
Recent Blog Posts
Suing a Medical Facility or Doctor for an Infant’s Death
Few things in life are as tragic and heart wrenching as the death of a newborn baby. If you or a loved one suffered the death of an infant recently, you may be evaluating your options. When an infant’s death is caused or contributed to by medical negligence, the parents may be able to sue the doctor, nurse, or medical facility that caused the untimely death.
Liability for a Baby’s Death
Sometimes, the death of a newborn is unavoidable. The baby may have been born with a genetic condition or another health ailment that made him or her unable to survive outside the womb. However, some infant deaths are directly caused by negligent medical care.
Wrongful death of an infant may be caused by:
Calculating Lost Earning Capacity for an Injury Resulting in Disability
In a split second, an accident can irreversibly change the course of someone's life. Whether an injury is caused in a car crash, work accident, sudden fall, or another type of accident, it is likely to have a profound impact on the victim. This is especially true of catastrophic injuries that result in permanent disability. Someone who is permanently disabled in an accident may be unable to fulfill the career plans he or she intended.
Individuals who suffer severe injuries that impact their ability to earn a living may be entitled to compensation for lost earning capacity. Read on to learn more.
Reduced Earning Capacity Caused by a Catastrophic Injury
Personal injury claims are used to pursue financial reimbursement for damages. Lost income and lost earning capacity are two categories of damages that are common in catastrophic injury cases. Lost income or lost wages refers to the income a person misses out on while he or she is recovering from an injury. Lost earning capacity, on the other hand, refers to the loss of a person's ability to earn an income.
How Event Data Recorder Information is Used in a Truck Accident Case
The National Safety Council reports that nearly 5,000 large trucks were involved in fatal auto accidents in 2020. Approximately 147,000 people were injured in truck accidents in the same year. Commercial trucks are much larger than the average vehicle on public roads and consequently, the damage caused in a commercial truck crash is often catastrophic. Personal injury lawsuits for commercial truck accidents often lead to six and seven-figure payouts. Frequently, information from the truck’s event data recorder is a key piece of evidence in a large commercial truck accident investigation.
What Does an Event Data Recorder Do?
Event data recorders (EDRs) sometimes called “black boxes” or electronic control modules may be installed in commercial vehicles or privately owned vehicles. The device records technical vehicle information before, during, and after a collision. This information can be used to understand the events that led to a crash and what happened during the collision.
How Much Compensation Can Be Recovered for a Catastrophic Injury Caused by Negligence?
In the legal realm, the word “negligence” refers to a party’s irresponsible, reckless, or careless action. Negligence may also refer to irresponsible inaction. For example, an apartment landlord who knows a stairwell is unsafe should take action to remedy the problems that make it unsafe for tenants and guests. Negligence may come in the form of unsafe driving, defective design or manufacture of consumer products, failure to maintain a safe property, and more.
If you or a loved one suffered a catastrophic injury such as a brain injury, spine injury, or amputation because another party acted negligently, you may be able to take legal action. You could be compensated not only for your medical bills and other financial losses, but also for your non-financial damages such as pain and suffering.
Your Questions About Taking Legal Action After a Fatal Car Crash in Illinois
Riding in a car is statistically one of the most dangerous things the average person does on a daily basis. Fatal crashes caused by distracted driving, intoxicated driving, or simply inattention, are shockingly common. These accidents leave a trail of devastation in their wake and change families’ lives forever.
If you lost a loved one in a fatal car accident, you may have questions about your legal options. Can you hold the at-fault driver accountable? Will insurance pay for medical and funeral bills? How will you make ends meet without your loved one’s financial support? Is taking legal action worth it? Read on to learn more.
What is a Wrongful Death Claim?
When someone dies in a preventable accident, the surviving family often wants answers. They want to know who was responsible for the crash and they want that person to be held accountable. A wrongful death claim is a civil claim used to pursue monetary damages. Illinois law defines wrongful death as a death caused by another party’s negligent or wrongful actions. Negligent driving may include anything from speeding or failure to yield to more egregious actions like drunk driving. The at-fault party could also be a non-individual such as a car parts manufacturer that created a defective auto part.
Is a Daycare Legally Responsible for a Child’s Serious Injury or Death?
If you are a parent, you probably can remember the very first time you took your child to daycare. It can be extremely hard to put your child in the care of another party. News stories about poor care or even intentional abuse in daycares, after-school programs, and other childcare facilities only worsen parents’ anxieties. While most childcare businesses are safe and run by caring staff, not every daycare lives up to parents’ expectations. Problems such as understaffing, inadequate staff training, and poor building maintenance can put children in danger. In some cases, children are severely injured or even killed by daycare negligence. If your child was hurt at daycare, read on to learn about your legal options.
New Treatment Options Offer Hope to Traumatic Brain Injury Sufferers
Car accidents, falling, and countless other forms of trauma can cause someone to suffer a traumatic brain injury. Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) can have long-lasting, significant consequences. Physical, mental, and psychological symptoms of TBI can exist for months or years after an injury. Fortunately, new treatment options may provide brain injury victims the relief they desperately need.
Treating Traumatic Brain Injuries
If you or a loved one suffered a brain injury in a car crash or other incident, you know just how far-reaching the effects can be. Many people are left with painful headaches, dizziness, vomiting, and hearing and vision impairment. Others suffer from cognitive impairments that reduce their ability to concentrate, pay attention, or remember past events. Severe TBIs can cause seizures, slurred speech, constant fatigue, and problems sleeping. Psychological problems, including depression and anxiety, may also be caused or worsened by brain trauma.
Top Questions About Motorcycle Accident Cases in Illinois
Finally, spring has arrived to the Chicago area. For many people, spring marks the beginning of motorcycle season. Anyone who has ridden on a motorcycle can understand the appeal of zipping through the streets on a bike. Unfortunately, riding a motorcycle is much more dangerous than traveling in a closed vehicle. Motorcyclists are harder to see, and riders are not protected by the vehicle in the event of a crash. Over 5,000 people lost their lives in motorcycle accidents in 2019. Individuals on a motorcycle are 29 times more likely than individuals in a passenger car to die in a collision.
If you were injured or a loved one was killed in a motorcycle crash, you may be able to take legal action and pursue damages. Read on to learn some of the top questions about motorcycle accident claims in Illinois.
My Child Choked on a Toy and Died. Can I Sue the Manufacturer?
When parents of young children purchase toys for their child to play with, they put their trust in the toy manufacturer to provide safe, age-appropriate materials for their child’s use. Tragically, many children choke to death on small pieces of toys that have either broken off, are not properly secured, or did not come with adequate choking hazard warnings. Watching your child choke can be a horrible experience, and even when choking is not lethal, it can cause serious personal injuries. If your child has choked on a toy or other defective product, you may wonder if you can hold the toymaker liable.
Common Choking Injuries
Every year, over 200,000 children are estimated to be treated at emergency rooms for injuries related to toys, and many of these cases are related to choking and suffocation. Children under age three are at a particularly high risk for choking on toys because they tend to put things in their mouths constantly. Very young children also have smaller mouths and airways, allowing objects to get stuck more easily. Common choking injuries from children’s toys include:
What Can I Do if My Spouse Was Killed By Wrongly Administered Anesthesia?
Using special medication, general anesthesia puts a patient into an unconscious state and allows them to avoid pain and physical movement. While Illinois anesthesiologists are carefully trained to administer anesthesia and monitor a patient’s heart rate and other vital signs during treatment, even relatively minor surgeries can be dangerous when they involve the use of general anesthesia. Most of the time, general anesthesia is used safely, even for high-risk populations; but when an anesthesiologist acts negligently or carelessly, patients can suffer serious injury and even wrongful death.
Are Certain Patients at Great Risk of Anesthesia Complications?
Not every injury and death that occurs during the use of general anesthesia can be attributed to medical malpractice. Certain health conditions, habits, and medical histories can place patients at higher risk of adverse events during anesthesia, including: