Posted on June 17, 2019 in Car Accident

It is no surprise that many teens will be involved in a car accident at one point or another; however, these accidents are often more than just a fender bender. According to the CDC, 2,433 U.S. teens (aged 16-19) were killed in 2016 and 292,742 were treated in ERs across the nation for injuries caused by car crashes. Driver education classes are required by schools in an effort to reduce such injuries and fatalities. Despite this curriculum, young adults remain six times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than adults. In many cases, these accidents occur because of lapses in judgment that can be attributed to decisions made without much driving experience. A young driver’s inexperience can often lead to serious car accidents, resulting in significant injuries or even death.

Common Risk Areas

There are a few safety measures that young drivers tend to ignore:

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 Posted on June 11, 2019 in Pedestrian & Bicycle Accidents

Riding a bicycle is often seen as a nice way to spend the day, especially in the summer. Some see it as their daily workout, while others ride leisurely to enjoy the scenery. Although riding bicycles can be a fun family activity, it can also be extremely dangerous. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a total of 777 bicyclists were killed in accidents with motor vehicles in 2017 throughout the United States. Illinois has taken action to try to make riding a bike safer, with separate lanes reserved for cyclists and trails set apart from the cars and trucks on the roadway. Unfortunately, bicyclists continue to get hurt.

Types of Accidents and Safety Tips

Bicyclists can encounter numerous dangerous situations, especially when riding on busy roadways in Chicago. The following are common scenarios that bike riders may run into:

1. Dooring: Most bike lanes are set on the side of the road in an attempt to protect cyclists from being placed in the center of traffic. However, riding next to parked cars can be equally dangerous. As people open their doors to exit their vehicles, the suddenness of the action can cause bicyclists to run right into the car door. This will hurt both the cyclist and the driver in addition to damaging the car door. The best way to avoid this collision is to ride farther away from the parked vehicles. While you may be closer to oncoming traffic, moving drivers will be able to see you better than those who are parked.

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 Posted on June 10, 2019 in Medical Malpractice

Cerebral palsy is a disorder of muscle tone, movement, or posture that can be caused by damage to a child's immature, developing brain. This can occur before birth or during labor. Symptoms are often not recognized at the time of birth, and the severity of the disorder varies from person to person. Some children cannot walk, have intellectual disabilities, or experience epilepsy. Blindness and deafness are also fairly common with those who have cerebral palsy.

Causes of Cerebral Palsy

There are various reasons a child may suffer from cerebral palsy, all of which affect the child's brain development. Some causes are circumstantial and cannot be avoided, while others are a result of medical professionals’ errors. Below are some of the causes of cerebral palsy:

• Gene mutations leading to abnormal brain development

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 Posted on June 05, 2019 in Personal Injury

Now that the snow has melted and summer is in full bloom, potholes riddle the Illinois roadways. Whether you are driving down country roads or navigating Chicago’s narrow streets, it can be almost impossible to avoid hitting a pothole. This was also the case in Baltimore, MD. Mitchelle Conway filed a lawsuit in March 2018 after being severely injured on account of a deep divot in the street. She sustained multiple injuries, including a broken leg, after stepping into “an obscured pothole” along the side of the curb. Throughout the legal proceedings, the city admitted that they knew about the unfixed pothole but took no action to fix it. Google images of the pothole from 2009 helped secure her case against the city. In the end, Ms. Conway received $80,000 to compensate for her injuries.

How Are Potholes Formed?

While we would like to think that any city would take action to improve our roads to ensure driver and pedestrian safety, this was not the case for Ms. Conway and is often not the case in Illinois. Potholes are such a common occurrence, but many do not know how they are formed.

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 Posted on May 07, 2019 in Medical Malpractice

A jury in Vermilion County awarded over $4.8 million to the family of a Danville woman who filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against a local physician and Danville Polyclinic. The lawsuit claimed that Dr. Muthiah Thangavelu's conduct was negligent and resulted in injuries to Linda Shelly that would otherwise have been avoidable

Shelly underwent a procedure to remove a cyst in her abdomen, but during the procedure Thangavelu cut and removed a portion of Shelly's right ureter. This eventually led to permanent and severe injuries, and ultimately, the loss of Shelly's right kidney.

Shelly passed away after struggling with the resulting injury for six and a half years. The lawsuit was filed in November 2010 and was finally brought to jury trial on March 18. After three hours of deliberating, the jurors awarded Shelly's estate $4,844,391 for pain and suffering, medical expenses, loss of normal life expectancy, and emotional distress for her family.

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 Posted on April 27, 2019 in Slip and Fall

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention over 800,000 people end up in the hospital each year due to slip and fall accidents. If you are one of those people who has been injured in a slip and fall accident, it is important to understand what your rights are for getting compensated for your injuries. Not only could you receive compensation for the costs of your treatment, but your attorney may be able to help you obtain other indirect costs.

Determining Slip and Fall Compensation

If you have been injured in a slip and fall accident, it is only logical to file a lawsuit if the compensation amount is high enough. So, how do you know how much the settlement needs to be in order to be beneficial for you? Although your attorney can help you determine whether it is worth it to file a lawsuit, here are a few factors that your attorney will use to make such a determination:

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 Posted on April 22, 2019 in Medical Malpractice

According to recent statistics, the number of medical malpractice claims has significantly dropped, but the case management expenses and payments for the claims have, on average, continued to increase. Between 2007 and 2016, the rate of medical malpractice claims decreased 27% from 5.1 claims per 100 doctors to 3.7 cases. The study analyzed claims that affected 124,000 patients over a 10-year period.

The report stated that although this trend signals a dramatic decrease in a doctor's risk of being named in a medical malpractice claim, there was no single factor that appeared to be the cause of the across-the-board reduction. Experts do believe, however, that improved patient safety, changes in the lawsuit tort environment, and increased financial risk for a plaintiff's attorney are the at least part of the cause.

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 Posted on April 15, 2019 in Nursing Home Negligence

Court documents filed in Orangeburg County show that multiple people have filed claims against Phaire's Care as well as the owner of the elder care facility. One of the lawsuits was filed on behalf of Rena Mae Zinnerman's estate by Darlene Bethea who claims that the owner of the assisted living facility, Carlton Phaire, was transporting Zinnerman along with three other residents when he had an accident. Zinnerman died 10 days after the crash due to her injuries. Bethea is now pursuing a wrongful death claim against Phaire.

A second lawsuit was filed by Jason Broughton on behalf of Judy Broughton's estate claiming medical malpractice. Broughton claims that Judy suffered medical complications and injuries before becoming a resident at the facility, but later that month she was admitted to Trident Medical Center with Stage III and IV wounds. The lawsuit says she was not given proper treatment and care by the staff and consequently died due to her treatment.

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 Posted on April 08, 2019 in Slip and Fall

A student at the University of Washington died due to a blood clot in her lung according to the examination performed by the King County Medical Examiner's Office. Hayley Smith, 19, was a sophomore at the university when the university's police department responded to a slip and fall accident outside the Electrical Engineering building. Smith suffered a severe head injury.

Although it was not confirmed that she fell due to ice on the sidewalk, signs the next day were posted that the sidewalk was closed. The police department for the university found the medical examiner's determination of a death to be consistent with reports from witnesses and their investigation.

Slip and Fall Accidents

When a loved one suffers from a slip and fall accident, especially if it results in death, the family may be shocked when the insurance company claims that a slip and fall accident cannot be serious enough to result in death. They may argue that the person had another condition that was unknown at the time of the accident and that was what caused the person's death rather than the slip and fall accident. Keep in mind that insurance adjusters are not your friends. While they may not believe what they are saying themselves, it is their job to minimize the amount of money that the insurance company pays out for a claim.

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 Posted on March 25, 2019 in Medical Malpractice

Many people dread a trip to the doctor's office, even more so a trip to the hospital. For some, there is something terrifying about yielding control of their bodies over to strangers. Hospitals are buildings that deal with life and death and remind us of our mortality. Are these fears unfounded? Most of the time patients find themselves in capable and caring hands. When they do not, the results can be devastating. One Kevin Baldridge, a 64-year-old patient at St. James Hospital in Northern Chicago, sadly found this out firsthand.

Baldridge visited the hospital complaining of abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. The doctors and technicians at the hospital performed many tests and CT scans, but failed to notice a significant amount of internal bleeding. These professionals included two radiologists and even a vascular surgeon. The poor man's conditioned worsened. An MRI was ordered but never performed. The doctors' failure to notice this bleeding and their general negligence led to Baldridge suffering an aneurysm. This led to his paralysis and the amputation of several of his toes. Sadly the patient now suffers from chronic and debilitating pain. The hospital and the doctors settled his claim of medical malpractice for $20.6 million dollars. One would venture to guess that Baldridge would be willing to give up every penny of that settlement to be able to move freely without hindrance or pain.

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