Illinois Injury Lawyer Blog

Service of a Summons is an essential part of a personal injury lawsuit starting off on the right foot. Supreme Court Rule 103(b) allows a court to dismiss the case if the plaintiff does not exercise reasonable diligence to secure the service of summons. This means that an attorney who gets a “return not found” or has the service letter bounce back must follow up with legitimate attempts to get the summons served. Often, a skip chaser or a special process service can help and affect valid service. However, if you let the suit languish without attempting to serve summons for an unreasonable period there may be no remedy.

Posted by Levin & Perconti | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Tips for Lawyers

Bookmark:

According to the Chicago Police Department, the truck driver whose semi truck crashed into the CTA Red Line station on Cermak last week possessed prescription drugs that were not prescribed to him. While in custody, the driver refused a urine test, a method police often use to detect controlled substances, and behaved oddly, leading some to suspect that he may have been under the influence of drugs when the truck crashed. Currently, Chicago lawyers have filed personal injury lawsuits in Chicago against the driver and have named the trucking company, Whiteline Express, in the truck accident lawsuit. Chicago Police plan to interview other semi truck drivers to determine if it is common for semi truck drivers to use controlled substances at work.

Please read more here.

Posted by Levin & Perconti | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Automobile Accidents , Bus Accidents , Motor Vehicle Accidents , Pedestrian , Public Transit , Train Accidents , Truck Accidents

Bookmark:

The 22 victims of the Cook County office building fire from 2003 have settled their personal injury lawsuit against the City of Chicago, Cook County, and the building’s management. The $100 million dollar settlement for this personal injury lawsuit will compensate the victims who were injured when the high rise building fire broke out; most were caught in the stairwells and suffered from the smoke.

See the news story here.

Posted by Levin & Perconti | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Burn Injury , Fire Safety , Illinois statues and Chicago Municipal Codes , Smoke Detectors , Wrongful Death

Bookmark:

Five years and a number of personal injury lawsuits and wrongful death lawsuits have passed since an apartment porch collapse accident killed 13 people on the city’s north side. Porches are very popular in Chicago, often the focal point of a weekend gathering. Residents should know that there are now only three ways that porches get inspected: by calling 311, during an annual building inspection, and when the porch is constructed. Notably, the porch collapse accident that killed 13 on the city’s north side in 2003 was not detected in five years of annual inspections. Apartment residents who worry that their porch is unsafe and could result in a porch collapse accident should contact the City of Chicago.

Read more here.

Posted by Levin & Perconti | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Brain Injury , Building safety , Current Issues , Illinois statues and Chicago Municipal Codes , Injuries to Minors and Children , Land Owner liability , Wrongful Death

Bookmark:

The investigation into the horrific semi truck accident at the CTA’s Cermak red line stop last week continues. Currently, the Chicago Police Department is investigating the truck crash to determine if any foul pay was afoot, if the driver’s fatigue or substance use may have caused the crash, or if mechanical error caused the truck to crash. As of today, the Chicago Police Department has only given the driver a negligent driving ticket; this may mean that negligent driving caused a truck accident.

Read more here.

Posted by Levin & Perconti | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Automobile Accidents , Bus Accidents , Motor Vehicle Accidents , Pedestrian , Public Transit , Train Accidents , Truck Accidents , Wrongful Death

Bookmark:

Sometimes, a client will want to settle a personal injury lawsuit for an amount that is lower than what you can get. Lawyers are experts on achieving a valuable settlement in personal injury lawsuits and worker’s compensation lawsuits but some clients may want something different. If a client wants to take a different personal injury settlement amount against your advice, be sure to have the client sign an agreement that clearly states they accepted a settlement contrary to your advice

Posted by Levin & Perconti | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Tips for Lawyers

Bookmark:

Lawyers and clients should be careful when defining the scope of the representation for a personal injury lawsuit involving a workplace injury or jobsite injury. Sometimes, a personal injury at work may give rise to both a personal injury lawsuit and a worker’s compensation lawsuit.

The engagement agreement, also called a supplemental letter as part of a required statutory form for a worker’s compensation lawsuit, between the lawyer and the client must specify which type of case the lawyer will represent. The lawyer may do both, but the letter should specify the exact scope of the representation and include all statutorily-required provisions. For clients, it is important that you talk with your lawyer and ask them if both a worker’s compensation lawsuit and personal injury recovery might be available for your personal injury lawsuit.

Posted by Levin & Perconti | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Tips for Lawyers

Bookmark:

When a lawyer gets a new products liability lawsuit there is one important step that some lawyers overlook. Immediately upon taking a products liability lawsuit, the attorney should make sure to preserve the product. If you’re not sure how to preserve the product or pick up the pieces to safeguard them for later use in trial, call an experienced products liability attorney for advice or a referral.

Posted by Levin & Perconti | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Tips for Lawyers

Bookmark:

A semi truck accident occurred on Friday, April 25 at the Cermak/Chinatown CTA Red Line station. According to witnesses, the semi truck appeared out of control as it hit first the CTA bus stop and then the Cermak station staircase. 2 pedestrians were killed by the runaway semi truck in today's truck accident. Multiple other pedestrians were injured and the CTA public transit accident disrupted train service. Witnesses reported that one victim was pinned under the back wheels of the truck and likely sustained serious body injuries from the truck accident. This is the second public transit accident in Chicago in two weeks, following a recent Blue Line train evacuation.

Read the full story here.

Posted by Levin & Perconti | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Automobile Accidents , Motor Vehicle Accidents , Pedestrian , Public Transit , Train Accidents , Truck Accidents , Wrongful Death

Bookmark:

As all lawyers and clients know, the statute of limitation is the essential window within which you must file your personal injury lawsuit to protect your rights. What many clients may not know is that municipal corporations and some government entities have shortened notice and statute of limitation periods (745 ILCS 10/1 Section 101 et seq.). This means that people who have been injured in a train accident, bus accident, truck accident, and government operated hospital injuries should check to see if a shortened statute applies to their case. It is very important that a client talk to their personal injury attorney soon after being injured to make sure that there is still time to file a personal injury lawsuit.

Posted by Levin & Perconti | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Tips for Lawyers

Bookmark:

As e-discovery and new document management techniques become more popular, some attorneys may not retain client information for as long as they should. Generally, files that involve cases with disabled persons, minors, or files containing sensitive original documents should be retained indefinitely. Also, attorneys should be sure to keep information on all current and former clients, including their last known address.

This does not mean that your office will be buried in paper for all time. The Illinois legal malpractice statute (735 ILCS 5/13-214.3) has a two year statute of limitations and a six year statute of repose. This means that you can dispose of most documents after 7 years or so; though you could get rid of many types of documents earlier, 7 years is the safe bet. Additionally, attorneys must retain financial records for at least seven years per Supreme Court Rule 769. It may be smart to keep estate and probate files around a bit longer, depending on the nature and duration of the case.

Posted by Levin & Perconti | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Tips for Lawyers

Bookmark:

The US Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics has some interesting information on fatal automobile crashes that may challenge some perceptions about driving conditions and the risk for fatal automobile accidents and fatal truck accidents. Saturday is the most dangerous day, followed closely by Sunday. Nighttime and adverse conditions are not as problematic as many think: nearly half of all fatal automobile accidents happened during daylight and almost 90% happened on a clear day without any rain or snow. In fact, fatal accidents during snowy conditions barely account for 2% of all fatal accidents.

See the chart here.

Posted by Levin & Perconti | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Automobile Accidents , Bus Accidents , Motor Vehicle Accidents , Motorcycle Accidents , Pedestrian , Truck Accidents

Bookmark:

A woman has filed a personal injury lawsuit against local Chicago businessman Richard Duchossois for neck injuries she suffered riding horseback at a charity event. The woman claims that Mr. Duchossois and the owners of the horse were negligent in controlling the horse when it charged and struck the woman violently. The personal injury lawsuit alleges five counts of negligence.

See the news story here.

Posted by Levin & Perconti | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Amusement Park Accidents , Animal and Dog Bites

Bookmark:

Light truck accidents, which include pickup truck accidents, SUV accidents, truck-based station wagon accidents, and utility truck accidents, occurred more than 4 million times per year recently according to the US Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Large truck accidents, which includes tractor-trailer accidents and semi accidents only numbered over 400,000. This means that light truck accidents are 100 times more common than large truck accidents. Of fatal truck accidents, light truck accidents accounted for 12,975 of 13,778 total fatal truck accidents in 2005.

See the BTS table here.

Posted by Levin & Perconti | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Automobile Accidents , Motor Vehicle Accidents , Truck Accidents

Bookmark:

More than 800,000 owners of Ford Explorer SUVs won a products liability class action lawsuit against the manufacturer. The owners sued Ford Motors because their trucks lost valued because of the perceived risk of truck rollover accidents. Some Ford trucks rolled over during accidents or normal driving leading to serious injury, lifetime paralysis, and wrongful death. One victim who was paralyzed permanently when her truck rolled over received an $82 million verdict in a suit against the truck manufacturer.

For more information, click here.

Posted by Levin & Perconti | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Automobile Accidents , Machinery , Products liability , Truck Accidents

Bookmark:

The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) settled a personal injury lawsuit for $1.25 million. An elderly Chicago woman filed the personal injury lawsuit against the CTA because she was seriously injured in 2006 when the CTA’s Blue Line derailed by the Clark and Lake Blue Line station. The woman suffered serious injuries when trying to escape the train which caught fire after skipping the tracks. 100 personal injury lawsuits are still pending in Cook County after CTA riders sustained injuries during the emergency.

The CTA settlementcame on the same morning as another Blue Line train caused problems for commuters after stalling nearby to the same place the train derailed before.

Read more here.

Posted by Levin & Perconti | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Public Transit , Train Accidents

Bookmark:

A Canadian court has certified a class for a class action lawsuit against Guidant for failing to warn consumers about the dangers of its popular implantable defibrillators. According to news sources, though Guidant recalled the defective heart defibrillators, some defective implantable defibrillators were still in the company’s inventory. Boston Scientific Corp, which bought Guidant in 2006, previously settled a similar defibrillator class action lawsuit for $240 million.

Read the news story here.

Posted by Levin & Perconti | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Medical Malpractice , Products liability

Bookmark:

The Illinois Appellate court announced that an Illinois employer still had to pay the remaining balance of an employee’s medical bill after the employee won a worker’s compensation lawsuit. The employee was injured on the job when the bus she drove crashed into a bridge in the Chicago suburbs. The Appellate Court held that it was not at liberty to review the decision of the Illinois Worker’s Compensation Commission ordering payment in full for medical bills.

For more, see the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, April 15, 2008 Volume: 154 Issue: 074.