Illinois Injury Lawyer Blog

In a 260-154 vote, the House has recently passed legislation that would force OSHA to limit workplace exposure to diacetyl, the butter-flavoring compound that has been linked to the development of bronchiolitis obliterans, or Popcorn Lung. Senator Edward Kennedy supports the House effort and hopes that the Senate will pass the bill as soon as possible. Predictably, the White House has opposed this legislation that would impose regulations on large manufacturers, with President Bush threatening to veto.

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Posted In: popcorn lung

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A new personal injury lawsuit has recently been filed by the family of a man who was run over by a car in the Durkin Park fight that occurred earlier this year. Durkin Park was the site of the clash that ended with one teen driving an SUV through a crowd of people. Despite the numerous and frantic calls to 911 that night, authorities were slow to respond and dealt with the callers with sarcasm and apathy. The man who was run over by the SUV sustained personal injuries that have prevented him from returning to his job in construction. He and his family are suing the driver of the car, the owner of the car, and the City of Chicago.

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Click here for a post on an earlier lawsuit filed after the Durkin Park fight

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Posted In: Automobile Accidents , Injuries to Minors and Children , Pedestrian

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A Chicago jury has recently awarded $19,000,000 for personal injuries to a minor child caused by a falling TV. The TV was on top of a stand, and the boy was trying to help move the stand so that the class could watch a video. The 27-inch TV fell on top of the boy, causing permanent physical and mental damage. The boy was in the 4th grade at the time of the accident. Now he walks with a limp and has problems using his left arm and hand. Although he is in the 8th grade, he is enrolled in special education classes and performs at a 3rd grade level. The jury awarded $7.1 million for future expenses, $5 million for loss of normal life, $2.4 million for lost earnings, $2 million for disfigurement, $2 million for pain and suffering, and $518,000 for medical expenses.

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Posted In: Injuries to Minors and Children

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The family of a young woman who died in a fatal automobile accident that occurred on the way back from the BMW Championship is suing the organizer of the golf tournament, the Western Golf Association, for wrongful death. Also being sued are Waste Management and Barton Staffing Services of Joliet, Illinois. The deceased woman was in a van that was transporting workers back to their homes when a faulty wheel and/or brakes caused the van to crash on I-55. The van was carrying fourteen passengers, and four of those passengers now face deportation for being in the country illegally. However, the two people who died as a result of this automobile accident were in the county legally, and the young woman was a U.S. citizen born in Chicago. Immigration rights activists have criticized the WGA for not doing enough to acknowledge the WGA's role in these deaths. The family’s representative stated, “You cannot hire a contractor and say [you] don't care how much you pay your staff or what conditions you allow them to work under and then say you have no responsibility when they die as a result of being transported to work in an unsafe vehicle.”

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Posted In: Automobile Accidents , Injuries to Minors and Children , Wrongful Death

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The CPSC has announced the recall of 1,000,000 of the nation’s best selling cribs sold under the Simplicity and Graco brands. The recall was issued after several infants had died after the cribs’ drop rails would detach and leave a dangerous gap. This product defect could lead to serious injuries to infants and has already resulted in several infant deaths. A spokesperson from the CPSC said, “We do not want your child in that crib tonight.”

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Click here for information on the recall.

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Posted In: Injuries to Minors and Children , Products liability

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An Illinois teen has settled a personal injury against an equestrian center under the Illinois Drug or Alcohol Impaired Minor Responsibility Act. Just 29 days after the went into effect, the Kelly’s on 41 Equestrian Center hosted a Halloween barn party that featured several kegs of free beer. Teens were present at this party and were able to drink the beer. The teen plaintiff was injured when she left the party in the car of a friend, who was underage and had two beers at the party hosted by Kelly’s Equestrian Center. The driver, who was later ticketed for DUI, caused an automobile accident when she collided into a tractor trailer as the teens left the party. As a result, the teen’s injuries include permanent damage to her left hand and leg.

The Illinois Drug or Alcohol Impaired Minor Responsibility Act was enacted by the Illinois legislature in response to a string of recent tragedies where teens were seriously injured after consuming alcohol at parties hosted by parents. The Illinois legislature’s effort deter parents from hosting teen drinking parties is similar to that seen in other states around the country.

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Posted In: Automobile Accidents , Illinois statues and Chicago Municipal Codes , Injuries to Minors and Children

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After it was discovered that the recycled mulch used for the new playground at the Woodstock Early Learning Center contained 3,000 nails, the playground was shut down and the mulch was removed. Fortunately, there were no personal injuries to any of the 140 children who could have been hurt. The spokeswoman for the Center said that they specifically requested a mulch without nails and that they were never told that what they were getting could contain any nails. The owner of the company supplying the nail-filled mulch disputes this, but she also admits that she knew that the mulch could contain nails, that she knew that the mulch would be used for kids, and that she sold the mulch to the Center anyway. The Center is trying to get their money back for the mulch, and they would also like to be compensated for the money they spent on removal. However, the owner of the company that supplied the mulch is refusing to pay for a refund and the removal of 120 yards of mulch that contained the 3,000 nails.

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Posted In: Injuries to Minors and Children

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A crew of six New York prison inmates and two corrections officers were exposed to asbestos, a carcinogen, during a construction job requiring them to tear up floor tiles. After the crew and officers had been exposed to the asbestos for over a year, the construction site's environmental engineer warned of the danger. The tiles were tested and found to contain four times the amount of allowable asbestos at a construction site without requiring special removal teams. The officers are taking the city to court and the inmates are also considering suing for damages. Mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer, is almost always tied to asbestos exposure and occurs in the membrane lining of the lungs or abdomen. The symptoms of Mesothelioma do not typically appear until decades after the initial exposure.

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Posted In: Asbestos and Mesothelioma , Current Issues , Land Owner liability , Toxic Torts

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A 73 year-old woman recently recalled her close call with Avandia, an experimental blood sugar regulating drug. Her daughter believes that the drug led to the 73 year-old woman’s heart attack. She began taking Avandia in 2004 and suffered a heart attack in October of 2005. The woman was finally taken off of the drug after a diligent nursing home doctor received notice that Avandia was causing health problems. She is doing well today – better than she was two years ago.

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Posted In: Products liability , pharmaceuticals

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The parents of a three-year-old boy have filed a personal injury lawsuit on behalf of their son against Children's World Learning Center in Dallas, Texas. The lawsuit alleges that, in addition to spankings in concealed areas such as closets, the teachers at the day care center would discipline the children with a punishment called “stick-stick.” The way that the teachers at the facility would use stick-stick is to punish children for misbehavior by sticking a thumbtack into their backs. Additionally, the teachers tried to control the children’s behavior by threatening to push the thumbtacks into their backs. A Department of Family Services investigation confirmed this practice, which lead to one teacher being fired. But the practice did not end with that teacher. The boy’s parents noticed that he was coming home with scratches and pin-sized marks on his shoulders and back. When the parents went to the day care facility, they asked their son to identify the person who stick-sticks, the boy pointed to his teacher. When the parents then took their son to the bulletin board, he pointed at a thumbtack and said, stick-stick.

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Posted In: Injuries to Minors and Children

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A Kentucky man has filed a personal injury lawsuit after a truck accident involving three motorcyclists that cost him his leg. The two other motorcyclists lost their lives in the accident. The surviving motorcyclist is suing for medical expenses related to the motorcycle crash. To date, the injured motorcyclist’s medical expenses are nearing $700,000.

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Posted In: Automobile Accidents , Motorcycle Accidents

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A wrongful death lawsuit was filed on behalf of a two-year-old boy who is the only surviving family member of a car accident involving a tow truck. The toddler, his older brother, and both of his parents were returning home after watching fireworks.

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Posted In: Automobile Accidents

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A Chicago Police Officer has recently filed a personal injury lawsuit in the Cook County Circuit Court against a man the officer later shot to death. The defendant hit the Chicago Police Officer with his car and dragged the officer for ten feet under the car's bumper. The police report indicates that four officers then shot 42 bullets at the driver because he was using the car as a weapon. This account of events is different than the one depicted in the wrongful death lawsuit filed last year by the deceased driver’s family.

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Posted In: Automobile Accidents , Wrongful Death

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A $960,000 personal injury settlement was made on the behalf of an 88-year-old man who was severely burned in his shower. The man was showering when the water became extremely hot - 180 degrees - causing him to fall in the tub. The man was bed-ridden for months to treat burns on his arms, legs, abdomen and groin. The owners of the building, the plumbers who installed the thermostat and the agency that supplied the nurse who was supposed to be helping the man bathe were all payees on the settlement.

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Posted In: Building safety , Burn Injury , Land Owner liability

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A Midwest man has filed a personal injury lawsuit against the makers of Brut and the Wal-Mart from which he bought the Brut deodorant and lotion after he was burned on thirty percent of his body. The 81 year old man was camping with his family. After washing and shaving in a bathhouse in the morning, the man put on Brut lotion on his face, neck, and hands. He also sprayed on Brut deodorant. The man then went to start cooking breakfast in a campground fire pit. It was at that time, while attempting to start the campfire, that the man’s face, neck, and chest burst into flames. The lawsuit claims that the products were defective because they were unreasonably dangerous. "Our view is there is no warning that after you apply it, you remain flammable for some period of time," said the man’s attorney. "You aren't thinking, 'I'm still flammable."'

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Posted In: Burn Injury , Products liability

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An Indiana man working on the City Center project in Carmel, Indiana has recently filed a personal injury lawsuit against the city and the general contractor for the project. The personal injury lawsuit alleges negligence which lead to the construction accident. While working on an underground portion of the project, the construction worker nearly lost his arm when a crane above him dropped a load of rebar. The man states that it looked like the rigging securing the rebar was worn out and defective. The rigging on that crane was changed the subsequent day.

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Posted In: Construction Injury , Land Owner liability , Products liability

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A $1,400,000 settlement was recently reached that alleged wrongful death, personal injury and property damage on behalf of a 75-year-old woman who was killed in a car accident when the principal of a local high school returning from a school trip swerved into oncoming traffic. The woman's husband, also 75-years-old, suffered major injuries. Plaintiffs in the case also include the couple's 11 children. The Plaintiffs also received a $100,000 settlement from the life insurance policy of the principal, who also died in the accident.

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Posted In: Automobile Accidents , Motor Vehicle Accidents , Wrongful Death

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An Illinois man has recently filed a personal injury lawsuit after getting run over by a runaway monster truck earlier this year. The monster truck was conducting a demonstration at a NAPA Auto Parts parking lot in Dekalb, Illinois and was attempting to crush four cars when it careened out of control. The runaway monster truck drove into a crowd, causing three adults and six children to be sent to an area hospital by ambulance. Although the Illinois man was not amongst those transported by ambulance, he did take himself to the emergency room later that day for knee injuries that required surgical attention. In addition to the monster truck driver, NAPA Auto Parts and its parent company have been named in the lawsuit.

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Click here for further details on the accident

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Posted In: Automobile Accidents , Land Owner liability , Pedestrian

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A $15 million verdict against Goodyear Donlop Tires for product liability and personal injury was recently made in favor of a woman who suffered a severe brain injury in a motorcycle accident near Pontiac, Illinois. The motorcycle's tire, manufactured by Goodyear, suddenly deflated causing a crash during which the brain injury occurred even though the woman was wearing a helmet. The crash has led to severe cognitive defects and paralyzation. The woman is now permanently bound to a wheel chair and will require full time care for the rest of her life.

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Posted In: Brain Injury , Motor Vehicle Accidents , Motorcycle Accidents , Products liability

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