrong.

Teen gets 5 years in jail fatal drunk driving accident

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST

A Cook County judge sentenced a teenage driver from Mount Prospect to 5 years in prison for the death of a 15 year old Arlington Heights girl as she crossed the road in Prospect Heights in December, 2008. The teen driver had been drinking alcohol at a party that had been purchased for them by the older brother of a friend. After the car accident happened, he fled the scene.

When adults are involved in Illinois drunk driving accidents, victims of the accident can seek recovery against the drunk driver directly as well as against the bars or restaurants that caused their intoxication in an Illinois Dram Shop Act claim.

When teens under the age of 18 are involved in drunk driving car accidents, accident victims can seek compensation for their losses under the Drug and Alcohol Impaired Minor Responsibility Act. The statute imposes liability under anyone who knowingly supplies alcohol to persons under the age of 18. This would apply to the brother who bought the alcohol for the teen driver.

The statute is supposed to serve as a deterrent for adults against buying booze for teenagers, and to that end, it allows victims to seek punitive damages, something that is not normally allowed in Illinois wrongful death suits. Of course, the man who bought the beer is not going to serve as a deterrent for teen drinking and driving as much as the young man who is going to prison for 5 years.

Sixth worker dies from injuries from Connecticut power plant explosion

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST

A sixth worker died last week as a result of injuries suffered in the February 7 explosion at the Kleen Energy Plant in Middletown, Connecticut. The man had been in intensive care due to the injuries he suffered in the construction accident. The explosion happened as workers were testing the system for the natural gas power plant. The exact cause of the explosion is still under investigation.

We strongly recommend to anyone who is involved in a serious construction accident that they retain experienced personal injury lawyers immediately. There are several reasons for this. One is that investigating a construction accident such as this is a complex undertaking, and having experienced lawyers on your side allows you to get court orders as needed to ensure that well-qualified experts and investigators can do their work. The other is that there is a potential third party liability construction accident case, and the relationship between the third party liability suit and the worker's compensation case can be complex indeed.

The final reason is that there are actually two parts to every Illinois wrongful death suit. One part is the survival action, which is for conscious pain and suffering and other damages incurred prior to death. The other part is the wrongful death action, which is for the losses suffered by the surviving next of kin as a result of the death. We work early in the case to develop witnesses and testimony who can help us support claims for both the wrongful death and survival portions of the case.

Illinois Home Task Force issues final report

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST

The state nursing home task force empaneled by Gov. Quinn after a series of Chicago Tribune reports on violence and safety issues in nursing homes, especially resident on resident assaults, issued its final report last week. The panel concluded that the state's practice of housing the mentally ill alongside geriatric nursing home patients created a safety hazard and should be corrected.

The report also concluded that more stringent inspections of nursing homes was needed, and recommended hiring 79 more inspectors to get the job done. Whether the state will find funding for these proposals is an open question.

The report will be an important part of future suits involving Illinois nursing home abuse and neglect cases because nursing home owners and administrators will no longer be able to credibly deny that the widespread practice of housing the mentally ill alongside geriatric nursing home patients creates a serious safety concern.

We have included the entire 52 page report in the Library Section of our web site.

Truck driver faces negligent hommicide charges in death of motorcyclist

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST

In Connecticut last week, a truck driver was charged with negligent homicide with a commercial vehicle and an improper turn arising from an October accident which took the life of a motorcycle rider. The truck driver made a left-hand turn in front of the motorcycle rider, causing the wrongful death motorcycle accident.

We have written many times about motorcycle accidents being caused by the simple failure of drivers to see motorcycles and yield the right of way to them. This frequently results in the vehicle driver making a left hand turn in front of the motorcycle rider, pulling out of a driveway in front of the motorcycle rider, or emerging from a side street in front of the motorcycle rider. These motorcycle accidents frequently result in death or serious injury to the motorcycle rider because they have little time or room the react to the vehicle that has pulled into their path.

This case is more egregious than many because the truck driver is a professional truck driver, and as such is trained to constantly be checking the road around them for other vehicles. As such she had a higher degree of responsibility for assuring the safety of others on the road with her.

Palos Park woman loses leg in I-80 accident

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST

A woman from Palos Park lost her leg in a car accident on I-80 near Joliet last week. She was a passenger in a car which hit a patch of ice and went off the road into a guardrail. As she was getting out of the disabled vehicle, another car hit the same patch of ice and lost control. The second car hit her, pinning her against the car and causing her to lose her right leg and left foot.

The driver of the second vehicle had a bottle of open alcohol in the car with him, but blood alcohol testing showed that he was not intoxicated.

As an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer, a few thoughts came to mind when reading this story:

1. The insurance company for the second driver is likely to deny liability on the case. If he was not intoxicated, there is a reasonable chance of keeping the open alcohol out of evidence if the case were to go to trial. After that, they may be able to defend the case based on the fact that it was the ice that caused the accident, and was in fact what caused the original accident. They may also be helped in this by the fact that there had apparently been a number of accidents at that location this winter season.

2. This woman has obviously suffered significant, life-changing injuries and will have enormous medical expenses. Because of this, it is crucial to identify all possible sources of compensation for this car accident. One avenue I would examine is the possibility of making an Illinois underinsured motorist claim on both both her own vehicle and the one she was exiting at the time of the accident. One of my pet theories is that bad drivers tend have the worst insurance, and I would not be optimistic about a driver with an open bottle of alcohol in his car having good insurance.

One killed, eight injured in church roof collapse

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST

In North Carolina last week, one construction worker was killed and eight were injured when 32 roof trusses that they were setting collapsed. The project that they were working on involved the construction of a new church building. The men were employed by a carpentry subcontractor on the project. The owner of the company stated that the cause of the roof collapse was that the walls of the church were "bowed out" leading to the collapse of the trusses.

Workers injured in a construction site accident in Illinois are entitled to make a claim for Illinois worker's compensation benefits. Worker's compensation benefits in Illinois include: two-thirds of your average weekly wage while you are off work, payment of your medical expenses, and a lump sum for permanency associated with the injury.

Additionally, if there is some reason to believe that the negligence of some person other than your employer or a co-worker, then the injured worker can also file a third-party liability suit against the persons or entities responsible for their injuries. In the third party liability suit, the injured worker can seek the full measure of the damages available to him.

In this situation, the collapse appears to be due to placing several heavy roof trusses on top of the wall of the church building when walls were not properly braced to bear the weight of the trusses. The facts of this accident appear to support the liability of at least two other entities:

1. The general contractor on the job site. The general contractor is responsible for assuring overall safety on the job site and to make sure that safe construction practices are being followed. The truss-setting operation is obviously an important part of the erection of the building, and the general contractor would likely have been closely involved in this and should have recognized that the lack of bracing for the walls was a serious safety hazard.

2. The crane operator. Crane operators are responsible for not only delivering the load on target, but making sure that the load is being delivered to a safe place. The crane operator should have recognized that the absence of bracing for the walls was a safety hazard and should have refused to make the lift until the load could be delivered safely.

Handling third party liability construction accidents such as this is a complex undertaking from the standpoint of investigating the facts of what occurred. Further, the relationship between the worker's compensation case and the third party liability suit is extremely complex from a legal standpoint. Therefore, we strongly recommend that any construction worker injured in an accident hire an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer to assist them.

Nursing home under investigation for overmedicating residents

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST

Last week in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, local police announced that they had referred an investigation of nursing home abuse and neglect to the state police. The investigation was sparked by a finding that several residents in a nursing home serving Alzheimer's patients were testing positive for powerful pain killers that had not been prescribed for them. Three nursing home residents were admitted to the hospital after testing positive for the drugs, and one died shortly thereafter.

Many pain medications have the effect of sedating the person receiving them. Using medications such as pain killers or anti-psychotic medications on nursing home residents for the purpose of sedating them is known as chemically restraining the resident. Federal regulations prohibit this.

Besides the fact that using a chemical restraint on a nursing home resident is a form of nursing home abuse and neglect, there are a number of other troubling safety issues that are raised by this story:

One thing that must be considered whenever a nursing home resident is being given prescription medications is whether there is potential for a drug interaction. It is something that must be considered by the attending physician as well as during the monthly review of the resident's drug regimen. If neither the doctor nor the pharmacist conducting the monthly review know that the resident is getting the pain killers, a drug interaction between the pain killer and the other medications that were actually prescribed is never given any consideration. This greatly increases the chances of a nursing home prescription medication error.
When nursing home residents are given pain killers for the purpose of sedating them, they become less active and less mobile. Immobility is one of the things that sets nursing home residents up for developing pressure ulcers or bed sores.
Over-medicating residents also increases the risk of of nursing home falls due to loss of balance and diminished alertness. Falls are a major health risk for nursing home residents as multiple studies have shown that fractures, especially hip fractures, are a major cause of morbidity and mortality for senior citizens.

Obviously, one has to hope that the perpetrator(s) of this scheme are identified and punished. However, as an experienced Chicago nursing home lawyer, it seems to me that there are serious questions that have to be asked of the management and ownership of this nursing home.

Heavy duty pain killers are controlled substances, and the nursing home has to be accountable for the medications it has purchased. If the pain medications were being dispense without a prescription, why wasn't anyone paying attention to the fact that the medications has gone missing?

Camelot Terrace in Streator issued citation

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST

Camelot Terrace Nursing Home in Streator received an immediate jeopardy citation from the Illinois Department of Public Health last week. The basis of the citation was a leaking roof and evidence of damage by termites to the facility. The nursing home owner, Michael Lerner, was disputing the citation.

Mr. Lerner is the operator of other nursing homes in Illinois which have been the subjects of scrutiny. He also operates Regal Rehab in Oak Lawn which was supposed to have been shut down last spring, but remains open. He also operates Galesburg Terrace. His management practices prompted the SEIU to launch a web site, www.lernernogem.org, a reference to GEM Health care, the umbrella organization for the Lerner-owned nursing homes.

The poor conditions at the Camelot facility have potential to cause harm to the residents. This would have been the basis for the immediate jeopardy citation issued by IDPH. I have represented the families of other residents to investigate nursing home neglect claims against Mr. Lerner's facilities, including issues with pressure ulcers, and have been troubled by the poor care received by the residents. I was also surprised to learn that he does not carry liability insurance on the Regal Rehab nursing home, and suspect that this is his standard practice at all of his facilities.

Hopefully, this citation is a sign that the IDPH is taking a closer look at Mr. Lerner's facilities.

Insurance company trying to get out of dog bite claim

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST

There was a piece in the Morris Daily Herald recently about a lawsuit that was filed by Farmers Insurance Company regarding a dog bite claim. The origin of the case was that a little girl was bitten by a dog owned by the Farmers insured.

The little girl's mother was the girlfriend of the son of the dog owners. After the little girl was bitten, her father filed a dog bite lawsuit against the dog owners to recover for the damages his daughter sustained. The dog owners, who were insured by Farmers, turned the suit over to them, expecting that they would be defended by the insurance company -- after all, that was why they paid premiums to the insurance company.

Instead, Farmers has filed a lawsuit asking for a judicial determination that there is no coverage for the little girl's claim. Their position is that the little girl and her mother were actually residing at the home with dog owners and therefore are excluded from coverage under the terms of the dog owners' homeowner's insurance policy.

Without taking a position on the merits of Farmers position, or whether it is right from a moral point of view, there is one point that is crucial: if Farmers gets out of covering this claim, then the little girl will probably not receive any compensation for her injuries. This is because homeowner's insurance is the main source of compensation for dog bite victims.

Pedestrian killed by hit-and-run driver

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST

An employee of the Department of Agriculture was killed last week in a hit-and-run car accident outside a Washington, DC subway stop. The man was walking to the subway when he was hit by a car which did not stop.

One thing that many people are unaware of regarding hit-and-run accidents in Illinois is that you may receive compensation for your injuries if you had uninsured motorist coverage on your vehicle. The law in Illinois deems hit-and-run drivers to be uninsured motorists. This means that you could make an Illinois uninsured motorist claim with your own insurance company and recover the full amount of the damages you sustained, or in this case, the damages his wife sustained as a result of his wrongful death.

It is important to note that your uninsured motorist coverage would still apply even in a situation such as this, where you are a pedestrian struck by a hit-and-run driver. The idea behind uninsured motorist coverage is that it puts you in the same position as you would be in had the uninsured driver carried as much automobile liability insurance as you. Since that driver would have had to pay your damages for hitting you as a pedestrian, your car insurance would have to do the same.

False charting at nursing homes

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST

False charting is a critical issue in every nursing home case. Sometimes, it is well-hidden and can be found only after hours of close examination of the chart. Other times, it is readily apparent:

You can see the that nurse on duty for the third shift (6 pm - 6 am) charted that the resident was alert, had normal skin tone, normal heart rhythm, and normal respirations. The problem with this is the notes that the nurse on the shift before wrote:

The notes say:

5:20 pm: Resident expired, 0 pulse, 0 respirations

5:50 pm: Mitchell Hughes (funeral home) here for resident.

The reason that this is so important in nursing home abuse and neglect cases is that the nursing home staff will rely on their chart to show that adequate care was provided, and when the chart can be shown to be false, that argument is undermined, as is the credibility of the witnesses involved in the false chart entries.

More on insurance coverage for dog bite accidentrs

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST

The Bolingbrook Sun came out with an article which discusses the difficulties that some dog owners have geeting liability insurance coverage for dog bite attacks. This is an important issue for both pet owners (before an attack) and for dog bite attack victims (after an attack).

Some construction accidents require immediate investigation

Sat, 13 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST

In Middletown, CT last week, there was an explosion at a gas-powered power plant which left 5 dead and 12 injured. According to news reports, the plant was still under construction, and the explosion occurred on the first day that they were running gas into the plant.

The plant explosion was obviously a major construction accident that brought first responders in from many neighboring communities. It also doubtless brough in officials from the construction companies involved and their insurance companies. Both are likely sifting through the rubble, but looking for different things. The first responders are looking for victims, while the constructino companies and their insurance companies are looking for evidence to shift the blame for the accident away from them and onto someone else.

When there is a serious accident like this that draws a lot of attention because of the manner of the accident or the number of people involved, they tend to draw a lot of attention from from the companies involved and their insurance companies. There are actually several law firms that defend truck accidents which promise to send a "rapid response team" to the scene of the accident within two hours of the accident to start mounting a defense.

Construction accidents are much the same way, in part because construction companies also have to concerned about being cited by OSHA. Being on site early helps the construction companies and their insurers develop evidence which is helpful to their defense. When you are the victim of a serious accident, you need to have an equal opportunity to develop evidence which will help you prosecute your case sucessfully. This is why hiring an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer is important right after a serious accident.

School bus driver faces manslaughter charge in death of motorcyclist

Sat, 13 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST

Authorities in South Carolina upgraded charges against a school bus driver to manslaughter from a collision with a motorcycle that occurred in November. The bus driver had been charged with failure to yield the right of way in the motorcycle accident which claimed the life of the 18 year old high school student who was riding it.

This is yet another sad tale of a car failing to yield the right of way to a motorcycle. However, despite the many ways in which motorcycle accidents are different from car accidents, one thing remains the same: the legal doctrine of respondeat superior applies.

This doctrine states that an employer will be help liable for the negligent acts of its employee when the employee is acting in the course and scope of his employment. That means that in this case, the employer of the school bus driver will also be held liable for the death of the motorcycle rider.

Determining whether the at-fault driver was doing anything employment-related at the time of an accident makes a substantial difference in the kind of recovery that the victim of a motorcycle accident makes. This is why as experienced Chicago motorcycle accident lawyers, we always require an at-fault driver to provide us with an affidavit that they were not doing anything employment related, including talking on a cell phone, at the time the accident occurred.

34 sickened by carbon monoxide poisoning at church

Sat, 13 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST

34 people were made ill as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning at their Pennsylvania church, including some who had to be airlifted to a regional hospital. Authorities determined that the cause of the carbon monoxide poisoning was a blocked chimney for the church.

Winter poses a special increased risk of carbon monoxide poisoning for a few reasons. One is that there is an increased need for gas heat, and burning carbon based fuels such as gas or oil puts more carbon monoxide into the air. The other reason is that it is easy for things like chimneys, which are necessary to vent the carbon monoxide, to become covered with snow or ice, resulting in the carbon monoxide remaining in the building where it can rise to dangerously high levels.

Even though it is unpleasant to do in cold weather, periodic checks of chimneys and vents are an essential part of preventing carbon monoxide poisoning accidents.

Highway worker struck by truck

Sat, 13 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST

In Maryland last week, as highway workers tried to clear the roads of snow following the blizzard that hit that area, one worker was injured when the vehicle he was driving was hit by a tractor trailer. The injured worker was towing an arrow board to alert traffic that one lane was closed ahead due to snow removal operations. Even though he was towing an arrow board, a truck driver still managed to hit him.

Needless to say, it is a little perplexing to figure out how the truck driver missed the arrow board. The likely culprit will probably be either distracted driving or fatigued driving, neither of which is an acceptable excuse for a professional truck driver.

Because this worker was injured on the job, he has a right to seek worker's compensation benefits. He would also have a right to pursue a third party liability suit against the truck driver and his employer. This would allow him to potentially recover a higher level of damages than he would receive just from worker's compensation.

However, the relationship between the third party trucking accident liability suit and the worker's compensation case is complex. Had this occurred in Illinois, we would strongly recommend hiring an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer.

High winds likely a factor in wrongful death truckiung accident

Sat, 13 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST

Last week near Columbus, Ohio, one man was killed and another seriously injured when a tractor trailer jackknifed and struck them as they sat parked on the side of the highway. The two men were traveling in separate vehicles when one went off the road. The other pulled to the side of the road and called for help. The two men were sitting in the undamaged vehicle when they were hit by a tractor trailer.

The semi was pulling an empty trailer, and when the driver went to change lanes, the trailer jackknifed and he lost control of his vehicle, striking the car on the shoulder of the road that the two men were sitting in. According to investigating officers, high winds may have been a factor in causing the wrongful death truck accident.

When people think of trucking accidents, the image that comes to mind is of the 80,000 pound, fully loaded trailer bearing down on the victim. In fact, empty trailers also pose a serious problem for drivers. When trailers are empty, the loss of weight from the cargo actually means that there is less friction between the tires and the road to help the driver slow down when he is trying to stop.

In windy conditions such as those present at the time of this accident also make it hard to operate a tractor trailer safety. When the trailer is empty, it does not have much weight, but it does have a sides which can act as a sail when they catch the wind and can pull the trailer out of alignment -- leading to jackknife truck accidents such as this.

The bottom line on accidents such as this: 1) it is the truck driver's duty to keep his rig under control, and 2) if the weather conditions are such that he cannot do this, then he needs to get off the road.

Tractor trailer causes pile up in blizzard

Sat, 13 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST

With the heavy snow that pummeled the mid-Atlantic states last week, there were a number of news stories about tractor trailers which were involved in pile-ups in the bad weather. One report came from Maryland where a tractor trailer hit one vehicle that slowed for another car ahead of him and was rear-ended by a tractor trailer. The three-vehicle pile-up turned into a nine-car pile up as following vehicles, including another tractor-trailer, slammed into the pile-up. Five people had to be taken to the hospital.

One of the things that stood out to me about this story was the description of the poor weather conditions, including snowy and icy roads and blowing snow. The other thing that stood out to me was that there were two tractor trailers involved in the accident.

The reason that this stood out to me is that neither of the tractor trailers should have been on the road. 49 CFR Part 392.14 requires truck drivers to slow their vehicles and to exercise extreme caution when hazardous conditions such as snow, ice, fog, or smoke are present and if conditions are sufficiently dangerous, to cease operations and pull to the side of the road or exit the road.

When there are slick, icy, snow-covered roads with blowing snow that further restricts visibility, the trucks should be getting off the road. Why? Because poor road conditions make it harder to stop and the enormous weight of the tractor-trailer make it likely that an accident will produce serious injuries.

Fatal crossover accident in Iowa

Sat, 13 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST

Last week near Wilton, Iowa, there was a fatal crossover car accident on Interstate 80. A driver from Iowa lost control of his vehicle and crossed over the median and hit two vehicles traveling in the opposite direction. The driver who lost control, an Oregon resident, was killed in the accident while the other two drivers involved in the car crash required hospitalization.

As an experienced Chicago car accident lawyer, one thing that I wonder about after reading this story is, "What was this man from Oregon doing driving around in Iowa?" Obviously people have a right to drive wherever their fancy takes them, but when I see car accidents involving people who are far from home, it makes me wonder whether the person was traveling on business.

If the man from Oregon was in fact traveling on business, there is a reasonable chance that his employer would be liable for the injuries caused in this accident. There is a doctrine in the law known as respondeat superior which makes the employer liable for injuries caused by their employees who are acting in the scope of their employment. If he was in fact traveling for business, his employer may be liable for the injuries he caused in the accident.

The injuries that the other two men involved in this cross-over accident suffered are likely to be significant, and the issue of whether the at-fault driver was doing anything employment-related at the time of the accident is one which should be investigated before the case is settled.

Falling railroad tie from CTA el tracks wrecks car

Sat, 13 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST

A Wrigleyville area man is trying to get his car fixed after a railroad tie fell off the CTA el tracks and crashed through the roof of his car. It was a few days before he was notified of the damage, and now his car may be a total loss.

The more important question is how and why the railroad tie fell from the tracks. We wrote a few weeks ago about bolts falling from the CTA el tracks, and now a railroad tie has also come loose. Considering that the bolts and tie and what hold the rails in place that the el trains run on, this should be a serious safety concern for CTA management, which is of course now pre-occupied with negotiating with CTA's unionized employees.

Having unstable rails is a sure-fire formula for a CTA el train derailment. The CTA has actually had a handful of train derailments over the last few years, none of which resulted in serious injury. However, the CTA is just one major breakdown from having the a derailment on par with the CTA Blue Line derailment from a few years ago, and this time, it will not be passengers emerging from smoke filled tunnels, but train cars falling from the tracks to the street below.

The CTA is a common carrier and owes its passengers a duty to exercise the highest degree of care for the safety of its passengers. If the tracks that the trains run on are falling apart, it does not speak well of what the CTA is doing to meet that duty of care.

Study indicates antipsychotic use increases incidence of hip fracture

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST

The Journal of the American Medical Directors Association recently published a study on the incidence of hip fractures among older adults afflicted with dementia and using anti-psychotic medications. The study reports that there is a higher incidence of hip fractures among this patient population.

The study reviewed data from the Minimum Data Sets (MDS's) from nursing homes. This is a form which nursing homes use to report data to the federal government. This means that the entire study population was nursing home residents.

The takeaway from this: anti-psychotic usage is linked to a higher rate of hip fractures, likely due to falls by nursing home patients. This means that anti-psychotic usage should be taken into account in doing fall risk assessments of nursing home residents and developing fall prevention care plans. It also means that the use of anti-psychotics to address issues associated with dementia should be given careful consideration before proceeding with that kind of drug therapy.

CTA el trains derail more frequently than those in other subway systems

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST

Since January of 2005, CTA el trains have derailed 13 times. The rate of CTA subway train derailments is higher than of the New York and Washington, DC subway systems combined. Following each derailment, the root cause is examined by the National Transportation Safety Board, and they have to find a cause of the derailment. For example, with regard to the 2006 Blue Line derailment, they found that poor maintenance was the root cause of the derailment. That derailment left passengers in a situation where they had to exit cars into smoke-filled tunnels to try to find a place of safety.

A long history of neglect of maintenance has placed the CTA in a tough position as it faces tough budgetary times. It has a legal obligation to exercise the highest degree of care for the safety of its passengers, but lacks the resources to meet that legal obligation by making sure that the tracks are properly inspected and repaired as needed.

In the end, CTA el trains will continue to derail, and the CTA will continue to pay claims instead of paying for repairs.

Truck knocks car off the road

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST

Three occupants of a car had to be cut out of their vehicle after it was hit by a semi which was changing lanes. The impact from the collision knocked the car off the road and down an embankment. At least one occupant of the car was at least partially ejected from the vehicle and was in critical condition.

A few points came to mind from a legal perspective after reading about this trucking accident:

1. The responsibility for this accident lies squarely on the truck driver. Truck drivers are trained to check before moving into another lane. This includes being aware of their "blind spots" where they cannot see another car. They need to make sure that the blind spots are clear before starting to change lanes. Saying "I never saw them" is simply not acceptable.

2. The fact that there was some indication that one of the passengers of the car was partially ejected raises a question in my mind as to whether there may be a reasonable basis for looking into a automotive product liability case against the manufacturer of the vehicle. Cars should be designed and manufactured to keep passengers inside the vehicle in the event of an accident, even a roll-over accident. The starting point for any product liability case is to preserve the remains of the vehicle.

Each of these kinds of cases are highly complex and require a great deal of up-front investigation to determine what happened. These are also cases which will be staunchly defended by deep-pocketed corporations and their insurers which will have a great deal of resources to bring to bear on the case. Anyone contemplating a suit like this should retain an experienced personal injury lawyer to assist them with the case.

Another fatal failure to yield motorcycle accident

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST

Even though it is winter here in Chicago, and the pace of motorcycle accidents has dropped way off with many bikes away for the winter, failure-to-yield motorcycle accidents are still occurring at a regular pace elsewhere in the United States. In Las Vegas last week, a 40-year old rider was killed when a Honda Accord emerged in front of him from a side street. The driver of the Accord will be ticketed for failing to yield.

One thing that I hear from adjusters (as if to excuse the car drivers) when the accident happens in the spring is that the drivers are just not used to looking for motorcycles after they have been off the road for so long during winter. That is just nonsense: if that were the problem, accidents like this one should never happen in places like Las Vegas. However, they do, and the main problem is driver inattention, a problem that is just made worse by distracted driving issues.

$1 million settlement in motorycle accident suit

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST

A police officer from Buffalo, New York will receive a $1 million settlement in connection with a motorcycle accident suit that he filed against the teen driver whose SUV swerved in front of him in 2007. The police officer, who had returned to full duty once before after being shot twice in the line of duty, is now on leave, hoping to return to active, but restricted, once his health improves.

A $1 million settlement sounds like a lot of money, but the victim of this motorcycle accident is still a young man -- just 44 -- but he will have a lifetime of health problems ahead of him. Further, it is pretty clear that his career has been mostly derailed due to the injuries from this accident in that he currently has an assignment with the police department in the camera room.

Still $1 million is a significant amount of money, and is more than many accident victims receive due to the low policy limits on the insurance policies carried by the at-fault drivers. We strongly recommend to our clients - especially those who ride motorcycles - that they carried underinsured motorist insurance coverage for as high a limit as they can comfortably afford to help protect themselves financially against a devastating accident like this one.

Troubled Chicago nursing home loses funding

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST

Somerset Place, the troubled nursing home located in the Uptown neighborhood, is losing Medicare and Medicaid funding and may be forced to shut its doors, which would cause the roughly 300 residents of the facility to have to find new nursing homes. The loss of funding follows a series of articles in the Chicago Tribune which brought the nursing home into an unwanted spotlight.

The nursing home houses many mentally ill residents, including approximately 66 convicted felons. The Tribune articles depicted a facility where the residents were out control, behaving violently toward on another, the staff, and in the community. According to the article which reported on the loss of funding, the staff claimed that they were short-handed and lacked support from the ownership of the facility, and even though management was trying to correct the problems, the staff believed that it would revert to its prior form as soon as the regulators were gone.

Some of the residents interviewed for the article were upset about the possibility of being forced into other facilities with a shuttering of Somerset Place. From one perspective they are right: many studies have shown that moving residents from facility to facility does have some detrimental effects on the well-being of the residents, as they tend to become disoriented in the new facility and lose the benefit of a certain amount of experience in caring for them.

From another perspective, families of nursing homes near Somerset Place, especially those with large numbers of empty beds, should be upset also: the residents from Somerset Place may be coming to your parent's nursing home -- and in large numbers -- and they will be bringing their own set of problematic behaviors that the staff at the new facility is not aware or or necessarily prepared to cope with effectively.

My prediction as to what will occur when and if Somerset Place is closed: many of those residents will be moved to nearby facilities, especially ones that have large numbers of empty beds, and within six months, you will see increasing problems in the nursing homes that accept these residents in the form of resident-on-resident assaults and a decline in the quality of care that other residents receive, leading to an increase in things like nursing home falls and/or the incidence of pressure ulcers.

State plan for caring for mentally ill in nursing homes under scrutiny

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST

In the wake of a series of Chicago Tribune articles on Illinois nursing homes, in particular the problems caused by placing the mentally ill in nursing homes, the Belleville News-Democrat came out with a perceptive article on the basic problem with how Illinois treats its mentally ill. It is worth reading.

Rather than place them in facilities which are dedicated to the treatment and therapy of the mentally ill, Illinois relies on placing them in private, for-profit nursing homes. There, they place enormous demands on the nursing home staff which is in turn left with insufficient time and resources to meet the care needs of traditional, geriatric nursing home residents. Sadly, the mentally ill residents are often the perpetrators of resident-on-resident assaults on fellow nursing home residents, many times on geriatric residents who are unable to defend themselves and are at risk of serious injury when assaulted.

It seems that some in our state's public health community are coming to a realization of what the basic problem is: placing the mentally ill in nursing homes alongside a geriatric population is a really horrible idea. Unfortunately, the solution is going to taking money and resources, both of which are in short supply right now.

My prediction: for as much anger and disgust as the Tribune series has raised, we will continue muddling through with this same program -- until something really awful happens that catches the public's attention and really demands a solution. In the mean time, many of the problems resulting from will continue to fly below the radar, to the detriment of thousands of Illinois nursing home residents who deserve much better.

Two pit bulls attack sisters

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST

Two girls from Maryland are recovering dog bite injuries that they suffered when they were attacked by two pit bulls that were owned by a neighbor. The dogs were normally kept on a chain, but they were loose the day that they attacked the two girls.

One thing that contributes to dog bite attacks is when there are more than one dog together. This is known pack behavior, and tends to increase the aggressiveness of any one dog in the pack. Many serious dog bite attack happen when there are multiple dogs loose in a pack.

Van hits worker at construction site

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST

In Hawaii last week, a construction worker was seriously injured when a van went out of control, pinning him underneath. According to eyewitnesses, the driver of the van reached down to get something off the floor of the van and lost control of the vehicle.

From a legal perspective, the key issue in this automobile accident liability case is whether the driver of the van was a co-worker of the man who was hit. The reason for it is this:

Worker's compensation is a no-fault system. If you are hurt on the job, you are entitled to worker's compensation benefits. It does not matter who is to blame for an accident, whether it is you, your employer, or a co-worker. However, because you are entitled to worker's compensation benefits, you give up the right to file a liability suit against your employer or a co-worker. This is known as the exclusive remedy rule.

However, if the driver of the van is employed by someone else, then the injured worker would be allowed to pursue a third party automobile liability suit against the driver of the van and his employer. In the third party liability suit, the injured worker could seek to recover damages for his injuries that would exceed the amount of the worker's compensation benefits he received. Otherwise, he would be limited to worker's compensation benefits due to the exclusive remedy rule.

Pursuing a third party liability case is a complicated venture because of the relationship between the third party liability case and the worker's compensation case. This is why we strongly recommend that if you are considering filing a third party liability suit that you hire an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer.

Caps on damages in medical malparctice cases declared unconstitutional by Illinois Supreme Court -- again

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST

The Illinois Supreme Court declared that the 2005 law that placed caps on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases in Illinois was unconstitutional. Truthfully, it was not much of a surprise.

I have a few thoughts:

1. This is the third time -- yes, third -- that the Illinois Supreme Court has declared that caps on damages violates the Illinois Constitution. Seeing as caps had been declared unconstitutional twice before, that is why today's decision was not much of a surprise.

2. The law was enacted in 2005, and I would be willing to bet that there are at least a handful of cases, if not more, that were settled on a basis that indicated that no one assumed that the caps would be upheld. None of the lawyers I know were proceeding on the basis that the caps were constitutional.

3. You will probably see things in the press about how the rates for malpractice insurance for doctors went down after the caps went into effect. Here's the thing: when the General Assembly passed the caps, they also passed a number of insurance reforms which were intended to make the markets for insurance in Illinois more competitive. Those reforms probably account for the drop in insurance rates, not the caps.

Truck driver hit with six-month sentence in death of three

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 08:00:00 EST

A New Jersey truck driver was sentenced to six months in jail and 10 years probation for gross negligence in operating a tractor trailer, resulting in an April, 2008 truck accident which killed three. The driver was hauling an improperly secured load of paper. As he proceeded downhill on an exit ramp at an excessive speed, the trailer tipped over landing on top of two cars. The occupants of one car was killed instantly, while the driver of the other car died due to his injuries five months later.

Truck drivers are responsible for the securement of their loaded unless they are hauling a sealed container. A sealed container is one which is locked by the shipper and cannot be opened by the truck driver. Otherwise, the driver is responsible for making sure that the weight is distributed on the trailer and the load is secured into place so that when the truck turns, the center of gravity for the load does not shift and turn the trailer over.

Besides making sure that the load is properly secured, the truck driver is responsible for the safe operation of the tractor-trailer. This means that the speed of the truck should be reduced when making truns to make sure that the load and that the center of gravity of the load does nto shift so far over during teh trun that the trailer turns over. There was evidence as to this wrongful death truck accident that had the truck driveeer shifted into a lower gear, the truck would have slowed and this truck accident would have been prevented.

Any time you see that a trailer has turned over, the two immediate causes that come to mind are improper loading and improper operation of the tractor trailer. These are factors that are in the control of the truck driver for which he bears responsibility.

Driver claims mechanical problem led to fatal crash

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 08:00:00 EST

We wrote a few weeks ago about a truck accident in Ohio where a tractor trailer crossed over the center line, killing 4 and injuring 6 who were riding in a bus for residents of a special needs center. News reports now indicate that the truck driver is now claiming that the truck began speeding up by itself and that it was moving side to side on its own before he started hitting the brakes.

My initial impression was that the accident was due to the truck traveling at excessive speeds in adverse weather conditions when federal regulations require that speed be reduced. With the new information contained in this news report, it appears that the culprit may be a mechanical issue.

The true causes of truck accidents are many times not what they appear to be at first blush. This appeared to be a truck crash caused by excessive speed; now it appears to be caused by mechanical problems.

Because the root cause of truck accidents are often not readily apparent, our practice is to issue a preservation letter to insurance companies and trucking companies to preserve records and other physical evidence relating to a truck accident, and this includes the power unit, the trailer, and all of its mechanical components. Without a preservation letter on file with the trucking company and its insurer, they would have been free to repair the truck and put it back into service. In doing so, it would have at least potentially destroyed the evidence needed to show mechanical failures as the cause of the truck accident.

This is why we recommend to victims of truck accidents and their families that they retain an experienced truck accident lawyer when there is a truck accident involving serious injuries or wrongful death.

Funny lawyer ads make a real point

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 08:00:00 EST

A New York law firm has been running a series of really pretty funny ads about people who want to file lawsuits without having a real, legitimate case. There are two ads which you can find on You Tube (linked below):

"Machete," about a woman who suffered a really terrible paper cut; and
"Power," about a man who wants to sue the power company after the power went off in his apartment while he was having the best video game of his life and setting his all-time high score.

The basic problem with most lawyer advertising is that it promotes the idea that every slight in life can be the basis for a lawsuit which will bring in tons of money -- if you only hire our law firm. The fact of the matter is that nothing is farther from the truth.

Cases where there is a wrongful death or catastrophic injury do generate verdicts and settlements of thousands, even millions, of dollars -- but the people who receive those kinds of settlements are often dealing with a lifetime of grief and pain, along with huge amounts of medical expenses and/or economic losses. I tell every client, "You really don't want to have a million dollar case." Unfortunately, some of them do.

When we are representing people who do have the kinds of cases which result in settlements or verdicts in the hundreds of thousands of dollars or more, they are cases that are aggressively defended by skilled defense lawyers who are going to probe every aspect of the case before they recommend to the insurance company that they write a six- or seven-figure check.

It isn't quick money, or easy money -- not by any stretch of the imagination.

The reason I like these two ads is that they really deflate the whole idea that the civil justice system is there to right every abstract wrong by paying out huge money for trivial matters. Most lawyer advertising promotes that idea in a really tasteless way.

I like these ads because they serve as a reminder what the civil justice system should do -- to help and protect the victims of real misconduct with real injuries. And for people who have suffered real injuries due to real misconduct, we are ready to help you.

On the other hand, if you have a paper cut or if you are angry because the power went out just before you set your all-time high score on a video game, there are some lawyers advertising on TV who want to talk to you.

Porn-watching truck driver kills mother of two

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 08:00:00 EST

It turns out the December 12 wrongful death truck accident which we blogged about a few weeks ago did involve a situation where the driver was distracted by an on-board lap top. However, it was not quite what we suspected -- that the driver was getting re-routed, checking traffic, get load information, etc. The driver was watching porn on his lap top while driving. Yes, porn.

Topping it all off, he was driving over hours. According to authorities, he had been driving for the last 27 hours with very little sleep. Every truck driver knows that there are limits to the number of hours that he could be on the road. They have to keep a log book which shows the number of hours on the road and the number of hours resting.

There are several studies that show that driving while fatigued drops the safety performance of drivers. Similarly there are lots of studies which show that distracted driving also reduces the safety performance of truck drivers. Having both at the same time makes safe driving nearly impossible, regardless of what he was watching.

The sad thing about this accident is the result of the truck driver making choices to do things that he knew were unsafe. There is no real doubt that he knew that he shouldn't be watching porn (or anything else for that matter) on his lap top while he was driving. He knew that he shouldn't be driving with no rest like he was doing.

The choices he made certainly justify the second degree manslaughter charges the truck driver is facing.

Liability limits for Dram Shop Act cases raised

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 08:00:00 EST

Illinois bar, restaurants, and other licensed liquor establishments can be held liable under a statute called the Dram Shop Act for injuries caused by persons who become intoxicated at their place of business. The major category that this includes is drunk drivers who cause car accidents, but it can also include intoxicated people who assault somone else.

There is a cap in the Dram Shop Act as to how much the bar can be held liable for. This figure is adjusted every year on January 20 to account for inflation. The caps for injuries or deaths occurring after January 20, 2010 are:

For cases invovling non-fatal injuries, the cap is $60,247.68; and
For cases involving wrongful death, the cap is $73,636.05.

The statute of limitations for Dram Shop Act cases is one year. People who were injured during the year before January 20, 2010 can recover damages under the Dram Shop Act only up to the amount of the 2009 cap. Those amounts are:

For cases involving non-fatal injuries, the cap is $58,652.33; and
For cases involving wrongful death, the cap is $71,686.18.

Because the amounts that can be recovered with claims under the Dram Shop Act are so low, insurance companies who defend bars that are sued under the Dram Shop Act are very slow to make reasonable settlement offers. Their attitude is that since there is only so much they can lose, there is little to risk in taking a flyer on the chance that a jury will return a "not guilty" verdict. This means that these types of cases very rarely settle.

Drunk drivers are responsible for many serious injuries each year, and the Dram Shop Act is an important avenue for victims of drunk drivers to recover full compensation for their injuries. Because the insurers for dram shops frequently will not settle cases in a reasonable way and because there is such a short statute of limitations, we strongly recommend hiring an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer to handle these types of cases.

UPS driver suffers dog bite, loses finger tip

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 08:00:00 EST

While mailmen are often thought to be cautious of dogs on their delivery routes, other types of delivery people are at risk of suffering dog bites while making their appointed rounds as well. In Wisconsin last week, a UPS delivery driver was dropping off a package at a home in Reedsburg when the customer's dog lunged and bit him, biting off the tip of his finger. The finger tip was put in the freezer while waiting for the rescue squad to arrive for possible reattachment surgery.

When you suffer an injury on the job, including from dog bites, you are entitled to receive worker's compensation benefits. The basic worker's compensation benefits in Illinois include:

Two thirds of your average weekly wage while you are off work, known as Temporary Total Disability, or TTD payments;
Payment of related medical expenses; and
A lump sum settlement for permanency associated with the injury.

In situations such as this where there is someone besides yourself, your employer, or a co-worker responsible for your injuries, you can also file a third party liability lawsuit against the at-fault party, in this case the dog owner. This would allow you to recover the full range of damages that you suffered as a result of the accident.

However, while you can file both cases, you generally do not get to keep all of the money from both cases. From your employer's perspective, it is not their fault that you got hurt either, so the Worker's Compensation Act provides that they will have a right of recovery, or a lien, against any settlement you receive from a liability suit.

Dealing with two separate, but related cases, is a complex undertaking, so we recommend that people injured at work who also have a liability lawsuit of any kind, including a dog bite suit, should hire an experienced personal injury lawyer to represent them.

Reported settlements in Illinois worker's comp cases

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 08:00:00 EST

One question that we receive frequently from potential clients is, "Why is my worker's comp settlement so much less than someone else who had the same injury?"

There are a few good reasons for this:

1. The two main factors for determining the amount of a lump sum settlement are the nature of the injury and the injured person's average weekly wage (AWW). A settlement in a worker's compensation case is for permanent partial disability (PPD) which is paid according to a schedule set in the Worker's Compensation Act at 60% of the AWW. This means that if you suffered 50% of the loss of use of a body part that the Act values at 100 weeks pay, you would get 30 weeks pay at your average weekly wage. This 100 weeks x 50% x 60% = 30 weeks pay.

The bottom line on this: if someone has a higher average weekly wage, they will receive a higher settlement, even when the cases are otherwise identical.

2. No two cases are truly identical, and there may be other factors which are coming into play, most likely that there is evidence of pre-existing conditions or that the injury you are making a comparison to is not truly the same kind of injury you had.

The bottom line is that you need to evaluate your case on its own merits, and not look at what someone else is saying they go on their worker's compensation case as a guide for the value of your worker's compensation case.

Man injured by ice coming off semi trailer

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 08:00:00 EST

An Aurora man was injured last week when a piece of ice came through his windshield as he drove on Butterfield Road. The ice was knocked off the top of a semi-trailer ahead of him as the trailer passed beneath an overpass. He suffered facial fractures and eye injuries as a result of being struck by the piece of ice. The truck driver did not stop, and the best description that witnesses could offer regarding the truck was that the trailer was white.

In response to press inquiries, a spokesman for the trucking industry agreed that ice coming off trailers was a safety hazard, but stated that trucking companies could not be expected to remove ice from the top of trailers because there are no tools for doing so and it is too risky to trucking company employees to get up on top of the trailer to clear them.

At present, New Jersey is the only state that requires tops of trailers to be free of snow and ice. There are no federal regulations which address the issue.

No one believes that it is acceptable for pieces of equipment such as wheels to come off tractor-trailers and injure the public, nor do people believe that it is acceptable for portions of the load to come off the trailer and injure a member of the motoring public, so why should it be acceptable for drivers to knock blocks of ice off the tops of their trailers onto trailing vehicles? Drivers are required to know the clearance height of their vehicles, and if their trailers are higher than usual because of snow and ice piled on top, that is their business to know.

The real answer why the trucking industry is not doing anything about snow and ice on top of trailers is that there is no accountability. The truck driver whose trailer dropped the block of ice on the man from Aurora kept driving, probably completely unaware of what happened. My guess is that in most cases, the driver has no idea and leaves the scene. The result: no claims for and no impetus for putting people ahead of profits.

Philly area husband and wife each lose leg in motorcycle crash

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 08:00:00 EST

A Philadelphia area couple riding on a motorcycle each lost a leg in a motorcycle accident that happened when a car failed to stop at a stop sign and hit them as they passed through the intersection. The car was being driven by an illegal immigrant from Poland who did not have a driver's license. She was driving a car that was owned by another person. She was ticketed for failing to have a valid license, failing to stop at a stop sign, and careless driving.

One issue that comes up in cases like this is whether there will be insurance coverage available for the victims of this motorcycle accident. The law in Illinois is that when you are driving a car with the permission of the owner, you are covered by their insurance. Hopefully, the owner of the car that this woman was driving carried liability insurance. Otherwise, these people may have to make an uninsured motorist claim on their own automobile insurance.

If there was an exclusion that keeps the driver of the car from being covered, the other option is to pursue a negligent entrustment claim against the owner of the car. In this kind of car accident claim, you must show: that the driver was not fit to operate the vehicle, that the owner knew this, that the owner allowed them to operate the vehicle, and that the lack of fitness to operate the vehicle cause the injury. This theory has its greatest application in drunk driving accidents, but can also be used for unlicensed drivers.

This family will end up with thousands of dollars in medical bills and untold hardships down the road. I hope that they hire an experienced motorcycle accident lawyer to help them recover as best they can.

Texas nursing home fined for pressure ulcers

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 08:00:00 EST

A Forth Worth nursing home agreed to pay $1.6 million in civil and criminal penalties to settle charges that it submitted false claims to Medicare and provided inadequate care to nursing home residents causing bed sores. The charges included allegations that the nursing home engaged in false charting through "charting parties" to document care that was never actually provided, understaffed nursing homes, and failed to provide prescribed medications to resident . There were also allegations that the bed sores became infested with maggots and that some residents had to have amputations done due to the bed sores.

The plea agreement included a deferred prosecution agreement which required the nursing home's owner to abide by certain conditions for a period of two years after which the criminal charges against him will be dismissed. In the meantime, he will remain in charge of the nursing home, which will continue to receive public dollars.

Nursing homes are one of the few explicitly for-profit sectors in the health care industry, and in an effort to fatten the bottoms line, nursing home operators sometimes cut corners. Unfortunately, shortcomings in the delivery of care over time results in residents developing conditions such as bed sores. Put simply, they do not happen overnight, and are many times the result of business decisions which hamper the ability of nurses on the floor to deliver proper care. This case in Texas was an especially dramatic example of that.

Bolts dropping from CTA el tracks

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 08:00:00 EST

There was a report of WBBM radio the other day about the discovery of large bolts underneath the CTA Green Line el tracks that run down Lake Street in Chicago. When Channel 2 News brought this to the attention of the CTA, they confirmed that the bolts can from the el tracks running above. They were unabel to say whether they had vibrated loose from the tracks or were simply left behind by workmen who failed to pick them up as required.

Of course, neither alternative is acceptable, as any material falling from the el tracks represents a serious safety hazard to people walking or driving below or next to the tracks.

Even worse, the loose bolts represent a serious safety hazard to CTA Green Line riders. If the bolts are intended to hold the tracks in place and are now gone, what is holding the track in place? Going past this, the CTA has a team of track inspectors whose entire job is to make sure that the rails are in safe condition. If the bolts are on the street and sidewalk below, what are these people actually doing? Defects in the rails led to the Blue line el train derailment a few years ago, and the CTA promised to step up inspections in light of the accident.

This is a major safety hazard which demands the attention of the CTA. If not fied, it will inevitably lead to claims against the Chicago Transit Authority.

Carbon monoxide poisoning kills Oregon woman

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 08:00:00 EST

An Oregon woman recently died of effects from carbon monoxide poisoning from a Dec. 9 accident which killed her husband also. A spokesman from the fire department indicated that the cause of the carbon monoxide accident was an improperly installed heater. The improper venting which caused fumes to fill the home.

Carbon monoxide comes from the burning of fossil fuels such as gas, so improperly vented heaters are a common causes of carbon monoxide deaths. A first step in investigating this accident would be to determine when and who installed the heater. If this was done by a contractor, the contractor faces potential civil liability for the two deaths caused by this accident. A second step that would have to be taken is to determine how it was improperly vented. This should be shown in the fire department's investigation. If not, steps must be taken to preserve the scene and all evidence related to the accident.

This was a very avoidable accident which deserves a proper investigation.

Chicago Truck Driver in Wrongful Death Accident

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 08:00:00 EST

A truck driver from Chicago was involved in a head-on crash near Springfield, OH with a bus carrying residents of a center for the developmentally disabled. The crash killed 4, including the van driver, and injured 6 passengers of the bus. The truck accident happened when the eastbound truck truck crossed over into the westbound lanes of traffic and struck the bus head-on. Road conditions were slippery, and authorities are investigating whether weather conditions played a role in causing the wrongful death accident.

As an experienced Chicago truck accident lawyer, there are a few thoughts that come to mind regarding this accident:

1. Federal regulations require truck drivers to reduce speed in adverse weather conditions, and the commercial driver's license manuals in most states call for reducing speed by a third in slick weather conditions. This means that even if the truck driver was driving at the speed limit, he was driving too fast for conditions and faster than most prudent truck drivers should.

2. Since speed will be a crucial issue in the case, steps should be taken to preserve crucial records regarding the actions of the truck driver, including the on-board data recorder (if one was in use) and his log books, which should reflect where and when he last stopped before the accident. This information will be helpful in determining whether the truck driver was going too fast for conditions at or near the time of the truck crash. Steps should be taken to preserve the trucking company's records immediately.

3. There are 10 victims of this accident -- the four people killed and the six people injured. When people are brought together in a tragedy like this, there is a certain instinct to band together, and in some instances, hire the same lawyer to work on the case.

This can be a mistake where there are a large number of claims and potentially inadequate insurance coverage. When there is an inadequate amount of insurance coverage, your lawyer is required to push for you to receive the largest share possible.

Where he representing two claimants in the same accident, he has a conflict of interest because advocating for one client diminishes the total amount of money available to compensate his other client. This is why victims in mass tragedies such as this are all best served by hiring their own lawyers.

Blind driver kills motorcyclist

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 08:00:00 EST

A motorcycle rider in Waco was killed on December 12 by a woman who did not see him. Unlike many of the other wrongful death motorcycle accidents we have blogged about over the course of the year, this driver did not see the rider because she was legally blind. Yes, legally blind. Even worse, she had children in the car, including an infant, but the infant was not in a car seat because the car seat was in the trunk.

Inattention has been the cause of many motorcycle accidents, but this one is due to a series of choices made by someone who does not appear to be capable of making good choices. She is facing manslaughter charges and hopefully will end up with some jail time.

Hamilton girl, family members injured by runaway trailer

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 08:00:00 EST

A 6-year old girl was killed and 3 of her family members were injured an Illinois car accident when their car was struck by a runaway trailer on Illinois Route 96 near Hamilton. The trailer was being hauled by an Iowa man when it broke away and crossed over the center line, striking the car that the girl was riding in. The Iowa man left the scene of accident. He was arrested and now faces several traffic charges.

From a legal perspective, this Illinois wrongful death car accident raises several legal issues:

This may be a case where there is more than meets the eye in that the actual cause of the accident may a defect in the design in the manufacture, design, and/or maintenance of the trailer or the hitch. In either event, as an experienced Illinois personal injury lawyer, I would strongly recommend that this family take steps to immediately preserve the remains of the trailer and the hitch so that the issue whether there is a basis for a defective product suit can be properly investigated.
Because he was pulling a trailer at the time of the accident, it is worth investigating whether the Iowa man was doing anything employment related at the time of the occurrence. That would make his employer liable for any negligence on his part. This is part of a proper investigation of serious car accidents.
This is an auto accident with multiple victims. Unless there is a significant commercial insurance policy involved, the odds that the man from Iowa had insurance coverage is pretty slim. Where there is insufficient coverage to compensate the victims of multi-victim car accidents, the victims may be able to make an Illinois underinsured motorist claim on their own policies.

Student seriously injured in West Chicago high school PE class accident

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 08:00:00 EST

Shortly before the Christmas break, a student at Community High School in West Chicago was seriously injured when she fell approximately 20 feet to a rubberized floor while participating in a rope obstacle course. The exact cause of the fall is currently under investigation by school authorities.

Falls from heights frequently produce serious injuries which is why extensive safety precautions were required for this particular obstacle course. According to the news story, there were a number of safety measures, including the use of harnesses. These were obviously not enough to assure the safety of this student.

Cases involving accidents at public schools, especially those involving physical education classes, are always exceedingly difficult because of the various immunities that public schools and teachers have negligence suits. Additionally, although liability waivers are not enforceable for children, it is a reasonable guess that the district obtained a waiver for the student to participate in the obstacle course.

There are also a number legal doctrines which could make recovering compensation in a slip and fall suit difficult for this injured student. Because of this, as experienced Chicago personal injury lawyers, we would recommend considering a defective product suit against the harness manufacturer, if the investigation shows that one is warranted.

Faulty furnace causes carbon monoxide poisoning in South Side apartment building

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 08:00:00 EST

A five story apartment building on the 3500 block of South Sangamon was evacuated earlier this week due to elevated carbon monoxide. The source of the casrbon monoxide poisoning was traced to a faulty heater in the apartment building.

Landlords have the responsibility for keeping the common elements of an apartment building safe and proper condition. This would include elements such as a furnace which will emit carbon monxide if not properly maintained and vented. The responsibility for this carbon monoxide poisoning event would therefore fall on the landlord of this apartment building.

Six seriously injured in Saline County auto accident

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 08:00:00 EST

A Saline County motor vehicle accident resulted in serious injuries to the six people who rising in the two cars involved in the collision. The accident occurred on December 27 on Illinois Route 34 just outside of Harrisburg. One of the vehicles lost control on the slick roads and crossed over the center line resulting in a head-on collision. Several of the accident victims had to be airlifted from the scene due to the severity of their injuries.

In serious multi-victim car accident cases, one important remedy for the car accident victims is their own underinsured motorist coverage. Underinsured motorist coverage is one of the coverages you obtain when you buy full coverage on your vehicle, and an Illinois underinsured motorist claim can be made by when there are multiple victims from a car accidents which exhausts the at-fault driver's insurance coverage before all of the victims are fully compensated.

In this case, the fault rests primarily on the driver who crossed over the center line. His loss of control was likely due to driving too fast for conditions. Knowing this, there are 5 people who were seriously injured who will be making claims against his insurance, and the value of those claims will likely exceed his insurance coverage. In that case, underinsured motorist coverage is a proper means of recourse for the accident victims. However, given the complexity of resolving a case such as this, we would strongly recommend that these accident victims hire an experienced Illinois personal injury lawyer.

$19 million jury verdict against New York nursing home

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 08:00:00 EST

A jury in New York returned a $19 million verdict against a Brooklyn nursing home in a nursing home abuse and neglect suit involving a resident who experienced substantial weight loss and developed bed sores which eventually contributed to cause the nursing home residents wrongful death. During the nine months the man was admitted to the defendant nursing home, he lost 89 pounds and developed 20 separate bed sores. The sores later became infected and caused his death.

The verdict included $3.75 million in compensatory damages and the balance was for punitive damages. Part of the jury's basis for the punitive damage award was evidence that the nursing home staff falsified chart entries to hide the neglect of the man's care.

There are three main factors which contribute to the development of bed sores: weight loss, immobility, and incontinence. This main clearly experienced a substantial weight loss during the period of his residency at the nursing home, and this pre-disposed him to developing the bed sores. Maintaining good nutritional parameters is crucial to bed sore prevention and should have been addressed in the man's care plan. If nutrition was addressed in the care plan, clearly the plan was ineffective and needed to be revised.

Chart falsification and alteration was part of the reasons for the punitive damage award. Unfortunately, in Illinois there are no punitive damages in wrongful death suits. Even more unfortunately, chart alteration and falsification is a common occurrence.

As experienced Chicago nursing home lawyers, one thing that we do in every nursing home case is thoroughly review the chart for inconsistencies which indicate falsification or alteration. Unfortunately we find it far too often. In one recent case, we found that the nursing home staff continued to chart that they were caring for her when she had already been taken to the hospital. When this kind of evidence is uncovered, it creates a powerful incentive to the nursing home to settle the case.

Text messaging and driving now illegal in Illinois

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 08:00:00 EST

Effective January 1, 2010, text messaging and driving is now illegal in Illinois. Drivers who are caught doing so can now receive a traffic ticket. Reading a text message or e-mail is also illegal, as is talking on a hand held device in a school zone or road construction zone.

The purpose of the new laws is to cut down on the incidence of distracted driving. Even though these acts have now officially been declared illegal, distracted driving was a basis for civil liability for a car accident before the new statutes. To recover in an Illinois car accident suit, the injured party needed to show that the other driver failed to exercise reasonable care in the operation of his vehicle. Driving while distracted did not comport to that standard prior to the passage of the new statute.

Motorcyclist killed on way to see delivery of his child

Mon, 28 Dec 2009 08:00:00 EST

Just a few hours after finishing my blog post on how road construction zones pose special hazards for motorcycle riders, I saw a story in my news reader which may be the saddest story I have seen all year about a motorcycle accident, which is saying something considering the number of wrongful death motorcycle crashes that happened this past year.

A Florida man was on his way to the hospital to attend the birth of his daughter when he was killed after riding his motorcycle into a parked construction vehicle. He was passing through a road construction zone and missed a warning sign apparently being held by a flagger and drove into the construction zone. Witnesses say that there were an inadequate number of cones set up to properly direct traffic passing through the construction zone.

The road construction company will inevitably deny liability for this accident, and in light of the really horrific losses that this family has suffered, I would strongly recommend that this family hire an experienced motorcycle accident lawyer.

Ten Most Dangerous Power Tools

Sun, 27 Dec 2009 08:00:00 EST

Forbes Magazine -- yes, Forbes Magazine! -- came out with its list of the ten most dangerous power tools and a list of some safety tips.

People who work in the trades will probably roll their eyes about getting advice on power tool safety from a business magazine, but it is probably worth a look for people who do not work with power tools on a regular basis.

Road construction projects pose special hazard for motorcycle riders

Sun, 27 Dec 2009 08:00:00 EST

The economic stimulus package included a great deal of money for road construction projects, and as that money gets allocated and contracts awarded, we can expect to see a greater than usual number of road construction projects next riding season.

Many road construction projects have strict completion deadlines and financial penalties or incentives for timely completion. However, the pressure to get done on time sometimes leaves safety on the back burner, as a recent article in the Dallas Morning News pointed out.

The article described two wrongful death motorcycle accidents that happened in highway construction zones. One involved a pavement drop-off -- a height differential between two sections of pavement -- which caused a rider to lose control of his bike. An inspector had warned both the contractor and his superiors that the drop-off was a hazard, but they elected to leave it uncorrected. The other motorcycle accident involved a rider who hit a backhoe which was parked right next to the lane of traffic instead of 50 away as called for in the construction project requirements. In both instances, investigating officers placed blame for the motorcycle crashes on the deceased motorcycle riders.

Road construction projects pose special hazards for motorcycle riders who can come upon unexpected changes in road way configurations, pavement hazards, or other dangerous conditions very quickly. Any rider injured as a result of a motorcycle accident in a roadway construction project should give consideration to hiring an experienced Illinois motorcycle accident lawyer to investigate the causes of the accident instead of simply accepting a police officer's assessment that the accident was the dead or injured rider's own fault.

Laptop use implicated in fatal New York truck accident

Sun, 27 Dec 2009 08:00:00 EST

State police in New York are looking into whether a wrongful death truck accident on December 12 was caused by the driver's attention being diverted by an on-board lap top computer. They have seized the driver's lap top for further analysis.

Increasing numbers of trucking companies are equipping their trucks with laptop computers. There are a number of good business reasons for this. They allow better communication with the drivers, allow better tracking of shipments and expenses, allow electronic tracking of hours of service, and help drivers better plan routes so as to avoid road construction or bad traffic so as to minimize travel time and fuel costs.

However, trucking companies need to be aware of the risks that are associated with providing drivers with on-board lap tops. I am not aware of any studies that directly address the extent to which lap top use while driving increases accident risk, but a study from Virginia Tech showed that truck drivers who texted while driving were approximately 23 times more likely to get into an accident.

Trucking companies which provide lap tops to drivers should equip them with an interlock which prevents their use while the truck is in gear. The other alternative to this is to develop and rigorously enforce a policy which prohibits the use of lap tops while driving. Without such limitations on usage, distracted driving truck accidents are likely to increase due to lap top usage.

Garden Prairie man paralyzed by uninsured driver

Sun, 27 Dec 2009 08:00:00 EST

In November, a Garden Prairie man was holding a yard sale in the from yard of his home on U.S. Route 20 when a car driven by a young man careened off the road in into the yard sale, where he hit the man and a female customer. The driver of the car had no insurance and explained to authorities that he looked down to change a song on his MP3 player and then "blacked out".

The car accident severed the man's spinal cord and left him paralyzed below the waist. He was hospitalized for 19 days at St. Anthony's Hospital and has not returned home yet and he goes through in-patient rehabilitation to help him adapt to his injuries and help him care for himself.

Uninsured motorist coverage is one of the coverages you get when you buy full coverage on your automobile. It covers you anytime you are injured by a driver who has no liability insurance, even where as here, you are a pedestrian and not in a car at all. Uninsured motorist coverage is one of the most important types of insurance you can buy to protect you and your family in the event of an accident, and we strongly recommend to everyone that they buy as much of this type of insurance as they can comfortably afford.

One of the interesting things about this case is that the young man claimed to have "blacked out." This would be the basis of claiming an "Act of God" defense on his behalf. In essence this defense is that some unpredictable, outside event actually caused the accident, such as a seizure of some kind. The Act of God defense is an affirmative defense, which means the burden of proof on it rests on the defense.

However, in this case, since the claim would be made against the victim's own insurance through the uninsured motorist coverage, the insurance company in the Illinois uninsured motorist claim would not have access to any medical records that would help them prove the defense. This is because of the privacy rights of the uninsured driver. Therefore, in most uninsured motorist cases, this would not be a viable defense.

Carpenter in nail gun accident survives being shot in heart

Sun, 27 Dec 2009 08:00:00 EST

A carpenter from Idaho is recovering after a nail gun accident last week. The on the job injury occurred when he accidentally activated the trigger to a nail gun he was holding. The nail ejected, bounced off a ladder, and shot the man in the heart. Fortunately, no one pulled the nail out and took him to the hospital. Had the nail been taken out, he would have bled to death.

There are a few points that come to mind regarding this story:

First, because this was a work related injury, he would be eligible to file worker's compensation case. Worker's compensation benefits in Illinois include medical expenses, two-thirds of your average weekly wage while you are off work, and a lump sum payment for permanency associated with the injury.

Second, one of the well-recognized hazards in the nail gun injury is the possibility of injury due to unintentional triggering of the gun. Nails are shot out of the gun with great force, which taken with the fact that nails are intended to penetrate, result in very serious injury when someone gets hit by an ejected nail. Any nail gun that has been manufactured without specific guards against accidental triggering contain a defect in design which can form the basis of a third party liability defective product suit.

Anyone who might consider filing a defective product suit as a result of a workplace accident such as this would do well to follow two recommendations:

1. Preserve the remains of the product involved. In this case, the nail gun should be set aside and not used any further or repaired. Loss of the product or alteration of the product from the condition it was in at the time of the accident can result in dismissal of the a suit against the product manufacturer.

2. As noted above, this kind of construction accident has the potential for both a worker's compensation case and a third party liability lawsuit. The interaction between worker's compensation cases and third party liability suits is quite complex, so we strongly recommend hiring an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer to assist in cases such as this.

Winter weather produces LaSalle County accidents

Sun, 27 Dec 2009 08:00:00 EST

The recent winter weather with rain and snow producing slick and icy roads caused several car accidents in LaSalle County last week. One occurred near Seneca on Route 6, where a westbound motorist spun out of control and into the eastbound lanes of traffic.

One basic "rule of the road" is that when weather conditions makes driving dangerous due to icy and slippery roads, you should slow down to help maintain better control of your vehicle. This principle is actually contained in the Illinois Motor Vehicle Code, which requires that speed shall be reduced when conditions require doing so.

Even though everyone knows that you should slow down in dangerous driving conditions, a surprising number of car insurance companies deny liability when their insured is involved in a car accident due to losing control on slick or icy roads. Their position normally is that their insured was driving within the speed limit and was being careful but the loss of control just could not be prevented. This is a position that is simply not compatible with Illinois law, but that will not prevent insurers from unfairly denying liability for car accidents. When an insurer unfairly denies a claim, the only recourse is to seek the assistance of an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer who will either be able to get the insurance company to reconsider its position or file suit on your behalf.

Texas motorcycle rider killed by driver reading text message

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 08:00:00 EST

A motorcycle rider in Texas was killed in March by a driver of a car who was reading a text message immediately before the motorcycle accident. The driver of the car was sentenced to 90 days in jail for criminally negligent homicide and leaving the a scene of an accident in connection with the wrongful death motorcycle accident.

We noted in our blog earlier this week that the author of the Hurt Report passed away recently. He identified many of the causes of motorcycle accidents in his 1981 study. One of the main causes was the failure of drivers to see motorcycle riders. This results in car drivers failing to yield the right of way to motorcycles. This commonly causes accidents due to drivers making left turns in front of motorcycles, entering intersections in front of motorcycles, or coming out of driveways in front of motorcycles.

If the Hurt study were performed today, I suspect that distracted driving would be an ever-more important cause of motorcycle accidents. Just as in 1981, drivers are failing to see motorcycle riders and yield the right of way to them because of the failure to see them. When drivers are taking their attention off the road to pay attention to cell phones, this problem can only be made worse. This accident in Texas is just another example of this kind of fatal distracted driving accident.

Unsafe carbon monoxide levels in ice rink

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 08:00:00 EST

In the wake of the Glen Ellyn ice rink carbon monoxide poisoning incident from a few weeks ago, I was interested to read a story from Sacramento about the poor quality of the air in their local ice rinks, including high levels of carbon monoxide.

The story indicates that the high level of carbon monoxide was due to the poor repair of the Zamboni ice machine and poor ventilation in the rink. The owner promised to make repairs to avoid having a carbon monoxide poisoning accident.

Program to remove criminals from nursing homes terminated

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 08:00:00 EST

The Chicago Tribune has been running an excellent series of nursing home abuse articles detailing in sickening detail how criminals and sex offenders are residing in nursing homes and are all too often victimizing the disabled seniors who live alongside them in resident on resident nursing home assaults. Sadly, the stories in the newspaper echoed the experiences many of my clients have had.

I was disturbed to see that the State Police had a program in place until 2006 for sweeping out sex offenders, fugitives, and other criminals from nursing home facilities. The officers interviewed described how nursing home residents would cheer as they removed some of the criminal residents that terrorized them so. The net result was a dramatic reduction in the number complaints received by law enforcement authorities.

The sweeps program was terminated in 2006 due to budget cuts. The number of nursing home inspectors was reduced at the same time. While this was going on, nursing homes were admitting as residents ever increasing numbers of convicted felons and sex offenders. It should be no surprise that there has been a dramatic increase in the number and severity of resident on resident nursing home assaults.

The articles confirmed for me that the practice of admitting younger, mentally ill resident with criminal backgrounds alongside geriatric residents with physical disabilities (as well as possible issues with confusion or impaired judgment) is a formula which only leads to grief when the older resident is the victim of an attack. The question is, if I can see it, why can't the nursing home administration see it and why do they keep doing it.

The sad answer is that it is all due to the pursuit of the might dollar. Our seniors deserve better.

Three injured when drunk driving teenager crashes car into tree

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 08:00:00 EST

Three teens, including the driver, were injured in Sandoval in Marion County in a drunk driving car accident two weeks ago when the driver crashed his car into a tree after losing control of the vehicle. The driver, age 17, was ticketed for violating Illinois' zero tolerance law for drinking and driving for people under the age of 21.

One law that many people are unaware of is the Drug or Alcohol Impaired Minor Responsibility Act. This statute was passed in 2004 and provides that any person 18 years or older who willfully provides alcohol or illegal drugs to a person under the age of 18 is civilly liable for damages, including punitive damages and attorney's fees, to anyone injured as a result of the actions of the impaired minor.

One strange feature of the law is that it allows the minor to recover damages for his own actions, and bars the use of contributory negligence as a defense to any claim brought under the Act. This means that the person injured cannot be blamed for the accident. This includes the impaired minor, and would also include someone who was grossly at fault for the injuries he caused.

Under the facts of this case, all of the kids who were in the car accident may have cases under the statute.

The whole point of the statute is to discourage people from giving alcohol to minors, and if people pay attention to to the enormous liability they subject themselves to, the statute may achieve its purpose.

Motorcycle cop injured by car failing to yield while turning left

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 08:00:00 EST

Last week, outside Buffalo a sheriff's deputy assigned to escort duty on a motorcycle was injured when a car failed to yield the right of way to him and made a left hand turn in front of him. The deputy had to be taken to the hospital for leg and should injuries. Sadly, this is like many of the other motorcycle accident cases we have discussed this year where the driver of the car failed to yield the right of way while making a left turn.

This motorcycle accident presents a classic type of third party car accident liability suit. First because the deputy was on duty, he would be entitled to receive worker's compensation benefits in Illinois. Second, because someone else was to blame for the accident, he can also pursue a lawsuit for his motorcycle accident. This is commonly referred to as a third party liability suit.

The legal relationship between the worker's compensation case and the liability case can be very complex, so we always recommend hiring an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer to work with you on cases such as this to ensure that you take home the maximum possible compensation for your injuries.

Boy riding scooter killed by hit-and-run driver

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 08:00:00 EST

A 4-year old boy from Sacramento was killed by a hit and run driver last week as he rode his scooter near an elementary school. The car hit the boy and dragged him several feet before he was thrown clear. He was taken to a local hospital before he was pronounced.

The law in Illinois considers hit-and-run drivers uninsured motorists. In an uninsured motorist claim, your insurance company steps into the shoes of the uninsured driver and pays you (or your family) the damages that you are owed due to injuries from a car accident or from a wrongful death car accident.

Because your insurer is stepping into the place of the at-fault driver, you do not need to be in your vehicle at the time of the accident for your coverage to apply. It can apply when you are the victim of a hit-and-run accident when you are a pedestrian or when you are riding your bike.

Uninsured motorist coverage also applies to relatives who reside with you. This means that it covers your children if they are the victims of a hit and run accident while they are pedestrians. Uninsured motorist and underinsured motorist coverage are types of auto insurance which protect you and your family, and as an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer, I always recommend to my clients that they purchase as much as they can comfortably afford, as it provides protection to them in the event of a serious accident such as this.

It's not just cars that fail to yield the right-of-way to motorcycles

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 08:00:00 EST

Over the course of the year, I have written far too many blog entries about motorcycle accidents, many of them wrongful death motorcycle accidents, that happened when a driver of a car failed to yield the right-of-way to a motorcycle. This results in cars making left hand turns in front of motorcycles, cars failing to yield the right-of-way to motorcycles at intersection, and cars coming out of driveways in front of motorcycles.

Of course, car drivers are not the only ones who have problems yielding the right of way to motorcycle riders, as I have also written about semis turning left in front of motorcycles, and in one case, about a driver of a tractor who made a U-turn in front of a motorcycle rider, killing him.

I saw a story in my news reader about a driver of a backhoe that also failed to yield the right of way to a motorcycle rider and turned left in front of a motorcycle. The rider survived but suffered serious injuries which left him hospitalized.

It was an interesting story to me because the rider of a backhoe sits up higher than traffic, so he should have been able to see the motorcycle. He also is not in a compartment, which would presumably relieve him of some of the distractions that come with driving a car. Still, he is clearly another driver who failed to yield the right of way to a motorcycle rider.

Motorcycle safety expert, author of Hurt Report dies at 81

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 08:00:00 EST

Motorcycle safety advocate and accident researcher Hugh Hurt died on November 29 at the age of 81. He suffered a heart attack. He is best known as the author of the Hurt Report, a comprehensive study released in 1981 as to the causes of motorcycle accidents and injuries. He reached three conclusions: (1) that drivers fail to see motorcycle riders, (2) not enough riders wear safety gear, and (3) not enough motorcycle riders know how to recover from a skid.

Two of the three causes he identified have improved, as many states have passed helmet laws and riders have increased awareness of the importance of safety gear. Also, more and more riders are taking safe riding classes to help them improve their motorcycle riding skills.

However, there is one aspect of he causes of motorcycle accidents identified in the Hurt Report which is not improving, and this is the failure of drivers to see motorcycles and react appropriately. This frequently results in the car driver failing to yield the right of way to the motorcycle rider, resulting in left turns made in front of the motorcycle, the car entering an intersection in front of a motorcycle, or coming out of a driveway in front of a motorcycle. These kinds of accidents almost always result in serious injuries to the motorcycle rider, and many times, result in wrongful death motorcycle accidents.

Great progress has been made in the last 20 years on two of the three causes identified in the Hurt Report. Hopefully we can make faster progress on the final aspect in the Hurt Report.

Dogs outside day care attack woman

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 08:00:00 EST

Earlier this week in Virginia, a woman was viciously attacked by two dogs outside of a day care center being operated out of the home of the owner of the dogs. The two dogs inflicted such serious injuries that 170 staples were required to close wounds from the dog bites.

This lady has obviously suffered serious injuries as a result of this dog bite attack, and you have to wonder what the owner was thinking having these dogs near children and what the state was thinking allowing a day care center to operate in a home with dogs like that nearby.

One other question that will prove to be important for the victim of this dog bite attack is how she will be compensated. Normally, dogs bite attacks are covered by the homeowner's insurance policy for the dog owner, but since this occurred on a property that was at least mixed-use, perhaps the commercial insurance policy for the day care will apply. This is a significant question for the victim because commercial policies tend to carry much higher limits and can provide significantly more compensation for the dog bite victim.

This is a question that an experienced persona injury lawyer would know to ask -- and get and answer to -- before trying to settle this woman's dog bite claim.

Railroad knew tracks washed out before Rockford derailment

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 08:00:00 EST

In following the story on the Rockford train derailment from this summer, the NBC affiliate in Rockford obtained the tapes from the 911 dispatch center before and after the derailment. These tapes clearly showed that the City of Rockford, Union Pacific, and Canadian National all knew that the tracks had washed out in heavy rains before the train hauling cars with ethanol derailed, setting off a deadly fire. Nonetheless, it appears that no one notified the train crew of the hazard ahead.

The fact that these companies had actual notice of the dangerous condition leaves them in a vulnerable position in the civil suits that have been filed in the wake of the disaster. Besides the amount of the damages, the key issue ahead is going to be how the fault is allocated between the railroads. Many times, the inclination of defendants to place the blame on one another leads the case to trial because no one wants to take the lead and accept the lion's share of the responsibility for the accident.

Truck accident results in one dead, three injured

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST

A trucking accident in Tennessee claimed the life of one teenager and injured three more. The teens were driving in a car on Interstate 40 in the right hand lane when a truck moved to switch lanes from the left lane to the right lane. The car occupied by the teens was apparently in the truck driver's blind spot, and he continued to merge into the right lane even though the driver of the car was honking his horn. To avoid a collision with the truck, the driver of the car went onto the shoulder of the road, but lost control and struck a guard rail and bounced back onto the highway, directly into the path of another tractor trailer which was behind the car. The impact caused one teen sitting in the back seat to be ejected from the vehicle onto the highway where she sustained injuries which caused her wrongful death. The first truck kept going an did not stop after the accident occurred.

In cases such as this, there is some degree of fault to be assessed on the part of all of the drivers involved. The driver of the first truck bears some fault for not make sure that his blind spot was clear before changing lanes. Every truck driver is aware of his blind spots are, and it is part of his job to make sure that they are clear before changing lanes. The driver of the second truck also bears some fault in that there was clearly a dangerous situation developing ahead of him with the other truck merging into the same lanes as the car. This called for slowing and changing lanes. Had this been done, the fatal injuries probably would not have occurred. Finally, the driver of the car bears some fault for this as well based upon his driving his car in the blind spot of the truck and failing to react properly to the intrusion into his lane by the tractor trailer.

Because there is a certain amount of fault on the part of each of the drivers involved in this accident, it will probably require a truck accident suit to resolve the claims, and each of the passengers would do well to hire their own experienced truck accident lawyer to make sure that their interests are properly protected.

Tractor trailer in pile-up in wind storm

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST

A female passenger of a pick-up truck is dead after a pile-up in Nevada which led to her vehicle being rear-ended by a truck driver from Chicago. News reports indicate that at the time of the wrongful death truck accident, high winds caused blowing sand and dust which reduced visibility to near zero in the area of the truck accident.

49 CFR Part 392.14 requires truck drivers to slow their vehicles and to exercise extreme caution when hazardous conditions such as snow, ice, fog, or smoke are present and if conditions are sufficiently dangerous, to cease operations and pull to the side of the road or exit the road. Wind-induced dust storms are not explicitly mentioned, but clearly they caused hazardous conditions at the time of the accident which should have resulted in this truck driver getting off the highway instead of continuing on in conditions when he could not see the vehicles ahead of him well enough to stop before killing someone.

Truck driver charged with DUI in wrongful death accident

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST

A trucking accident in West Virginia that claimed the life of a teenager has resulted in DUI charges against the truck driver involved in the wrongful death accident.

After the death of the teenager, charges against the truck driver were upgraded to include DUI causing death and fleeing the scene of an accident. Three other passengers in the teen's vehicle were also injured.

In keeping with the dangers brought on by the great size and power of tractor trailers, federal regulations limit the amount of alcohol that a driver can have when reporting to duty to .02, which is a quarter of what is allowed in most states for the operation of private motor vehicles. Once the driver is involved in critical safety functions such as the pre-trip inspection and the actual operation of the vehicle, then he is prohibited from consuming any alcohol at all.

The limits that truck drivers must adhere to are much stricter than those applicable to people driving passenger vehicles, but this is a limitation which makes a great deal of sense given the size and power of tractor trailers and the amount of time that truck drivers spend behind the wheel.

$1 million settlement in drunk driving accident

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST

The family of a New Hampshire police officer will receive a settlement in excess of $1 million following a drunk driving accident in which the police officer was hit by a car while riding a motorcycle. The drunk driver is serving a lengthy prison sentence after being convicted of drunk driving charges and negligent homicide.

The settlement is being funded by an $800,000 dram shop settlement from the restaurant where the drunk driver became intoxicated and the balance from the drunk driver himself.

One key difference between this case and what would happen under the same circumstances in Illinois is that the recovery against the restaurant would be subject to the damage caps under the Illinois Dram Shop Act which currently limits recovery against the dram shop to $58,652.33 for non-fatal injuries and to $71,686.18 for wrongful death accidents.

In my opinion, the dram shop caps are far too low, and certainly not in keeping with the damage that drunk drivers do week in and week out. These should either be abolished or raised significantly.

Wyoming man killed at G & D Integrated in Morton

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST

A truck driver from Wyoming in rural Stark County was killed in a workplace accident at G & D Integrated in Morton last week. The truck driver, an employee of Brubaker Transfer in Goodfield, was delivering a load of pipes to G & D. Forklift drivers employed by G & D were unloading the pipes and caused the load to shift, and a 30-foot long, 2,500 pound pipe fell off the flatbed trailer and onto the truck driver's midsection, causing crushing injuries. Even though the pipe was lifted off him and he was taken immediately to the hospital, the man was pronounced dead three and a half hours later at OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria. OSHA is investigating.

When someone suffers fatal injuries on the job, their family is entitled to seek Illinois worker's compensation death benefits. However, when someone other than the deceased employee, his employer, or a co-worker are to blame for the accident, his family can also file a third party liability lawsuit against the persons or companies responsible for the accident. In that lawsuit, they would be claiming that the negligence of the at-fault parties caused the wrongful death accident. The reason that a family in this situation would want to a third party laibility lawsuit is because it provides significant additional compensation for the death and holds the true wrongdoers accountable for what occurred.

Families that find themselves in this situation do not have to choose between filing for worker's compensation benefits and pursuing a third party liability suit. They can do both. The interplay between the worker's compensation case and the third party liability suit can be quite complex, so we always strongly recommend that people in this situation hire an experienced Illinois personal injury lawyer.

DeKalb auto accident results in serious injuries

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST

Last Tuesday a cross-over car accident on Plank Road in DeKalb caused serious injuries to a Huntley man. The man was traveling west when a minivan traveling east crossed over the center line and hit him head on. He had to be extricated from his vehicle by rescue squads and was taken to Kishwaukee Hospital and then airlifted to Rockford. Authorities suspect that the driver of the minivan was distracted by her four year old daughter who was riding in the backseat of the minivan.

The most common form of distracted driving is cell phone usage. However, other distractions inside the car such as children or other passengers can lead to a serious car accident. Accidents such as this serve as a graphic reminder to keep your attention focused on the road.

Naperville accident claims life of Nicor employee

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST

A Naperville motor vehicle accident last week claimed the life of a Nicor employee. The Nicor employee was operating a backhoe on the shoulder of the road near the intersection of Leverenz Road and Book Road. A box truck sideswiped the backhoe, causing it to topple over and trap the operator beneath it. He was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The family of the deceased Nicor employee is certainly entitled to worker's compensation death benefits, but can also pursue a third party motor vehicle liability suit and Illinois wrongful death suit against the driver of the box truck, and presumably his employer. In serious accidents like this, it is crucial to identify all of the potential sources of compensation for the family of the decedent, so it would also be worth looking into seeing whether a product liability suit against the manufacturer of the would be feasible. Areas worth considering is whether the outriggers on the backhoe were in use at the time and whether there was sufficient roll protection for the operator. As experienced Chicago wrongful death lawyers, this would be part of the work-up that we would do on a case such as this.

Motorcyclist loses leg after being struck by loose tire

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST

A California woman was recently released from the hospital after a motorcycle accident which caused injuries which resulted in the amputation of her leg. The accident occurred when a wheel came off a pick up truck owned by a business and struck her. The driver told investigating officers that the tire that came off was a spare that he had installed three days prior to the accident.

As experienced Chicago personal injury lawyers, one thing that we do to investigate serious personal injury accidents is to identify all of the potential sources of recovery. In this case, the truck which the wheel came off of was a business vehicle and the tire was installed by a business employee. This means that the business will bear some liability for the accident and its insurance policy will be one source of compensation for the injured motorcycle rider. We would also recommend trying to recover the remains of the tire that came off the pick up and the lug nuts to determine whether there were defects in the design of the tire or the manufacture of it and its component parts.

This woman suffered serious injuries which calls for the services of attorneys who are careful to identify all sources of recovery for their clients.

Multiple medical malpractice claims against Philly VA facility

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST

The Veterans Administration Hospital has had multiple medical malpractice claims made against it for botched care involving radiation therapy given for prostate cancer. The men had received brachytherapy for their cancer. This involves giving the patient radioactive implants in the prostate gland. When done properly, it is an effective treatment for cancer. However, investigation into the facility has shown that there were systemic problems with quality control for the implants, resulting in the veterans receiving ineffective treatment for their cancer.

The VA began notifying veterans of the problems in their care in 2008. To date, 27 veterans have made medical malpractice claims against the Veterans Administration and are seeking some $58 million in compensation. However, some 97 veterans were identified as having received improper medical care.

Making a medical malpractice claim against the Veterans Administration is unlike pursuing claims against a private hospital or physician. Medical malpractice cases against the Veterans Administration must be resolved through the Federal Tort Claims Act, and this process begins by filing a Form 95 Notice of Claim with the VA. The notice must be filed within two years of the later of when the malpractice occurred or the veteran first learned that he had suffered injuries which were wrongfully caused.

Our office is prosecuting a number of medical malpractice cases against the Veterans Administration facilities, and stand ready to help our veterans.

Perry County deputy victim of car crash

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST

A Perry County Sheriff's deputy is receiving medical attention after a southern Illinois car accident with a pick-up truck on U.S. Route 51 in DuQuoin. The deputy had activated his emergency lights to pursue a traffic violator when the driver of a pick up truck made a left hand turn in front of him. Illinois State Police have been called in to complete the investigation.

Drivers who are planning to make a left hand turn have an obligation to yield the right-of-way to oncoming traffic. This means that they have to wait for traffic to clear before completing their turn. Emergency vehicles such as police vehicles are entitled to theright of way when they have their emergency signals activated also. There was absolutely no excuse for the driver of the pick up truck to turn left in front of a police squad car with its emergency lights activated.

The deputy injured in this accident is entitled to pursue an Illinois worker's compensation case, and because the pick up truck driver was primarily at fault for this accident, he can also pursue a third party automobile liability suit against the pick up truck driver. To win his automobile liability suit, he will have to show that the pick up truck driver was at fault. As an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer, I would recommend to him that he take steps to preserve the tapes of the communications he had with dispatch to help show that his emergency lights were activated at the time of the crash.

Evanston woman dies two weeks after car accident

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST

A 71-year old woman from Evanston was pronounced dead last Wednesday after being hit a car while a pedestrian on October 27. She was crossing the street on the 1900 block of Sheridan Road. The car was traveling within the posted speed limit, but rainy weather and darkness are believed to be factors in causing the car accident. The driver of the car not ticketed.

There are a few points that come to mind after hearing about this story:

1. The fact that the driver was not ticketed does not mean that there was no liability for the accident. Drivers of cars still have a legal obligation to yield the right of way to pedestrians. A jury would never hear that she was not ticketed, so that is hardly determinative of the outcome of a later civil case. In fact, the law in Illinois is that a jury only gets to hear about a traffic ticket after a car accident when the driver who receives the ticket pleads guilty to the charges in traffic court.

2. The fact that the driver was within the speed limit does not mean that she was not at fault for the accident. Not only was she required to yield the right of way to a pedestrian, but the Illinois Motor Vehicle Code also requires drivers to reduce their speed when conditions require it. Dark, rainy nights require a slower speed, and simply obeying the posted limit does not meet the requirements of the motor vehicle code.

3. Because the accident victim lived for two weeks, there are both survival and wrongful death claims as part of the wrongful death car accident suit arising from this accident. A survival claim is one for the conscious pain and suffering the victim experienced prior to death, while a wrongful death claim compensates the surviving next of kin for their losses.

There are a number of good reasons why the family of the accident victim in this case should hire an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer to assist them with this matter. First, given that no ticket was issued to the driver, there is a reasonable chance that the driver's insurer will dispute liability in this case. Second, because there are both wrongful death and survival claims in this case, medical proof to support the survival claim must be offered in connection with this wrongful death suit. Finally, you want to be sure to identify all of the possible sources of insurance coverage and compensation.

Defense lawyer blames motorcyclist for laying the bike down

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST

There was a piece in the news the other day about a motorcycle accident suit in Pennsylvania. The accident itself was one that sounds like many others I have written about in this blog: a driver pulling out of a parking lot fails to yield the right of way to a motorcyclist. Many of these have resulted in wrongful death motorcycle accidents. However, in this case, the rider laid the motorcycle down, and slid into the rear of the car. He was seriously injured and had to resign his job as a police officer due to the disability from his injuries.

The injured rider filed suit against the driver who failed to yield the right of way. The defense lawyer assigned to the case by his insurance company answered the lawsuit by claiming that the injured rider negligent in causing the accident.

In Illinois, this defense is known as contributory negligence. The way that it works is that a jury is asked to assess the percentage of fault of each of the parties to the accident. If the plaintiff (the injured party) was found to be at fault to any degree, his damages are reduced proportionately with his degree of contributory negligence. This means that is a jury awarded an injured rider $100,000 in damages and found him 15% at fault, he would end up with a net verdict of $85,000, or $100,000 reduced by 15%. This is true all the way up to 50%. Once the plaintiff is guilty of more than 50% contributory negligence, the defense is entitled to a not guilty verdict.

Cases like this are why injured motorcycle riders must hire an experienced Chicago motorcycle accident lawyer. Laying the bike down is a safety measure to be taken in an event like this. Had this rider not laid the bike down, he would probably be dead today. However, the defense lawyer will make it sound like he was out of control and made a poor choice to throw himself to the ground. Real motorcycle riders will identify that as hogwash, but unless a skilled lawyer can get a jury to understand otherwise, that is a defense that may gain traction with the jury and cost this injured rider a lot of money -- if it doesn't cost him his entire case.

Hunters at risk due to defective tree stand

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST

The Consumer Product Safety Commission in cooperation with the Gander Mountain Company has announced the recall of their Hang-On Fixed Position Tree Stands. The recall involves the 2008 GMT 101 and 2008 GMT 103 model and includes some 13,000 units. This is due to a defect in the design of the tree stand.

The reason for the recall is that the clasp may open if fastened incorrectly, resulting in a risk of the hunter falling from the tree. There have been two reports of injury, including one man who suffered a fractured pelvis and a fractured arm.

Hunters owning these trees stands should stop using them. Gander Mountain will exchange the 2008 models for a 2009 model or issue a store credit.

Man killed when truck runs stop sign

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST

A Buffalo-area man was killed Tuesday in an intersection collision with a tractor-trailer. The truck accident happened when the tractor trailer ran a stop sign at the intersection and hit the man's pick-up truck. The tractor trailer driver told authorities that he simply did not see the stop sign and entered the intersection, resulting in the wrongful death truck accident.

In many truck accidents, we tend to look for the extraordinary causes of trucking accidents: driving a truck while on a cell phone, systemic poor maintenance resulting in mechanically unfit trucks being out on the road, unfit or intoxicated truck drivers, truck drivers who fall asleep at the wheel, truck drivers who drove too many hours on falsified log books. However, some truck accidents are due to simple causes such as the driver not being familiar with the route and missing a stop sign. Truck drivers, like everyone else, must follow the rules of the road (in addition to all of the rules and regulations that apply to them), and this includes stopping at stop signs.

The great size and power of tractor trailers make it absolutely critical that drivers obey stop signs. This probably would have been a serious but not fatal accident in private passenger vehicles. The fact that there was a tractor trailer involved made this a fatal accident.

Nursing home psychiatrist questioned on use of powerful antipsychotic medication

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST

The Chicago Tribune ran an article in today's newspaper about a Chicago area psychiatrist who is noted for his frequent use of clozapine, a powerful antipsychotic medication. The medication carries 5 black box warnings about its side effects, marking it as one of the most risky medications approved for use in the United States. According to the news story, this psychiatrist prescribes clozapine at a rate higher than all of the psychiatrist combined in some other states.

While he is hailed as a smart caring physician by some who work with him, this doctor is described as managing a practice where he just spends minutes with each patient, putting them on ever-higher doses of medications. According to the news story, he gives the patients the package inserts containing the five black box warnings and allows the patient to make the decision about whether to take the medication or not. Not only is this an unwise approach given that many of these patients are mentally ill, determining whether the medication is appropriate for the patient is a responsibility that the law places on the prescribing doctors. Not surprisingly, his approach to patient care has been blamed for the wrongful death of nursing home residents and he has been named as a defendant in a number of Illinois medical malpractice suits.

While the newspaper article focused on the obvious features: that there is a doctor who is prescribing scandalously large quantities of medications to mentally ill residents of nursing homes with sometimes fatal results, it misses the larger story about the real consequences of this approach to patient care. Medicating nursing home residents to make them more compliant with nursing home staff is known as employing chemical restraints. This is because giving someone such powerful medications at such high dosage that they are incapable of their normal daily activities restrains them just as much as tying them to a chair. Employing chemical restraints is a form of nursing home abuse and neglect. Federal regulations prohibit the use of chemical restraints and encourage minimizing the use of medications such as clozapine.

One reason that the use of these medication is discouraged is because of the adverse health effects they have on the overall well-being of the nursing home residents. For example, they may alter the residents desire for food or liquid refreshment, leading to malnutrition and dehydration. Decreased physical activity may contribute to the development of bed sores or pressure ulcers. It can also lead to the the loss of muscle tone, which increases the risk of a nursing home fall, and if it progresses far enough, to the development of contractures. Fall risk may also be increased due to diminished alertness and loss of coordination. There is also an increased risk of medication error due to drug interactions when residents are placed on a combination of medications, especially as potent and dangerous as clozapine. Taken together, these other side effects have doubtless taken a terrible toll on Illinois nursing home residents, especially in the Chicago area nursing homes where this physician practices.

Carbon monoxide leak at Center Ice of DuPage in Glen Ellyn results in hospitalization of several from youth hockey tournament

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST

The Center Ice of DuPage ice rink facility had to be evacuated Saturday evening. Several people attending a youth hockey tournament that brought teams in from around the country fell ill with headaches, nausea, and vomiting. When rescue crews came to the facility, a carbon monoxide detector showed very high levels of carbon monoxide, prompting an evacuation of the entire facility. As of this writing, the source of the carbon monoxide emissions had not been determined. Many of the people who were made ill had to be hospitalized with symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Early press reports described the injuries sustained by persons attending the tournament as being "not serious" but carbon monoxide can have significant long-term health effects. Ongoing follow-up care and therapy will be required for those made most seriously sick by carbon monoxide poisoning.

While the source of the carbon monoxide emissions was not being reported in the early press accounts, carbon monoxide is primarily produced by the burning of fossil fuels. In a situation such as this, there are a number of likely culprits:

Exhaust from team buses being sucked in through the vents to the building. This has been a common scenario in a number of other carbon monoxide poisoning accidents. Buses left idling near the building are a potential source;
Defective heating equipment in the building. It was not cold Saturday evening, but the cool snap the week before may have led the building operators to turn the heat on. If the heat equipment was not working properly, it may have taken a long period of time for harmful concentrations of carbon monoxide to build up in a large, open facility like that ice rink;
Defective icing equipment. A facility like the ice rink requires powerful equipment to cool the building so that ice can be made inside the facility. A defect in the equipment or how it is vented could be a possible cause of the carbon monoxide poisoning.

Fines levied in boom lift wrongful death accident

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST

In June, an ironworker was killed on an construction accident on an Indiana job site when the book lift he was riding in hit a two foot by two foot hole which was a foot deep. This caused him to be thrown from the lift where he suffered injuries which resulted in his wrongful death.

OSHA investigated the accident and issued fines to four companies. The basis of the fines was failing to mark, barricade, or provide stops logs which would have prevented the boom lift from rolling into the hole. One construction safety concept that is embodied in the OSHA construction safety regulations is that openings in walking and working surfaces must be marked and barricaded so as to prevent workers from falling into the holes created by the floor openings.

From the news article, the role of the four construction companies in creating the hole and then failing to cover it was not clear, but clearly the OSHA investigation revealed some negligence on their part. This can form the basis of a third party construction negligence liability suit.

$1.6 million verdict for back injury in Montana FELA case

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST

A former BNSF train conductor received a $1.6 million verdict from a Montana jury in a FELA suit he filed for a back injury he suffered while entering a locker room at a rail yard. The claim was apparently based on the accumulation of snow and ice caused by snow melting on the roof of the locker room facility.

This fact pattern is on which underlines the fact that FELA does not apply only to injuries which take place during work operations, but extends to all injuries sustained during the course of their employment. Since work brought the injured conductor to the locker room, the railroad's responsibility for providing a safe place to work to their employees followed them to the locker room.

It also helps understand two ways in which FELA cases are different from ordinary work related injuries in Illinois:

1. If this man was not employed by the railroad, he would be eligible to pursue an Illinois worker's compensation claim, which is a no-fault proceeding;

2. Liability claims for slip and fall cases in Illinois involving snow and ice applies the "natural accumulation" rule where there is no liability for property owners caused by falls on natural accumulations of snow and ice. FELA cases do not draw that distinction. If removing the snow and ice is required for railroads to meet its legal responsibility to provide a safe place to work as required by FELA, then that is what they must do, and they can be held liable for failing to do so.

Flagger killed by gravel truck

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST

A flagger employed by a Chicago Ridge gravel company was struck by a gravel truck operated by a driver employed by another company. The driver misinterpreted a stop signal as one to proceed and struck the flagger. After hearing the reaction of witnesses, he backed over the flagger, resulting in a wrongful death truck accident.

This man's family is entitled to Illinois worker's compensation benefits for this wrongful death accident. However, due to the negligence of the gravel truck driver, his family is also entitled to pursue a third party wrongful death liability lawsuit.

As part of this wrongful death lawsuit, the family would be entitled to seek the full measure of damages resulting from this accident, as the worker's compensation benefits are limited relative to the actual damages suffered. Understanding the relationship between worker's compensation cases and third party liability lawsuits is quite complex, so we always strongly recommend that anyone involved in a third party liability suit hire an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer.

Several victims in Pekin drunk driving accident

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST

Last week, the suspect in a Pekin drunk driving accident made an appearance in criminal court in Tazewell County for a September drunk driving accident which resulted in injuries to 12. The suspect had been sentenced to community service for a prior drunk driving accident, and as part of his sentence, he was working at a festival. While at the festival, he allegedly was drinking at a beer tent run by the VFW after which he allegedly took a car owned by a local car dealership and then got into a multiple vehicle car accident.

This Illinois car accident raises several issues:

Did he really take the car without the permission of the dealership? In Illinois, you are covered by the insurance policy issued by the owner of the vehicle if you were operating it with the permission of the owner. This is a key question, because the dealership would likely carry significant coverage which would properly compensate the victims of this accident. The at-fault driver had to get the keys to the car somehow, and if there is reason to think that he was permitted to drive the car, this could create coverage under the car dealer's policy.
If the at-fault driver was not covered because he did not have permission to drive the car, each of the victims would be able to make an Illinois uninsured motorist claim under either their own auto insurance policies or those of the vehicles they were in at the time of the auto accident.
The victims of this accident would also be able to make claims under the Illinois Dram Shop Act against the people who were operating the beer tent run by the VFW.
If the amount of liability insurance coverage was insufficient, then the victims would be able to make claims for Illinois underinsured motorist benefits on their own auto insurance policies or those of the car that they were in at the time of their injuries. Underinsured motorist claims are an important means of securing compensation in multiple victim car accidents.

Teasing apart these issues is something that experienced Illinois personal injury lawyers do as part of their regular practice and is a good reason why anyone involved in this kind of accident would do well for themselves to hire qualified legal counsel.

Motorcyclist killed by driver pulling out of parking lot

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST

A rider in Phoenix, AZ was killed on Monday when the driver of a pick up truck pulled out of parking lot in front of him. Authorities suspect that the 22 year old driver of the pick up was drinking, although results will not be available for several days.

This is of course yet another wrongful death motorcycle accident caused by the failure to yield the right of way to a motorcycle. However, there are some reasons that a case like this calls for the assistance of an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer:

The family of the man killed in this accident suffered some major losses, and one consideration in a motorcycle accident such as this is identifying all of the insurance coverage available. One issue to consider is whether the driver was operating a company owned vehicle or doing something work related at the time of the accident. If so, the commercial insurance policy covering the employer would cover the damages caused by this motorcycle accident.
The report indicates that the pick up driver was drinking. Under Illinois law, any licensed liquor establishment that serves someone who causes injury to another can be held liable to the injured person under the Dram Shop Act. There is a short, 1 year statute of limitations under the Illinois Dram Shop Act, which requires diligent investigation to determine where the drunk driver obtained alcohol. This can be a difficult process where there are criminal charges pending against as a result of the drunk driving accident.

Fulbright scholars stricken by carbon monoxide poisoning

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST

In Nashville, Tennessee, three Fulbright scholars were hospitalized suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning after being overcome by fumes in the residence hall in which they were staying. An investigation determined that faulty heating equipment was the source of the carbon monoxide poisoning.

A couple of points:

Many episodes of carbon monoxide poisoning are caused by faulty heating equipment or improperly vented heating equipment. With cold weather starting to set in, you should be careful to have all of your heating equipment checked for proper operation and to make sure that it is properly vented. Also, please check your carbon monoxide detectors and make sure that there are fresh batteries installed.
Cognitive impairments are one of the signature injuries from carbon monoxide poisoning. As Fulbright scholars, these three people who were injured were obviously people functioned at a very high level intellectually, and after their fellowships were over, were probably on track for significant careers in their chosen fields and significant earnings over the course of their lifetimes. If there are long-term cognitive deficits compared to their pre-injury status, the impairment of their earning capacities is a legitimate item of damages, even if they go on to make good money in their fields. Evaluating this kind of loss of earnings is very difficult and will take the assistance of an experienced personal injury attorney.

Baby in stroller dragged by CTA el train

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST

A young mother had a terrible scare last night on the north side of the City as she tried to board a CTA el train at the Morse el stop. She was pushing her baby in its stroller onto the el train car when the doors closed. The train pulled out of the station with the stroller trapped in inside. It eventually fell off the side of the train car and onto the tracks. Fortunately, the child was not seriously injured due to the CTA el train accident.

The CTA is a common carrier, and as such, owes a legal duty to its passengers to exercise the highest degree of care for the safety of its passengers. This duty runs from the time that they are boarding the train or bus up until the time that they reach a place of safety after getting off. Given that the stroller was trapped inside the door, this child was owed that highest degree of care for her safety.

It is also pretty clear that the CTA violated that duty of care. The train operator is responsible for making sure that the passengers are on the train before closing the doors and making sure that the doors are properly closed before putting the train into motion. This obviously was not done here. Also, the CTA at one time had conductors on every train who responsibilities included watching for passengers boarding and getting off the train. Those positions were eliminated in budgetary cutbacks. It obviously was possible to do the job of watching for passengers better than they did in this case. In many ways, this accident was a product of the the budgetary choices made by the CTA.

As an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer, one thing that I would do immediately is to notify the CTA of the potential claim in order to make sure that all of the records or videotapes are preserved and retain experts to help observe any inspection or repairs of the el train car in order to help determine how that train was able to leave the station without the doors being securely closed.

Is your homeowner's insurance covering your dog?

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST

While making reminder to everyone about adjusting their clocks, we would also like to remind everyone to check their homeowner's insurance to make sure that they are covered if their dog bites someone else.

The numbers on dog bite claims are staggering, both in terms of the sheer numbers as well as the costs per claim. To limit their losses for dog bite claims, many carriers that write homeowner's insurance are including policy exclusions for dog bite claims caused by certain breeds of dogs (pit bulls in particular) that are considered to be more aggressive than others. Unfortunately, these exclusions are valid and often buried in fine print. This leaves the dog owbers exposed to personal liability for dog bite injuries.

As experienced Chicago personal injury lawyers, if you are a dog owner, we encourage you to disclose to your agent the fact that you own a dog and to review with him whether your dog is covered in the event of a dog bite. Dog bite accidents are hard to prevent, so the best course of action is to make sure that you have good coverage if one happens.

Reminder to check for underinsured motorist coverage

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST

We would like to remind you to set back your clocks for daylight savings time. We also would like to remind you to check your car insurance policies to make sure that you are carrying underinsured motorist coverage.

Underinsured motorist coverage comes into play when you are involved in an Illinois car accident with a driver who carries insufficient liability insurance to cover the damages that he causes. When that occurs, if you carried underinsured motorist coverage in an amount in excess of the liability limits for the at-fault driver, your insurer would pay you the damages you suffered in excess of the other driver's policy limits, up to the limits of your underinsured motorist policy limits.

For example, assume that you are in an accident with a driver who carries auto liability limits of $20,000 (the state minimum) and you carried underinsured limits of $100,000 and that you suffered damages in the amount of $80,000. In that case you would collect the $20,000 from the at-fault driver, and your insurer would pay the other $60,000 in damages that you suffered as part of your Illinois underinsured motorist claim.

We should caution you that pursuing an underinsured motorist claim can be technically challenging, so you should retain the services of an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer to assist you.

We strongly recommend to everyone that they buy as much undersinured motorist coverage as they can comfortably afford. It is cheap coverage and pay significant benefits when there is a serious car accident with someone who does not have the ability to pay the damages they cause. It is good protection for you and your family.

Reminder to check uninsured motorist coverage

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST

While you are taking a few minutes to set your clocks back, please also take a few minutes to check your automobile insurance coverage. One thing that you want to be sure to have is uninsured motorist coverage. This is a coverage which applies when you are involved in a car accident with an uninsured driver. It applies even when you are a pedestrian hit by an uninsured motor vehicle or when you are bicyclist hit by an uninsured driver. Illinois law treats hit and run drivers as uninsured motorists, so if you are ever involved in a hit and run accident, you are entitled to make an uninsured motorist claim under your own policy.

As an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer, I see the toll that uninsured motorists take on their victims and recognize that the sometimes the only avenue of recovery for the victim is an Illinois uninsured motorist claim. With the slow economy resulting in more drivers choosing to go without the mandatory auto insurance, uninsured motorist coverage is an ever more important coverage to have. It is cheap coverage which provides real benefits for you and your family.

Carbon monoxide safety reminder

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST

With the arrival of daylight savings time serving as a reminder to check things that we do not always think about, now is a good time to remind ourselves to check that our carbon monoxide detectors have good batteries and are fully functional. Carbon monoxide poisoning claims several lives each year and leaves many others with serious residual injuries. Because carbon monoxide is colorless and odorless, there is no real warning that a carbon monoxide poisoning accident has happened or is happening until it is far too late. Carbon monoxide detectors are the front line defense against these kinds of injuries, so it is worth a few minutes of your times to check to make sure that they are functioning properly.

Court finds BNSF committed misconduct in railroad crossing wrongful death case

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST

A Minnesota trial court judge has found that BNSF committed misconduct in connection with its investigation of a wrongful death suit arising from a railroad grade crossing train accident in which one of its locomotives hit a car with four young people in it, killing all of them. The misconduct involved BNSF's failure to preserve electgronic data relating to the operation of the train and the crossing signals. The trial judge referred to the breadth of the railroad's misconduct as "staggering". The families of the four victims were awarded a total of $26 million, including more than $4 million in punitive damages.

As an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer, the thing I recommend to anyone who has been involved in an accident with a defendant that has exclusive control over the injury causing devices is that they promptly hire well-qualified counsel. Attorneys who are familiar with this type of litigation know how to move quickly to investigate the accident and preserve key pieces of evidence and not rely upon a future adversary in litigation to do the right thing and preserve evidence that points to their guilt. Hard-won experience has taught that this is often not the case.

Boy from Normal, Illinois injured by exploding gas can at camp site

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST

11-year old Jordan Schickel from Normal, Illinois is in a Cincinnati hospital recovering from injuries he suffered as a consequence of a gas can exploding. The boy and his family were at a camp site in Goodfield when flames from a camp fire jumped over to a gas can which exploded, causing Jordan serious injuries.

He was initially taken to a hospital in Springfield, but was transferred to the burn unit at the renowned Shiner's Children's Hospital in Cincinnati where is receiving care free of charge. He has undergone several skin graft operations, but must wait to undergo additional procedures so that he can grown additional skin for grafting.

To many, this would seem like a freak, tragic accident. As an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer, I recognize that this was probably a preventable injury. Gas itself does not burn, gas vapors do. When a gas can is partially empty, those fumes are highly concentrated, and if exposed to flame, can ignite rapidly and explode.

There is a simple device known as a flame arrester which can stop these kinds of explosions. Basically this is a mesh screen which prevents fire from entering the gas can, thereby preventing explosions. This technology has been in existence for over a hundred years after they were first developed to prevent mining explosions from miner's lamps. They are inexpensive to manufacture -- arresters suitable for gas cans would cost only a few cents -- and are very effective at preventing the kinds of injuries that Jordan suffered. The absence of a flame arrester is a known design defect in gas cans, and this can serve as the basis of a product liability suit.

Michigan rider severely injured in crash

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST

I saw a piece in my news reader about the efforts that a Michigan man is making to recover from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident that happened when a driver pulled out in front of him from a cross street. He suffered a brain injury which requires several hours of therapy every week.

The other thing that caught my attention in the article was an analysis of the causes of motorcycle accidents in northern Michigan. For people in the Chicago area, many of the same factors apply, perhaps even more so when it comes to the role of distracted driving.

Child delivered after death of mother also dies from injuries from car accident

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST

Last week, there was a story in the news about a pregnant mother who was hit by a car while she was crossing the street. Paramedics and doctors were able to keep the mother alive long enough to deliver her child by emergency c-section before the mother died. Sadly, the child only lived for a few days before she also passed away as a consequence of the auto accident.

All of the media accounts I have seen regarding this story indicate that the driver of the car had no valid license and did not have any liability insurance. He faces a raft of criminal charges from this Chicago car accident and will likely end up doing some significant jail time in light of his history as a traffic scofflaw.

This family has suffered losses beyond comprehension with the loss of a wife, a mother, a sibling, a child. They will also have significant financial needs as well as the mother was a valuable contributor to the household as the mother of five. Given that the man who killed her and the baby had no insurance and will have no income because he is going to jail, this is the kind of uninsured motorist accident which causes me to recommend to everyone that they obtain uninsured motorist coverage with their auto liability policy.

As an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer, I have spoken to and met far too many families who have left themselves with nothing by not buying this coverage.

Construction worker killed in crane accident

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST

A Pittsburgh area man was killed in a wrongful death construction accident last week. The man was working for a partition company and was working on the fourth floor of the building at the time of his death. A crane was being used to lift materials up to higher floors, but the crane and its load hit the fifth floor of the building. This caused a piece of concrete to break off and hit the man, killing him.

Unless the crane was being operated by a co-worker, this is exactly the kind of case which would result in a construction accident third party liability suit. The basis of this would be that the crane operator failed to keep the load under control and deliver it safely to the landing point.

Case like this care very challenging factually, and I recommend to anyone who is involved in a construction accident such as this that they hire an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer to represent their interests. The relationship between an Illinois worker's compensation case and a third party liability suit present challenging legal issues. Having well-qualified counsel representing their interests can make a difference of thousands of dollars to families who are involved in construction accidents such as this.

Verdict in Buffalo asbestos wrongful death case

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST

In a wrongful death asbestos suit, a Buffalo, New York jury returned a verdict of $2.25 million dollars in favor of the family of a man who was exposed to asbestos from valves that he repaired in the chemical plant where he worked. The award included $750,000 in punitive damages.

The man was exposed to the asbestos over a period of several years at the chemical plant before being diagnosed may years later with mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer closely associated with exposure to asbestos. He died in 2005, before his asbestos suit reached trial.

Many experienced Chicago personal injury lawyers consider mesothelioma to be a signature disease caused by asbestos exposure. This means that there almost no other known causes of this form of cancer. If you or a family member has been diagnosed as having mesothelioma, the chances are strong that you were exposed to asbestos at some time during your life. Resources are available to help identify the source of your exposure to asbestos and the identity of any corporations that may be responsible for your asbestos exposure.

Pit bull attacks 5 year old boy

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST

A pit bull attacked a 5 year old California boy last week, biting him in the face and ripping his cheek off. The boy survived the attack after other children got an adult who was able to get the dog off the boy.

When children are the victims of dog bite attacks, the key elements of the damages involved are medical expenses (past and future), pain and suffering (past and future, and disfigurement. In many cases, the medical expenses are surprisingly low. In this case, however, they will be enormous.

In most dog bite cases, disfigurement is the single most significant element of damages. This relates to the scarring from the injury and the impact it has on the life of the dog bite victim. Because children frequently are not able to control the impulse to look at something unusual appearing such as bad scarring on the face, a child dog bite victim is likely to be self-conscious of his/her appearance in ways that the child's parents may not even be aware.

As experienced Chicago personal injury lawyers, when we represent children who are the victims of dog bites, we frequently seek the testimony of people around the child such as teachers, babysitters, friend's parents, other relatives, or camp counselors to share their observations of how people act around the child. Telling the same story from a number of different views is compelling evidence of the impact that the injury has had on the child's life and shows the damages in ways that even photographs of dog bite injuries could not.

Man dies from injuries after clothing caught in machinery

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST

A Skokie man died as a result of injuries he sustained when his clothing got entangled in the gears of a piece of sewer machinery, causing his clothing to become twisted around his neck. The man died on Tuesday after suffering the injuries several days ago in a work-related injury.

There are some basic principles in designing industrial machinery: if the hazard can be designed away, it should; if it cannot, it should be guarded against; and if neither of those are possible, then there must be adequate warnings. Every responsible manufacturer of industrial machinery will agree to these principles and follow them.

This kind of entanglement hazard is a well-recognized danger with machinery that has exposed gears. The most common way of resolving this hazard is to redesign the machine so that there are no exposed gears or so that the gears are guarded. Having exposed gears is a design defect in the machine.

Given that the accident was several days ago, as an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer, I would strongly recommend to this family that they promptly hire well-qualified counsel who will take steps to preserve the machine in the condition it was in at the time of the accident. Changes, repairs, or modifications to the machine could make it difficult to prosecute a defective product case against the manufacturer.

Child bitten in throat by German shepherd

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST

A 5 year old girl from Pennsylvania is in the hospital after being attacked a German Shepherd which bit her in the throat. After several hours of surgery, she is on a ventilator and will likely be in the hospital for about a month. The dog bite attack happened at a farm that the girl and her mother went to visit. The dog was roaming the property unleashed and unattended, and the girl and her mother had petted the dog several times before the attack.

After the attack, authorities determined that the dog had been involved in three other dog bite attacks, including one where the victim's ear was ripped off. After that dog bite attack, the dog owner had been ordered to keep the dog in an enclosure or to keep the dog leashed and muzzled. He did neither of this things, with tragic consequences to this little girl.

Most dog bite suits in Illinois are prosecuted under the Animal Control Act because to pursue a common law negligence case against the owner of the dog, you have to evidence of prior aggressive behavior by the dog. This is sometimes referred to colloquially as the "one bite rule," as in you need to show that the dog bite someone else before, although that is not a literal requirement -- you just need prior aggressive behavior by the animal. In the Chicago area, most dogs are put down after biting someone, so there are few cases where there is a second dog bite.

I generally prefer to pursue dog bite suits under the Animal Control Act because the issue of contributory negligence is irrelevant in cases under the Animal Control, where it is a possible defense in a common law negligence case. However, where the victim is 7 or under, the law presumes that the child cannot be guilty of contributory negligence, so as an experienced Chicago dog bite lawyer, I would not be afraid to prosecute this case as a common law negligence case because the little girl cannot be blamed for the accident.

I hope that the parents are able to handle the settlement for this injured child. However, before that, I hope that there is insurance coverage for this dog bite because many insurance companies are restricting insurance coverage for dog bites caused by German shepherds.

Stickney couple in Wisconsin truck accident

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST

A man from Stickney was killed and his wife was seriously injured in rear-end tractor trailer accident near Belgium, Wisconsin. The accident happened as traffic slowed for lane closures on I-43. The tractor trailer, being operated by a driver employed by S & J Potashnick of Sikestown, Missouri, failed to slow for the upcoming lane closure and struck a Cadillac, forcing that off the road and into a ditch, where it overturned. After forcing the Cadillac off the road, the truck hit the sports utility vehicle being driven by the couple from Stickney. Their vehicle got wedged underneath the front of the tractor trailer. Both the truck and the SUV went off the road and continued for another 150 yards before finally coming to a stop.

The cause of this wrongful death truck accident: distracted driving. The driver of the truck reportedly told authorities that he was reaching for a snack and did not realize that traffic slowed ahead for him.

One problem that Chicago area residents face when they are involved in an accident of any kind, whether a car accident, slip and fall, dog bite attack, or any other kind of incident, including a wrongful death case like this, is finding a well-qualified local lawyer to assist them with their case.

There are a number of good reasons why someone injured in another state or area would want to hire a local lawyer. One reason is that personal injury law varies greatly from state to state, as do court procedures, and lawyers who work in that state's system day in and day out are better equipped to reach a resolution of a case. Another reason is that they are likely to have a working relationship with investigators, photographer, accident reconstructionists, court reporters, and other people who are needed to prosecute the case to a successful resolution.

As an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer active in the American Association for Justice, the leading bar association for plaintiff's personal injury lawyers, I have met and know several of the leading trial lawyers in other parts of the country. One service that I am able to offer Illinois residents is a referral to qualified personal injury and wrongful death lawyers outside Illinois. Hiring a lawyer outside the area is an enormous and important decision for a family which is struggling in a time of need and sorrow, and we are happy to help.

Senior citizen attacked and bitten by pit bulls

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST

A Denver area woman is in the hospital after being attacked by two pit bull mixes owned by a neighbor. The dogs got out of the yard through a hole in the fence and attacked the woman as she went to her car. As a result of the dog bite attack, she suffered several dog bite wounds, a broken arm, and also suffered a heart attack due to the trauma. She remains hospitalized in critical condition.

As an experienced Chicago dog bite lawyer, I know that there are two groups which are disproportionately the victims of serious dog bite attacks: small children and senior citizens.

Children are frequent victims of serious dog bite attacks for two reasons. One is that due to inexperience and immaturity, they do not always recognize the danger that a particular dog may pose and not know to avoid the dog or the situation. The other reason is that due to small size and lack of strength, they are not in a good position to get away from the attack, break off the attack, or resist an attacking dog. As a result, they tend to suffer more serious injuries in dog bite attacks.

Senior citizens are the other group of people who tend to suffer serious injuries as a result of dog bite attacks. The main reason that seniors tend to be seriously injured at a more frequent rate relates to their physical condition: they tend to be more physically debilitated and less able to avoid or resist an attacking dog. Further, once they are attacked, they tend to suffer injuries besides the lacerations and puncture wounds that are commonly associated with dog bite injuries. Fractures from falling or being knocked to the ground by a dog, or as here, stress-related heart attacks tend to exacerbate the consequences of a dog bite attack.

Improper furnace venting results in hospitalization of 11 due to carbon monoxide poisoning

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST

Eleven people from an Indiana apartment complex were hospitalzied last week due to carbon monoxide poisoning. Authorities determined that the cause of the carbon monoxide poisoning was a furnace that was vented directly into an apartment.

With the return of fall weather, people will once again be using heating equipment which has been out of service for months. Before using gas appliances are out back into use this fall, you should becareful to have them inspected and serviced by a well-qualified professional to ensure that they are in proper working order and that they are properly vented.

Because carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas, the onset of symptoms is often the first warning that you have that something is wrong. Carbon monoxide poisoning can result in wrongful death, especially when the poisoning occurs while the victims are sleeping.

Article outlines measures to prevent NSF from gadolinium expsoure

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST

Renal & Nephrology News came out with an article recently about steps which can be taken to prevent nephrogenic systemic fibrosis, or NSF, in patients who use gadolinium contrast for MRI scans and CT scans. It has been fairly-well established that this debilitating disease occurs in patients who have renal insufficiency when the contrast is administered.

The article recommends a number of steps. First high risk patients should be identified. Once thos epatients arte identified, a determinatino should be made as to whether use of the contrast is really required, and where it is not, or a safer contrast agent could be used, that route should be taken. Where gadolinium use is required, the lowest possible dose should be employed, and certain types of gadolinium which have a better safety profile for patients with kidney disease should be used. Finally, post-procedure dialysis to speed to the removal of the contrast agent has also been recommended.

41 sickened at Virginia bank

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST

Earlier this week, 41 workers from a Virginia bank were sickened by carbon monoxide poisoning. The fumes came from a generator that was in use following a power outage, and entered the building through the ventilation system. Several had to be hospatlized for treatment of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Because this was an occupational exposure of carbon monoxide, the workers made ill in this incident would have an Illinois worker's compensation case if the case had occurred here. This would entitle the injured workers to three basic Illinois worker's compensation benefits: (1) payment of their medical expenses, (2) two-thirds of their average weekly wage, known as temporary total disability benefits (known as TTD), and (3) a lump sum settlement for any permanency associated with the expsoure.

Carbon monoxide hazard leads to recall of Bosch boilers

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST

Bosch Thermotechnology Corp. has announced the recall of its Buderus GB312 gas fired, floor-standing condensing boilers. The basis for the product recall is that a defect in the ignition can result in damage to the venting for the boiler, creating a risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.

One of the common causes of carbon monoxide poisoning is defective gas powered equipment. Many times the problem with the equipment is poor maintenance or repair work, but this recall is a reminder that defects in the design or manufacture of the gas boiler. Carbon monoixide poisoning can cause long term cognitive defects in its victims.

$1.5 million settlement in Connecticut carbon monoxide poisoning case

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST

I saw a piece in the news recently about a carbon monoxide poisoning suit In Connecticut which was settled for $1.5 million. The injured party in that case suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning when fumes from cement trucks and equipment pouring concrete outside her workplace seeped in through the office ventilation system.

One of the things that was notable about the story was how the defense attempted to discredit the plaintiff by claiming that her problems were due to family issues, mental illness, and drug abuse.

The teaching point from that story is not that if you are injured due to carbon monoxide poisoning, you will get a million dollars. The teaching point is that you should expect that the insurance companies will use any means necessary to discredit your injury claims and that you better have all of your medical proof ready to go.

One of the difficult thing about carbon monoxide injuries is that they are not as easily detected or as visible as a broken ankle, which gives defense lawyers room to sow seeds of doubt with the jury. This is the reason that you should hire an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer if you are injured as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Motorcycle rider killed in crash with dog

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST

A motorcycle rider in Iowa was killed last week when a dog ran out in the road in front of him. He hit the dog, lost control of his bike, and was thrown from the bike. He suffered fatal injuries as a result.

Does the owner of the dog have any liability to the estate of the deceased rider, or does the estate have some liability to the dog owner? It is an unfortunate situation either way, but the law in Illinois provides a clear cut answer.

The dog owner is liable for this wrongful death motorcycle accident. There are a couple of reasons for this:

There is a statute in Illinois called the Domestic Animals Running at Large Act, which places liability on the owners of animals that get out of an enclosure (i.e., a yard) and cause injury while running at large; and
The Illinois Motor Vehicle Code does not place any responsibility on the motorcycle rider to stop to avoid the dog.

As an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer, I have handled two cases with similar facts. One was a case very much like this, except the rider was not killed in the motorcycle crash. In the other the dog jumped out an open window and attacked the rider as he went down the street. That one also did not result in fatal injuries, but the rider was seriously injured.

In both cases, they key to the injured rider's recovering any compensation was the existence of homeiowner's insurance which covered the dog's owner for the actions of the dog, just like with a dog bite suit.

Tractor trailer strikes bucket truck

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST

A New Bedford, MA worker is recovering from serious injuries sustained when he was catapaulted from the elevated bucket of a bucket truck. The bucket was raised to an elevation of about 30 feet and was supporting a worker who was painting traffic signal lights. He was injured when a tractor trailer struck the support arm after the truck driver failed to notice the support arm for the bucket truck or the worker being raised in the bucket.

This truck accident actually results in two kinds of cases: the first is a worker's compensation claim on behalf of the injured worker, and the second, a third party liability suit against the truck driver. The relationship between the worker's compensation case and the third party suit can be very complex, so we always recommend that anyone who is injured in a work-related accident like this hire an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer to reporesent their interests.

Multiple injuries in Boston commuter train accident

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST

Last week in Boston, several commuters were injured when their commuter train hit a stopping bumper at about 5 miles per hour, causing several commuters to fall and be injured. The results of the preliminary investigation is that the accident was caused by the engineer misjudging his stopping distance to the bumper, resulting in the commuter train accident.

Operators of commuter trains, such as Metra or the CTA in Chicago, are considered common carriers with regard to their passengers. This means that they must exercise the highest degree of care for the safety of their passengers. Operator errors such as this will normally result in a finding of liability against the railroad.

Teen dies days after car accident

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST

A teen from Chillicothe died last week at OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria, approximately a week after a single vehicle accident that happened when a car left the roadway and struck a utility pole. The car crash also resulted in the death of one other passengers and injuries to the driver and another passengers. The accident was serious enough that all of the vehicle occupants that survived the accident were life-flighted from the scene.

As an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer, there are a few points to make about this Illinois car accident:

1. When you are a passenger in a single vehicle car accident in Illinois, you can make a claim against the driver of the car. This is not true in every state.

2. The fact that the one teen lived for a week before passing away from injuries from the accident emphasizes the differences between the wrongful death and survival aspects of a wrongful death suit. The family of this young man can seek compensation for everything that he experienced prior to his passing as part of the survival aspect of the case. Further, they can seek damages for their own losses resulting from his passing as part of the wrongful death aspect of the case.

3. Accidents such as this where there are multiple victims demonstrate the need for underinsured motorist coverage. There were three passengers in the vehicle: two died and the other suffered serious injuries. There is a strong chance that there will not be sufficient automobile liability insurance coverage to fairly compensate all of the victims from this accident. Underinsured motorist coverage will allow the family of this young man to obtain the maximum compensation possible, not that it will ever really be enough.

Crash with tractor claims life of motorcyclist

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST

Last Thursday, a Cass County motorcycle accident claimed the life of a Chandlerville man. The accident happened on the Oakford-Chandlerville Road. A farmer was cutting grass along the side of the road with a tractyor pulling a Bush Hog. He turned into the road to make a U-turn, and in doing so, he turned right in front of the motorcyclist. The motorcyclist tried to stop but could not, resulting in the wrongful death accident.

Vehciles like tractors mustr follow the rules of the road while operating on public highways. This includes checking for oncoming traffic while merging onto the roadway. This is yet another fatal motorcycle accident occurring due to a failure to yield the right of way to a motorcycle. This rider had little chance to avoid the collision when the slow moving tractor pulling the Bush Hog behind it.

One thing that makes motorcycle crashes like this so challenging to present to a jury is that they do not have the experience of how quickly motorcycles close on vehicles that fail to yield the right of way to them. This is one reason to hire an experienced Illinois motorcycle accident lawyer.

Average dog bite claim costs insurers over $24,000

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST

I saw a piece in the news recently which stated that according to the Insurance Information Institute, for the 2008 calendar, costs for dog bite claims were up 8% over the previous year, totaling $387 million, with an average of $24,461 per claim.

One factor that they attributed the increase in claim costs to was the rapid rise of medical costs. This does not seem accurate to me as an experienced Chicago dog bite lawyer. In almost every dog bite case I have handled, the medical expenses were usually fairly low -- most often consisting of a trip to the emergency room and a few follow up appointments. Plastic surgery for scar revision is normally done in a plastic surgeon's office, so even for the clients who have had that happen, the medical expenses have not been as large as is normally the case in many of my other cases.

For my clients, the true cost of the claim is disfigurement resulting from the scarring from the dog bite. We usually advise clients to take serial photos while the bite is healing to document the truly slow progression of the healing from the dog bites. Also, we do not even consider settling a case until the healing is complete -- a process that takes 6 months to a year.

When you wait the true amount of time it takes for healing to be complete, you are left with the true result of the dog bite -- often scars that last a lifetime. Many people settle dog bite claims early on, before the healing is complete, with a notion that they will eventually look the same as they did the day before the were attacked by the dog. This almost never happens.

In truth, that average settlement number should be much higher. I suspect it isn't because people accept cheap and early settlements from insurers too often.

Pedestrian hit and killed by CTA bus

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST

A Chicago man was killed last night when he was hit by a No. 14 Jeffrey CTA bus on the 2000 block of East 95th Street. The early news reports indicate that the bus was pulling away from a bus shelter when it struck and killed the man. The bus driver claims that he was neither boarding or getting off the bus. The Chicago Police Department Major Accident Investigation unit was still investigating.

There are a number of points that people should be aware of when a serious CTA bus accident occurs like this:

1. Many CTA buses are equipped with a fairly elaborate video security system, and when a serious accident like this occurs, the recordings are preserved as a matter of course by the CTA claims department. One thing that an experienced CTA bus accident lawyer will do is issue a letter to the CTA requesting that they preserve the security videotape. That way, if the tape is later destroyed, the CTA nay be subject to court sanctions for the destruction of evidence.

2. The issue of whether he was getting on or off the bus is an important issue in this case. Operators of buses such as the CTA are considered common carriers with regard to their passengers, and the law imposes a responsibility on them to exercise the highest degree of care for the safety of their passengers. This duty goes from the time that they start boarding the bus until they reach a place of safety after getting off the bus. Anytime the accident happens right around the bus (especially while the passenger is getting off the bus), the issue of whether the CTA still has the same obligations to the passenger as a common carrier can be crucial in determining the liability of the CTA.

3. Regardless of whether the CTA is still considered a common carrier of the person who was hit by the bus, the CTA still owes a duty of ordinary care to behave safely toward the man who was hit, just as you would have a responsibility to not hit a pedestrian with your car. To support a claim that the bus driver was negligent, one thing that would have to be considered is evidence of the CTA's own internal rules and regulations, which includes steps that the bus driver must take to prevent accidents with pedestrians or other vehicles.

This unfortunate accident was one which probably could have been prevented through ordinary safety precautions. You can be sure that the CTA has done a thorough investigation of this accident, and gathered any evidence that will be favorable to them. We recommend that anyone who is involved in this kind of accident hire experienced Chicago personal injury lawyers as soon as possible.

Sandoval rear-end accident injures woman

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST

A Salem woman is recovering from injuries sustained in a rear-end car accident in Sandoval. The accident victim was stopped at a stop sign when she was hit from behind. The other driver was ticketed and charged with failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident.

Many people who contact our office about a possible Illinois car accident suit believe that since the other driver got the ticket, that means that the other driver is automatically at fault for the accident. That is not quite right.

First, the fact that someone got a ticket is considered to be only some evidence of negligence, or fault, for the accident. It is compelling evidence, and to be sure, that is the case ever ended up in front of a judge and jury, the jury would likely give great weight to the issue of who got the ticket, but that does not dispose of the issue.

Second, the fact that someone got a ticket for a car accident does not come into evidence unless the person who received the ticket pleaded guilty to the charges in traffic court. This is true even if there is a full hearing in traffic court and the party receiving the ticket is found guilty of the charges. The theory is that the guilty plea is an admission to the charges contained in the ticket.

As an experienced Chicago car accident lawyer, the advice I give to clients who have been in a car accident where traffic tickets were issued is this:

If the other driver got the ticket, you should be careful to go to traffic court. If you do not go, the chances of the ticket being dismissed are much higher. If you go, there is a reasonable chance that the other driver will plead guilty, which will make the ticket admissible in evidence in a later civil suit for injuries from the car accident.
If you were ticketed, you should go to traffic court and plead not guilty to the charges in the ticket. This will insure that the ticket will not be used against you in a later civil trial. I also recommend that they do not testify at the criminal trial, as that testimony will be recorded by a court reporter, and that testimony could be used against you like any other form of sworn testimony.

Patient dies from operating room fire

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST

An Illinois woman died recently after suffering burns while undergoing surgery at Heartland Regional Medical Center in Marion. After the operating room fire occurred, she was transferred to Vanderbilt Medical Center where she died six days later.

Operating room fires are a rare but preventable occurrence, usually associated with the use of 100% supplemental oxygen around cauterizing devices and surgical draping.

The National Quality Forum has created a list of 28 "Never Events" which are not supposed to occur in a hospital environment. One of these is a patient death or disability associated with a burn from any source. This includes operating room fires.

An operating room fire can serve as the basis of a meritorious Illinois medical malpractice suit. However, anyone considering a medical malpractice case should be aware that these cases are always hotly contested by hospitals, doctors, and other health care providers, and in the event that you are considering such a case, you should consult with an experienced Chicago medical malpractice lawyer.

$7 million settlement for motorcycle accident

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST

A Seattle area sheriff's deputy received a settlement in excess of $7 million for injuries he sustained in a motorcycle crash with a drunk driver. He suffered injuries to his right leg which resulted in amputation, head injuries, internal injuries, and other fractures.

The accident happened when he was riding motorcycle and was hit by a drink driver who was pulling out of the parking lot of a tavern. The drunk driver was a roofer from Arizona who was driving a company vehicle despite having a blood alcohol content of .31, well in excess of the legal limit in Washington.

Besides the amount of the settlement, this case is notable for how the settlement was funded. Several insurance companies were involved in paying the settlement. There was $6 million paid by the insurance company for the roofing company that owned the truck, $1 million by their liability insurance and an additional $5 million from an excess insurer, $1 million from the insurer of the dram shop, $100,000 from underinsured motorist coverage from the deputy's own policy, and $25,000 from the automobile liability insurer of the drunk driver.

This case underlines the importance of hiring experienced personal injury lawyers when you are involved in an accident with catastrophic injuries or wrongful death. One thing that we do for clients who are involved in serious accidents such as this is identify all of the insurance coverage and all of the potentially liable parties so as to ensure that our clients come as close as possible to being fairly compensated for their injuries, even those who suffer injuries as terrible as the ones suffered by the sheriff's deputy in this case.

Neighbors injured by carbon monoxide poisoning

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST

Four neighbors in a North Carolina town home complex were taken to the hospital earlier this week suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning. Authorities determined that the one of the neighbors left his truck running by accident, and fumes from the engine were the source of the carbon monoxide.

Gas combustion engines such as those found in cars and trucks are a prime source of carbon monoxide. When your car or truck is not in use, the engine should be turned off, especially if it is in an enclosed space such as a garage. Many people are well aware that if they stay in the garage with the car running, they can kill themselves.

However, many people are unaware that the carbon monoxide can spread from the garage and into the house, as was apparently the case with this accident, and was the case with this carbon monoxide poisoning death case from Florida earlier this year.

Nokomis farmer run over by own tractor

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST

A farmer from Nokomis remains hospitalized in St. John's Hospital in Springfield after suffering multiple fractures when he was run over by his own tractor. The man was adjusting the hydraulics on the harrow he was pulling when the tractor began to move forward passing over his body from his lower left to his upper right, sparing his head. He will have to undergo multiple surgeries for his injuries.

This was an accident which could have been easily prevented with the use of a dead man's switch. A dead man's switch is a switch that is incorporated into the seat of a tractor which keeps the motor from being put into gear when there is no one in the driver's seat. The pressure from the weight of the rider activates the switch which allows the tractor to be out into gear. The failure to include a dead man's switch is a type of design defect in the tractor which is a basis for a suit against the product manufacturer.

As experienced Chicago personal injury lawyers, we would strongly recommend to the family of this man that they hire experienced counsel to represent them and to take all necessary steps to preserve the product in the same condition it was in at the time of the accident so as to allow engineers and other experts to properly inspect and evaluate the condition of the tractor at the time of the accident.

Operator sentenced in trackhoe death case

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST

A Florida construction worker was sentenced to 6 years in jail for his role in a wrongful death accident on a road construction project. The laborer, who was not a certified heavy equipment operator, was told to move a track hoe by a supervisor. As he attempted to move the equipment out of the work zone, the bucket of the track hoe clipped a passing vehicle, causing a rollover accident which left the driver dead.

Heavy equipment mishaps are responsible for a large number of construction accidents each year. It is absolutely critical that those who are placed behind the controls of that kind of machinery be well-trained in its safe operation. Further, the equipment must be properly maintained and equipped with necessary safety devices. Spotters must be employed where tight working conditions warrant them, especially in light of the potential for this machines to cause serious injury or death.

This accident was a result of having an improperly trained operator behind the controls of the track hoe and failing to use a spotter when the track hoe was being moved into the roadway. The operator is doing jail time, but the responsibility for this accident rests on the construction company which set him up to fail. Hopefully, the family of the driver killed in this accident hired an experienced construction accident lawyer to assist them with this case to ensure that the construction company bears some accountability for what occurred here.

Wrongful death motorcycle accident on Northwest Side

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST

A Chicago man is dead after a motorcycle crash at the intersection of Grand and Monticello on Chicago's northwest side. The wrongful death motorcycle accident happened when driver of the car involved in the accident failed to yield the right of way and made a left hand turn in front of the motorcycle. According to the news story, no citations were issued to the at-fault driver.

This is another in a string of blog posts I have written about serious or fatal motorcycle accidents that have happened due to the failure of a car driver to see a motorcycle and yield the right of way. This is a long standing problem for the motorcycling community, and one that has no doubt grown worse with the increased incidence of distracted driving.

It is worth noting that no citations were issued to the car driver. While evidence of traffic tickets are normally not admissible at trial to show that a driver was at fault unless there was a guilty plea in traffic court, insurance companies do consider the matter of whether a citation was issued and to whom in making their own assessments of liability in making settlement evaluations. Given that there were no citations, this could be a case where the insurance company for the other driver would deny liability due to the failure of the investigating officers to issue citations. Based on this, we would strongly recommend hiring an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer.

CTA bus crash on South Side

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST

Chicago Fire Department personnel were called to the scene of a CTA bus crash this morning on the 2500 block of South Ashland. Early news reports indicated that the bus hit a light pole.

The CTA is considered a common carrier under the law. This means that it owes the highest degree of care for the safety of its passengers. Failing to exercise the highest degree of care is negligence and a fair basis for proceeding with a bus accident lawsuit against the CTA. Almost any accident which resulted in the bus leaving the roadway and hitting a light pole would indicate that the CTA failed to exercise that high standard of care for the safety of its passengers.

As experienced Chicago personal injury lawyers, we have handled many cases involving claims and lawsuits against the CTA and stand ready to help any of the victims of this morning's bus accident.

Schaumburg couple killed in Palatine motorcycle crash

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST

This summer kicked off with a deadly Memorial Day weekend where there were multiple fatal motorcycle accidents. Unfortunately, this Labor Day marked the end of the summer with another wrongful death motorcycle accident which sadly sounded much like many of the other fatal motorcycle accidents I have written about over the course of the summer where car drivers have failed to see motorcycles and yield the right of way.

This accident claimed the life of a Schaumburg couple. They were riding west near the intersection of West Dundee and North Quentin in Palatine when a car pulled out of a parking lot and struck the motorcycle. The husband and wife were taken to Lutheran General Hospital where they were declared dead.

The failure of car drivers to see and yield the right of way to motorcycle riders has been a long-recognized phenomenon, first documented in the Hurt Report. The failure of car drivers to see motorcyclists can only be worse now with the increased use of cell phones, text messaging, and other forms of distractions for drivers.

Hopefully, a public awareness campaign will be undertaken by public authorities next year so that next riding season will not be deadly for Illinois motorcycle riders.

Joliet Terrace nursing home fined for resident fall, death

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST

The Joliet Terrace Nursing Home in Joliet, Illinois was fined $30,000 by the Illinois Department of Public Health after a resident suffered a subdural hematoma which resulted in his wrongful death.

The man had been recently admitted to the facility and was assessed as a fall risk. The facility developed a fall prevention care plan for him. However, despite the fall prevention plan, he experienced three falls in the nursing home in less than 2 months. The facility did not adjust his fall prevention care plan.

He then had a fourth fall and began to develop neurologic symptoms which were signs of a brain bleed, or subdural hematoma. The staff did not not promptly recognize these symptoms, and by the time he was transferred to the hospital, it was too late for him to be treated effectively, and he died as a result of the subdural hematoma.

There were two basic areas where the nursing home fell short in caring for this resident: (1) failing to adjust the fall prevention care plan and (2) failing to monitor his condition after the fall.

When someone is admitted to a nursing home, one of the first things that must be done is to develop a care plan for the resident. The care plan is based on the assessment of the resident's condition. One thing that is always assessed when someone is admitted to a nursing home is their fall risk. Falls are a common reason that senior citizens are admitted to a nursing home, and for seniors, injuries from falls are a leading cause of death and major disability.

Once a care plan is developed, it must be implemented, and if it proves ineffective for preventing further falls, it must be adjusted. The major failure of the nursing home in this case was the failure to adjust the care plan. There were other steps which could have been taken to prevent additional falls for this man, and the failure of the nursing home to change his care plan to include those additional measures was a likely cause of his fall. Too often, nursing homes simply rely on the regularly scheduled quarterly care plan meetings and canned care plans to meet the needs of residents who have issues which need prompt, thoughtful attention. Failing to adjust care plans to meet resident needs is a legitimate basis for a nursing home abuse and neglect suit.

The other area where this nursing home failed the resident was in assessing him after the fall. Most nursing homes put residents on a 72 hour fall watch after an accident such as this where the resident must be checked regularly by a nurse for changes in condition. When a resident demonstrates a change in condition, the nurse on duty must notify the doctor so that the doctor can issue new treatment orders or have the resident sent to a nursing home.

The nursing home staff in this case failed to recognize changes in condition and promptly notify the doctor, resulting in the resident's death. This is a separate legitimate basis for a nursing home abuse and neglect suit.

The flaws that IDPH identified when it issued this citation is one which we as experienced Chicago nursing home lawyers look for in every case we handle. Failures in care planning, implementing care plans, adjusting care plans, and notifying doctors of changes in condition are frequent sources of nursing home abuse and neglect lawsuits.

Update on homeowner's insurance coverage for dog owners

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST

I have written previously in my blog about the fact that some insurance companies will not write homeowner's coverage for for you if you own a dog of a certain breed or will exclude dog bites done by that breed of dog from coverage. The reason that some insurance companies will exclude dog breeds from homeowner's coverage is that these breeds tend to have a higher incidence of biting and a higher average payout per settlement. Not surprisingly, pit bulls, rottweilers, and other large dogs are on this list.

I saw a recent update on this practice in the news the other day, and thought it appropriate to remind readers of this blog that this occurs. For dog owners, understanding whether your dog is covered or not is crucial because your homeowner's insurance is what will cover you in the event that there is a dog bite attack by your dog.

If you have any uncertainty as to whether you and your dog are covered, you should discuss the matter with your agent.

Distracted driving truck accident yields $18 million verdict

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST

In a St. Louis federal court, an $18 million verdict was returned against a trucking company and its driver for a truck accident which occurred when the driver reached for his cell phone while coming up on a line of cars which were stopped in traffic. The crash resulted in injuries to the victim which left him completely unable to walk or talk and in need of constant care in a nursing home.

Distracted driving, in particular cell phone usage, is a cause of a large (and ever increasing) number of serious motor vehicle accidents. Many studies have established that cell phone usage has nearly the same deleterious effects on driving abilities as being intoxicated.

Federal regulations impose many requirements which are intended to improve the safe driving performance of truck drivers. This is necessary in light of the great weight and power of tractor trailers. Despite the well-known adverse effects of cell phone usage on safe driving many trucking companies not only permit drivers to use them while behind the wheel, but require drivers to have them to communicate with the dispatch.

These practices need rethinking in light of accidents such as this.

FRA report attributes train crash to human error

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST

The FRA recently released its report into the causes of a train crash accident last December. The train crash happened in Minnesota and resulted in the derailment of 26 cars. Additionally, one locomotive went off a bridge and into the Mississippi River.

The report concludes that the accident was due to one Canadian Pacific train disregarding signals, and as a result crashing into another, larger Canadian Pacific train. A train conductor and an engineer had to be hospitalized with injuries.

The failure of the train crew to heed signals can be the basis of a FELA suit against Canadian Pacific. FELA makes railroads liable for injuries suffered by its employees due the failure to provide a safe place to work for their employees, including the unsafe acts of co-workers. The FRA report shows that unsafe acts by fellow railroaders would the basis of the FELA claims for the men injured in this train crash accident.

Neighbors say that pit bull attack on 9 year old girl could have been prevented

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST

In Texas, neighbors are angry at local animal control authorities in Killeen after a 9 year girl was the victim of a pit bull attack. They claim that they had called multiple times about two pit bulls which had been menacing people from the neighborhood even though they were tied up in a fenced yard. For their part authorities claim that they were out to the home three times and did not see evidence that the dogs were vicious. The attack happened when one of the pit bulls got loose and out of the yard and severely injured the girl by biting her.

Chicago has a notably strict dangerous dog ordinance. It has several definitions of what a dangerous dog is. One them includes a dog that on more than one occasion without provocation menaces a person outside of the owners property or on the public way. That would include barking aggressively, lunging, growling, and leaping at people on the sidewalk.

Once a dog is declared dangerous by animal control, the owners must comply with a number of requirements, including neutering the dog (which tends to reduce aggressiveness), buying liability insurance, muzzling and leashing the dog off property, dog training classes, and building a pen for the dog on the property.

If you have concerns about a dog in the neighborhood that you think would be a hazard to children or senior citizens in the neighborhood, you should contact Animal Control to see whether the dog should be declared dangerous or not.

CDC releases statistics regarding causes of unintentional injury

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST

The Centers for Disease Control released the results of its study of the most common causes of emergency room treatment in hospitals for the 2007 calendar year. For all age groups except one, the leading cause of emergency room treatment was slip and fall accidents. In the one age group (ages 15-24) where it was not the leading cause, it was second.

It was a little surprising to see that fall accidents were more common that car crashes as a cause of hospital treatment, but it does serve as proof that many people suffer serious injuries as a result of falls.

Worker injured by reversing skid loader

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST

Last week in Nebraska, a worker on a construction site was injured when a skid loader backed over him, causing him to suffer two broken legs. The injured worker was on a road construction project. The skid loader had just dropped a load of dirt and the injured worker got behind it to check grade when the operator of the skid loader put the machine into reverse and backed over the injured worker. The reverse alarm on the skid loader was not operational.

Obviously, the worker in this construction accident is entitled to worker's compensation benefits. Worker's compensation benefits in Illinois include three basic benefits: (1) two-thirds of your average weekly wage while you are off, known as TTD, (2) payment of your medical expenses, and (3) a lump sum for permanency associated with the injury.

Additionally, as an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer, I would start to ask the following questions to determine whether this man could pursue a third party liability lawsuit as well:

Were the injured worker and the operator of the skid loader co-workers? If they were, the exclusive remedy would bar the injured worker from suing the employer of the operator. If not, the injured worker would be able to file a third party liability construction accident suit against the employer of the operator?
Was the skid loader ever equipped with an operating reverse alarm? If not, there may be a basis for a third party liability suit against the product manufacturer.
Who owned the skid loader? If it was leased and there no operating reverse alarm, there may be a basis for a third party negligence suit against the leasing company.

The worker hurt in this construction accident suffered serious injuries, and while worker's compensation benefits are clearly available to him, compensation commensurate with his injuries will only be had through a third party liability suit.

Motorcyclist dies after crash

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST

A Colorado Springs motorcyclist died last Friday after being in a motorcycle crash on Wednesday. The accident happened when a car made a turn right in front of him.

This accident is one which draws out an important aspect of Illinois wrongful death suits. When someone dies as a result of an accident, there are actually two components of the wrongful death case: the wrongful death action and the survival action.

The wrongful death action is intended to compensate the deceased next of kin for their losses resulting from the death. There are three main categories to this: the loss of the family relationship, the loss of economic support, and grief.

The survival action is intended to compensate the estate of the deceased for injuries sustained prior to death. Medical expenses, lost wages, and conscious pain and suffering are the main components of the survival action.

As experienced Chicago personal injury lawyers, one thing that we would do to help establish the damages in the survival action is to locate witnesses who could testify to what happened in the aftermath of the accident. This may include interviewing responding emergency personnel and locating other people who came to the scene after the accident. We also review the medical records closely to see what evidence of pain and suffering is being documented in the hospital chart. During depositions, we always try to elicit testimony on this subject from the defendant.

It's sometimes really morbid work, but it is important if we are going to make sure that the family of our deceased client is going to be properly compensated for their losses.

Passing dump truck hits motorcycle

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST

Last week in Ohio, a motorcycle was hit by a dump truck. The motorcycle had slowed to make a left turn, and instead of slowing for them to complete the turn, the dump truck tried passing them on the left, hitting them as they began their turn. The driver of the motorcycle was hospitalized and the passenger of the motorcycle was killed in the wreck.

This fatal motorcycle accident underlines the need for car and truck drivers to be careful when changing lanes around motorcycles. Obviously, passing on the left is normally considered preferable to passing on the right, but the driver of this dump truck clearly did not recognize that these people were going to make a left hand turn, and tried to pass them by pulling into the path of their turn.

This wrongful death accident could have been easily avoided by simply slowing and verifying what the driver of the motorcycle was doing instead of attempting to pass them as quickly as possible. Motorcycle riders have as much right to a lane as other vehicles. Unfortunately, these rights are not always respected.

Man falls from Rogers Park porch after railing gives way

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST

A man was injured in a fall from a porch to an apartment building on the 7300 block of North Winchester yesterday evening. The fall happened when the railing to the porch gave way and the man fell to the ground from the second story porch. He was taken to St. Francis Hospital in Evanston in critical condition with head injuries.

I wrote earlier this summer about the City's failure to inspect porches for code violations. This was the subject of a series of articles in the Chicago Tribune.

Even though there was likely no citation written in advance of this accident, the property owner had a legal obligation to maintain the porch in a safe condition, including complying with all applicable City building codes. This means that the responsibility for this fell to the landlord (if this was a rental apartment building) or the condominium association (if this was a condo building).

You can be certain that there will be City inspectors out in short order doing inspections that should have been done a long time ago and that there will be work done to repair the porch. As experienced Chicago personal injury lawyers, we would strongly recommend that (1) photos be taken to document the condition of the porch, as evidence of repairs done after the accident may not be admissible at the trial of this case and (2) that experienced investigators contact current and former residents of the building to obtain witness statements to help establish the landlord's notice of the defective condition of the porch.

Nursing home fined for failing to alert doctor to change in resident's condition

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST

A California nursing home was fined $100,000 by state authorities after a resident died when the nursing staff failed to alert the resident's doctor about changes in the resident's condition after she was given an increased dose of an anticoagulant, or blood-thinner, medication. One of the risks of giving that kind of medication is that the patient will have internal bleeding in the brain.

Once the woman started taking the medication, she began to behave differently, complain of headaches, and slur her words. The doctor, unaware of the changes, increased the dosage of the medication, resulting in more severe bleeding which caused her death. The resident's death certificate indicates that the cause of death was bleeding due to inappropriate medication usage. The inappropriate medication can be the basis of a wrongful death suit.

Many people are surprised to find out how seldom doctors are actually at the nursing home, and almost every nurse I have ever taken the deposition of in a nursing home suit will agree that one of their functions is to serve as the eyes and ears of a doctor because the doctor is frequently not in the facility. Part of their job is to report changes in the resident's condition to the doctor so the doctor can issue a new order, come in and see the resident, or send the resident to the hospital.

In many of the nursing home abuse and neglect cases we have handled we have found that there were long standing declines in the resident's condition that the doctor was not notified about until there was a crisis. Part of what we do as experienced Chicago nursing home lawyers is to thoroughly review the chart to determine whether there was an earlier change in condition which required physician notification. Failing to notify the doctor of a change in condition is a form of neglect and can be the basis of nursing home lawsuit.

Motorcyclists from Illinois in accident in New York

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST

A motorcycle rider from Lockport was injured and his passenger was killed in a motorcycle accident occurring in Johnson City, NY. The accident happened when the driver of the motorcycle swerved to avoid a trash can that had fallen off the back of a pick up truck. In making his evasive maneuver, he ended up in the other lanes of traffic where they were hit by a tractor trailer. Police are looking for the pick up truck still.

One thing that makes motorcycle riders a bit different from most is that they often travel by road great distances from home. That brings them into other states and other areas of the state where they may not know an experienced motorcycle accident lawyer. One service that we offer to victims of motorcycle accidents from Illinois who are injured elsewhere is a referral to well-qualified motorcycle accident lawyers near the area where the accident happened.

Local lawyers are more likely to know quality investigators, accident reconstructionists, and possibly some of the law enforcement personnel who may have investigated the accident. Finding a good personal injury lawyer may be a hard task under the best of circumstances, made much worse by doing so at a distance while recovering from serious injuries from a motorcycle accident.

When we work with lawyers from another state, there is no additional fee for the services we provide. Please contact us if we can be of service in locating a lawyer for you in another state.

Group of junior high cheerleaders injured by hit and run motorist

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST

Last week outside of Pittsburgh, a group of 4 junior high cheerleaders were walking from the library to a game when they were struck by a car while crossing the crosswalk. The driver did not stop in this hit and run accident.

We have covered several times that the law is that hit and run accidents are uninsured motorist claims in Illinois. We have also covered the fact that you can still make an uninsured motorist claim on your own insurance policy even if you are injured as a pedestrian in a hit and run accident.

This accident underlines the importance of maintaining uninsured motorist coverage on your car insurance policy as a means of protecting your family. There were four girls all injured in the same accident. If the family of one of the girls did carried liability insurance only on her vehicle, then she would not be able to get any compensation for her injuries.

Similarly, if the amount of coverage was inadequate, you can end up with the skewed result that a girl who was less seriously injured than one of the other girls ended up getting a higher settlement for her injuries than a girl whose family carried uninsured motorist coverage, but at low limits.

The bottom line is this: uninsured motorist coverage protects your own family. With ever increasing numbers of drivers on the road going without adequate insurance coverage when they buy any at all, this is an ever more important coverage for you to have.

Motorcyclists hit by 15 year old driver

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST

On Saturday in Carterville, a group of three motorcyclists were hit from behind while they were stopped at stop light at Route 13. The driver of the car that hit them was a 15 year old girl. Two of the motorcycle riders were seriously injured, including one who had to be air-lifted by helicopter to St. Louis.

Obviously, the young girl who was driving the car was at fault for the accident. She was in fact ticketed. She did have a 42 year old woman in the car with her, presumably her mother or someone else who was out helping her learn how to drive. Unfortunately, she learned a lesson about slowing to avoid a rear-end accident which she will probably never forget.

One issue that will come up following this accident is whether there will be any insurance coverage available to compensate the victims of this accident. The answer to that question should be yes. Odds are pretty good that the girl was not named on the insurance policy for the car -- she was not old enough to have a license yet, so even if that was a car owned by her parents, they probably would not have added her to the policy yet.

So how is there insurance coverage for her? Illinois follows what is known as the permitted driver rule. If you are a driver who is permitted to use the vehicle by a named insured, then you are covered by the insurance policy that covers the car. For example, if I loan you my car and you hit a pedestrian, you would be covered by my insurance policy -- you had been permitted by me to use my car, so my insurance covers the accident.

Assuming that the older woman in the car with her was someone who was showing her how to drive, there will likely be insurance coverage available. Given the number of people hurt and the severity of the injuries of at least one person, there may be issues raised involving Illinois underinsured motorist claims, as this is exactly the kind of multiple-victim car accident where underinsured motorist coverage is most useful.

Rantoul senior suffers broken hip after being knocked down by dog

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST

A Rantoul woman is recovering after suffering a fractured hip after being knocked over during an attack by a pit bull. The dog has been taken by authorities, and although the dog lived in the woman's neighborhood, no one is claiming ownership of the dog.

One strange feature of Illinois' "dog bite statute" is that it does not require that the dog actually bite the victim for the victim to recover compensation for his or her injuries. The "dog bite statute" is formally known as the Animal Control Act, and all the it requires is that the victim be injured in an "attack" by the animal (which does not even have to be a dog) which can include jumping up on someone and knocking them to the ground. Our office has successfully prosecuted a number of cases like that.

Dog bite case settled

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST

A settlement in a dog bite attack lawsuit in Michigan was settled recently for the sum of $115,000. The settlement was reached on behalf of a girl who was attacked by a neighbor's dog in 2006. The dog bit the girl several times, causing numerous puncture wounds.

As an experienced Chicago dog bite lawyer, there are a few points I would like to make about this news story:

The case was settled last week even though it took place in 2006. Cases can take that long to resolve, even when the liability for the dog bite is clear. At a minimum, I advise my clients to not even think about trying to settle a case until the dog bite would has healed substantially which may take a year or more. Until the healing is largely complete, we do not know what kind of residual scarring the dog bite victim will have, and the permanent disfigurement resulting from the dog bite is an important issue when trying to arrive at a fair settlement figure.
The settlement in this case was paid by the homeowner's insurance for the owner of the dog. Once a claim is turned over the insurance company, they get to make all of the decisions about whether a settlement offer will be made, and if so, for how much.

Motorcycle rider lays bike down

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST

A motorcycle rider in South Carolina was killed over the weekend when a car made a left hand turn in front of the motorcyclist. The rider had just pulled away from a traffic light when he saw the car turning in front of him. He laid the bike down, but skidded into the car and suffered fatal injuries.

Besides this being yet another in a string of fatal motorcycle accidents due to the failure of cars to yield the right of way to a motorcycle, the facts of this case demonstrate an important point regarding the prosecution of a case involving a motorcycle accident due to the failure of a car to yield the right of way.

The motorcyclist in this case laid the bike down -- this is exactly what many riders have been trained to do in the event that there is a car that cuts in front of them. To a jury of lay people who have never ridden, it looks like he was out of control -- "Look! The bike went skidding down the road!" -- not that he was desperately trying to avoid an otherwise unavoidable collision.

When this man's family files a wrongful death suit, putting the case in the hands of an experienced motorcycle accident lawyer can make all the difference in getting a jury to understand what happened with this motorcycle crash and why the rider was not to blame for this accident.

Name game leads to reversal of large jury verdict against nursing home

Sat, 22 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST

An appeals court in New Mexico last week reversed a $53 million nursing home wrongful death jury verdict which had been returned against Manor Care, one of the nation's largest operators of nursing homes. The basis of the nursing home abuse and neglect suit was that the nursing home staff failed to recognize and treat the gastrointestinal bleeding that a resident was suffering from, resulting in the woman bleeding to death.

The decision included approximately $3 million in compensatory damages and $50 million in punitive damages. The law in Illinois does not permit the recovery of punitive damages where the victim is deceased.

The case in New Mexico had been commenced against Manor Care, which was the parent corporation of a subsidiary corporation which operated the nursing home. The basis of the appellate decision in New Mexico was that there was conflicting evidence as to whether the parent corporation controlled the actions of the employees of the subsidiary. The case was returned to the trial court for a new trial.

Nursing home chains are notorious for developing complex business structures which are designed to minimze the exposure of the parent corporation to legal liability for abuse and neglect of nursing home residents. However, many parent corporations still retain extensive control over the day-to-day operations of nursing homes and set up the nursing home at the local level to deliver poor quality care to nursing home residents by providing inadequate resources to get the job done and by instilling a profits over people mindset with regard to the operations of the nursing home.

The moral of the story for anyone considering a nursing home abuse and neglect lawsuit is this: the sooner you get the case into the hands of an experienced Chicago nursing home lawyer, the better. Nursing home cases involve extensive investigation not only of the medical aspects of the case, but the legal ones as well. The more time that the lawyer has to investigate the case before the expiration of the statute of limitations for nursing home cases, the better the outcome is likely to be.

Two infant deaths prompt CPSC to re-announce recall of Simplicity bassinets

Sat, 22 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST

The Consumer Product Safety Commission last week re-announced its recall of the Simplicity bassinets after learning of two additional wrongful deaths of infants and two other episodes where infants were entrapped but freed by parents or caregivers before suffering injury.

The reason for the recall is that there is a defective design of the product in that it has a gap between the rails which is large enough for an infant to slide between and become entrapped, creating a strangulation or suffocation hazard. The photos of a mannequin on the CPSC announcement are chilling and truly show the danger posed by this product.

The manufacturer of this product has gone out of business, and some stores are accepting returns of the models involved in the recall. However, regardless of whether the bassinet can be returned, children should not be left in this bassinet.

Bicyclist injured in hit and run accident

Sat, 22 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST

A Florida boy suffered head injuries last week when he was thrown from his bike when he was struck by a hit-and-run driver. Authorities suspect that based on the physical evidence, the boy was hit by a mirror off a van or pick-up truck.

We have covered in some of our other blog posts that when you are the victim of a hit-and-run accident in Illinois, you can make a claim on your uninsured motorist coverage for your vehicle, even when you are a pedestrian. You can also make an uninsured motorist claim when you are riding a bicycle and are injured by a hit-and-run driver.

The key point to the law in Illinois that everyone should be aware of are: (1) you, and all of the relatives living in your household, are covered by the uninsured motorist coverage on your auto insurance policy -- even when you are not in the car (this is why you can make a claim for injuries sustained while a pedestrian or while riding a bike) and (2) the law in Illinois deems hit-run drivers as uninsured motorists for the purpose of allowing people to make Illinois uninsured motorist claims.

As an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer, one thing that I urge my clients to is to make sure that when they buy or renew their auto insurance coverage, they make sure to buy as much uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage as their carrier will sell them. It is cheap coverage, and directly benefits you and your family in the event of a car accident with an uninsured driver or a driver who does not have adequate insurance coverage for the damage he causes. This is especially important in these tight economic times where more drivers are electing to go without adequate insurance coverage, when they buy insurance at all.

Medication error causes brain damage to infant

Sat, 22 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST

A medical malpractice suit was filed in Florida against a hospital, alleging that a medication error led to the premature birth of a child with resulting brain damage. The child's mother had been admitted to the hospital to be put on bed rest at the 22nd week of her pregnancy. Her doctors ordered medication to prevent the child from being delivered but she was instead given another medication which resulted in her delivering the child while she was seated on a portable toilet.

While I am not familiar with the exact facts of what happened in with this case, as an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer, I suspect that there are two likely causes for this medication error: (1) she was given the wrong medication due to a sound-alike error (i.e., when the order was called into the pharmacy, the pharmacist heard and prepared a different medication from the one ordered) or (2) there was an error in the preparation and delivery of the medication (i.e., they simply took the wrong medication off the shelf).

In a hospital setting there are additional steps beyond those that are taken in the hospital pharmacy to prevent medication errors. When nurses give medications, they are trained to make 5 checks: right patient, right medication, right dose, right route, and right time. This is an additional safeguard against medication errors that was apparently disregarded in this case.

For its part, the hospital has admitted that the error took place and that they have put in additional safeguards to prevent recurrence of this type of error. Unlike most kinds of medical malpractice cases, when there is a medication error, there is usually one or more discrete, identifiable places where the error occurred, and once identified, the possibility of recurrence can be lessened through changes in procedure or retraining.

10 Common Types of Medication Errors

Sat, 22 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST

MSN Health & Fitness ran a piece recently where it listed ten common medication mistakes. The ones that made the list were:

Confusing medications with similar sounding names
Taking two or more drugs which increase the side effects of each
Overdosing by taking two similar medications
Getting medication with the wrong dosage
Drinking alcohol with the medication
Doubling the dose of the medication by taking a generic and name brand medication at the same time
Mixing prescription medications with over the counter or alternative medicines
Not understanding interactions between medication and diet
Failing to adjust medication dosage to account for problems in kidney or liver function
Taking a medication not safe for a person your age

This is a pretty comprehensive list of things that can go wrong with taking prescription medications. Drugs stores and pharmacists are well aware of the causes of medication error, and steps are in place to prevent errors in the preparation of the prescription medication and to screen for other types of errors. However, in many pharmacies, the pharmacist is required to fill more prescriptions than can be safely accomplished, and this opens the door for injuries and death due to medication error.

As an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer, it seems to me that the most common kind of medication errors come from sound-alike medications (#1 above), improper dosage of medication (#4 above), and drug interaction errors (#2, #3, #7, and #8 above).

Left-turning truck hits motorcyclist

Sat, 15 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST

Last week in Connecticut a motorcylist was injured in a truck accident when a tractor-trailer made a left hand in front of the oncoming motorcyclist. Surprisingly, the motorcyclist was not killed, as is so often the case in the wrongful death motorcycle accidents that we have covered in several of our other motorcycle accident blog postings. However, he did suffer several serious injuries including broken bones, which the news story states were not life threatening and that he is expected to recover from.

While it is a good thing that this accident did not end up a fatality like so many others, the news story is probably selling short the long-term impact that this accident will have on this injured motorcyclist. The story states that he was thrown from his bike after being hit by the tractor trailer. It is a pretty safe bet that as in so many other man-meets-pavement accidents, he has some significant fractures.

As experienced Chicago motorcycle accident lawyers, one thing that we are careful to recognize in every case is the long-term effects that any injury is likely to produce:

Is the victim more susceptible to developing arthritis or have ongoing disability from the injury?
Will it require future medical care, such as a joint replacement in the future? What are the medical costs associated with that?
Will this injury have a negative impact for the client's ability to pursue work in his ior her chosen line of work? Will it shorten work life expectancy?

These are imoprtant questions which deserve careful consideration in any Chicago motorcycle accident suit.

Some things you should know about medical care and worker's comp in Illinois

Sat, 15 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST

There are a few things that every worker should know about getting medical care after a work accident in Illinois:

Your employer or their worker's compensation carrier is responsible for payment of all related medical expenses.
It does not matter whether you have health insurance or not. If you do not have health insurance, your bills are paid through worker's compensation insurance, which is a different kind of insurance than worker's compensation insurance. Every employer in the State of Illinois is required to either have insurance or a certificate of self-insurance.
Your health insurance will not cover work-related injuries. "Putting it through health insurance" may make your employer feel better about not having to make a claim on his worker's comp coverage, but every health insurance policy I have seen excludes work injuries from coverage. Health insurers known that your employer has to pay for a work injury, so they exclude it from coverage.
You have a right to see your own doctor and receive care from your own doctor. You have a right to physician choice in Illinois worker's compensation cases up to two times.
Any time you choose a doctor and he refers you to another doctor, that still counts as a single choice.
You cannot be required to receive care at the company clinic or from the company doctor, but you may be required to see the company doctor for an "independent medical examination." Most often, "independent medical examinations" are nothing but a pretext for cutting off worker's compensation benefits. Being sent for an "IME" is a sign of bad things to come, and is one of the times that we suggest that you should be hiring an experienced Chicago worker's compensation lawyer.

Route 53 truck accident

Sat, 15 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST

There was a 4 vehicle chain collision on Route 53 this past Monday near the I-90 overpass. The crash happened when a tractor trailer rear ended an SUV that was stopped for traffic ahead. The impact pushed the SUV into two vehicles ahead, including a pickup truck that rolled over.

Chain collisions involving tractor trailers are usually due to inattentive or distracted driving on the part of the truck driver. Truck drivers have some advantages over other motorists, mainly that they are sitting up higher and should have a better view of traffic conditions ahead. They also have the benefit of knowing road and traffic conditions ahead of them from dispatch and other communications.

When we see an accident such as this where a tractor trailer plows into a line of stopped vehicles, one of the key issues that we look into is the issue of driver fatigue. Multiple studies have shown that fatigue can have the same effect on the ability of a truck driver to operate his vehicle safely as being intoxicated. Due to this, federal regulations restrict the number of hours that a driver can be on duty before having to rest. This information is recorded in a drivers log book which must be preserved for 6 months.

One step that we take early on in an Illinois truck accident suit is to require the trucking company to preserve the drivers log book. As experienced Chicago truck accident lawyers, we know that this is often crucial evidence for why one of these kind of truck accidents occurs.

Hanna City man killed in riding mower roll-over accident

Sat, 15 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST

A Hanna City man was killed on Friday when the zero turn radius riding lawn mower he was using rolled over while he was mowing near a ditch. He was found trapped underneath the mower and is believed to have died from asphyxia and possible internal injuries.

Riding lawn mowers have been the sources of several wrongful death accidents. Because they have a fairly narrow base and have a high center of gravity due to the rider sitting on top of the mower, they are particularly susceptible to rollover accidents. This kind of accident creates a tremendous risk that the rider will be injured as the mower rolls over him or, as in this case, he becomes trapped beneath the mower.

This inherent defect in the design of the riding mower can be the basis for a lawsuit against the manufacturer. This kind of accident could be easily prevented by the inclusion of a roll bar and a lap belt on the product. We always recommend to anyone that is considering a dangerous product suit that they take steps to preserve the remains of the product to allow experts to carefully analyze the product to determine what defects there were in the product and how the accident happened.

Texas road construction project site of two wrongful death truck accidents

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST

A bridge road construction project has been the site of two wrongful death truck accidents in a month. The two accidents, other wise unrelated, happened when a tractor trailer plowed into a line of cars that were slowing to enter the road construction zone. In both accidents, there were multiple deaths from the road construction zone accident.

The primary cause of each of the truck accidents was driver inattention -- the simple failure of the truck driver to recognize that traffic was slowing ahead of him. The loss of attention and concentration is often associated with driver fatigue from many hours of driving on the road.

Another interesting issue with regard to these truck accidents is the role of the construction zone in causing the accidents. Obviously, the lane configuration had to be changed for the project. What will be interesting to see if there was any analysis done after the first accident as to whether the configuration of the project contributed to cause the accident and if any changes were implemented.

Road construction contractors have an obligation to keep the motoring public safe as they enter and pass through road construction zones. After a horrible fatal truck accident, the contractor should have looked at the issue of whether its project played a larger role in causing the first accident and made changes to prevent further accidents.

Motorcyclist injured in drunk driving accident

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST

A motorcyclist in Pennsylvania was injured when a driver of a pick up truck traveling north entered the southbound lanes of traffic to pass a slower moving vehicle. When he did so, he did not notice a motorcycle traveling southbound and clipped the motorcycle, causing the rider to lose control of his bike and be ejected from the bike. The pick up truck driver was charged with drunk driving.

This drunk driving accident sounds a similar them to many of the motorcycle crashes I have blogged about lately: that the driver of a car fails to see a motorcycle and yield the right of way to him, causing an accident where the motorcyclist was seriously injured (in this accident -- many other are wrongful death motorcycle accidents) and the driver of the car walks away.

When passing a vehicle traveling in the same direction, it is a basic rule of the road that you do not enter the lane for oncoming traffic unless it is clear to do so for the distance it takes to complete the passing maneuver. In this case, he either never checked at all, risking a head-on car crash that could have killed all involved, or he failed to see the motorcyclist, as has happened too many times in recent months. The likelihood is that he simply failed to see the oncoming motorcycle rider.

Fall from hydraulic lift injures construction worker

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST

A construction worker on a residential construction site in New Jersey was injured last week when the hydraulic lift he was using fell over. The fall of over 30 feet resulted in serious injuries to the man.

Hydraulic lifts are frequently used on construction sites and can be the cause of serious construction accidents. One common cause of the an accident involving a hydraulic lift is use without having proper footings. When a lift is used on dirt or unfinished ground, especially when wet or having a high sand content, there is a risk that the supporting arms of the hydraulic lift will sink into the ground, creating a high risk that the lift will tip over.

Use of a hydraulic lift on a project is something which should be considered when developing a safety plan for a construction site. The general contractor most job sites will have responsibility for making sure that the risks associated with the use of this kind of equipment are considered before the work begins and that an adequate plan to address these risks is developed and implemented throughout the project. Failing to do so can be the basis of a third party liability construction accident suit.

Mail carrier attacked by pit bull

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST

A mail carrier in Miami was injured in a pit bull attack as she delivered mail to the dog's home. She was severely injured in the dog bite attack, and may lose a finger as a result of the injuries she sustained in the attack.

As a federal employee, she is eligible to pursue a claim for worker's compensation benefits under the Federal Employee's Compensation Act. However, because the statute is designed to favor the government and to deter attorney involvement, our firm would not be able to assist her in the pursuit of benefits.

However, one avenue to compensate this woman for her injuries would be a third party dog bite liability suit against the dog's owners. This would allow her to recover a fuller range of compensation than she will ever receive from the Post Office. This is a service that our firm offers to injured postal employees.

One interesting item in reviewing this news story was the tips for preventing dog bites offered by the U.S. Post Office.

Uninsured motorists face jail time for causing car accident

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST

Uninsured motorists who cause accidents are now facing up to one year of jail time when they cause an Illinois automobile accident under a new law passed by the General Assembly. Currently, uninsured motorists who are ticketed for any reason -- including causing an accident -- must pay only a $500 fine for the first offense. There are no added penalties for causing an accident at present. However, come January 1 when the new law takes effect, uninsured drivers who cause an accident may face prison time.

The law comes into effect at the right time. With tougher economic times, the number of uninsured motorists in Illinois is rising as people choose to forgo car insurance as required by law. However, when you buy your own car insurance, you should keep in mind that the added penalties for failing to insure your car as required by law may not deter others from skipping out on their obligation to get insurance. Therefore, you should always obtain uninsured motorist coverage for your vehicle. That way, if you are involved in an Illinois car accident with an uninsured motorist, you can make a claim for compensation under your own policy.

Moreover, because many drivers who buy insurance simply to "keep legal" buy only the Illinois state minimum liability coverage of $20,000 per person and $40,000 per accident, you will also want to make sure to buy underinsured motorist coverage for your vehicle as well. In Illinois underinsured motorist coverage applies when the at-fault driver does not have enough insurance to cover the injuries they cause in a car accident and fills in the gap between the amount of coverage that they had and what you purchased.

As an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer, I see the benefits of having proper amounts uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage on at least a weekly basis. This is cheap coverage which protects you and your family and you should not go without both uninsured motorist coverage and underinsured motorist coverage.

Headlight Modulator recommended as hedge against motorcycle accidents

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST

A recent news story featured the use of a headlight modulator as a possible safety device to help prevent motorcycle accidents. The device alternates the headlight of the motorcycle between normal and bright lights. Proponents of the device claim that it draws attention from otherwise inattentive car drivers who may have otherwise pulled in front of oncoming motorcycles.

Considering the number of times we have written about wrongful death motorcycle accidents caused by the failure of drivers to yield the right of way to a motorcycle, anything tat can help draw the attention of a car driver is probably a good thing.

Settlement for birth injury

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST

An Arizona hospital and a physician are paying a medical malpractice settlement to a boy who suffered a permanent injury to his shoulder during delivery. The lawsuit claimed that the child who was born weighing 12 pounds, 1 ounce and should have been delivered by a c-section.

The type of injury suffered by this child was likely a shoulder dystocia injury or Erb's palsy injury. This occurs when the child's shoulder is caught against the mother's pelvis during delivery. When this happens, the nerves passing through the child's shoulder, known as the brachial plexus, can be stretched or torn, resulting in a loss of function to the shoulder and arm.

This situation occurs frequently with large babies, technically referred to as macrosomic infants. One means of preventing this type of injury is to deliver the infant by c-section when it is known that the infant is going to be a large baby. Careful review of the prenatal records and the delivery records will reveal whether a birth injury was the cause of medical malpractice. As experienced Chicago personal injury lawyers, we recommend as a first step in any possible medical malpractice case that a full set of medical records be obtained for careful review by a qualified physician.

Armored car crashes in Pekin

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST

An armored car was in involved in a car accident in Pekin when a pick up truck failed to yield the right-of-way while making a left turn. According to news reports, only minor injuries resulted from the automobile crash.

For the armored car guards, this is an on the job injury which entitles them to make a claim for worker's compensation benefits in Illinois. This includes three basic benefits: (1) payment of all injury related medical expenses, (2) two-thirds of your average weekly wage while off work, known as temporary total disability or TTD, and (3) a lump sum settlement for any permanency associated with the injuries from the accident.

In addition, the armored car guards can file a third party liability suit against the other driver. The basis for the third party liability auto accident lawsuit would be that the pick up truck driver failed to yield the right of way when making his left turn. This would entitle the armored car guards to recover the full range of damages that they suffered as a result of the car accident.

One important feature to keep in mind in cases such as this: that the worker's compensation carrier must be reimbursed for the benefits it paid on behalf of the injured worker. This is known as the worker's compensation lien. The lien must be paid out of any money that is recovered from a judgment or settlement in the automobile liability case.

Because of this, not every third party liability case is economically feasible in the sense that it will provide enough economic benefits to the client after the lien is paid. One thing that we do as experienced Chicago personal injury lawyers is to monitor work accident cases to make sure that if there is a viable third party liability suit, that it is filed before the statute of limitations for the car accident suit expires.

FRA releases study on causes of train accidents

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST

The FRA released a study showing the top causes of train accidents for the months of January through May of this year. There were three leading causes cited:

Track defects leading to train accidents - in essence, this refers to poor track maintenance, something that is in the control of the the railroads. Railroads must have enough track inspectors and repair crews available to make sure that tracks are maintained in safe condition.
Mechanical defects leading to train accidents - this refers to defects in signals and other railroad equipment. This is also a factor within the control of the railroad.
Human factors leading to train accidents - there are two aspects to this - inadequate training and fatigue. We have written how fatigued truck drivers cause accidents, and the same holds true for train crews. The industry is fighting changes in regulations which would further limit hours of service by rail crews.

In light of the findings that our firm made in its review of the causes of Chicago train accidents, these results are hardly surprising.

The study confirms that virtually all of the factors that result in train accidents are subject to control by the railroads. When an Illinois train accident occurs, the services of an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer can help identify the causes of the train accident, fashion a legal theory of liability against the railroad, and develop evidence to help reach a successful conclusion to the personal injury or wrongful death suit.

Feds ready to act on text messaging while driving

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST

According to a recent news piece, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is ready to support a federal ban on text messaging while driving. This follows on the heels of several studies that show that text messaging while driving is unsafe. One study showed that truck drivers who text message while driving were 23 times more likely to get into a truck accident. Other studies have shown that text messaging and cell phone use have the detrimental effect on the safe operation of a car as driving under the influence of alcohol Practical experience has shown that these studies are borne out in real life as the Los Angeles train accident from last year was caused by the engineer texting while operating the train.

As an experienced Chicago car accident lawyer, I will tell you one way that text messaging and cell phone usage has changed the nature of the practice of law: a question that is always looked into into every car accident suit is whether or not or a cell phone was in use at the time of the accident.

Lawsuit filed against nursing home for fall, decubitus ulcer

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST

The family of a Nebraska nursing home resident has filed a nursing home wrongful death suit against the facility where she resided prior to her death. The nursing home abuse case claims that the staff was negligent in allowing her to fall and then the staff failed to notify her physician that a decubitus ulcer developed.

There is significant liability for falls in nursing homes because the nursing home must do a comprehensive assessment of the resident's fall risk, develop a care plan, implement the care plan, evaluate the effectiveness of the care plan, and revise the care plan if needed.

Consequences of falls in nursing homes can be quite severe. Many nursing home residents have decreasded bone density which leaves them vulnerable to fractures from falling. Undergoing surgical repair of fractured bones can be quite risky from a medical standpoint, so it is not even attempted for some nursing home residents. Further, during the period of recovery from the surgery, nursing home residents have a risk of developing complications such as decubtius ulcers or pneumonia, all of which result in increased disability and risk of death for the nursing home residents.

Because falls are such a significant health risk for nursing home residents, it is incument on the nursing home staff to develop a proper care plan and implement it. As an experienced Chicago nursing home lawyer, it has been my experience that many nursing home falls are the result of either an indequate assessment of the fall risk, an inadeqaute care plan, or failing to carry out the care plan.

Fatal truck accident yields four year sentence for sleeping truck driver

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST

Last week in Pennsylvania, a truck driver was sentenced to up to 4 years in prison for killing three people in a truck accident that happened when he fell asleep at the wheel and plowed into a line of cars that was slowing to enter a construction zone. One car was wedged underneath the truck and caught fire. The two occupants of that car died from trauma and burns while the driver of a third car died from injuries from the accident two days later.

I have written several times about the dangers associated with truck drivers who drive while too tired to drive. Not only is there a danger of falling asleep at the wheel, but simply driving while tired has been shown by studies to have the same detrimental effect on a truck driver's ability to safely operate a tractor trailer.

To combat truck drivers being on the road when they are not in safe driving condition, the FMCSA has issued regulations which limit the number of hours a truck driver can work. They must keep a log book showing their hours on duty and hours of rest. Unfortunately, many truck drivers skirt the rules and falsify log book entries.

A more recent development in the study of tired truck drivers is research which shows that many truck drivers suffer from sleep apnea which may adversely affect their ability to safely operate a truck.

Many truck accidents occur because drivers are behind the wheel while tired. This is usually not something that occurs in a single day, but is the cumulative effect of several days of overdriving. An experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer will know to preserve the evidence of this and how to analyze the records to show hours of service violations.

Failure to yield a depresing common thread in motorcycle accidents last week

Sun, 02 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST

I have written several times about the frequent failures of motorists to see motorcycle riders as being the cause of serious motorcycle crashes and wrongful death accidents. There were a number of motorcycle accidents in the news this week that had that same depressing common thread:

In Syracuse, NY, a driver made a left hand turn out of a parking lot into the path of a motorcycle, resulting in a fatal motorcycle accident;
In Kansas, a driver pulled away from a stop sign at an intersection with US Highway 24-40, striking a motorcycle and throwing the motorcyclist from his bike. The motorcyclist was killed;
In Colorado, an off-duty state trooper was killed three weeks ago when the driver of a minivan made a left hand turn in front of him, causing fatal head injuries to the motorcyclist;
There was also a piece in the news in Michigan about the slow recovery that a couple was making from injuries they suffered in a motorcycle accident. The cause? A driver making a left hand turn in front of them while they were participating a charity run;

The fact that driver of cars often fail to see motorcycles is well-documented. With the rise of cell phone use and text messaging by drivers, more motorcyclists I speak to are reporting that they hear of and see more serious accidents and near-misses involving distracted drivers.

Tips for dog bite victims

Sun, 02 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST

The Chicago Tribune ran an article in today's magazine section with tips for victims of Chicago dog bite attacks. It is a pretty good primer for what to do is you or a child is bitten by a dog.

As an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer who has handled several dog bite cases, I would emphasize the importance of two points:

The wound must be cleaned carefully to prevent infection; and
Animal control should be contacted, even if you know the dog or dog owner. Not only does this help you get valid information regarding the rabies status of the dog, but the investigation will help develop information that may be useful in a later civil lawsuit.

Search on for cat that bit 7 year old boy

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST

Authorities near Pittsburgh are looking for a black cat that bit a 7 year old boy at least three times, requiring the boy to receive stitches to his lip and his ear and a staple in his scalp. If the cat is not located, he will also have to get rabies injections.

While cats are not normally thought of as being as dangerous as dogs, cat bites are a serious medical issue. Cat bites tend to penetrate deeply and can result in serious infections that may require hospitalization and IV antibiotics.

Victims of a cat bite do have a remedy against the owner of a cat that attacks them under the Animal Control Act. That statute is customarily referred to as the Illinois dog bite statute, which is a shorthand that is not very accurate, because it actually applies to all kinds of animals, and has been used in cases involving livestock such as horses, cows, and pigs. There is no reason that it would not also apply to cats.

Trucking companies dodge shut down by re-forming, not reforming

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST

The GAO has released a report showing that many trucking companies and bus companies that were ordered closed due to safety violations have kept the doors open -- not by changing their ways, but by changing their name. The study showed that these companies have been ordered to either shut down or correct serious safety violations. Instead of doing so, they have simply shifted the assets of the business over to a new corporation, obtained a new corporate identity, and continued doing business as usual. That of course is bad news for the public, because "business as usual" for these companies did not include doing things the right way.

What are the implications of this news story for victims of Illinois trucking accidents?

There are few truly "new" companies, especially with the high cost of gas and tight credit markets making entry into the trucking industry a difficult proposition. When we are doing our investigation into a trucking company whose driver was involved in a crash, one thing that we do is check to see how long the company has been in business.

When we see that it is a new company, we start looking into who the principals are of the company and whether they have been operating from the same location. When you see that there was a troubled motor carrier operating out of that same location with the same principals, it raises a question as to whether the trucking company is the same bad actors dressed up in a new corporate identity.

Even though the new company is a new trucking company and technically has a clean record, where there are safety and operating violations that caused the wreck that both the old company and the new company was guilty of and the management is the same, a court would likely admit evidence of the prior safety violations to show that management had specific, actual notice that their method of operation was unsafe. This is powerful evidence for a jury to consider.

Sun Times reporting motorcycle accidents on the rise

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST

The cover story of today's Sun Times is a story that we have covered many times in this blog -- the frequency and severity of motorcycle accidents in Chicagoland.

The article makes some good points about why the numbers of motorcycle crashes is up, including increased numbers of relatively inexperienced riders out on the road. However, the article gives short shrift to the most preventable causes of motorcycle accidents: the increased incidence of distracted driving due to cell phone usage and the simple failure of drivers of automobiles to see motorcyclists and yield the right of way to them when required.

The lawyer interviewed in the article made a few good points for riders: (1) you should travel with as much personal protection as possible, including a helmet and (2) you need to buy as much insurance as possible, including medical expense coverage and underinsured motorist coverage as possible because almost every motorcycle accident will result in significant injuries and medical expenses, and that kind of coverage provides protection to you and your family.

Man falls to death down elevator shaft

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST

A Cabrini Green resident died yesterday when he fell down an elevator shaft. According to witnesses he was walking near the doors of the elevator when he fell against the doors. The doors gave way and he plunged to his death.

This accident will certainly result in an Illinois wrongful death suit, and there are certain to be some legal issues which will be disputed:

In Illinois elevator accident suits, the owner of the building is normally regarded as a common carrier, owing the highest duty of care for the safety of users of the elevator. Since the man was not actually on the elevator, will this be treated as a slip-and-fall negligence case? If so, the man's family will have to show that the CHA either knew or reasonably should have known about the condition of the doors.
In many elevator accident cases, the building owner has handed responsibility for maintaining the elevator off to the a contractor. How will the jury allocate fault between the parties?

These are important legal issues which will have a dramatic impact on the ultimate amount of compensation recovered by this man's family. In any serious case such as this where there are complicated legal issues, we strongly recommend consultation with an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer.

Intoxicated teen driver causes car accident

Sun, 26 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST

An 18 year old driver has been charged with DUI after a car accident at the intersection of Division and Jackson in Morris last week. The intoxicated teenager ran a stop sign and hit another vehicle which was passing through the intersection. The two occupants of the vehicle hit by the intoxicated teen had to be taken to the hospital by ambulance.

One of the key issues in this case will be where and how did this teen become intoxicated? The answer to that question will determine whether anyone besides the teen will bear civil liability for the car accident. For example:

If the teen became intoxicated at a licensed liquor establishment such as a bar or restaurant, then that business would have civil liability under the Illinois Dram Shop Act. This statute imposes civil liability on licensed liquor establishments for injuries caused by drunken patrons, subject to an annually adjusted cap on damages recoverable under the Dram Shop Act.
If the teen were provided liquor by adults in a social setting, the parents would bear some civil liability for the drunk driving accident injuries under a new statute called the Drug and Alcohol Impaired Minor Responsibility Act. This statute places civil liability on the adults who provide alcoholic beverages to minors who cause injuries to others through their intoxication.

The investigation of these issues will be an important part of obtaining full compensation to the victims of this car accident. Because of the ongoing criminal investigation, answers to these questions may not be readily forthcoming. Given the short, 1-year statute of limitations for claims under the Illinois Dram Shop Act, I strongly recommend that the victims of this teen drunk driving accident promptly seek the services of an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer to assist them in this matter.

Sevelyor Tow Behind Quick Hitch Connector Recalled

Sun, 26 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST

The CPSC has issued a recalled notice for the Sevylor Tow Behind Quick Hitch Connector manufactured by Seveca LLC. The recalled product is a hitch for devices such as inner tubes which may be towed behind a boat. The hitch has cracked on some occasions with the hitch being propelled back toward the boat while still attached to the tow rope. This defective recreational equipment has caused at least one serious injury.

We always recommend that those who are injured as a result of a defective or dangerous product make certain to preserve the remains of the product if they wish to make a defective product case against the manufacturer. The loss or destruction of the remains of the product can result in the dismissal of a suit against the manufacturer.

Natural gas explosion in North Carolina kills 3, injures 40

Sun, 26 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST

A natural gas explosion at a Slim Jim factory in North Carolina killed 3 plant workers and injured 40 more. Investigators determined that a contractor installing a hot water heater inside the plant vented the natural gas inside the plan instead of outside the plant. The resulting explosion leveled half of the factory.

While all of the injured workers would be entitled to worker's compensation benefits, this accident is a classical situation where the families of the persons killed in this wrongful death accident can pursue a third party liability suit against the contractor. It appears that the blame for this accident lies with the contractor, and since this is not the employer or a co-employee of the people injured in the accident, they can pursue a civil case based on the negligence of the contractor in failing to properly vent the natural gas.

While this obviously will not bring back the people killed or restore the health of the injured, it does provide them with a fuller measure of compensation for their injuries and a degree of accountability for the contractor responsibile for this accident.

FRA considering testing train personnel for sleep apnea

Sun, 26 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST

The FRA is considering a regulation which would require testing for sleep apnea for all train operations personnel. Sleep apnea is a condition where a person's airway become obstructed during sleep, usually by soft tissues in the nasal passage, mouth, and/or neck. This results in interruptions in sleep and poor oxygen intake during sleep, with the net result being that the sleep apnea sufferer experiences poor quality sleep and feels fatigued even after a full night' rest.

The reason that the FRA is concerned about the effects of sleep apnea on train operations personnel is that fatigue has been a factor in many serious transportation related accident, including train accidents. In this blog, we have also discussed how sleep apnea and fatigue causes trucking accidents. Tired truck drivers have caused many accidents, and as a result, in an effort to minimize truck accidents, drivers must limit the number of hours that they are behind the wheel and keep track of their duty hours in a log book.

Since the relationship between fatigue and mass transit accidents is clear, and it is well known that untreated sleep apnea causes fatigue, testing for this condition is a smart safety idea.

Homeowner's insurance may not cover all dog breeds

Sun, 26 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST

A study by the Insurance Information Institute shows that dog bite insurance claims cost the insurance industry $356.2 million in 2007. Some of those claims involved serious injuries caused by certain breeds of dogs that tend to cause more serious injuries. These breeds include: wolf hybrids, Akitas, American Bandogge Mastiffs, Boerboels, Chow-Chows, Doberman pinschers, Rotweillers, and Pit Bull breeds.

Because of the expense of the claims associated with dog bite attacks by these breeds, some homeowner's insurance policies have begun to exclude injuries caused by those dog breeds (including mixed breeds) from coverage. That means that if you own a dog that is one of those breeds or a mix of those breeds (such as a pit bull-lab mix) and your dog bites someone, you have no insurance coverage for the resulting injuries.

All dog owners should take a few steps to make sure that they have coverage:

Review their homeowner's policy for any breed-specific exclusion;
Watch carefully for any notices of changes in policy terms;
Disclose to your homeowner's carrier that you have a dog and the breed of dog;
Consult with your agent to make sure that you are covered for injuries caused by your dog; and
If your dog is excluded from coverage, switch carriers. Dog bite settlements can be quite substantial and you do not want to be without coverage.

City cuts back on porch inspections

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST

After the 2003 Lincoln Park porch collapse disaster which resulted in a wrongful death accident which claimed the lives of 13 people, the City of Chicago implemented an intensive porch inspection program to identify buildings which were susceptible to porch collapse accidents. The inspection program resulted in several building owners being cited and required to make repairs or replace the porches on their buildings. The City also updated its building code to impose stricter safety requirements.

With the public outcry following the Lincoln Park porch collapse accident having died down, the City has scaled back its porch inspection program, and according to a recent Chicago Tribune story, the City's position is that it is up to tenants to let the City know when there is a potential safety issue with the porch at their building. They claim that once the City is notified, the building will be inspected -- after a delay that may last several weeks.

The Tribune also listed several factors that may be indicators that a porch is not safe. Safety problems with a porch are indicated by:

Split or rotting wood;
Evidence of water damage;
Loose, rusting, or missing hardware or bolts;
Loose or missing anchors where the porch attaches to the building;
Excessive movement or wobbling when the porch is walked on; and
Loose or missing handrails or railings.

Tenants are of course at risk for injuries from dangerous porches for reasons other than the porch collapsing. Other kinds of porch accidents might include:

Tripping and falling on loose floor boards or stairs;
Falling through rotted boards or railings;
Loose railings giving way;
Loose handrails giving way resulting in a fall due to loss of balance;
Uneven or excessively steep stairs causing a fall due to loss of balance.

Because stairways are part of the common areas of an apartment building, it falls to the landlord to make sure that these are kept in reasonably safe condition, including complying with all building codes. When an accident happens in an apartment building, injured tenants should hire an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer to identify the correct legal entities which should be sued as defendants in the case and to identify the relevant building code violations.

Train crash accident results in wrongful death of two railroaders

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST

The engineer and conductor of a Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern train died in a train crash accident on Tuesday. These railroaders, who both lived in Savanna, Illinois, were in the lead locomotive of a two locomotive, 83-car train which was going through Bettendorf, Iowa when they ran into a cut of train cars which were standing on the track to which they had been dispatched. The train crash and train derailment resulted in the wrongful death accident which claimed the lives of these men.

As railroaders, their families would not be eligible to collect Illinois worker's compensation benefits, but would haver to file a FELA wrongful death suit. This would require that they show that the railroad did not provide them with a safe place to work. Obviously, having a standing cut of cars on a track where you have been cleared to operate is a safety hazard for railroaders.

This accident calls to mind the Amtrak derailment at Christmastime a few years ago. This was also an accident where the train was dispatched down a track where there a was standing cut of cars. One of the keys aspects of this case will be the issue of who was responsible for clearing that track and why the standing cut of rail cars were there when these men were told that the track was clear for operations.

The families of these men would do well contact an experienced Rockford train accident lawyer to investigate these important issues.

Sangamon County Sheriff believes motorcycle accidents on the rise

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST

The Springfield Journal-Register came out with an article last week about the rising number of motorcycle accidents in Illinois. There were a couple of themes offered up by the people interviewed as to why there seem to be more motorcycle crashes in Illinois:

There are more motorcycles on the road, especially with the motorcycles offering improved gas mileage in a tough economy and with increasing numbers of Baby Boomers being in a position financially to purchase motorcycles;
An increased incidence of accidents due to distracted driving because of cell phone usage .

The article also contained a number of worthwhile safety tips, the most important one being to take a safe motorcycle riding class.

Construction worker's arm crushed in materials handling accident

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST

Yesterday, a construction worker on a job site in Massachusetts suffered what was called an "open, crushing injury" to his forearm when materials which was being unloaded from a flatbed truck fell on top of him.

The story about this construction accident got me thinking about the economic impact of this accident on this injured construction worker. This man was injured seriously, but fortunately for him was not involved in a wrongful death accident. However, he has suffered an injury which will have some significant long term impacts on his ability to work in the future.

When someone is injured in an on the job accident which results in a third party liability suit for a construction accident, one of the elements of damages that can be claimed is past and future wage loss. Obviously, this man will be able to claim lost wages for all of the time that he is off work, even if he is getting Illinois worker's compensation benefits. However, the more significant part of his case is the future wage loss claim.

Many people working in the construction trades in Illinois are union workers, which means that they are paid a good wage and benefit package. After suffering a permanent injury which results in work restrictions, may injured construction workers cannot return to the construction trades and have to find work in other fields. Unfortunately many have a hard time finding a job which pays the same kind of wage and benefit package. That differential is part of the future wage loss claim.

For example, the news story indicated that the man was 47 years old. Being very conservative, let's assume that his work life expectancy was 15 years, or that he would have worked until age 62. Let's also assume that the spends the next 3 years recovering from his injuries. Most construction workers do not work a full year, but carpenters tend to do better than most, so let's assume that he works 1800 hours per year (or 45 weeks a year at 40 hours per week). Let's also assume that he has a wage and benefit package amounting to $25 per hour. This means that for each year he is off work, he has a wage loss claim of $45,000 per year (45 weeks x 40 hours per week x $25 per hour). That means for 3 years off work, there is a past wage loss claim of $135,000.

Let's also assume that after spending 3 years recovering from his injuries, he cannot go back to construction, but instead finds a job where his wage and benefit package is $13 per hour. The work is more steady, and he is working 2,000 per year or 50 weeks per year. The next step is to compute the differential which will equal his future wage loss claim.

The differential is the amount that he would have earned working that much minus what he actually did earn. Based on 12 years of lost work at 2000 hours per year, the amount that he could have earned was $600,000 (12 years x 2000 hours per year x $25 per hour). However, he is only going to make $312,000 over that same time frame. That results in a differential, and a future wage loss claim, of $288,000.

As an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer, I know how significant a permanent work restriction can be for an injured construction worker. Among the things that we do for our clients who have suffered career-ending injuries is to document their work history, show their earning potential, their difficulties in securing proper substitute employment, and retaining an expert economist to present the numbers to a jury in a cogent way.

It's a lot work, but it is worth it for our clients who deserve every penny of that differential.

Hit and run driver critically injured bicyclist

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST

A hit-and-run driver struck a bicyclist in Florida earlier this week. The woman was passing through an intersection when she was hit by a pick up truck. The driver of the pick up truck stopped, looked at the bicyclist, and fled the scene of the accident on foot. The bicyclist was reported be in critical condition.

One thing that many people are unaware of is that when you are in an accident with a hit and run driver, you can make an Illinois uninsured motorist claim under your own car insurance policy. This is because the law in Illinois considers hit and run drivers to be uninsured drivers. Many people do not realize that they can use their uninsured motorist coverage to make a claim for compensation for injuries suffered in a hit-and-run accident even when they are pedestrians, or as here, on their bicycles.

Uninsured motorist coverage is one of the coverages you buy when you obtain full coverage on your car. As an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer, I have learned that uninsured motorist coverage provides important protection for you and your family, and this is one of the reasons that we recommend to everyone that they get full coverage when they buy or renew their automobile insurance coverage.

If you do not have full coverage on your vehicle (or even if you do not have a car at all), you may be able to make a claim for uninsured motorist coverage on another person's auto insurance policy if you are a named insured or if the person is a relative that you reside with such as a parent or a sibling. These are all avenues worth investigating when you are involved in an Illinois car accident with an uninsured motorist.

Trench collapse accident claims life of construction worker

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST

A trench collapse accident on Tuesday claimed the life of a Detroit area construction worker. The man was part of a crew which was digging a hole to repair a broken water main when the sides of the hole collapsed around him, burying him up to his shoulders. The man was conscious initially, but gradually lost consciousness and died from his injuries.

Trenching and excavation work is some of the most hazardous duties on construction sites due to the risk of being involved in a trench collapse accident. Because the risks of a cave in are so high, there are strict OSHA regulations about what must be done to shore and slope the walls of the excavation to keep workers safe in the hole.

There are some types of excavations which are more hazardous than others. Excavations with water and sand in them are especially dangerous because the walls of the excavation are much less stable and more probe to caving in. This man was sent to work on a water main break, which should have led the crews to recognize that there was a high risk of a trench collapse accident due to water in the hole. Also, as the excavation proceeded they should have recognized that there a good deal of sand in the hole as well. This was a job which really required strict compliance with OSHA regulations to minimize the risks involved.

One other note about this wrongful death construction accident: the man killed in the accident had been on the job with this company for only 2 weeks. Excavation work requires extensive training to make sure that everyone on the job site recognizes hazards in the excavation, but this crew probably sent the man with the least experience down in the one of the most dangerous holes that the crew was likely to encounter. Words can scarcely express hwo wrong that was.

Tractor trailer rollover accident kills municipal employee

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST

A tractor trailer roll-over accident killed an employee of a New Jersey town's streets and roads department on Wednesday. The victim was driving a municipality pick-up truck when the big rig rolled over and crushed the pick-up truck.

One key aspect to the safe operation of a tractor trailer is load stability. In essence, the trailer must be loaded in such a way that the trailer will not tip over while on the load. This requires making sure that the load is properly balanced on the trailer and that it is secure on the trailer so that it does not shift while in transit. Load shifting is a major cause of tractor trailer roll-over accidents.

Before a trailer is taken away from a warehouse, the driver must inspect the load to make sure that it is properly secured, and if it is not, he cannot take the tractor trailer out on the road. Further, the driver is required to make periodic inspections of the load to makes sure that there has been no shifting of the load in transit.

The only exception to this rule is where the driver is hauling a sealed load -- that is a load which has been loaded at the warehouse and then locked. This is sometimes done as a theft prevention measures. Where the driver is hauling a sealed load, then it falls to the warehouse to make sure that the trailer is properly loaded.

In a wrongful death tractor trailer roll over accident such as this, one key aspect to making sure that the family of the victim is properly compensated is an early investigation of the accident. As the New Jersey state trooper properly noted, doing a proper investigation of the accident takes times, but starting early is key because the condition of the load must be documented properly. Further, if the load was in fact a sealed load, it is sometimes difficult to identify the company that was responsible for loading the trailer. An experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer will recognize these issues and start a thorough investigation immediately.

Construction workers buried in concrete

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST

One construction worker was killed and another seriously injured in a construction accident at a sewage treatment plant in Tennessee. The men were pouring concrete into forms for 30 foot high concrete walls in the plant. The form collapsed, resulting in the two men being buried in concrete for almost a half hour before they were pulled out of the concrete.

This wrongful death construction accident was probably preventable. Pouring concrete walls is hazardous endeavor, and OSHA regulations provide certain minimum safety standards which must be followed. These include:

The concrete forms must be designed and constructed so that the anticipated loads can be held in place without failure.
There must be drawings of the formwork done before the pour begins to make sure that the forms can support the anticipated load.
Before the pour begins, the forms must be inspected to ensure that forms as built conform to the drawings and that the actual components are in proper condition to support the loads.

In most large scale construction projects, there is will be a general contractor that has entered into an agreement with the owner of the site for the work to be done. The general contract for the project usually includes a provision that the work will be done in compliance with OSHA standards, which includes the standards for concrete form work. Once it gets the job, the general contractor will let out subcontracts for various components of the work. However, this does not relieve the general contractor of its obligation to ensure that the manner in which the work is done complies with OSHA standards.

In this particular situation, the failure of the forms raises questions as to whether the work was being done in compliance with OSHA standards and as to whether the general contractor was properly discharging its obligation to oversee the work.

As an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer, I recognize that one of the keys to helping injured construction workers recover fair compensation for their injuries is to be able to identify the applicable OSHA regulations and the documents which should demonstrate how the work should be done to comply with those regulations. For the workers injured or killed in this accident, investigation will probably show that either the plan for doing the work was deficient or the execution of the plan fell short, but given that OSHA regulations require planning and checking before beginning a concrete pour such as this, responsibility for this accident will probably fall back on the general contractor.

Pecatonica man riding motorcycle killed by left turning semi

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST

A Pecatonica man was killed in a motorcycle accident yesterday. The man was riding north on Pecatonica Road when a semi traveling south made a left hand turn in front of him, resulting in a wrongful death accident.

I have written several times about the frequency with which serious motorcycle accidents are caused by the failure of drivers to yield the right-of-way to motorcycles while making left turns or emerging from side streets or driveways. Most frequently, the at-fault drivers are driving private passenger vehicles. However, in this motorcycle wrongful death accident, the at fault driver was a truck driver.

Truck drivers are professional drivers and have a higher degree of training in the safe operation of their vehicles. Further, because they frequently have to negotiate turns pulling long trailers and because they accelerate slowly from a stopped position, truck drivers know that they have to be careful to make sure that oncoming traffic is clear because when they begin to turn, they occupy the lane for oncoming traffic much longer than would a private passenger vehicle. Any time a truck driver fails to yield the right of way while making a left hand turn, a serious truck accident is a likely result.

The news story on this indicated that the accident scene was closed for several hours for investigators. It would be reasonable to guess that this was an accident reconstruction team which would have been taking measurements and photographs and otherwise extensively documenting the scene. Unfortunately, as was the case with this fatal truck-motorcycle accident in Maryland, investigators do not always draw the right conclusions about what happened. This may be due to a bias against or inexperience with motorcycles. Because the investigation by local authorities will be a starting point for the case, this family would do well to hire an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer to make sure that a proper accident reconstruction is completed.

The other alternative to the investigators being from the local police or sheriff's department is that the investigators were from the the trucking company or their insurer. As we saw with the wrongful death train accident case in Minnesota, they should not be trusted to undertake an even-handed investigation into this motorcycle accident.

Uninsured motorist count up to over 500,000

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST

With the slowing economy, some motorists are deciding to do without the mandatory automobile liability insurance. The Secretary of State's office released a report indicating that the percentage of uninsured motorists on the road increased from 4.7% of all vehicles in 2007 to 4.8% of all vehicles in 2008. However, that small increase equals a total of about 539,000 uninsured drivers on the roads in Illinois. Further, the insurance industry has released a report stating that nationwide, the total percentage of uninsured drivers may rise to as high as 15% by the year 2010.

With the raw increase in number of uninsured drivers on the roads, the chances that you will be involved in an Illinois car accident with an uninsured driver increase also. Now is a good time to review your automobile liability insurance coverage to make sure that you are carrying uninsured motorist coverage.

Uninsured motorist coverage covers you and your family members in the event that they are involved in a car accident with an uninsured driver or a hit and run vehicle. It even covers your family when you are in another vehicle or if you are a pedestrian. It is cheap coverage to buy, and protects you and your family against accidents caused by uninsured drivers.

The way that uninsured motorist coverage works is that when you are injured due to the fault of an uninsured driver, you submit an Illinois uninsured motorist claim through your own insurance. Your insurance carrier then steps into the shoes of the uninsured driver, paying you the compensation you are due for the injuries caused by the uninsured motorist, up to your policy limits. Your insurance company then has the right to try to collect the payments it made to you against the uninsured driver.

Making an uninsured motorist claim benefits you in two ways: (1) it provides reasonably prompt compensation for the injuries you suffered in the accident and (2) it saves the time, expense, and uncertainty of trying to collect a judgment against an uninsured motorist whom may not have the assets needed to pay for the damages he or she caused.

With the economic situation contributing to the decisions of some drivers to drop car insurance all together, there are probably significant numbers of motorists who are choosing to buy cheaper insurance. This usually translates to insurance with lower policy limits. This means that while you are reviewing your auto insurance coverage, you want to look at underinsured motorist coverage as well. This works much like uninsured motorist coverage, but its triggering event is getting into a car accident with a driver who has insurance, but does not have enough coverage for the damages and injuries he or she caused. In that case, you would be making an Illinois underinsured motorist claim through your own auto insurance.

As an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer, I can tell you that having this kind of coverage available has made a serious, positive difference in the lives of my clients who have had the misfortune of being involved in car accidents with drivers who either had no insurance or the state minimum,

Scaffold accident kills one, injures two

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST

Three masonry workers fell in a scaffold collapse accident at a construction site in Ohio. One was fatally injured. The workers were employed for a masonry subcontractor on a project that was building a new headquarters for a local energy company.

OSHA regulations covering the construction industry have a very specific set of safety regulations which govern the erection of scaffolding. When these regulations are followed and the scaffold is used properly, a construction accident involving a scaffold collapse should not occur.

On large construction projects such as this, the general contractor usually has a contract with the project owner which provides that all of the work on the job site will be done in accordance with OSHA regulations, and this includes the scaffolding provisions that covered the scaffold these men were in at the time this accident occurred.

In addition to making a worker's compensation claim, in Illinois, they would be allowed to file a third-party liability suit, and for the case involving the worker who was killed in the accident, a wrongful death suit. The basis of the accident would be the promise made by the general contractor to see that the work was done in compliance with OSHA regulations and the power of the general contractor to direct that the work be done in that manner.

This was an unfortunate and probably very preventable accident.

Common thread unites two serious motorcycle accidents across the country

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST

In my news reader today, there were stories from two different parts of the country covering two separate motorcycle accidents, both fatal. See if you can figure out what the common thread to these motorcycle accidents is:

In St. Croix County, Wisconsin, a 43 year old man riding a motorcycle was killed when the 17 year old driver of a car failed to stop at a stop sign, hitting the motorcycle and propelling him into a ditch. The motorcycle rider was killed as a result of the injuries sustained in the motorcycle accident even though he was wearing a helmet.
in Kentucky, a 52 year old man was killed when his motorcycle hit a pick-up truck coming from the other direction which was making a left hand turn into a private driveway. The motorcycle driver attempted to avoid the collision, but could not and suffered fatal injuries in the motorcycle crash.

One day, two motorcycle accidents, two fatalities. Common thread: the driver of the car failed to see the motorcycle rider and did not yield the right of way to the motorcycle. I wish that these stories were not so frequent that I could not put up a blog post about one every day, but the fact of the matter is that many of these kinds of accidents are due to the simple failure of the car driver to see the motorcyclist, a phenomenon that is not new and has been well-documented since the Hurt Report, long ago.

The only real question is: why are we not doing more to raise awareness and save the lives of motorcyclists who are following the rules of the road?

Verdict in Home Depot falling merchandise case

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST

A Cobb County, Georgia jury has returned a verdict for $1.5 million against Home Depot in a suit where a shopper was injured by falling merchandise. The man was shopping at the store when a pallet of plywood fell 24 feet from a forklift and struck the man. He suffered injuries to his neck and was disabled from returning to construction work.

With the growth of big box retailers, falling merchandise has been an increasing source of injury to customers and lawsuits against big box retailers. Before the development of the big box retailing industry, stock not on display was placed in back storerooms, out of the way of customers and were brought out as needed or when purchased.

The big box retailers have largely done away with the stock rooms in favor of stocking merchandise on high storage racks. With the advent of this method of storage, customers have suffered many injuries as a result of being struck by falling merchandise. This may not have been foreseen when this method of retailing was devised, but the risks of going this route have certainly become apparent through experience.

To their credit, big box retailers have become more proactive in trying to eliminate some of the risks to customers associated with this method of stocking the stores, but even with improvements in technique, injuries still occur, and when they do, the big box retailers can be held liable for the resulting injuries.

One thing that will be required to effectively prosecute a falling merchandise case is other prior accident and incident reports. Big box retailers know that these reports are trouble for them because they will show the defendant's knowledge of the hazards of stocking stores in this method, and will fight tooth and nail to avoid turning them over. Also, many of these retailers are equipped with extensive sophisticated security systems which are intended to prevent shoplifting. The odds that a falling merchandise incident will be caught on tape is actually pretty high, so one thing that will have to be done in the wake of a falling merchandise accident is to get a letter to the retailer advising them to preserve the security tapes for later use and review. These are good reasons why anyone injured in a falling merchandise accident should hire an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer.

Carbon monoxide poisoning makes six ill at New York diner

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 08:00:00 EST

Six people from a New York diner had to be hospitalized after falling ill due to carbon monoxide poisoning. After the diner was cleared, authorities determined that the source of carbon monoxide was defective venting to the hot water heater in the diner.

There are a few key items in every investigation of a possible carbon monoxide poisoning case:

Was there in fact carbon monoxide present where the people became ill in amounts sufficient to cause injury or illness? This is usually determined by authorities on the scene using a carbon monoxide detector, if one has not been installed at the home or business.
Is there carbon monoxide emitting equipment nearby? Any piece of machinery that burns gas is a possible source of carbon monoxide emissions.
Is the equipment in proper working order? Poor maintenance or improper installation of the equipment can result in the gases being released indoors instead of outdoors.
Is the equipment properly vented? For the equipment to be used safely, the carbon monoxide cannot be released into a confined space, and to keep that from happening it must be properly vented, and the venting system must be in good working order.

Most often the investigation reveals that there was a defect in one of these areas that produces the carbon monoxide poisoning that injured, sicken, or kills the victims of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Motorcycle rider killed by left-turning SUV

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 08:00:00 EST

A motorcycle rider in Texas was killed Saturday morning when a SUV made a left hand turn in front of him. He was thrown from his motorcycle and killed. The driver of the SUV received a ticket for failure to yield right-of-way.

This is yet another report of a motorcycle accident which was caused by the driver of a car to yield the right of way to the motorcycle rider. In this case, the car made a left hand turn in front of the motorcycle. The other common scenario involving cars failing to yield to motorcycle is where the car emerges from a driveway or side street into the path of an oncoming motorcycle.

Either scenario leaves the motorcycle rider little to no time to react and frequently results in either a motorcycle accident resulting in serious injuries or a motorcycle accident causing wrongful death.

I have blogged about these kinds of motorcycle accidents on several occasions before, most notably when there was a string of motorcycle accidents around Memorial Day when the weather her in the Chicago area began to turn nice. The string of motorcycle accidents that happened then was attributed in part by authorities to motorists being less alert for the presence of motorcycle riders who were only now returning to the roads in significant numbers as the weather improved.

The problem with attributing that string of motorcycle crashes to the improving weather is that the same kinds of accidents happen with frightening regularity in places like Texas, where there is no winter season which prevents people from getting on their motorcycles.

The true explanation for these kinds of accidents is the simple failure of car drivers to see motorcycles, a phenomenon which is described more fully in the Hurt Report.

Motorcyclist killed in head-on collision

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 08:00:00 EST

A motorcyclist was killed in head-on collision with a car on Friday. The car crossed over the center line, resulting in the crash with the motorcyclist. The car had been seen crossing the center line several times before the crash, and early investigation is indicating that driver fatigue may have been a factor in the accident.

I have done blog entries regarding trucking accident cases where I have referenced the extensive studies that have been done showing that fatigue can have as much adverse effect on the ability of a truck driver to operate his truck safely as alcohol. Because of that, truck drivers must follow maximum hours of service regulations.

While I am not aware of any studies that have focused on drivers of cars in the same way, there can be little doubt that fatigue effects drivers of autos the same way, and probably worse because they are not professional drivers and are likely even less aware of the dangers of driving while fatigued. Unfortunately, this motorcycle accident and the resulting wrongful death seems to be proof of that.

Railroad pays witnesses to try to derail jury verdict

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 08:00:00 EST

I have some follow-up on a earlier blog post I wrote regarding a railroad crossing wrongful death verdict in which BNSF was being accused of misconduct. In short, a jury verdict was returned against the the railroad and in favor of the families of some teenagers who were killed in a railroad crossing accident.

After the verdict was returned, the lawyers for the families sought sanctions against the railroad, claiming that the railroad had altered data downloaded from the crossing gate in the hours that followed the crash.

The railroad is now trying to present new witnesses to the crash, some of whom have received "rewards" for their testimony as much as $10,000. None of these witnesses testified at trial.

There are a few points to make regarding this railroad accident:

1. The courts regard a jury trial as an enormous investment of society's resources to resolve a dispute, and rarely disturb jury verdicts. Moreover, they are even more reluctant to disturb a jury verdict based on evidence that was not presented at the time of trial. Much of the time that personal injury lawyers spend working on a case before trial is spent doing investigation work like trying to find witnesses to accidents, and if the railroad could not find them before the trial, the court is not likely to disturb the verdict based on this "new" testimony.

2. It is not clear from the news story how the railroad came up with these witnesses, but the trial has garnered extensive publicity, and the credibility of the witnesses who are being paid the reward is pretty suspect.

3. Railroads respond very quickly to any accident, especially railroad crossing accidents. You can be sure that within hours if not minutes of the train crash that the railroads had investigators and claims agents all over the scene. If there were witnesses to be had, the railroad probably would have found them. The fact that these people are coming forward later in return for a reward from the railroad begs all kinds of questions. One reason that people need to move quickly to hire an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer in the wake on an accident such as this is to put themselves on as equal ground as possible as the railroad, trucking company, or construction company in documenting the scene and locating witnesses.

Train conductor killed in derailment

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 08:00:00 EST

A train conductor was killed in a train derailment accident in Alabama. He was standing on the back of a cut of tanker cars when the tanker car he was riding on derailed, causing him to be thrown from the car and pinned between the tanker car and some scrap metal. The exact cause of the derailment is under investigation.

Because the deceased was an employee of a railroad, the only basis for compensation that his family can make is under the Federal Employers Liability Act, or FELA. FELA requires railroads to provide its employees a safe place to work, including safe track and equipment. Since the most likely cause of the train derailment was either defects in the track or the cars in the train, the family would have to pursue an FELA case based on defective tracks or equipment, depending on the final results of the investigation of the train derailment.