In 2021, a study was published by the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission declaring that injuries and deaths related to fireworks increased dramatically during the previous year. Because many municipalities canceled local fireworks shows due to the Covid-19 pandemic, more people used fireworks on their own, increasing the danger of an accidental or errant discharge resulting in a serious injury or death. 

To anyone who has never been injured by a firework, the idea that these fun sources of flashy entertainment could cause serious harm may seem laughable. After all, the vast majority of fireworks displays occur without ever causing harm. But at least 18 people died in 2020 from firework-related accidents and more than 15,000 people were treated in emergency rooms for their injuries. Even firecrackers and sparklers, which seem harmless and are used by children all over Illinois every year, are actually responsible for the majority of fireworks injuries treated in the emergency room. If you or someone you love has been seriously injured or killed by a firework and require expensive medical treatment, you may want to seek compensation. 

What Are Common Firework Injuries? 

Unfortunately, fireworks most often injure people in areas that are not easily healed. Face and hands are the most common locations that get hurt and include the following injuries: 

Continue Reading...

It seems like nearly every day there is a news headline describing the recall of a widely-distributed food. Reports of nameless people in distant cities falling seriously ill and even dying are sad to read but easy to forget. But when a food poisoning incident happens to someone you love - especially to your child - the consequences can be life-altering. 

Just last year, a government report alleged that major baby food companies had dangerous levels of heavy metals in their products. These chemicals and elements can have serious neurotoxic effects, especially on developing brains. Even when heavy metals are not present, other toxic substances like salmonella can make a child very sick and potentially threaten their life. If your child developed a food illness after eating baby food, an Illinois personal injury attorney may be able to help you recover damages. 

Heavy Metals in Baby Food Can Cause Developmental Problems 

Studies show that children who ingest toxic heavy metals like lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury can suffer serious, life-long neurological harm, including: 

Continue Reading...

Busy parents with hectic schedules must do extensive research to find the perfect Illinois daycare center for their child. Leaving your little one in the hands of a third party all day may be a harrowing experience for some parents, and it is one which takes a leap of faith in the skill and compassion of the daycare staff. 

Unfortunately, daycare staff do not always live up to the expectations parents have of them; worse, they sometimes abuse the children in their care. Any kind of daycare abuse is unacceptable. If your child has been abused in their childcare center and injured or even killed, know that you have options. 

Types of Daycare Abuse

It is often difficult for children to share or talk about daycare abuse, either because they are too young or are afraid of their teachers or caregivers. An estimated 60 percent of child sexual abuse victims never tell anyone. But where there is abuse, there are often subtle signs of abuse. These include, but are not limited to:

Continue Reading...

Parents who live in Winnebago County, Illinois, send their children all over the state and country to attend college. As university attendance levels continue to rise and more young adults seek to obtain a higher education, exposure to certain behaviors and risks also increases. One well-known risk of university attendance is the binge drinking that often occurs at campus parties. 

Unfortunately, binge drinking is often a mandatory part of joining a fraternity or sorority, and young adults with little experience can suffer serious injuries and even death in campus hazing incidents or university house parties. If your child was attending college and was injured, assaulted, or killed after being provided alcohol by another adult, you may be able to take legal action. 

Common Injuries From College Binge Drinking 

Research suggests that college students drink substantially more than their peers who do not attend college. Binge drinking, or drinking to the point of getting drunk, is especially common at universities with fraternities, sororities, and prominent sporting programs. Binge drinking places young students, who are often without parental supervision for the first time in their lives, at significant risk of catastrophic injury, including: 

Continue Reading...

Drug companies in the United States often have significant incentives to market drugs without making potential users aware of the complete list of possible side effects. Because new drugs can be lucrative and often promise significant results, drug manufacturers may not do the necessary research to discover dangerous side effects or may attempt to hide them. Even drugs approved by the Federal Drug Administration frequently have serious side effects that are not discovered until after they are widely available. Other times, patients are victimized by drugs that are wrongly prescribed or administered. If you have suffered an injury because of a defective drug, consider speaking with an experienced Illinois drug injuries attorney. 

Defective Drugs Can Cause Serious, Long-Lasting Injuries 

When patients take drugs, they expect them to help manage injuries, pain, or other suffering. Unfortunately, however, sometimes defective drugs can worsen symptoms or present new ones. While side effects can vary widely, common serious side effects of defective drugs include: 

• Birth defects

  ...

  Continue Reading...