Posted on September 22, 2019 in Premises Liability

Slipping and falling can cause devastating injuries in mere seconds. A person who falls and hits their head on concrete, for example, may suffer a traumatic brain injury which leaves them with agonizing pain and other adverse symptoms for months. Slip and fall injuries can also incur tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of medical bills. A serious fall can take away a person’s independence, their ability to work, and significantly decrease their quality of life. If you or someone you know was injured in a slip and fall accident, you may wish to pursue compensation through a premises liability lawsuit. In order to be awarded financial damages for injuries related to a slip and fall, you and your legal team must prove liability, or responsibility, for the accident.

Legal Responsibility for Your Injuries May Lie with the Property Owner or Manager

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 Posted on September 12, 2019 in Premises Liability

Imagine this scenario: You are at a friend’s house enjoying a party. While walking upstairs, you experience a horrible slip and fall. You are taken to the hospital where you learn you have significant injuries that will require thousands of dollars’ worth of medical care, corrective surgery, and physical therapy. Even worse, you will be out of work for months, so you will lose money this way as well. You may be asking yourself, “Would my friend’s homeowner’s insurance cover any of these expenses?”

Does the Property Owner Have Insurance?

The first question to consider if you have been injured at a friend or neighbor’s house is if the property owner even has homeowner’s insurance. Fortunately, most homeowners do. Mortgage companies require homeowner’s insurance, so if a person has a mortgage and is still paying off their house, they should have homeowner’s insurance. However, there is still the chance that a person who owns their home free and clear and has no mortgage might not have homeowner’s insurance.

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 Posted on September 06, 2019 in Personal Injury

If you have been injured in a car crash or any other accident caused by another party’s actions or negligence, you might be able to pursue compensation for the injuries you have sustained. Compensation is generally available to cover medical expenses, time away from work, and damage to property, as well as more subjective losses such as pain, suffering, and permanent scarring. Unfortunately, it is not always easy to collect compensation after an accident, especially if a lawsuit is necessary.

Filing Your Claim

In most situations, the first step toward recovering compensation after an accident is filing a claim with the at-fault party’s insurance company. Depending on the situation, you might do so by going through your own insurance company first or you could file directly with the other party’s carrier. Your claim will almost certainly include the police report and any other evidence that might help prove that the other party was to blame for your injuries.

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 Posted on August 28, 2019 in Personal Injury

Imagine this scenario: You are cruising down the highway at about 10 miles over the speed limit when you are hit by a drunk driver. You suffer significant injuries to your back and neck that leave you unable to work and drowning in medical bills. The drunk driver’s insurance company offers you a settlement which does not even come close to compensating you for your damages. Is there a way that you can sue to recover compensation? The answer in Illinois is “yes.”

Illinois’ comparative fault law allows those injured by another’s negligence to sue even if they were partially responsible for the injury or accident. In this example, the original driver may have contributed to the accident by speeding, but if the other driver was more to blame, a personal injury suit is still possible.

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 Posted on August 19, 2019 in Product Liability

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is the government agency responsible for ensuring that the products Americans use everyday are not unreasonably dangerous. When it comes to infant and child products, the need for strict safety guidelines and regulations is especially great. Millions of child and baby products are recalled every year after evidence is discovered that the products carry a defect which increases the risk of injury or death. Recently, the American Academy of Pediatrics requested that the CPSC issue a recall for the popular Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play Sleeper after the sleeper was linked to several infant deaths.

American Academy of Pediatrics Says Inclined Sleeper is Deadly

There has long been debate regarding the safest way for infants to sleep. Fears about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and other fatal conditions can cause new parents to be nervous about how they lay their child down for sleep. Although we generally assume that the baby products sold in retail stores are safe for our children, the sad case is that some products do carry risks. More than 30 infants have died while sleeping in Rock ‘n Play sleepers since the product was introduced in 2009. Frighteningly, new evidence shows that a great deal of these recalled sleepers are still being used in homes and daycares across the country.

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 Posted on August 13, 2019 in Medical Malpractice

While most doctors, nurses, surgeons, and other healthcare providers are competent to provide quality medical care, medical mistakes do happen. In fact, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reports that medical negligence is the third-leading cause of death in the United States. In 2012 alone, over $3 billion dollars was spent in payouts for medical malpractice lawsuits.

Medical errors can affect all types of patients. In fact, the family of acclaimed astronaut Neil Armstrong believes that the 82-year-old’s death was a result of medical negligence. Until recently, this information had been kept secret, but now details about the case are emerging.

Family Says Hospital Caused Armstrong’s Death

Astronaut Neil Armstrong has had an incredible life to say the least. In addition to being the first man to walk on the moon, he also fought in the Korean War, won the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, and had three children. Armstrong’s family, however, says that his incredible life came to an end too soon. Armstrong developed coronary disease and required bypass surgery in 2012. He made it through the surgery but then developed complications which eventually caused his death.

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 Posted on August 06, 2019 in Premises Liability

If you are a parent, you know how difficult it can be to leave your child in the care of someone else. Whether you are dropping the child off at school, daycare, or extracurricular activities, you likely worry about the quality of care and supervision that your child will receive. While the majority of childcare workers take pride in keeping children’s safety their top priority, some facilities employ staff who do not take the steps necessary to ensure the safety of the children left in their care. When childcare staff, bus drivers, teachers, nannies, and other individuals tasked with caring for children fail to properly do their job, the results can be deadly.

Three-Year-Old Boy Passes Away After Being Left in Hot Bus

A Houston bus driver has recently been indicted for “injury to a child by recklessly causing serious bodily injury or death” almost exactly a year after he allegedly left a young boy in a scorching hot bus. The horrific incident was first discovered when the boy’s father came to pick up his child from a Houston area daycare. When workers could not locate the child, the father started searching for his son. That is when he found his three-year-old unresponsive in the 113-degree daycare bus. The children had taken a field trip to a park, but not every child had disembarked the bus upon their return. Despite efforts to save the young boy’s life, he passed away.

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 Posted on July 29, 2019 in Car Accidents

By now, most people have heard about the dangers of texting while driving or other types of distracted driving. However, studies show that a significant number of motorists are still dangerously distracted while operating a vehicle. In 2017, over 3,000 people nationwide lost their lives in accidents involving distracted drivers, and countless more were injured. If you or a loved one were hurt in an accident caused by a negligent driver, you may be able to receive compensation for your damages.

Types of Distracted Driving

Although we often hear about the dangers of texting and driving, this is not the only form of distracted driving which causes serious auto accidents. Some motorists have actually admitted to checking social media or using other phone applications while driving too. GPS devices are also a major cause of distracted driving. However, electronic devices are not the only thing that takes our attention off of the road. Studies have shown that activities like eating, changing the radio station, searching through a purse or wallet, and smoking while driving also increase the chances of being involved in an injury-causing motor vehicle accident.

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 Posted on July 17, 2019 in Medical Malpractice

When couples cannot conceive a child traditionally, they often turn to in vitro fertilization (IVF). Through this process, an egg and sperm are combined in the laboratory and then the resulting embryo is implanted in the woman’s uterus. This option can be a wonderful solution for many couples. However, the IVF process does not always go according to plan. One couple who turned to IVF was recently horrified to learn that a mix up led to their embryo being implanted in another woman and that they were carrying children from another couple. The couple says they plan to sue the fertility clinic who made the grievous medical error.

Embryos from Three Couples Were Implanted in the Wrong Women

When a couple chooses to use IVF to have a baby, they are likely to have many concerns. Will the procedure result in a viable embryo? Will the pregnancy go smoothly? Will the child be healthy? Most couples, however, would not even dream that medical negligence could lead to something as outrageous as what several IVF couples are now facing.

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 Posted on July 10, 2019 in Medical Malpractice

The medical advances our society has achieved in the last few decades have allowed people to overcome injuries and illnesses that would have certainly been fatal in the past. Many of these advancements involve invasive surgical procedures. Getting surgery almost always involves certain risks, but some of these risks are avoidable and completely unacceptable. When an avoidable surgical error is made during an operation, the results can be catastrophic. Surgeons, doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals can be held legally responsible when these types of medical mistakes result in the death or injury of a patient. 

Understanding When a Medical Professional Has Committed Medical Negligence

Sometimes problems and complications occur during surgery due to no fault of the medical staff conducting the operation. Just because a surgical procedure fails to produce the desired result does not mean medical negligence has occurred. Generally, medical negligence is defined as when substandard medical care leads to some type of harm to the patient.

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