Perhaps the most common business torts that you are likely to encounter, other than breach of contract theories, fall under the general heading of fraud. Fraud is a general term that, in practical application, has many different names -- i.e. fraud in the inducement, fraudulent misrepresentation, and common law fraud, just to name a few. The various theories of fraud can often accompany a wide variety of business Read More
Chicago Trial Attorney: Personal Injury & Business Litigation: Personal Injury and Negligence Law — New Lawsuit Alleges Airline Worker “Dumped” Paralyzed War Veteran From Wheelchair
One of the oldest maxims in American civil litigation -- a concept usually introduced on literally the first day of an aspiring law student's first year tort class -- is that a defendant takes a plaintiff as he or she finds them. This has otherwise come to be known as the "eggshell plaintiff rule," where it doesn't matter if an injured plaintiff was predisposed to a certain kind of harm, if you injure a fragile, or Read More
Chicago Trial Attorney: Personal Injury & Business Litigation: Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Law — Champaign Nursing Home Looks to Combat Budget Crunch with Dialysis Venture
As discussed, it's no secret that nursing homes and patient advocates alike are extremely nervous about the ramifications that may unfold due to Governor Quinn's proposed Medicare cuts. That's why a recent article is particularly interesting, as it details a Champaign nursing home's potential solution to raise revenue by instituting dialysis services within its facilities. As currently sits, dialysis patients at the Read More
Chicago Trial Attorney: Personal Injury & Business Litigation: Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Law — Some Perspective on License Revoking
We've discussed, on a few occasions, the ongoing saga of the Joliet nursing home that is in the process of losing its license to operate as a long-term care facility after numerous investigations by the Department of Public Health of allegations of patient abuse. With this in mind, revoking a license sounds like (and is) a stern remedy, and many potential clients often wonder who makes this decision? What are the Read More
Chicago Trial Attorney: Personal Injury & Business Litigation: Business and Commercial Litigation — Breach of Fiduciary Duty and Self-Dealing
It has long been one of the touchstones of business and commercial litigation that corporate actors (such as, for instance, CEO's, Presidents, Managers, and the like) are absolutely prohibited from what is known as "self-dealing." Self-dealing is a concept that takes on something of a life of its own on a case-by-case basis. For purposes of providing some frame of reference, the Illinois First District Court of Read More
Chicago Trial Attorney: Personal Injury & Business Litigation: Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect — Illinois Nursing Home Staff Protests Own Facility for Treatment of Residents
One of the most common themes in nursing home abuse and neglect cases, as we've discussed, is the tragedies that unfold -- most of which are preventable -- when nursing homes are understaffed and the staff is undertrained or provided with inadequate resources. Most (if not all) of the time, these decisions as to how to allocate a nursing home's resources are profit-driven decisions that come down from the owners, Read More
Chicago Trial Attorney: Personal Injury & Business Litigation: Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Law — Were Patient Advocate Groups Left Out in the Cold in General Assembly Debates?
As an interesting article explains, many patients' rights advocate groups are up in arms after the General Assembly passed a measure to clarify a section of the landmark 2010 Nursing Home Care Act that now will require 10% of care in nursing homes to be provided by registered nurses (RN's). The debate that led to this measure sought to clarify portions of the 2010 Act that required increases in the amount of "nursing Read More
Chicago Trial Attorney: Personal Injury & Business Litigation: Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect — Federal Government Stepping Up Efforts to Reduce Antipsychotic Drug Administration in Nursing Homes
A recent article explained that the federal government is stepping up efforts to regulate the administration of antipsychotic drugs in nursing homes across America. In conjunction, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has also announced a goal of reducing the overall use of antipsychotic drugs in nursing homes by 15% by the end of the year. Quite alarmingly, the article suggests that perhaps as many as Read More
Chicago Trial Attorney: Personal Injury & Business Litigation: Workers Compensation Law — An Introduction to Rule 19(b) Petition
Another unique factor involved in workers compensation cases that differs significantly from your typical personal injury lawsuit is that workers comp claims are occasionally "accepted," which is essentially where the employer's insurance company admits that there has been a valid work injury and agrees to pay benefits -- something to the effect of a first step forward on the path to an eventual settlement. But what Read More
Chicago Trial Attorney: Personal Injury & Business Litigation: Auto Accident Law — Another New Direction for Drunk Driving Offenses?
As we recently discussed, studies on the rates of repeat offenders in drunk driving incidents are leading many states to consider mandating interlock devices that, in theory, prevent drunk drivers from being able to operate their vehicles. Behind these reports, however, is the unfortunate admission that those inclined to make destructive decisions will do so one way or another. Underscoring this point, studies tend Read More
