Illinois Injury Lawyer Blog

Taxicab driver Brian Duako was ticketed for negligent driving after he suddenly sped backward through a crowded crosswalk outside Union Station in Chicago, Illinois at about 8 a.m. yesterday, injuring two pedestrians and himself. The incident raised concerns about the hazards associated with the morning commute and the potential for serious accidents involving busses, cars, and pedestrians. “This intersection is very busy,” Chicago Fire Department Chief Joseph Roccasalva said at the scene of the accident. “It's lucky that more people weren't hurt.” One of the injured pedestrians, Sheri Evans, was taken to the Northwestern Memorial Hospital emergency room. Duako was also sent to Northwestern Hospital with an ankle injury.

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Posted In: Automobile Accidents

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A Metra Train accident caused delays this morning along the North Central Service line to Antioch, Illinois. The freight train struck a car at a railroad crossing in Lake County, Illinois. The freight train accident happened near Belvidere Road and Illinois Highway 83 in Grayslake. Metra has reported delays along the line between Antioch and downtown Chicago. Injuries have not yet been reported. Rail crossings can be hazardous, especially during the morning rush, and have repeatedly been sources of train accidents and injuries.

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Posted In: Public Transit

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Chicago, Illinois was the center of a building construction accident, last week, where a crane fell on a building construction site. Emergency crews were called to the construction site after the 700 foot crane smashed into a building. Chicago, Illinois is only one of many cities to recently experience accidents on construction sites. Construction crews must work carefully and be cautious as in locations like the Chicago Loop both buildings and pedestrian accidents are abundant and likely to result in personal injuries. To see the full article click here

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Posted In: Construction Injury

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A Chicago car accident involving multiple cars left the Eisenhower Expressway closed yesterday. One motorist believed to be responsible for the car crash fled the scene after what Police are calling a hit and run accident. One driver was taken to the hospital with severe automobile accident personal injuries. Investigation continues into this reoccurring problem as highway drivers often are careless by focusing more on their cell phones and CD players rather than on speed limits and using turn signals. To read the full article, click here

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Posted In: Automobile Accidents

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A Chicago taxi cab accident has sent three people to area hospitals this morning. A taxi cab apparently slammed into a bridge abutment by Union Station at 120 Riverside Plaza this morning during rush hour. In a strange twist, the cab was traveling backwards when it jumped the curb according to witness reports. The Chicago taxi cab accident has left two pedestrians in critical condition, another in serious condition. One victim refused treatment at the scene. Taxi cab accidents can be very risky to pedestrians as many cabs may not have sufficient insurance or licensing to operate safely.

Read the story and see images here.

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Posted In: Automobile Accidents , Motor Vehicle Accidents , Pedestrian

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CTA President Ron Huberman was quoted in the Chicago Tribune stating that driver error caused today’s CTA Green Line derailment accident near Washington Park. This CTA accident follows a long series of CTA troubles. In July 2006, the CTA Blue Line derailed and caught fire just west of the Clark and Lake station, an accident injuring more than 150 CTA passengers. More recently, a semi truck accident claimed lives at the Cermak Red Line platform. This summer, the Blue Line stalled and eventually led to all passengers evacuating. The worst CTA derailment accident was in 1977 when a rush hour loop train came off of the tracks and crashed into pedestrians below. There is no word if a personal injury lawsuit for train derailments has been filed in this case or if anyone will seek to sue the CTA for injuries arising from today’s CTA train accident.

Read more here.

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Posted In: Train Accidents

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Photographs of the CTA Green Line accident this morning are now available online. The CTA train derailed near 59th street on the south side of Chicago. The train derailed at the junction where Green Line trains can go east or west to the 63rd and Ashland stations. The photos clearly show that the front two cars actually ended up on separate spurs after the driver ignored the red stop signal and deliberately drove the train, even though safety features shut the train down to prevent exactly this type of CTA train accident.

See the photos here.

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Posted In: Train Accidents

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A CTA Green Line train derailed and injured ten people this morning during the rush hour commute in yet another CTA accident. This Chicago Transit Authority accident comes after a troubled summer for Chicago transit. According to news stories, the CTA train derailed after the Motorman, or train driver, intentionally went through a red signal. CTA tracks have an automatic device that stops trains from going through red signals by stopping the train. However, the driver ignored the safety device and restarted the train. The train then derailed on the tracks but did not fall to the street. 14 people were taken to area hospitals and ten people were reported injured in the CTA accident. There is no word yet if any CTA derailment injury lawsuits or CTA accident lawsuits have been filed.

Read more here.

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Posted In: Train Accidents

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The surviving family members of a man who died while in Chicago Police Department (CPD) custody have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Chicago Police Department. The CPD wrongful death lawsuit claims that the man was not properly observed or restrained while in police custody. He was able to climb on the top of the police wagon, through the roof, and onto the top of the vehicle. He fell to his death from the police wagon and landed on his head.

Read more here.

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Posted In: Wrongful Death

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Chicago-based Sears has been named in a class action lawsuit in the Northern District of Illinois alleging that the company was negligent when installing household dryers. The suit claims that Sears, and four other companies, were negligent in ignoring the fire hazards created by installing metal foil exhaust with plastic vents. The US Department of Homeland Security has data to show that dryers were implicated in 15,000 house fires that caused 15 deaths between 2002 and 2004. There was no report whether a products liability lawsuit, personal injury lawsuit, or wrongful death lawsuit was filed in conjunction with the class action.

Read the story here.

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Posted In: Products liability

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Merck Pharmaceuticals will pay out a $58 million settlement to 29 states for their expenditures on Vioxx for state medical care programs. According to documents filed with the court, Merck failed to disclose the heath risks with Vioxx which was used to treat heart problems. Merck has also set aside a massive $4.5 billion settlement fund for private pharmaceutical liability lawsuits that individual people may have filed for their Vioxx injuries.

Read more here.

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Posted In: pharmaceuticals

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The husband and daughter of a woman killed in a truck accident have received a $1.5 million dollar settlement that will be held in investments for the daughter until she reaches age 18. In a bizarre twist of events, her mother was killed while helping the victim of a hit and run automobile accident that had just happened. The woman comforted the hit and run victim on the roadside as a truck came across the road and hit her. The family filed a truck accident lawsuit for the woman’s wrongful death by truck accident. The settlement will provide for the daughter’s future expenses.

Read more here.

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Posted In: Automobile Accidents , Pedestrian , Truck Accidents

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The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing entitled, “Should FDA Drug and Medical Device Regulation Bar State Liability Claims?” on Wednesday, May 14, 2008, in 2154 Rayburn House Office Building. At the hearing, Heparin deaths and heparin overdose injuries featured front and center. Notably, Dennis Quaid and his wife testified about their experience when their children were overdosed with heparin while in hospital. The Quaids have filed a heparin lawsuit in Cook County against the Chicago-based Baxter Healthcare which produces the drug.

Read the Quaids' testimony here and read more about the hearing here.

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Posted In: Products liability , Wrongful Death , pharmaceuticals

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The mother and father of a child born with severe brain injuries have filed a personal injury lawsuit arising from the truck accident where their unborn child sustained serious injuries. Both parents were severely injured in the accident but they did not know that their daughter would continue to suffer until she was born. The child was born with severe brain injuries that impede her ability to breath, swallow, and also to see. This devastating car and truck accident involved a stolen truck that police chased at speed. The truck crashed into the family’s car and resulted in serious auto accident injuries. The mother and father are seeking $14 Million in damages for the truck accident.

Read the story here.

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Posted In: Injuries to Minors and Children , Motor Vehicle Accidents , Truck Accidents

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Many people have heard of the requirements that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) places on public sidewalks. Sidewalks must be accessible and easy to use for people in wheelchairs and other mobility devices. However, renovations and compliance can be done improperly, creating risks in the face of improvement. Sidewalks that are too steep, poorly graded, contain broken concrete, holes, craters and potholes can be extremely dangerous to pedestrians on foot and in mobility aides. Sidewalk injuries, sidewalk slip and fall injuries, and other accidents may be the responsibility of the local entity that supervises sidewalks.

Read more here.

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Posted In: Slip and Fall

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Jones Act lawsuits are not limited to offshore vessels only; inland waterway seamen are also covered by the Jones Act and can seek fair and reasonable compensation for their injuries and medical expenses. The Jones Act applies to inland river workers as well as offshore workers and covers jackup rig injuries, semi-submersible ship or rig injuries, construction and lay barge injuries, drill ship injuries, tug/towboat injuries, crew boat injuries, drill ship injuries, dredge injuries, tanker and cargo ship injuries, fishing vessel injuries, chemical ship injuries, research vessel injuries, cruise ship injuries, other floating/movable structure injuries. The Jones Act does not require payment regardless of fault: in order for a worker to recover under the Jones Act, a worker must prove some negligence or fault on the part of the vessel's owners, operators, officers, and/or fellow employees or by reason of any defect in the ship or vessel, the gear, equipment or tackle.

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Posted In: Jones Act and Maritime law

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The Jones Act is a law Congress enacted to protect workers who are injured on a ship or vessel. The Jones Act governs the liability of vessel operators and marine employers for the work-related injury or death of an employee. It is a federal cause of action, meaning that the United States Congress intended for all seaman's injuries throughout the nation to be guided by the same liability standards of the Jones Act. Jones Act cases are different from normal Illinois workers' compensation lawsuits: in a Jones Act lawsuit, you may seek to recover past and future economic loss, pain and suffering, mental anguish, disfigurement, loss of capacity to enjoy life, loss of the ability to perform household services and take care of yourself, and other damages recoverable under the maritime law.

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Posted In: Jones Act and Maritime law

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Four hospital employees have been charged with failure to report sexual assault after a stroke patient was sexually assaulted while incapacitated. As police continue to investigate, more details come to light. The victim was incapacitated following treatment for a stroke and was not able to relate her hospital sexual abuse until almost a month later. However, the hospital did not inform the authorities or take any action: it was not until another month later that a hospital