Driving under the influence of alcohol is a major problem in the U.S., as well as throughout the world. More than 10,000 people lost their lives in drunk driving accidents in the United States in 2018 alone. It is estimated that alcohol impairment is a contributing factor in nearly a third of all U.S. fatal auto accidents. Despite strict laws regulating alcohol use behind the wheel and numerous public campaigns educating drivers about the risks of driving while intoxicated, drunk driving accidents continue to occur. If you have lost a loved one in a drunk driving accident, you may be left in complete financial ruin. Although no amount of money could make up for your loss, you may be able to receive financial relief through a wrongful death lawsuit.

Illinois Laws Regarding Wrongful Death   

According to the Illinois Wrongful Death Act, a wrongful death is defined as a death caused by “a wrongful act, neglect or default.” When someone is killed in a wrongful death accident, a representative of the deceased person, often a spouse or other relative, may bring a wrongful death claim against the responsible party. Through this claim, the surviving loved ones of the deceased person may be able to receive compensation for their losses.

Many wrongful death and personal injury claims are based upon the defendant’s alleged negligence. This means that in order for a claimant to receive compensation, the claimant and his or her attorney must prove that the defendant’s negligent actions caused the injury or death. However, when a claim involves a crime such as driving under the influence or reckless driving, the criteria for proving the defendant’s fault is different. Individuals who cause others to be harmed or killed as a result of unlawful activities may be considered “negligent per se,” which means that a presumption of negligence is created.

Whether it is a minor surgical procedure or a major operation, going “under the knife” can be a frightening prospect. Most surgeries performed in the United States are completed without mistakes or complications, but this is not always the case. In fact, Medical errors are so common that they are considered to be the third-leading cause of death in the U.S. today. Preventable mistakes during surgery make up a large portion of these errors. It is estimated that over 4,000 surgical mistakes occur every year and that these mistakes result in more than $1.3 billion in medical malpractice payouts. If you or a loved one have suffered due to a surgical error, you may be entitled to compensation.

Why Do Surgical Errors Occur?

Surgeons, doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals often have extremely busy, stressful days. Few would dispute that working in the healthcare industry is one of the most challenging jobs there is. Sometimes, however, the stress and long hours can create serious problems, as some surgical mistakes are a result of oversight caused by fatigue. Others are due to lack of proper education or training, inadequate preoperative planning, or poor communication between medical staff. In rare cases, a surgical mistake may even be the result of a healthcare worker’s drug or alcohol use. Whatever the reason, medical workers who make negligent mistakes during surgery should be held responsible for their actions.

Common Mistakes During Surgery

It is estimated that every week in the U.S, there are 39 instances of medical staff leaving objects such as sponges and medical instruments inside of a patients’ bodies. Approximately 20 times a week, surgeons perform surgery on the wrong body part. Other surgical errors that are disturbingly common include anesthesia errors, prescription medication errors, inadequate sterilization, use of defective surgical equipment, and the use of incorrect surgical techniques. Doctors and surgeons have a legal duty to provide medical care that is reasonably competent, and mistakes like these are generally inexcusable. When a medical professional breaches this duty, the medical facility or the professional himself  may be found liable for the damages that result.

On average, about 90 individuals lose their lives in car accidents every day in the United States. Even a non-fatal car accident has the potential to completely alter your life. You may be severely injured and require extensive medical care or face permanent disability. Medical bills and financial hardship caused by lost income can make recovering from a traffic accident even more difficult. Fortunately, some car accident victims are eligible for compensation through a personal injury lawsuit. In order to preserve your ability to file a claim for damages after a serious car accident, always take these steps.

Step #1: Call the Police

If you are involved in a serious car accident that causes significant property damage or injuries, you need to contact police right away. Even if you do not file an injury claim, a formal police report that describes the accident is essential. This step creates an official record that the accident took place and gives insurance companies a starting point.

Step #2: Go to the Hospital

Car accidents can be extremely traumatic. When you are hurt in an accident, you may be tempted to simply go home after the exhausting experience and put off seeking medical treatment. However, it is crucial to be evaluated by a medical professional immediately. You may be much more injured than you realize. Furthermore, proving that an accident caused a person’s injuries is very hard without documentation of the injuries that was obtained soon after the accident.

Guardrails are barriers that are placed along the edge of highways and other high-traffic roads. The purpose of guardrail is to minimize the damage caused by a vehicle leaving the driving lane. They may be used to divide lanes of traffic traveling in opposite directions, prevent vehicles from crashing into man-made structures such as buildings, and stop vehicles from rolling down steep hills. Although guardrails may look simple, their design and construction is the result of extensive research and innovation.

An important element of guardrails is that theys must be designed in such a way that they minimize the damage done to vehicles during a collision. Unfortunately, some guardrails actually do more harm than good. When a defective guardrail causes a person to be injured or killed, a lawsuit may help the injured person or the deceased person’s family to recover compensation.

Personal Injury Lawsuits Involving Defective Guardrails

A guardrail should be designed and manufactured in a way that prevents additional vehicle damage or personal injury during a collision. If a guardrail does not accomplish this goal, the guardrail may be considered defective.

If you get hurt at work, your company most likely carries worker’s compensation insurance to cover the costs associated with your injuries, including medical expenses. What happens, though, when the benefits offered by a workers’ compensation policy fail to cover everything that you lost due to your injuries?

While workers’ compensation coverage is meant to assist injured employees with medical bills, lost wages, and in some cases, disability payments, the amount of benefits that are actually paid out can vary from person to person. Most worker’s compensation payouts are based on the company’s specific policy, as well as the nature and severity of the employee’s injury. While you cannot usually sue your employer for an injury you suffered at work, there are some situations in which you might be able to take legal action to collect additional compensation. The details, of course, depend on your unique circumstances, and a skilled personal injury lawyer can help you explore your available options.

Third-Party Liability

In most cases, workers’ compensation benefits are available and paid no matter who or what caused a workplace injury, as long as the injury occurred in the course of the employee performing his or her job. However, when a third party—as in someone other than your coworker or employer—does something negligent to cause an injury, that party could be held liable through a lawsuit. The compensation available in a third-party suit would be in addition to that paid out by workers’ compensation.

While many consider dogs to be “man’s best friend,” not all dogs are friendly. If you have been bitten by someone’s dog, you may have had to pay extensive emergency room bills and missed time from work. If the injury you sustained was the fault of someone else, it is only fair that he or she should pay for your damages. However, a successful dog bite personal injury claim can be hard to accomplish without qualified legal counsel. If you have suffered a dog bite injury in Illinois, there are a few things you should keep in mind.

Dog Owners Are Only Responsible in Certain Circumstances

According to Illinois law, a dog owner is legally responsible for your damages caused by a dog bite if several criteria are met. First, you must have been bitten while in a public place or while lawfully in a private place.  You would likely be able to sue a dog owner if his or her dog attacked you on a public sidewalk, for example. However, if you were walking through someone else’s back yard without their permission, this may be technically considered trespassing. In this type of situation, it can be nearly impossible to receive compensation for damages.

The other important element of a dog bite case is that you did not provoke the dog or instigate the animal into biting you. In most cases, petting a dog is not provocative, as you might expect, but throwing things or hitting the animal would be considered provocation.  

A concussion is one type of traumatic brain injury (TBI) which is usually caused by a sudden impact or shake to the head. The word “concussion” comes from the Latin word “concussio” which means "to shake violently.” When a person sustains a concussion, the impact can jar the brain, sometimes causing it to literally move around inside the skull. Traumatic brain injuries such a concussion can cause brain bruising, blood vessel damage, and injury to nerves.

Concussions are commonly caused by playing sports, car accidents, bicycle and pedestrian accidents, work-related injuries, and falling. Although a concussion is usually considered a relatively minor brain injury, any brain injury can cause cognitive impairment and result in financial losses. If you or a loved one suffered a concussion after an accident, you may be able to recover compensation for your injuries through a personal injury claim.

Symptoms of a Concussion May Not Be Immediately Obvious

One of the biggest misunderstandings about concussions is the assumption that they are immediately obvious. The majority of people who are concussed do not lose consciousness. The injured person might not even recognize that he or she has sustained a concussion. During traumatic events like traffic accidents, adrenaline can minimize the amount of pain a person experiences—or even mask pain and discomfort altogether. Many people who have been involved in serious accidents did not even realize they were severely injured until someone notifies them of their injuries.

In workplaces nationwide, workers are required to use various chemicals and other materials in order to perform their jobs properly. While many chemicals are fairly safe, others often present severe dangers, including the ability to cause serious burns. If you have suffered a chemical burn while on the job or while visiting an industrial or construction site, seek treatment immediately and learn about your rights to possible compensation.

Breaking Down a Chemical Burn

Chemicals that can seriously burn a person are usually strong acids or bases. Some such chemicals are found in most homes and may include ammonia, chlorine bleach, and drain cleaning liquids and gels. In manufacturing and industrial settings, however, there are many more chemicals that are often used for a wide range of applications. These chemicals are usually even more concentrated—and therefore more dangerous—than their household counterparts.

When a caustic or corrosive chemical makes contact with your skin, the substance could start to eat away at your flesh. The severity of the burn depends on several factors, including the type of chemical, its concentration, and how long it stays in contact with your skin. The least serious type of chemical burn is called a “superficial injury” as it only damages the top layer of skin. A “dermal injury” or “partial thickness” burn refers to damage to the second layer, called the dermis. The most serious type of chemical burn is a “full-thickness injury” and damages the top and second layers of skin, as well as the tissue underneath, including muscle and fat.

Burns are some of the most painful and debilitating injuries a person can experience. Although minor burns heal quickly and do not leave lasting damage, severe burns, especially third-degree and fourth-degree burns, can cause permanent disfiguration and nerve damage. The pain experienced by a severe burn victim is incomparable to anything else. If you or a loved one suffered a major burn injury due to the carelessness or wrongdoing of another party, you may choose to file a personal injury claim. Through an injury claim, compensation for your economic and noneconomic damages may be available.

Determining Fault for Your Injuries

In order to bring a personal injury claim and recover damages, you and your attorney will need to prove that the defendant caused your injuries. Many burn injury cases are the result of an individual or entity’s negligence. A serious burn injury can be the result of an electrical accident, house or apartment fire, construction accident, restaurant accident, car crash, or a number of other incidents. Determining who is liable for a burn-causing accident is often challenging. An experienced personal injury attorney can help you collect evidence, gather witness testimony, and consult with experts who can testify to the defendant’s role in causing your burn injuries.

Thanks to its inclusion in TV procedural dramas, movies, and other dramatic depictions, there is a good chance that you are familiar with the phrase “beyond a reasonable doubt” as it pertains to legal matters. While the concept predates American law, it has become a cornerstone principle in criminal courtrooms around the country, providing a basis for protecting the rights of the accused. Thanks to the ubiquitous nature of entertainment, it is easy to assume that the same standard applies in any type of court proceeding. Reasonable doubt, however, plays no specific role in civil court or personal injury claims, as the standard used in such cases is much different and much easier to attain. In civil court, a claimant must only show that his or her version of the event in question is more likely than not based on the “preponderance of the evidence.”

Burden of Proof on the Claimant

As you might expect, the party that files a car accident, slip and fall, or another personal injury claim has the burden of proof. This means that, in order to collect compensation as requested in the claim, he or she must present a case that shows several distinct elements.

Specifically, the claimant must demonstrate and support with evidence that:

The vast majority of personal injury lawsuits involve the concept of negligence. When a negligent party’s carelessness causes another person to be injured or killed, the negligent party is liable for the damages caused by the injury or death. Proving that the defendant acted negligently is often the most complicated and challenging part of a personal injury lawsuit. In some cases, however, a defendant in a personal injury case is automatically presumed to have been negligent. Read on to learn about the legal concept of “negligence per se” and how it can help if you or a loved one were injured by another person’s recklessness.

Main Elements of a Negligence Claim

Typically, there are four elements to establishing negligence in a personal injury case. First, you and your lawyer must prove that the defendant owed you a “duty of care.” Duty of care simply means that the defendant had an obligation to act in a way that does not put the plaintiff at an unreasonable risk of harm. For example, a property owner who invites guests onto his property has a duty to maintain a reasonably safe premises that does not include environmental hazards like broken stairs. Next, you will need to prove that the defendant did not uphold his or her duty of care. For example, if the property owner knew that the stairs were broken and did not warn guests about this danger, he did not uphold his duty of care. The third element in a personal injury case is that the plaintiff was injured. Lastly, you need to prove that the defendant’s breach of duty caused the injuries.

Negligence Per Se Can Be a Shortcut to Proving Negligence

If the defendant violated the law, and this violation resulted in injury or death, the defendant may be considered negligent per se. In order for a defendant to be considered negligent per se, the following conditions must be present:

Insulin pumps are important devices that can make a world of a difference to suffers of diabetes. An insulin pump delivers insulin to the body at regular intervals based on the user’s needs. Many people find insulin pumps to be much easier to use and less painful than traditional insulin shots. Insulin pumps are often considered superior to other insulin delivery methods because the devices more effectively manage blood sugar levels and prevent blood sugar lows. Unfortunately, some insulin pumps do the exact opposite of what they are intended to do. A company called Medtronic recently issued a recall of two types of its insulin pumps after major problems with the medical devices were discovered.

Malfunctioning Insulin Pumps Have Already Been Linked to Death

Over 300,000 Medtronic insulin pumps have been recalled after the FDA received thousands of reports of the devices malfunctioning.  Two models of the MiniMed 600 Series Insulin Pumps have been recalled because many of the devices contain a broken or missing retainer ring. The retainer ring is meant to tightly secure the insulin cartridge to the pump. When this component is defective, the user can receive an inaccurate dose of insulin. This can result in dangerous hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia. Sadly, at least one death and over 2,000 injuries have already been associated with the defective insulin pumps.

Liability for Defective Medical Devices

Designers and manufacturers of medical devices have an incredibly serious responsibility to ensure the safety and efficacy of their products. People who use medical devices like insulin pumps trust that these devices will work the way they are intended to work. In many cases, medical device users trust these companies with their lives. When a medical device company fails to uphold its duty to ensure products are safe, the company may be legally responsible for any injuries or death that are caused by a faulty device. If you have been injured or your loved one was killed after a medical device malfunctioned, you may have a valid product liability claim. You may be eligible for compensation for your pain and suffering, medical expenses, missed work, and more.

Parents who drop their children off at daycare trust that the daycare staff will treat their child with the care and attention they need and deserve. Unfortunately, daycare accidents do happen, and children can be seriously injured as a result. Sometimes these injuries could have been prevented if daycare workers took the steps necessary to ensure the safety of the children in their care. If your child has suffered an injury while at a childcare facility, you may be wondering whether the facility or childcare staff are at fault for your child’s injury.

Determining Fault in a Childcare Injury Case

Tragically, sometimes an injury to a child is the result of abuse. If you have reason to believe that your child was harmed by the intentional actions of daycare staff, contact law enforcement right away. Next, contact an experienced injury attorney. It is possible that you may be able to file a civil claim in addition to any criminal charges brought against the daycare staff.

One of the most common ways that infants and children are seriously injured at daycare is through negligence. A childcare facility owner or staff member is considered negligent when the following elements are present:

Being assaulted is a nightmarish experience to endure. If you have been injured in a robbery or any other type of attack, you may be left with significant mental trauma and expensive medical bills. One way you may be able to receive compensation for these and other damages caused by the assault is through a premises liability lawsuit. If inadequate security was to blame for the assault, you may bring a civil claim against the property owner in addition to any civil claim or criminal charges you press against the attacker

Examples of Negligent Security

Property owners and managers have a legal obligation to keep properties reasonably safe for individuals who are invited onto the property. A property owner cannot guarantee the safety of everyone who enters his or her property, but the owner must appropriately address foreseeable risks. When a property owner does not fulfil this obligation and a visitor to the property is injured as a result, the owner may be liable for the damages caused by the injury. Examples of negligent security may include:

• A hotel owner fails to fix a broken lock on a room door
• A parking garage owner does not replace burnt out lightbulbs even though several patrons have been robbed in the garage at night
• The owner of a mall in a high crime area fails to hire enough security guards to adequately patrol the parking lot
• A landlord knows that a tenant is selling drugs out of his apartment but does nothing to stop it

Pursuing Compensation for Inadequate Security

Premises liability lawsuits may be brought against the owner or manager of a store, restaurant, bar, mall, hotel, apartment complex, parking garage, resort or other property. Victims of a shooting, assault, battery, rape, sexual assault, or other injury-causing attack may bring an injury claim against a property owner. If negligent security contributed to a fatal attack, the surviving family of the deceased person may bring a wrongful death lawsuit. The victim or victim’s family may be compensated for medical bills, lost income due to missed work, pain and suffering, mental anguish, and more.

A traumatic brain injury is often the result of a violent blow to the head which causes the brain to strike the inside of the skull or an object penetrating the brain tissue. Traumatic brain injuries vary dramatically in their severity. Some people experience a mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) and do not even realize it. Other people experience debilitating symptoms for months or even years after suffering a TBI. If you or a loved one have experienced a brain injury in an accident caused by negligence, you may be eligible for compensation.

How Do Brain Injuries Happen?

There are almost infinite ways that a person can sustain a brain injury. Slip and fall injuries can be caused by a number of hazardous conditions. A person may suffer a concussion after slipping on an icy walkway and striking his or her head on the concrete. A faulty handrail could become dislodged and cause an individual to fall down the stairs and suffer a major brain contusion. A serious slip and fall accident could even be caused by something as simple as spilled motor oil in a retail store aisle. Property owners have a legal obligation to keep premises free of environmental hazards that present a risk of injury. If your injury was due to an unsafe condition on someone else’s property, you may have a valid injury claim.

Brain injuries can also be the result of a car accident caused a distracted driver or a driver under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Drivers have a duty to drive in a safe and responsible manner. If a driver causes an accident through negligence, he or she may be legally responsible for the damages caused by that accident.

When medical symptoms interfere with our ability to go about our lives normally, we go to the doctor to receive a diagnosis and treatment. Although no one expects doctors to instantly know exactly what is wrong, we generally trust that when we receive a diagnosis, it is the correct diagnosis. Unfortunately, misdiagnosis is common. According to one study, a shocking 12 million adults are misdiagnosed every year in the United States. Being misdiagnosed can cause a person to suffer through unneeded or even harmful medical procedures and medication regimens all while missing out on the treatment that is actually needed. If you have received an inaccurate diagnosis from a doctor, you may have a valid medical malpractice claim.

Commonly Misdiagnosed Medical Concerns

It is estimated that one out of every 20 patients who receive a medical diagnosis at a hospital, outpatient clinic, or doctor’s office receives an inaccurate diagnosis. Research shows that about one half of these misdiagnoses have the potential to cause severe harm to the patient. Some of the most commonly misdiagnosed medical conditions include:

• Cancer including breast cancer, lymphoma, sarcomas and melanoma
• Heart attack
• Stroke
• Pulmonary embolism
• Thyroid disease
• Depression
• Celiac Disease

Consequences of a Misdiagnosis

One of the most serious concerns when a patient receives a misdiagnosis is that he or she will be subject to unnecessary medical treatments. Some medical treatments, such as radiation and chemotherapy, are extremely hard on the body. Certain medications can also have an extremely adverse effect on the body if the person receiving the medication does not actually have the condition the medication is designed to treat. In addition to receiving superfluous treatments, a misdiagnosed person may not receive the treatment he or she actually needs which can cause the condition to worsen. The medical bills associated with these unneeded treatments can cost upwards of tens of thousands of dollars.

Deciding to place a disabled or elderly loved one in a nursing home can be an extremely difficult decision to make. On one hand, you want your loved one to be able to maintain as much independence as possible, but on the other hand, you want to ensure that he or she is safe. When the loved one can no longer complete daily living tasks and look out or his or her own wellbeing, a nursing home may be your only option. While many nursing home staff are hard-working, compassionate caretakers, instances of nursing home neglect and abuse do happen. One indicator that a nursing home resident is not being adequately cared for is reoccurring bedsores.

Causes of Bed Sores

Bed sores, also called pressure ulcers or decubitus ulcers, are wounds caused by long periods of pressure on body parts. The symptoms of bed sores start out mild and then become increasingly noticeable. The skin will first appear discolored or take on a “waxy” appearance or firm texture. If the pressure to the body part is not relieved, the skin can become much more damaged and develop into a painful open wound. Bed sores that are not treated are prone to serious infection. Pressure ulcers are most likely to occur the buttocks, back, hips, and ankles. Bed sores are especially common in individuals who have decreased mobility. Spending long periods of time laying down in bed or sitting in a wheelchair can cause bed sores to develop. For this reason, nursing home staff are trained to help residents with limited mobility periodically move around or change positions.  

Negligence Can Lead to Worsening Bed Sores

Nursing home staff should be fully aware of the dangers that bed sores present to residents. They should help prevent bed sores by keeping the resident clean and dry and frequently repositioning him or her. If a bed sore starts to develop, nursing home staff should adequately treat the sore so that it does not worsen. This can include more frequent repositioning, medications, and wound care. When nursing home workers do not take these steps, the resident can be in danger of developing a potentially life-threatening infection. If you have a loved one in a nursing home and he or she is frequently developing bed sores, this could be a sign that he or she is not receiving adequate care from nursing home staff.

Getting surgery is already foreboding enough. The thought that a surgeon or other medical professional could make a dangerous or even deadly mistake during surgery is especially frightening. Unfortunately, surgical mistakes do happen. When a person is injured because a negligent surgeon or other medical staff member makes an avoidable mistake, the injured person may be left with devastating and often painful consequences. Some surgical errors result in the death of the patient. When medical malpractice results in a patients’ death, the surviving family of the deceased person may choose to bring a wrongful death lawsuit against the practitioner or facility.

Surgical Mistakes Happen at Alarming Frequency

Studies have shown that outrageous surgical mistakes are made at very disturbingly high rates. One study showed that in an average week in the United States, surgeons:

• Perform the wrong surgical procedure on a patient 20 times.
• Leave an object such as a towel, surgical sponge, or medical tool inside of a patient’s body 39 times.
• Operate on the wrong part of the body 20 times.

On average, over 4,000 preventable errors happen during surgery every year in the U.S. These mistakes result in more than one billion dollars in medical malpractice payouts to the injured patients or families of deceased patients. Other common surgical errors which can be detrimental to a patient’s health include incorrect operating plans or techniques, anesthesia errors, post-surgical infections, and c-section mistakes that lead to birth injuries. A victim of a major surgical error could be left with loss of the use of his or her limbs, brain damage, serious infections, and severe pain and suffering.

Most personal injury lawsuits are brought against an individual whose negligent or intentional wrongdoing caused another person injury or death. For example, if a driver who is too busy texting and driving to watch the road causes an accident, a person injured in the accident may sue the driver. Many personal injury lawsuits involve drunk drivers. An individual who is driving under the influence of alcohol and gets in a car crash may be held liable for damages caused by the accident.  However, you may be surprised to learn that a personal injury claim can also be brought against a vendor who sold alcohol to an individual who causes you injury. These claims are called “dram shop liability” claims.

Illinois Law Regarding Dram Shop Liability

Illinois statute allows a person injured by someone under the influence of alcohol to bring a claim against the vendor who supplied the intoxicated person alcohol. The claim may be in response to personal injury, wrongful death, or property damage. 

Consider the following example: A man visits a bar where he consumes several alcoholic drinks. His blood alcohol is over the legal limit but he decides to drive home anyway. On the way home, he crashes into another vehicle causing the other driver to suffer several major injuries as well as substantial vehicle damage. The driver injured in the crash may sue the drunk driver himself or the bar that supplied the man with alcohol. A bar, restaurant, or other establishment that serves alcohol does not have to continue to serve a patron past the point of intoxication in order to be potentially liable under Illinois dram shop liability laws. For a dram shop claim to be successful, the following conditions must be present:

Injuries to the spine and brain can be some of the most catastrophic injuries a person can endure. Because the brain and spinal cord are responsible for the transmission of nerves, the body’s movement, and basic functions like talking and walking, damage to these essential organs can dramatically decrease a person’s ability to live life the way they did before the injury.

If you or a loved one have suffered a serious spinal cord or brain injury and the injury was caused by medical malpractice, a negligent property owner, or another form of negligence party, a personal injury claim may help you recover compensation. While no amount of money can make up for an injury that affects the rest of your life, proceeds from a personal injury lawsuit can help you manage the vast expenses caused by a major injury and hold the negligent party responsible for its wrongdoing.

When Is a Successful Personal Injury Lawsuit Possible?

There are practically countless scenarios that can lead to a personal injury claim. Whenever another party’s negligence leads to your injury and damages result, a personal injury claim may be appropriate. A party is considered negligent when the following criteria are met: