Posted on October 16, 2020 in Wrongful Death

Drunk driving takes the lives of over 10,000 Americans each year. If your loved one was killed in a car accident involving a driver under the influence of alcohol, you may be interested in learning about your legal options. While no legal remedy can ever truly make up for your tragic loss, a wrongful death claim may enable you to recover compensation for the financial harm caused by your loved one’s death.

Compensation in a Wrongful Death Claim

Drunk drivers who cause fatal auto accidents can face significant criminal consequences. Surviving loved ones of those killed in drunk driving accidents also have the option of bringing a civil claim against the drunk driver. Through a wrongful death claim, you may be able to receive financial compensation for:

• The loss of your loved one’s financial support

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 Posted on October 08, 2020 in Medical Malpractice

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a complex medical condition that experts are still learning more and more about every day. The most common symptom of cerebral palsy is trouble with movement and coordination. Some sufferers also experience difficulty with swallowing, speaking, hearing, and vision. Cognitive impairment is present in approximately one third of sufferers. CP can cause a range of symptoms, from relatively mild to severely disabling. If your child has developed cerebral palsy, you may have questions about how and why your child developed this life-changing condition.

What Causes Cerebral Palsy?

Cerebral palsy occurs when part of the brain is damaged or develops abnormally. Congenital cerebral palsy is CP that a child is born with, while acquired cerebral palsy is caused by brain damage during the beginning of the child’s life. CP can be caused by brain damage that occurs before the child is born, during labor and delivery, or shortly after birth. Trauma, reduced blood flow to the child’s brain, or even infections like viral encephalitis may cause a child to develop CP. There is still much about cerebral palsy that is unknown.

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 Posted on October 02, 2020 in Car Accidents

Have you ever taken the time to look around at the other drivers while stuck in traffic? If so, you probably noticed that many of them were looking down at their smartphone. Whether it is electronic devices like cell phones, GPS units, and radios, or human distractions like children arguing in the backseat, distractions while driving are everywhere. Distracted driving has become a tremendous cause for concern in Illinois and throughout the United States. It is difficult to know for certain how many car accidents are caused by distracted drivers, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that more than 1,000 people are hurt in distracted driving accidents every day in the U.S. If you or a loved one were involved in a car accident and you suspect distracted driving was a contributing factor, a personal injury attorney may help you recover compensation for your injuries..  

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 Posted on September 30, 2020 in Personal Injury

Damages are the financial and nonfinancial losses incurred as the result of an injury or death caused by another party’s negligence or wrongful act. “Compensatory damages” refers to the compensation an injured person receives for things like medical bills and lost wages. However, it is possible for a claimant in a personal injury case to receive “punitive damages” as well. Punitive damages, or exemplary damages, are above and beyond the compensation an injured person would typically receive and are only awarded in certain circumstances.

Illinois Law Regarding Punitive Damages

Punitive damages are intended to punish a defendant for actions that are exceptionally negligent or wrongful. The additional compensation awarded to the injured party serves as a deterrent against similar actions in the future. Illinois law states that punitive damages are awarded when a defendant's behavior was with “evil motive” or careless disregard for the risk of harm to others. The plaintiff in an injury claim must show that the defendant’s actions were sufficiently malicious or reckless to warrant punitive damages by “clear and convincing evidence." This burden of proof is much harder to satisfy than the “preponderance of the evidence” standard. Consequently, successfully recovering punitive damages after being injured by another party’s behavior will require the plaintiff to build a robust, evidence-based case.

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 Posted on September 22, 2020 in Personal Injury

Personal injury claims enable individuals hurt by the negligent or unlawful actions of another party to recover damages, or compensation, for the losses they have sustained because of their injuries. These claims are often associated with medical malpractice, car accidents, premises liability including slip and fall accidents, and defective products. If you have decided to file a personal injury claim and pursue compensation for your medical expenses, pain and suffering, or other losses, you may have questions about how the amount of compensation you may receive will be calculated.  

Calculating the Monetary Value of Economic Damages

Medical costs are often a top motivator for personal injury claims. The amount of reimbursement you will receive for medical expenses will depend on:

• The severity of your injuries

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 Posted on September 15, 2020 in Car Accidents

Although we rarely think about it, getting into a car is one of the most dangerous things we do on a regular basis. It is estimated that approximately 6 million car accidents occur in the U.S. every year, resulting in 3 million injuries. Car accident victims may be other drivers, pedestrians, cyclists, or passengers. If you have been injured in a car accident and you were not the driver, you may have questions about your legal options. You may be left with expensive medical bills and other financial losses caused by your injuries. In many cases, a personal injury claim can help injured passengers obtain financial compensation for losses such as these.

Determining Fault for Your Car Accident

Before you can recover compensation for a car accident, the liable or at-fault party must be determined. In many car accidents, there is more than one party who is considered to be at fault. For example, one driver may have been speeding while the other driver was texting and driving or otherwise distracted. However, a passenger cannot be held liable for a car accident because he or she was not in control of a vehicle. If more than one party is liable for a car accident, you may need to file multiple claims in order to recover enough compensation to cover the full extent of your damages.

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 Posted on September 09, 2020 in Medical Malpractice

About a third of all babies are delivered via cesarean section or “c-section.” In some cases, a mother chooses to have a c-section birth instead of a vaginal birth. Other times, an emergency c-section is needed to prevent the baby from suffering asphyxia or other harm. If you or your baby were injured and you suspect that medical negligence contributed to the injury, contact a medical malpractice attorney for help investigating the medical staff’s actions. You may be entitled to financial compensation for your damages.

Delayed C-Sections Put Babies Lives at Risk  

When a woman goes into labor, doctors and nurses must be vigilant for signs that labor is not progressing normally. Abnormalities with the infant’s heart rate is often the first sign that he or she is in distress. An emergency c-section may be needed if the baby’s head is too big to fit through the mother’s pelvis, placental abruption or uterine rupture occurs, there is a prolapsed umbilical cord, or there are other problems that make vaginal birth too risky.

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 Posted on August 31, 2020 in Product Liability

Medical advances in the last several decades have enabled people to live longer, healthier lives. Surgical tools and other medical devices have made it possible for many medical procedures to become less invasive, less risky, and require less recovery time. Unfortunately, defects in the way medical devices are designed or manufactured can make the products dangerous or even life-threatening to patients. If you were harmed by a faulty medical device, the fault may not lie with the medical facility or doctor who used the device. The fault may instead lie with the device designer, manufacturer, or seller.

Understanding the Difference Between Product Liability and Medical Malpractice

If a medical procedure or medical device caused you injury, you might assume that the injury falls under the umbrella of medical malpractice. However, a medical malpractice claim is appropriate when a medical professional or medical facility makes errors that cause injury to a patient. If a defect or flaw with the medical device itself was the cause of your injury, the issue may fall under product liability laws. 

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 Posted on August 25, 2020 in Premises Liability

When a person is harmed during a robbery or attack, criminal charges are often brought against the aggressor. While this may bring the perpetrator to justice, it does little to  address the injuries caused to the victim. A person hurt in an act of physical violence may suffer lacerations, broken bones, internal organ damage, traumatic brain injury, and other serious physical injuries. He or she may also experience deep emotional pain and psychological scarring. In some cases, a civil lawsuit brought against the owner of the property on which the attack occurred may enable a victim to recover compensation.

What is Considered Negligent Security?

Property owners cannot be expected to prevent every injury on their property, but they are required to keep their property free of foreseeable dangers. This includes equipping the property with adequate lighting, locks, cameras, and other security measures. The level of security that a property should have is largely determined by the property’s location and the frequency of crime in the area. For example, If a store owner knows that two customers have already been mugged in the dark parking lot outside of his store, he should have lights installed and take other steps to help prevent future muggings. If he fails to take these steps and another customer is injured as a result, the customer may have a valid personal injury claim

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 Posted on August 18, 2020 in Medical Malpractice

Whether it is an appendectomy, bypass surgery, cesarean section, carotid endarterectomy, or another surgical procedure, going in for surgery can be a scary experience. While most surgeries are successful and do not involve unexpected complications, not every surgery goes according to plan. Sometimes surgical procedures result in a patient’s injury or death, and there is nothing that the surgeons could have done to prevent it. Other times, it is the surgeon’s carelessness that is directly responsible for the negative outcome. One especially alarming example of medical negligence during surgery occurs when a surgeon leaves a foreign object inside the patient’s body.

Foreign Objects Left Behind During Surgery

Surgeons, nurses, anesthesiologists, and other medical staff involved in surgical procedures must complete years of rigorous classes and training before being permitted to perform surgery. Unfortunately, these medical professionals may still make mistakes that endanger the lives of their patients. Equipment such as scalpels, scissors, forceps, clamps, and sponges, are often used during surgical procedures. Surgeons and nurses are expected to keep track of these objects and ensure that no object is still inside the patient’s body when the surgery is complete. Unfortunately, misunderstandings and miscommunications can lead to equipment being forgotten. It is estimated that surgical equipment and other objects are left inside of patients’ bodies an average of 4,500–6,000 times each year in the United States.

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