Posted on July 23,2021 in Wrongful Death

When a person suffers serious injuries, the impact on their own life is clear. An injury victim may struggle with physical pain and limitations, mental stress, interruptions to their daily life, and financial challenges. However, it is also important not to overlook the impact on a victim’s family, especially if the injuries are ultimately fatal. Fortunately, surviving family members have the ability to recover compensation through a wrongful death claim when their loved one is killed due to someone else’s negligence.

When is a Wrongful Death Claim Possible?

As with a personal injury claim, a wrongful death claim requires evidence of negligence that led to the injuries suffered. Commonly, wrongful death claims are filed in response to motor vehicle accidents, whether the injuries are immediately fatal or they result in fatal complications later on. A wrongful death claim may also be warranted after other types of fatal incidents, including construction and other work-related injuries, medical malpractice, and nursing home abuse or neglect.

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 Posted on July 02,2021 in Personal Injury

Based on recent data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there are more fatal alcohol-related car accidents in the summer than in any other season. In part, this is due to the prevalence of drinking on summer holidays like Memorial Day, Labor Day, and Fourth of July weekend. In order to protect yourself and your family, you should consider taking extra precautions when driving during the summer, especially on weekends and holidays. You should also know where to turn for help if you are injured by a drunk driver.

Avoiding Accidents With Drunk Drivers in Illinois

For most people, avoiding driving altogether in the summer, or even just during a holiday weekend, is unrealistic and undesirable. However, it is worth considering your travel plans to see if you can stay off the road during some of the most dangerous times. For example, rather than going out to a bar or to a party for the Fourth of July and driving home late at night, you might consider celebrating at home.

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 Posted on June 28,2021 in Truck Accidents

Drowsy driving does not get the same level of attention as other forms of driver negligence, like drunk driving and distracted driving. However, the National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) reports that driver fatigue is a serious and widespread problem, with conservative estimates indicating that it is responsible for 50,000 injuries and hundreds of fatalities each year. Driver fatigue is especially dangerous among commercial truck drivers, who often spend long hours on the road on a daily basis.

The Harmful Effects of Drowsy Driving

Driver fatigue can come about for a number of reasons, including long hours spent awake and on the road, driving late at night, and a general lack of sufficient sleep. When a driver is fatigued, they are at risk of falling asleep at the wheel. Even a so-called “microsleep” that lasts only a few seconds can have serious consequences for a driver traveling in traffic. For example, it can cause the driver to drift into another lane, or to fail to stop to avoid a rear-end collision.

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 Posted on June 09,2021 in Construction Accidents

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, construction sites are one of the most common locations for work-related injuries in the United States, and it is easy to understand why. Construction work tends to involve strenuous physical labor, and worksites feature a wide range of occupational hazards, including heavy machinery and equipment, dangerous materials, and ladders, and scaffolding. If you have been injured on a construction site, you may have a case for a personal injury claim, but it is important to determine who is at fault for your injuries.

Liable Parties in Illinois Construction Injury Cases

One of the most complicated aspects of construction accident cases is identifying the negligent parties. A number of different people and entities can influence the work environment on a construction site at any given moment. The identity of the at-fault parties in your case can influence both the amount and type of compensation you are eligible to receive, as well as how you go about pursuing it.

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 Posted on May 18,2021 in Car Accident

When you get into a car accident, a variety of injuries can happen. Many people sustain whiplash, bruising, and sometimes even broken bones. Another fairly common injury that a car accident can produce is a traumatic brain injury (TBI). TBIs can and often do range in severity, especially if you sustained the injury from a car accident. In severe cases, a brain injury could also lead to death. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there were more than 61,000 people who died from a TBI in 2019, with even more injured. If you suffered a TBI in a car accident, you should speak to an Illinois car accident injury lawyer to discuss your options to recover compensation.

What is a TBI?

A TBI is an injury that occurs to your brain after your head suffers a blow, bump, or jolt. Many TBIs occur from car accidents. The CDC estimates that about 25 percent of TBIs are caused by vehicle accidents. TBIs can also occur when something penetrates the brain, such as a bullet, projectile, or skull fragment.  Most TBIs only injure brain tissue and heal within a couple of weeks, but with more severe TBIs, the symptoms and effects of the injury may last for years or even a lifetime. 

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 Posted on April 12,2021 in Car Accident

Following the right steps after a car accident can help ensure everyone is safe, that laws are followed, and evidence is preserved in case filing a personal injury claim or lawsuit with a car accident lawyer becomes necessary.

Putting Safety First

After an accident, drivers should move the vehicle out of traffic if possible. Calling 911 can ensure injured victims get the medical help they need and the proper police reports are made.

Avoiding speculation when talking to the police helps protect victims’ right to recovery. Victims should avoid admitting fault. Insurance companies often take statements from accident reports and twist them to minimize or deny claims.

Collecting Information

Collecting information about the other driver(s), passengers, and witnesses help streamline the insurance claim. Victims should document the:

• Names and numbers of parties involved
• Location, date, and time of the crash
• Description of personal injuries and property damage

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 Posted on April 12,2021 in Personal Injury

Accident victims should be mindful of post-collision head injuries like a skull fracture. The skull, commonly referred to as the cranial bone, protects the brain from injury. Skull fractures often cause swelling (edema), blood clots (subdural hematoma), and bleeding (hemorrhage), which create pressure on the brain tissue. Depending on the severity of head injury, brain damage is possible.

Seeking medical attention after a vehicle accident or another incident that may cause head injuries, like a slip and fall, can help reduce the risk of serious complications. A personal injury may also be able to help victims recover compensation when another party’s negligence led to the skull fracture.

Types of Skull Fractures

There are several types of fractures, including:

• Linear – break that occurs in a thin line (it’s the most common)

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 Posted on April 12,2021 in Slip & Fall

In some cases, slip and fall lawsuits are resolved through a legal settlement process without proceeding to trial.

Understanding the Settlement Process

Many slip and fall injuries are settled out of court, if parties can agree on a fair payment amount to cover the injury victim’s damages. However, many slip and fall cases involve complex negotiations and injury liability issues, so court preparation is necessary in case a settlement agreement can’t be reached and the case proceeds to trial.

The settlement process goes through various stages of preparation. Depending on the complexity of the case and the timeline to complete each stage, the settlement process may take several months or years to complete.

Complaint and Summons

Filing a complaint is the first step in pursuing a slip and fall lawsuit. A complaint is an official document prepared by a slip and fall lawyer describing the nature of the legal claim. It states the names of the plaintiff and the defendant, a description of how personal injuries occurred, the allegedly responsible party, and the monetary amount requested for damages.

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 Posted on April 12,2021 in Car Accident

When the driver of an 80,000-pound commercial truck displays road rage, the results are often catastrophic injuries or fatalities. Approximately 1,500 people are seriously hurt or killed by aggressive driving every year.

Truck Drivers Prone to Road Rage

Semi-truck drivers have demanding and often stressful jobs. Many truckers work long hours, sometimes spending days struggling to meet deadlines as they transport goods hundreds of miles to their destination. As a result, truck drivers are prone to road-rage. These factors are no excuse for erratic, dangerous behavior like speeding, tailgating, unsafe lane changes, or trying to run other motorists off the road, however.

Since 2009, accidents involving commercial trucks have risen over 51%. Approximately 68% of all truck accident fatalities are passenger vehicle occupants.

Commercial trucks have greater ground clearance than the average passenger car and they can weigh up to 30 times more. Therefore, smaller vehicles colliding with large trucks already have the odds stacked against them. When a large truck collision involves aggressive behavior, the incident is all the more terrifying.

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 Posted on April 12,2021 in Nursing Home Abuse

Corrupt nursing homes are prone to incidents of neglect and abuse. Improper supervision of nursing home staff, understaffing, negligent care, and irresponsible or even abusive actions of caregivers in these facilities can put elderly residents in danger.

Concealing Neglect and Abuse in Nursing Homes

The horror stories in the news regarding nursing home abuse and neglect are astounding. In October of 2019, 3 nursing home facility workers in North Carolina were charged with forcing residents to participate in a fighting ring with other residents. In some instances, staff members were recording the fights and encouraging nursing home residents, many of which had Alzheimer’s and dementia, to abuse one another.

The month prior to the North Carolina case, Philip Esformes, CEO of a chain of nursing home and assisted living facilities, was convicted of numerous schemes that involved bribing doctors to refer patients to Esformes’s facilities, inappropriately moving residents between facilities to keep ratios stable, and even bribing government officials to give facilities notice when a surprise inspection was about to take place. As a result, many residents received inadequate medical care, lived in poor or unsafe conditions, were charged for unnecessary services, or denied any services whatsoever. After years of investigations that began in 2016, multiple charges were admitted to, and a 20-year sentence along with a $44 million penalty was received. In addition to criminal charges, Esformes may face civil lawsuits from the victims’ families.

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