A phrase often used in the personal injury context, mostly by personal injury lawyers themselves, is “catastrophic injury” or “catastrophic injuries.” Experienced personal injury lawyers hold themselves out as handling “catastrophic injury cases”, but what does that really mean? The answer is not always clear. Catastrophic, by definition, is something extremely harmful or severe. In… Read More
Kennedy “Suicide” Merge Lane Renovation to Prevent Serious Vehicle Accidents
Last week was dominated by the Virigina Tech study on distracted driving, and Illinois Govern Patrick Quinn’s signing of a measure that bans texting and emailing while driving. Another safety issue being currently being addressed to prevent motor vehicle accidents in Chicago is the Kennedy Expressway “suicide” merge lane renovation. The Illinois Department of Transportation… Read More
New Law Bans Texting While Driving
Previous posts have discussed the relationship between distracted drivers and catastrophic motor vehicle accidents. In an attempt to minimize one cause of distracted drivers, namely sending text messages while driving, Illinois Governor Quinn signed legislation, which takes effect on January 1, 2010, banning texting while driving throughout the state. The City of Chicago previously banned… Read More
Electrocution on Construction Sites and Other Job Sites
A less common, though potentially devastating type of injury arising in the workplace, as well as other contexts, is electrocution. Construction sites, factories, job sites, and other unsafe premises may expose people to dangerous conditions leading to electrocution of those working or visiting the premises. Those electrocuted on a construction site, or other location, as… Read More
Understanding Wrongful Death Lawsuits
In the simplest terms, wrongful death is where someone is killed as a result the negligence, recklessness or wrongful conduct of another. In the personal injury context, wrongful death may occur as a result of transportation-related accidents, construction accidents, defective products and medical negligence. A wrongful death claim generally consists of the following four elements:… Read More
Injured At Work: Worker’s Compensation and Third-Party Actions
In Illinois, as in many states, if you are injured at work (or in the course of your employment), you may not sue your employer directly for personal injury. Instead, you must pursue a “workers compensation” action to recover damages from your employer. Because our personal injury lawyers practice predominantly in Illinois, we are most… Read More
Construction Site Falls – Scaffold Injuries
Falls are the most common type of construction site accident, especially falls from scaffolds. According to the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA), there are more than 50 deaths and 4500 injuries from scaffolding falls each year. Construction workers who fall several stories from scaffolding are often seriously injured, resulting in hospitalization or even death…. Read More
Sole Proximate Cause and Empty Chair Defense Re-Examined
In Ready v. United Goedecke Services, Inc., a case that has gone back and forth between the Illinois Supreme Court and the Illinois Appellate Court, creating important law along the way, the appellate court recently resurrected a legal defense despised by most experienced personal injury lawyers, namely, the “Empty Chair Defense.” Briefly, Ready involved a… Read More
Chicago Construction Accident – Steel Pylon from Crane Kills Engineer
According to today’s Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, the family of a 24-year-old engineering inspector settled a Chicago construction accident and wrongful death action. The Chicago engineering inspector was killed when he was struck by a steel pylon that fell from a crane. The 24-year-old man from Chicago was apparently working at a construction site of… Read More
Tractor-Trailer Truck Accidents – An Experienced Lawyer Helps Determine Causation
As with all motor vehicle accidents, there various causes of truck accidents — some purely accidental, some caused by carelessness or recklessness. Some of the less innocuous causes of truck accidents, which may form the basis for a personal injury negligence action, include driver fatigue, overloaded trucks, improper truck maintenance (by the tuck driver, trucking… Read More
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