What’s the difference between a truly defective product and one that just isn’t as good as the manufacturer claims?
It depends largely on how concrete the claims were that the manufacturer made when he or she sold you the product.
If you’re thinking of calling Uber, Lyft, or even a taxi for your next ride, you may want to reconsider and get a rental instead. While national attention has been focused on the standoff between traditional taxi services and the innovate ridesharing services, another important factor got overlooked: the safety of the vehicles themselves.
More than 1 in 3 vehicles-for-hire in the U.S. has a recall out on it that hasn’t been completed. In major cities like Seattle and Chicago, there are no regulations requiring that taxis stay current with recalls. Uber and Lyft don’t require drivers to keep current either. Chicago does require taxi medallion holders to keep their vehicles “undamaged and safe,” but it puts all of the responsibility for doing so on the license holder. It’s unclear what follow-up steps, if any, are done to make sure that drivers are complying. No specific law makes attending to a recall mandatory.
Negligent driver behaviors such as speeding, distracted driving and impaired driving rank among top causes of car accidents in Illinois.
Each year, car accidents upend the lives of thousands of people in Illinois. Just in 2014, over 296,000 crashes occurred throughout the state, leading to 84,652 injuries and 924 deaths, as the Illinois Department of Transportation reports. Sadly, local data shows that a large proportion of these accidents involve unnecessary and reckless behaviors on the part of at least one of the involved motorists.
It shouldn’t have been hard to figure out that there was something seriously wrong with the 50-year-old man who presented in Winfield’s Central DuPage Hospital one night back in 2012. He was suffering from a headache, neck pain, vomiting, and disorientation.
While it’s unclear what exact diagnosis the doctors at the hospital gave him, they only prescribed pain medication and sent him on his way. Had they done a simple CT scan and asked a neurologist to weigh in, the hospital would have likely discovered that the source of his pain and symptoms was a devastating brain bleed that led to a stroke two days later.
Electric and hybrid vehicles may be the wave of the future. These cars have the potential to reduce our reliance on gasoline and improve the environment. While electric cars are currently more expensive than their gas-burning counterparts, it may be only a matter of time before these vehicles are competitively priced or even cheaper than the alternative. The news is not all good for electric and hybrid cars, however. One trait of these vehicles may be contributing to an increase in deadly pedestrian accidents and collisions with bicycles. Electric cars are quiet.
The government responds
With fall and winter weather on fast approach, this question is especially relevant. While the trucking industry and its regulators must do all they can to reduce and prevent commercial truck accidents, other motorists should also do their own part to enhance roadway safety. This is just as true in Illinois as it is in other states.
The basic answer to your questions is yes! You and other Chicago-based drivers can do many things to avoid colliding with tractor-trailer trucks. This post will provide readers with just a few tips to help keep all of you safer on Illinois roadways.
Quite a bit of work goes into calculating the proper damage award to seek after a serious personal injury or wrongful death. Some items, like hospital bills, can be determined with great accuracy. Others, like pain and suffering, can be difficult to pin down. Still other issues are straightforward in some cases and difficult in others. For instance, how do you calculate the lost income of a child killed in a car accident? For more information about your particular wrongful death case, it is advisable to see advice from a Chicago wrongful death lawyer.
Lifetime earnings vary widely from one individual to the next. Even after a person has completed his or her education, calculating the total income of years or decades is tenuous. When analyzing the future income of a child, the outcome is as much guesswork as science. Over the years, many jurisdictions have adopted an approach puts some victims at an unfair disadvantage. The use of tables that account for race and gender to predict future earnings has begun to draw heavy criticism. These critics question the propriety of placing a different, lower value on the lives of women and people of color.
A recent study has determined that the quality of outpatient care in the United States has generally not improved over the past 10 years. A growing awareness of the frequency of medical mistakes has led to numerous programs designed to improve patient safety and outcomes. These efforts have not produced appreciable results, according to survey data analyzed by the study’s authors. The quality of American medical treatment is not getting better.
Two Ways Medical Care Falls Short
In October 2015, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a safety communication regarding a heater-cooler device originally manufactured by Sorin Group Deutschland GmbH. The Stӧckert 3T Heater-Cooler System has been linked to an increased risk of infection with the Mycobacterium chimaera. These infections, referred to as non-tuberculosis mycobacteria (NTM) infections, can lead to serious health complications and even death. The Sorin Group has since partnered with another company and now does business under the name LivaNova.
Who Has Been Exposed?
As attorneys serving Chicago residents, we handle a lot of personal injury cases involving car accidents. In fact, we handle too many of these cases. Even though it is widely-believed that car accidents keep lawyers in business, we want you to know that we do not need or want this much business. We would rather see our neighbors remain whole and healthy instead.
Periodically, we like to remind motorists in this busy part of Illinois that they do have a certain degree of control on our roadways. By staying alert to what is happening on the road, the current weather conditions and the behavior of other drivers, it is possible to avoid some car accidents. Abiding by traffic laws at all times is also a good preventive measure. While it is impossible to predict the driving habits of other motorists, practicing safety at all times can equip you to avoid at least some collisions.
North Chicago & St. Louis Injury Updates