Articles Posted in Firm News

Firm News | November 21, 2014

It goes without saying that commercial tractor-trailers are inherently dangerous due to their enormous size and weight. However, there are also some instances where commercial trucks are allowed a special permission to operate in configurations that make them even heavier and bigger than usual.

The Illinois Department of Transportation issues special permits that allow some nontraditional cargo to be transported throughout the state under tightly regulated restrictions. These include large industrial components, pre-manufactured homes and other oversize cargo loads that could not otherwise be reasonably transported. The following examples are some of the rules included in the application for the special permit:

Firm News | November 13, 2014

A Chicago area family says that their daughter was made ill by a dessert item they purchased that was improperly labeled. The child’s father told reporters that his daughter suffers from a severe peanut allergy. Armed with that knowledge, the father says that he intentionally purchased a hazelnut swirl gelato for his family’s consumption solely based on the fact that the food item carried no peanut ingredient warnings. Despite her peanut allergy, the 10-year-old girl is not allergic to hazelnut.

According to the father, shortly after the girl ingested the gelato, she required hospitalization due to a breakout of hives. The father described the child is having difficulty breathing and displaying symptoms of raised skin all over her body.

Firm News | October 24, 2014

The effects of a car crash can leave victims with catastrophic injuries that require extensive medical treatments. Those medical costs often easily spiral into six-figure costs. With the stakes set so high, it’s easy to see how important it is to prove that the driver who caused the accident was indeed negligent in his or her operation of a motor vehicle at the time of the accident.

Often, the best way for an injured plaintiff to demonstrate negligence by the defendant is through accident reconstruction. Re-creating the scene piece by piece for the judge and jury to see can be particularly useful in cases attempting to reveal negligence in drunk, reckless or distracted drivers.

Firm News | October 17, 2014

On Oct. 13, police in Round Lake Beach, Illinois, say that a crash between a tractor-trailer and an SUV sent two men to the hospital. The accident occurred at Route 83 and Engle Drive around 8:42 a.m. According to news reports, the semi-truck was heading northbound along route 83 when the SUV traveling in the opposite direction attempted to make a left turn onto Engle Drive when the two vehicles collided. Neither driver has yet been cited at the time of this report.

The Deputy Police Chief of Round Lake Beach said that the driver of the SUV is a 64-year-old man from Lake Villa, Illinois. The origins of the truck driver were not reported, though he is a 53-year-old male. First responders took both drivers to Condell Hospital in Libertyville. The truck driver is reported to have suffered only minor injuries but the injuries to the driver of the SUV were described as significant.

Firm News | September 26, 2014

Medical malpractice under Illinois law is a term used to describe a broad range of personal injuries caused by negligent health care providers. Some examples of medical malpractice are: a doctor’s failure to diagnose a disease, wrongly prescribed medicines, surgical errors and mistakes, performing surgery on the wrong site, etc., and it is important to note that medical malpractice is not limited to hospitals but can also be found in nursing homes and skilled care facilities. Basically, it occurs anytime a health care professional breaches one’s duty to provide patients with a reasonable standard of care.

The Illinois legislature has set a timeframe for which patients injured by medical malpractice can file a lawsuit to recover compensation for their injuries. This is known as a statute of limitations, and bars anyone from bringing such a claim after the expiration period, no matter how egregious the injury.

Firm News | September 19, 2014

Wheeling, Illinois, police say that one of their officers struck and killed a pedestrian on Sep. 14, as they were attempting to engage a vehicle suspected of a traffic violation. The accident occurred in north suburban Wheeling, Illinois, around 5:45 a.m. as the 20-year-old victim attempted to cross McHenry Road while on foot.

According to the deputy chief of the Wheeling Police Department, the officer who struck the victim was a 22-year veteran of the force who had not yet turned on his emergency lights or siren as he attempted to maneuver toward a westbound driver whom he suspected of committing a traffic violation. A neighbor who witnessed the accident corroborated the absence of emergency lights and siren. The officer has since been suspended with pay indefinitely. The Lake County Major Crash Assistance Team is conducting the investigation of the accident.

Firm News | September 12, 2014

Commercial tractor-trailers are a mainstay of our modern economy. Each day they move tons of goods and products along Illinois roads. The constant presence of tractor-trailers on our highways ensures that items produced in our state get to market places throughout the country. Alternatively, Chicago serves as a crossroads for many 18-wheelers traveling cross-country through our state.

Due to the high volume of outbound and inbound freight, Chicago residents invariably experience accidents involving these large trucks. Most trucking companies and the drivers who operate them are competent, law-abiding and honest. However, there are also those involved in the commercial trucking industry who place profits before safety.

Firm News | August 15, 2014

Chicago police are now questioning a man for his alleged role in a fatal multiple vehicle accident that included a Chicago Transit Authority bus. Police say a 71-year-old man was killed as he loaded groceries into the back of his car when he was struck by vehicle attempting to go around a CTA bus.

According to witnesses, a red Ford was seen hurtling through a red light at Sheridan Road and Balmoral Avenue just prior to the accident. One witness described the vehicle as traveling between 50 to 60 mph before slamming into the back of the victim’s car. That witness claimed that the impact of the collision was so great that the striking vehicle continued on and struck three additional parked vehicles after the initial contact.

Firm News | August 8, 2014

Illinois State Police say that 51-year-old truck driver from Leesburg, Indiana, is responsible for a multi-vehicle crash that killed four people and injured four others. Police say the truck driver was traveling in excess of posted speeds on July 21 when he attempted to abruptly change lanes in a construction zone on I-55 near Arsenal Road in Elwood, Illinois.

The accident happened around 2:30 p.m. after the truck driver allegedly failed to reduce his speed before entering the construction zone. Prosecutors are now also implying that fatigue may have played a role in accident. Investigators took a close look at the defendant’s logbook, which is a record of driving hours all commercial truck drivers are required to maintain. Prosecutors have since charged the defendant with falsifying a logbook, willful violation of a logbook and failure to reduce speed.

Firm News | August 1, 2014

Consumers have a right to expect not to be injured by products they purchase. Conversely, manufacturers, retailers and other vendors have a duty to exercise reasonable caution in ensuring that the products they introduce into the marketplace will not cause harm to consumers.

Such is the case with the makers of the Hyundai Sonata sedan. Recently, the car manufacturer issued a recall of 883,000 of its sedans manufactured between 2011 and 2014 due to problems with the cars’ gear shifters.