Chicago Injury Attorneys Blog
Among those in the healthcare industry, it is common knowledge that threats of violence ranging from verbal to physical to sexual abuse come with the territory. In fact, violence in the healthcare industry “accounts for almost a quarter of all violence at work………” click here to view the full article from the Illinois Nurses’ Association
How ‘Stale’ Medical Evidence Gave One Illinois Man a Second Chance at SSI, Disability Insurance Benefits
Seeking to obtain Supplemental Security Income and Disability Insurance benefits can be challenging. There may be lots of evidence and documents needed to obtain a successful result. To give yourself a strong chance of success, you need an experienced Illinois Social Security attorney to make certain that your case has everything that it needs to get you the favorable result that you deserve.
One man who took his case all the way to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals to achieve a successful result was Alejandro. Alejandro’s work-related medical problems began in 2006 when he fell off a scaffold while taping drywall. The man sought medical attention for his back injury, but the doctors found no fracture. When the pain did not go away, the man sought more treatment, and doctors discovered an injury to the spinal nerve root. The worker sought the care of a clinical psychologist for his constant pain. That doctor concluded that Alejandro displayed depressed mood, irritability, difficulty concentrating, and memory problems.
Based on the significance of his back injury, Alejandro filed a claim for Supplemental Security Income and Disability Insurance. The ALJ reviewed the evidence and concluded that Alejandro was not disabled. The ALJ decided that the worker suffered from “severe impairments—lumbar disc disease, myofascial pain syndrome, left knee pain, obesity, and depression,” but these problems did not limit Alejandro to such an extent that he could not work. Alejandro could do light work with some restrictions, according to the judge. One of the pieces of evidence upon which the judge relied was a 2007 report from a psychologist, to which the judge gave “great weight.”
Six Airline Employees Injured in Bus-Versus-Baggage-Cart Collision at O’Hare Airport
Late last month, NBC Chicago reported on a Sunday afternoon accident involving several employees of a major airline who were hurt while traveling to their flight. Specifically, the employees were on a bus that was hit by a baggage cart. Six of the airline employees aboard the bus were transported to area hospitals for treatment of their injuries. The cause of the accident was still under investigation as of the NBC Chicago report. Airline employees who are injured in situations like this may have various avenues to seek compensation for the injuries they suffered. Anyone hurt in a situation like this should consult an Illinois aviation injury attorney about their legal options and potential compensation.
One example of a somewhat similar event took place in Philadelphia and was recently resolved by a state court in Pennsylvania. Betty, a flight attendant for a major airline, was headed home after her shift, which involved flying from Philadelphia to Miami and back. After the return flight, the flight attendant boarded a shuttle bus to ride back to the employee parking lot. While boarding the bus, Betty slipped and fell and seriously injured her left foot.
The flight attendant filed a claim for workers’ compensation benefits. The key issue in her case was whether or not she qualified, under the law, as being on her “employer’s premises” when she fell aboard the bus. The flight attendant received her award of benefits, since the court concluded that the shuttle bus was integral to the airline’s business and that Betty’s presence on the bus was required by the nature of her job. These factors meant that the bus was a part of the “employer’s premises” for the purposes of workers’ compensation benefits.
When You Can Sue an Illinois Employer for the Criminal Acts of Its Employee
Illinois law allows injured people to hold employers liable for the acts of their employees in certain situations. While the law generally says that one party cannot be liable for the criminal acts of another, the law does demand that employers “act reasonably in hiring, supervising and retaining” their employees. In order to succeed under Illinois law, you must show that the employer knew or should have known that the employee in question posed a danger to third parties (and that this problem was known at the time of hiring or retention), and this problem was the cause of the plaintiff’s injuries. If you’ve been injured because an employer didn’t do enough to stop one of its employees, you may have a case and should consult Illinois injury counsel about your circumstances.
The details of one recent federal case were truly tragic. Alisha, who was from just outside Chicago, had worked for a “big box” home improvement store since she was 16. During her five-year tenure with the store, Alisha only had one supervisor. That supervisor allegedly verbally abused her at work and monitored her activity both during and outside work. The supervisor also required that she accompany him on business trips. Eventually, he demanded that she accompany him to his sister’s wedding in Wisconsin, threatening to reduce her hours or terminate her employment completely if she refused. She went. After the wedding, he raped and killed her.
Alisha’s mother, Sherry, sued the employer for wrongful death. She argued that the employer knew about the supervisor’s disturbing propensities and did not do enough. By failing to take appropriate steps, the employer was liable for the supervisor’s violent acts.
When It Might Be an Appropriate Time to File a Lawsuit Against a Friend or Family Member in Illinois
Chances are, most people have not contemplated suing the spouse to whom they are happily married. There are certain circumstances, though, in which that can be a wise and prudent step. One of those is when a passenger spouse is injured as a result of the driver spouse’s negligence in causing an auto accident. When that happens, a lawsuit may be one of several options available. A knowledgeable Illinois car accident attorney can help you assess your case and choose a strategic path for proceeding.
One couple for whom such a spouse-versus-spouse lawsuit took place was Patricia and William from Will County. The pair, proud Illinoisans since 1971, decided to load up the motor home and two grandchildren for a weeklong vacation in Florida. On the way back, and while still in Indiana, William lost control of the motor home and slammed into a concrete wall. Patricia was hurt in the accident.
Patricia filed a lawsuit against William. This might sound a bit strange for those not familiar with these issues. However, it often may be exactly the right thing to do, even if both spouses are insured under the same auto insurance policy, in order to allow an injured spouse to collect the full recovery to which she is entitled. It is important to understand, though, that even if both spouses agree about filing the lawsuit, a contested litigation action may still result, since the auto insurer will likely put on an aggressive defense on behalf of the defendant spouse.
Illinois Pedestrian’s $897K Damages Award Survives Taxi Cab Company’s Appeal
In your pedestrian injury case, you’ll need many things to give yourself a strong chance of success. One of these things is an experienced Illinois car accident attorney, who understands the facts of your case, the law in Illinois, and how to present your case in a way that holds liable all those who are responsible. In a recent case involving a nurse struck by a cab driver, the Illinois Appellate Court upheld an $897,000 verdict that found the cabbie negligent for hitting the plaintiff and the cabbie’s employer liable for its “willful and wanton” conduct in failing to do a better job vetting the driver before hiring him.
Margaret, the plaintiff, was a woman who worked as a psychiatric nurse at a hospital in suburban Chicago. On her way to work one day in 2011, a taxi cab driver hit her. The driver was driving slowly but still managed to knock the woman all the way to the ground. The impact caused the woman to suffer significant damage to her left shoulder. This damage included rotator cuff tendinopathy and glenoid labral tear/shredding. Despite years of physical therapy, Margaret’s doctor diagnosed the problem as permanent and something that “will likely cause her pain and restrict some activities for the rest of her life.”
With a personal injury case, such as a pedestrian-versus-vehicle accident, the plaintiff’s case may often revolve around demonstrating that the defendant driver was negligent and, if that driver was working when the accident occurred, that the employer is vicariously liable for the driver’s negligence. Depending on the facts of your case, though, this may not be the only way to pursue recovery for your damages.
Northern Illinois Elementary School’s Sledding Trip Leads to Second-Grade Student’s Trip to the Emergency Room
What was supposed to be a fun wintertime school trip for some Northern Illinois elementary students ended with one of those children making an unscheduled visit to the emergency room. The second-grade girl from DeKalb suffered facial injuries after a sled in which she was riding overturned, according to an ABC 7 report. Some types of school injuries may entitle a student or her family to seek compensation in court. While successfully suing a school district or school employee is generally more complex and can be more challenging than suing a private person or entity, that definitely does not mean that you should give up and should not pursue your options. A knowledgeable Illinois injury attorney can provide you with valuable advice about your rights and which avenues may be available to you to obtain compensation.
The DeKalb students’ sledding trip took place at Russell Woods in nearby Genoa. The injured girl’s parents thought the nature of the activity would be something different than what actually took place. “I thought it was going to be like, not going downhill, but like little kids running with a little board or something, plastic and sliding on the ground slow,” the girl’s mother told ABC 7.
Instead, the event did involve the children sledding downhill. The girl had not been sledding before and didn‘t want to participate, but she was told to play with the other children. A first trip was uneventful, but a second trip involved an older (and presumably larger) child joining the second-grade girl and the teacher giving them a “big push.” The girl stated to ABC 7 that “she pushed me too fast.”
A Fatal Crash Brings a Stop to Uber’s North American Testing of Self-Driving Vehicles
Several different business entities, from General Motors to Uber to Google’s parent (Alphabet), have been striving to perfect the technology for self-driving vehicles. Toward that end, Uber had been conducting tests in three U.S. cities and Toronto until a recent accident in Arizona left a pedestrian dead, the 
New York Times reported. While the accident remained under investigation, and fault had not been placed on the Uber vehicle or the pedestrian, the ridesharing company still decided to cease testing all self-driving vehicles. With each new technology that hits the roads, there are new possibilities for accidents and injuries. If you’ve been hurt in a vehicle accident, you should contact an experienced Illinois car accident attorney about your situation.
The fatal Uber test occurred in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe. According to police, a 49-year-old woman named Elaine was crossing the street outside the crosswalk on a Sunday night at around 10:00 pm. An Uber Volvo that was in fully autonomous self-driving mode struck the pedestrian, and the woman ultimately died from her injuries. While Arizona law currently allows companies like Uber to test its vehicles with no one in the driver’s seat, there was a human in the driver’s seat when the fatal accident in Tempe took place.
Uber had been conducting tests with its self-driving vehicles in four cities prior to the fatal accident in Arizona. Those cities included Phoenix, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, and Toronto. The company suspended all of those tests everywhere, pending the results of an investigation into the Arizona fatality.
Fatal Chicago-Area Police Chase Accidents Lead to Two Deaths and a Pair of Multi-Million Dollar Settlements
As a driver on the roads (or a passenger in a vehicle), one faces many potential risks. There are aggressive (“road rage”) drivers, distracted drivers, drunk drivers, and careless drivers, to name a few. All of these types of drivers have the potential to cause accidents that inflict serious harm. Unfortunately, another category is injuries caused by high-speed law enforcement chases. In two instances in recent years in the Chicago area, high-speed pursuits have inflicted fatal injuries on innocent drivers. Both of those cases settled, with each family receiving several million dollars in their respective settlements. Whether your injury was related to a high-speed police chase or another type of liability, you should make sure you have a knowledgeable Illinois car accident attorney to help you put together a strong case.
The first of the two accidents took place in May 2013. Jacqueline was headed to a funeral at around 10:15 a.m. when an SUV ran a red light and crashed into her car. The South Side accident left the occupants of the SUV, two police officers, injured and Jacqueline dead. The officers had been chasing an individual who was a suspect in a home burglary, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Although there was no evidence found indicating that a weapon was involved in the crime, Chicago police engaged in a high-speed chase. The pursuit involved numerous red lights at which the suspect and officers “blew through” red lights. The officer who struck Jacqueline hit speeds of 74 mph as the chase moved through mostly residential areas of the South Side. The officer’s SUV was going an estimated 68 mph when it slammed into Jacqueline’s Pontiac sedan, according to the Tribune report.
The Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education presents its 5th Annual Workers’ Compensation Institute program
The Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education is presenting its 5th Annual Workers’ Compensation Institute program featuring Appellate Court Justice William Holdridge, Honorable retired Judge Keith Brown, Workers Compensation Chair Joann Fratianni, Commissioner Michael Brennan, Arbitrator Stephen Friedman, Katz Friedman Attorneys Philip Bareck, Frank Bertuca and David Barish along with other leading lawyers in the Workers Compensation Community.
Please consider attending this seminar on March 1st or watching the live webcast. Click here for more details.
