The following op-ed was by ITLA President Mark D. Prince was published in the Peoria Journal Star on January 5, 2019.
Spotlight: Workers’ comp reform needed to reduce premium rates
In the span of less than a decade, the price paid by Illinois employers for workers’ compensation insurance dropped from third highest in the nation, as compared to other states, down to 22nd on the list.
If you have suffered an injury while walking along a public sidewalk in Illinois, you may have a claim for damages. To succeed, you have to prove that the injuries you suffered were a result of negligence on the part of the person or entity that was in control of the sidewalk. In the case of one Northern Illinois woman, she received a six-figure settlement from one Will County city after she slipped and fell due to a sidewalk hazard, according to a patch.com report. The substantial settlement in this case serves as a reminder of the significant amount of damages that may result from these types of injuries. If you’ve been hurt walking on a public sidewalk, you should reach out right away to a Chicago premises liability lawyer about your situation.
The recently settled case involved a sidewalk injury suffered by a pedestrian named Estella, who was walking along a sidewalk near a bus station when she slipped and fell. As the pedestrian passed in front of a funeral home, she encountered an area of sidewalk that was allegedly improperly maintained. Specifically, the problem was where an old sign for the bus provider had stood. At some point, the sign was removed, but the “anchor” into which the sign was placed was not. This remnant from the old sign protruded from the ground and was the hazard that eventually caused Estella’s fall and subsequent injuries, according to her lawsuit.
In Illinois, you can pursue a claim for a public sidewalk injury like Estella’s if you can demonstrate certain things to the court. You have to establish that the entity responsible for the sidewalk was negligent in some way. In sidewalk cases like this, that generally involves failing to take proper action either to repair a dangerous condition in the sidewalk or to warn users of the sidewalk about that hazard. A successful case also will involve proof that the entity responsible for the sidewalk either knew about the problem or reasonably should have known about the hazard.
Tesla’s long-simmering relationship with the United Auto Workers is heating up again.
As part of an ongoing effort to organize the electric automaker’s Fremont, California, assembly factory, the union has filed a string of unfair labor-practice charges and safety complaints with the National Labor Relations Board. These include allegations that…… (click here to read the full article via CNBC)
Whether you are pursuing workers’ compensation, Social Security disability benefits or benefits under some other statutory basis, one of the fundamental keys to success is making sure that the case you present demonstrates that your circumstances fit within all the criteria established by the law. This means understanding not just the facts of your case, but all the “ins” and “outs” of the statute. To make sure than you give yourself the best chance possible to recover benefits, be sure to retain a skilled Chicago injury lawyer to handle your case.
An example of how precise these cases can be was the case of J.M., a police officer in a suburb of Chicago. One night, after 26 years on the force, J.M. hurt his knee inspecting a commercial truck that he suspected of being overweight. Medical providers later diagnosed the officer with two torn tendons in his left knee. He underwent surgery but his condition did not improve. He ultimately had total knee replacement 16 months after the original accident.
After that second medical procedure, J.M. filed a claim for disability benefits under the Public Safety Employee Benefits Act. To receive the sort of benefits that J.M. sought under the PSEBA, he was required to show that his injury took place in course of one of four specific situations. Those were: hot pursuit, an emergency (actual or perceived,) an unlawful act by another person or the investigation of a criminal act.
Each auto accident injury scenario comes with its own set of unique elements. These elements can sometimes be confusing, even to a sophisticated lay person. That is one of many reasons why it pays to consult an experienced Chicago injury attorney about your situation and your options for compensation. For example, if you were a rider in rideshare vehicle and that vehicle was hit head-on by a drunk driver, would you know what to do and whom you could sue? What about if, during their investigation, the police found out that your rideshare driver had taken drugs and had those drugs in her system when the crash happened-would you know how to proceed in that circumstance?
That exact scenario occured in an accident that injured a man named A.V. According to a Chicago Sun-Times report, A.V. was a passenger in a Toyota Camry driven by E.R, a Lyft driver. As E.R. drove through the Humboldt Park community at roughly 3:55 a.m., the vehicle was involved in a head-on collision with an SUV driven by T.A. Police later concluded that T.A. was driving drunk. The accident inflicted serious harm to E.R. and caused fatal injuries to A.B., another passenger in E.R.’s vehicle. A.V. suffered head injuries and a concussion, the Sun-Times indicated.
In a circumstance like this, you might believe that, if you were in a position like A.V., your legal recourse is simple: pursuing a claim for damages against T.A. However, the reality of cases like these is that they can often be more complicated than they appear on the surface. In A.V.’s case, T.A. was driving drunk. However, law enforcement also discovered, as part of its investigation, that E.R. was under the influence of a drug when she was driving her Lyft vehicle at the time of the accident.
If you are a close loved one of someone who died in an auto accident, you likely have many things on your plate in the days, weeks and months after the tragic incident. You may be dealing with interactions with friends and family. You may be dealing with the deceased’s personal effects and final arrangements. You are doubtlessly dealing with your own emotions. On top of all that, there may the matter of possible legal action based upon the accident. As you deal with the multitude of personal and family issues that require your attention, leave the litigation issues to the legal professionals. Retain knowledgeable Chicago auto accident counsel to be sure that your case gets the legal representation it needs.
Patch.com recently reported on a wrongful death filing submitted in nearby Will County. In that civil court complaint, the estate of a woman fatally injured in a crash just west of Joliet had sued two drivers. The complaint alleged that J.B., an elderly woman, was riding in a minivan that was being driven by E.C., her caretaker. E.C. was traveling west on a city street near an interstate overpass. A.R. was driving his 1999 Mitsubishi eastbound on the same road. As the two vehicles crossed paths, a massive collision occurred.
The lawsuit named both E.C. and A.R. as defendants. The complaint alleged E.C. was negligent in her driving and therefore liable. Specifically, the lawsuit asserted that E.C. had a solid red traffic light in her direction but that, in spite of her red light, she improperly failed to yield the right of way. The lawsuit also named A.R. and asserted that he was negligent.
Most of us have a reasonable general understanding of the rules of the road. In any intersection situation, one direction of traffic has the right of way and the other flows of traffic are obliged to yield. The requirement to yield can be controlled by a traffic light or a traffic sign. That said, what happens when you failed to yield because the stop sign that controlled your road was missing? Obviously, drivers are not required by the law to be psychics and cannot be liable for not following signs that are missing. In fact, if any driver (including the one who failed to yield) is hurt as a result of such a scenario, then the injured people may have valid claims for compensation based upon the improper failure to re-install or replace the stop sign. For this or any other type of auto accident injury case, be sure to consult a knowledgeable Chicago injury attorney about your options.
That scenario described above, while unlikely, actually happened to one Southern Illinois woman. The website rrstar.com reported on the fatal crash of S.K., a small-town high school teacher. Early one late May morning, she was on her way to her doctor’s office and was driving through a road in rural Stephenson County. She encountered an intersection but, seeing no stop sign and not being familiar with the road, she proceeded ahead. Unbeknownst to her, traffic on her road was supposed to stop and an oncoming vehicle crashed into her. The teacher died shortly after the impact.
If you were (non-fatally) injured in an accident like this, would you know what to do? Would you attempt to sue the other driver in the crash? If a driver improperly fails to yield the right of way and that failure to yield causes an injury accident, then that driver could be liable for the injuries caused as a result of the driver’s negligent failure to yield. However, in this case, the driver who crashed into S.K. had the right of way, and therefore probably could not be liable for improperly failing to yield.
If you get a call that looks like it’s from the Social Security Administration (SSA), think twice. Scammers are spoofing SSA’s 1-800 customer service number to try to get your personal information. Spoofing means…. (click here for the full article from the FTC website)
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act is the only federal law aimed at protecting expecting mothers at work. It is four paragraphs long and 40 years old. It says that a company has to accommodate pregnant workers’ requests only if ….(click here to read the full article via the New York Times)
Suing a school in Illinois can be challenging because this state has a statute that makes schools and school employees immune from liability in several circumstances. In order to succeed in this type of lawsuit, you cannot simply establish that the school made a negligent error; you have to prove that the misconduct that contributed to the injury was “willful and wanton.” This means that you will need more and different proof than if you were simply pursuing a negligence lawsuit. Just because the law requires a higher burden of proof does not mean you should be deterred from pursuing an action if your child was injured at school, however. There are still ways to achieve success. If your child was injured in school, contact an experienced Chicago injury attorney to discuss your options.
The case of K.S. was one that achieved a degree of success for the injured student. K.S. was a student at a high school in a small town west of Elgin and a member of her high school’s freshman cheerleading squad in 2010-11. During a November practice, K.S suffered a fall. She allegedly fell from a height of roughly 10 feet and hit her head on the ground. The varsity coach allegedly asked K.S. if she was okay and basic questions like “where are you?” and “what’s your name?” The girl answered the questions successfully, and was allowed to return to practice after roughly five minutes, according to her complaint.
She suffered a second fall on her head 12 days after the first accident. Allegedly, the freshman team coach asked if the girl was okay and when the student said yes, no further action was taken. The girl’s third fall occurred 10 days after the second. Again, she hit her head and, again, the coach only asked if the girl was okay and took no further action.
Chicago Injury Attorneys Blog