The controversy over hoverboards grows greater every day. The self-balancing, motorized scooters were a must-have toy in Chicago this holiday season, even though many retailers pulled them from their shelves because of safety risks.
Hoverboards were in the news again this week when an accidental shooting occurred as a boy fell off the toy while playing with a gun. That terrible and tragic example of children playing with guns is not the first accident linked to hoverboards.
When you are hurt at work, this isn’t always the easiest thing to confess to your boss. Maybe you were injured because you were messing around and doing something you weren’t supposed to be doing. Maybe your coworker did something wrong, causing your injury, and you don’t want to get him or her in trouble. Maybe the injury wasn’t really anyone’s fault, but you’re still worried about how your employer will handle it.
Can your employer discipline, or even fire, you for filing a workers’ compensation claim?
Many people in Chicago have turned to e-cigarettes to help them quit smoking. E-cigarettes deliver nicotine to the user, along with selected flavors, through vapor. While e-cigarettes are marketed as a safer alternative to tobacco cigarettes, we are beginning to learn about health risks linked to the product.
Although e-cigarettes don’t produce tobacco smoke, they do produce a number of harmful chemicals including not only nicotine but also formaldehyde and acetaldehyde (known carcinogens) and potentially toxic metal particles. Some of the vapor flavors also contain diacetyl, which has been linked to the severe disease known as “popcorn lung.”
When you’re traveling, the risk of injury is probably the last thing on your mind. However, things happen and this is one reason hotels and other commercial properties carry insurance.
Property owners are generally liable for medical expenses and other damages when someone is seriously hurt on their premises due to their negligence. But with the rise of Internet companies that allow individuals to use their private property for commercial services — such as Uber for transportation and Airbnb for lodging — premises liability questions are emerging. Who is liable if your Airbnb stay ends badly?
A federal safety agency tasked with overseeing the commercial trucking industry is now under review. News sources have reported that Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin has called for an examination of how the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is handling proposed measures aimed at identifying key issues regarding commercial truck safety and intervening on behalf of the public.
The impetus for the scrutiny of the federal watchdog can be traced back to a tragic January 2014 crash that involved a fatigued truck driver. That accident occurred near Aurora, Illinois, along Interstate 88 and claimed the lives of a state trooper and an Illinois Tollway worker. Reports say that emergency vehicles had stopped for a disabled truck along Interstate 88 when the fatigued driver smashed in to those stopped vehicles. A news agency investigation discovered that although the FMCSA initially ordered an investigation into that accident, the agency failed to follow through with their inquiry.
There is nothing more precious to any parent than their children. That’s why the Illinois legislature took the extra step of drafting laws specifically designed to protect some of the most vulnerable members of our society. The Illinois Children’s Products Safety Act was created to hold individuals and businesses accountable for introducing unreasonably dangerous products into the marketplace.
In particular, the CPSA protects children ages 9 and under from defective products such as cribs, beds, car seats, high chairs, strollers, toys and other so-called “children’s products” that are specifically intended or designed by children under the age of 9. The CPSA grants the Illinois Attorney General’s office, and private individuals in some circumstances, the authority to go after manufacturers who fail to take reasonable measures to prevent dangerous products from getting into the hands of the end consumer. Typically, this is a parent who purchases children’s items or toys for their kids and has no interest in reselling the items.
Workplace accidents usually catch workers totally unprepared for the loss of income they will suffer. Due to the recent economic downturn and other events, many workers are living paycheck to paycheck. The sudden loss of the ability to earn a living due to an injury can throw a family into spiraling debt as they struggle to recover.
If you have suffered a workplace accident, then obviously your first priority should be to immediately seek out medical treatment. You should also notify your employer just as soon as you can. For your next step, you may want to consider consulting with an Illinois workers compensation attorney. Your attorney can assist you with filing your injury claims.
Health care professionals have a duty to provide an acceptable standard level of care to their patients. Generally, this is understood to mean that health care workers should observe acceptable medical industry practices when treating patients. For example, medical malpractice may have occurred if a nursing home patient is discovered starving or dehydrated due to neglect. This is because providing adequate food and water for patients is considered acceptable medical practices within the nursing home industry.
Here in Illinois, the state legislature actually ratified legislation after becoming concerned about patients receiving inadequate care and being abused in nursing homes throughout the state. Among other things, the Illinois’ Nursing Home Care Act sets forth a patient’s “bill of rights”. Today, nursing home patients in Illinois have a guaranteed right to be free of abuse and neglect by health care workers.
Car accidents are an unfortunate reality of our modern lives. We rely on our vehicles to convey us back and forth daily for nearly all of our most important endeavors. Whether you commute to work or take your children back and forth to school, your car is an essential part of your daily routine. Unfortunately, the consequences of the car’s tremendous utility practically ensures that car accidents will inevitably occur. The following are some technological innovations aimed at reducing the number of car accident victims:
— Next generation electronic stability control. Since 2012, the government has required vehicle manufacturers to equip all new vehicles with ESC. This important innovation is hailed by some as the most important advancement in vehicle safety since the debut of the safety belt. ESC works to keep vehicles stable by selectively applying the brakes to one or more wheels, thus preventing some cars from sliding out of control.
If you have experienced an accident with a commercial tractor-trailer, you are probably lucky to have survived. Commercial big rigs are extremely heavy even when they are not carrying freight. Even a minor collision between a semi-truck and a car or SUV can result in catastrophic injuries such as brain damage or spinal cord trauma. Often the injuries caused by truck accidents force victims to endure years of expensive medical treatments and rehabilitative therapies.
The sad reality is that some truck accidents might have been prevented through proper hiring practices. Under Illinois state law, a trucking company can be held liable if they either knew or reasonably should have known that one of their truck drivers was unfit for the job so as to create a danger of harm to others.
North Chicago & St. Louis Injury Updates