North Chicago & St. Louis Injury Updates

Do Juries Award Too Much in Medical Malpractice Cases?

Published on: January 20, 2017 | by Seidman, Margulis & Fairman, LLP

Medical malpractice | January 20, 2017

There’s a lot of negative political press these days about medical malpractice claims suggesting that juries are just handing out ridiculously high settlements. Do these arguments have merit?

According to several decades of studies on the subject: no. Doctors are sympathetic defendants and tend to win three out of every four cases at trial. Even when a large award is given, the odds are good that the huge verdict that gets splashed across the papers will get whittled down during the appeals process and eventually settle for a much smaller sum.

Can I Sue if a Delivery Driver Hit My Car?

Published on: January 12, 2017 | by Seidman, Margulis & Fairman, LLP

Car accidents | January 12, 2017

Just about every business out there is capitalizing on the demand for more personalized services. Grocery stores and pharmacies, in particular, have picked up on the trend, offering free deliveries to attract more customers in their highly-competitive markets.

But if you get hit by an employee using his or her own car to deliver groceries or prescriptions, who covers your costs?

You Can Still Sue for a Defective Product That Was Made in China

Published on: January 5, 2017 | by Seidman, Margulis & Fairman, LLP

Defective Products | January 5, 2017

Conventional legal wisdom used to pretty much say that if you were injured by a defective product that came from a Chinese manufacturer, you were going to have an uphill battle winning a lawsuit and actually collecting the judgment on your claim.

Even though retailers based in the United States often sold the products, many of them were able to skate by the strict liability laws that sought to hold them liable by asserting, as a defense, that they weren’t in the business of regularly selling that sort of product. Strict liability laws against retailers don’t always apply when the retailer isn’t in the business of exclusively selling a specific type of product but carries a hodgepodge assortment of goods for sale.

When Cars Speak the Same Language

Published on: January 5, 2017 | by Seidman, Margulis & Fairman, LLP

Car accidents | January 5, 2017

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposed a new rule this month regarding communication between motor vehicles. Vehicle-to-vehicle technology allows for the sharing of important information such as speed, direction and location of nearby cars and trucks. When combined with things like driver warnings and auto-braking, this technology can help prevent accidents that even attentive drivers could suffer. The NHTSA is proposing the rule in the hopes that setting up a standard format allows competing vehicle makers to create compatible vehicle-to-vehicle technology.

Critical mass

Could More Defective Products Be Left on the Market Soon?

Published on: December 30, 2016 | by Seidman, Margulis & Fairman, LLP

Defective Products | December 30, 2016

Are more defective products likely to find their way into consumer hands over the next few years?

Quite possibly, if the incoming presidential administration cuts the power of the Consumer Product Safety Commission to levy serious fines against businesses that fail to immediately report potential product hazards.

Be on the Lookout For Hidden Signs of Nursing Home Abuse

Published on: December 27, 2016 | by Seidman, Margulis & Fairman, LLP

Drunk driving accidents | December 27, 2016

Roughly one-third of deadly car accidents involve drivers who have had too much to drink. Perhaps it should come as no surprise then that the general increase in traffic deaths over the past two years has included an increase in drunk driving fatalities. Last year, there were 10,265 such fatalities. This year, that number is expected to rise. With one of the deadliest nights of the year for drinking and driving accidents right around the corner, it is a good time to reconsider the problem of drunken motorists.

An attitude problem

Be on the lookout for hidden signs of nursing home abuse

Published on: December 23, 2016 | by Seidman, Margulis & Fairman, LLP

Medical malpractice | December 23, 2016

Nursing home abuses can stay hidden for years — often coming to light only when something serious happens to a resident who has family members who won’t let the case rest or a conscientious employee finally has enough and steps forward.

For example, two former social workers at a Chicago facility have recently come forward with allegations that they were both fired when they refused to go along with instructions to fabricate medical records in order to hide signs of patient abuse.

Walking Back Truck Safety Rules

Published on: December 15, 2016 | by Seidman, Margulis & Fairman, LLP

Drowsy driving | December 15, 2016

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has been attempting to install a new set of rules regarding hours of service for truck drivers. Those rules were blocked by Congress this week, some say at the behest of trucking industry lobbyists. The goal of the rules is to reduce fatigue-related truck accidents. A trucking industry group has promised to seek more changes in January, once the legislators elected in November take office.

Hours of service regulations

Reporting Dangerous Auto Defects

Published on: December 13, 2016 | by Seidman, Margulis & Fairman, LLP

Firm News | December 13, 2016

Motor vehicle recalls reached record highs in the past two years. Despite the increase, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration wants to make it easier for consumers to report auto safety problems with their cars. The NHTSA has proposed a rule that would force automakers to place labels on the sun visors of new vehicles. These labels would include instructions to car owners on how to file safety complaints.

From consumer complaints to vehicle recalls

The First Snows of the Season Often Bring Multi-Vehicle Accidents

Published on: December 12, 2016 | by Seidman, Margulis & Fairman, LLP

Car accidents | December 12, 2016

The weather outside is frightful—and so are the nation’s highways. The first snows of the winter season often create havoc on the highways because drivers who haven’t dealt with ice and snow for many months seem to have forgotten how to drive in the stuff, and multi-vehicle pileups are often the result.

Chicago has already seen some morning pileups on the roads involving multiple vehicles due to a combination of slick roads, fog, and driver error. The first measurable snowfall in the Chicago area for the season resulted in an pileup on the Jane Addams Expressway with at least eight vehicles involved.

Seidman, Margulis, & Fairman Blog