Some drivers that rear-end my clients think they can blame the snow and ice - or bad weather. Wrong. Drivers must slow down even more, be extra cautious and keep a proper lookout - all per Illinois law - or risk liability for an accident. In fact, such accidents may even warrant "partial" summary judgment in Court (if not settled before Court action is taken). Summary judgment is a legal term for an entry of judgment Read More
Chicago Trial Attorney: Personal Injury & Business Litigation: Texting and Driving Can Lead to “Punitive Damages”
Under Illinois personal injury law, "punitive damages" (those meant to deter and "punish" the wrongdoer) must be brought pursuant to "permission" by the Court. See 735 Ill. Comp. Stat. Ann. 5/2-604.1 (Lexis 2014). Many clients want to seek the "maximum" in certain automobile accidents and seeking punitive damages would clearly be an attempt to do just that. However, the facts and circumstances must be proper and Read More
Chicago Trial Attorney: Personal Injury & Business Litigation: Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Law — New Lawsuit Alleges Negligence Against Suburban Nursing Home After Maggots Found in Patient’s Ear
As the Chicago Tribune recently reported, a lawsuit has recently been filed in Cook County against an Arlington Heights’ nursing home after 57 maggots were allegedly found in the ear of a 90 year old Alzheimer's patient. The article alleges that after the maggots were removed from the patient's ear, they were sent to a laboratory and determined to be approximately three days old. Details in cases such as these are, Read More
Chicago Trial Attorney: Personal Injury & Business Litigation: Personal Injury Law — Common Carrier Liability — New Study Urges Transit Units to Invest Up To $2 Billion in Renovations
As CBS Chicago recently reported, a new study released by DePaul University warns that annual spending of perhaps up to $2 billion per year on infrastructure and repairs to Chicagoland's most widely-used public transit -- namely Metra and the Chicago Transit Authority. The findings suggest that, while ridership has steadily increased in recent years, the spending necessary to keep up with maintenance, repair, and Read More
Chicago Trial Attorney: Personal Injury and Business Litigation: CTA Commuter Train (“L”) Crash Injures Numerous People
You can On Monday, September 30, 2013, numerous people were injured when Chicago Transit Authority (CTA and sometimes called the L by some and here the "Blue Line") commuter trains collided during rush hour at Harlem Station in Forest Park, Illinois. Train drivers and train companies owe their passengers a duty of care to avoid causing injuries to their passengers and situations can turn into severe hazards and Read More
Chicago Trial Attorney: Personal Injury & Business Litigation: Settlements and Timing of Payment-FINALLY HERE!
It's finally here -- the Governor has signed! After settling a case (some types of cases excepted below), a Plaintiff can now have some form of a "deadline" to expect payment of funds provided certain conditions are met. The new law takes effect January 1, 2014 -- just 5 months from now. Note well that this is just the "deadline" by which the defendant must pay. That is, other issues can still delay "final" fund Read More
Chicago Trial Attorney: Personal Injury & Business Litigation: Texting Even OUTSIDE a Vehicle Could Get You Sued!
In a recent decision, it was reported here that a New Jersey Appeals Court held that a person who is texting a driver could very well become a defendant in a lawsuit and be liable to someone who was injured due to such texting. Texting another driver while you are NOT driving could get you sued! Don't text and drive and don't text someone you know is driving! Just don't do it! Apparently, the Court issued a Read More
Chicago Trial Attorney: Personal Injury & Business Litigation: SB 1912 – The Proposed Amendment to the Civil Practice Law of the Code of Civil Procedure in Illinois
Illinois Plaintiff’s attorneys are all too familiar with settled defendants “dragging their feet” on issuing payment on a settled case. In many cases, once the parties reach a settlement, the real fight begins. Through a series of motions, numerous phone calls, and demand letters, plaintiff’s attorneys eventually receive the settlement check from the defendant, sometimes months after the agreement is made. Earlier Read More
Injury Cases and Medical Bills
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] When injured due to a car accident, slip and fall, dog bite, nursing home abuse and neglect or from near any cause or issue, medical bills create significant issues from multiple respects. Some various and very "high-level" topics are as follows (and much more details and information is available upon request): Health insurance. Your health insurance may outright deny coverage for Read More
Chicago Trial Attorney: Personal Injury & Business Litigation: Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Law — Patient Advocates Suffer Blow as General Assembly Shoots Down Insurance Requirement
As many of our discussions have tackled, issues of insurance are very essential to protecting the rights of injury victims, and while insurance companies seldom willingly pay all of what they should, Illinois' mandatory insurance laws at least make sure there's a system in place to make sure that injury victims have a possibility of compensation. That's why it comes as such a disheartening surprise that the Illinois Read More
