North Chicago & St. Louis Injury Updates

What Tech Can Help Avoid Accidents?

Published on: June 7, 2016 | by Seidman, Margulis & Fairman, LLP

Car accidents | June 7, 2016

Technology on cars is always getting better, but that doesn’t just mean it’s easier to stream your favorite music or put a movie on in the back seat for the kids. A lot of tech advancements can actually help to prevent accidents, including the following:

Front crash detection systems: These systems simply keep an eye on what’s in front of the vehicle, how fast it’s moving, and how quickly the vehicle is closing in on that object. The system can then alert the driver if a crash is coming. Some of the more advanced systems can even apply the brakes.

Rushing Leads to Workplace Accidents

Published on: June 3, 2016 | by Seidman, Margulis & Fairman, LLP

Work Accidents | June 3, 2016

Do you ever feel like your boss is rushing you in the workplace? Do you feel so much pressure that you think you’ll never be fast enough, no matter how quickly you get the job done?

If so, you should know that this is common. The boss is likely worried about production numbers and overall earnings for each day, and the more work that employees can accomplish in the same amount of time, the better these are going to look.

Deadly Car Crashes And Summer Break

Published on: June 3, 2016 | by Seidman, Margulis & Fairman, LLP

Car accidents | June 3, 2016

June has arrived. For many teens, school is letting out. Many new drivers will be hitting the roads, some for the first time. The increased freedom for young drivers brings with it a rise in deadly car accidents. The AAA has labeled the time between Memorial Day and the start of the next school year the “100 deadliest days.” During this time, roughly 1,000 people will die in fatal car accidents involving teen drivers.

New drivers are at a greater risk of being involved in a serious traffic accident than others. Part of the problem is inexperience, but other issues also plague younger drivers. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the use of hand-held cell phones by teen drivers has increased substantially in recent years. The Pew Research Center reports that teens send an average of 80 text messages per day. The rise of cell phones and the heavy use of text messaging as a means of communication is not something the parents of teen drivers had to deal with when they learned to drive.

Why Pursuing Medical Malpractice Claims Is A Good Idea

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

Medical malpractice | May 27, 2016

A recent study found that medical errors are the third-leading cause of death in the United States. The research extrapolated from data collected in previous studies and estimated that more than 250,000 Americans die each year because of mistakes in their medical care. That finding should be more than enough to inspire medical professionals to look for ways to improve. Unfortunately, the study and others like it are often dismissed in an industry stuck in its ways.

Medical malpractice insurance companies are motivated to help doctors and hospitals avoid the situations that lead to lawsuits. Insurers analyze their risk based on the malpractice claims filed against their clients. If a hospital or medical provider wants to avoid paying more for malpractice insurance, it may be compelled to make changes that improve patient safety. Mistakes that harm patients but don’t lead to a lawsuit are unlikely to lead to improvements to safety procedures.

It’s Important to File Workplace Accident Reports

Published on: May 6, 2016 | by Seidman, Margulis & Fairman, LLP

Work Accidents | May 6, 2016

If you’re hurt on the job, don’t try to tough it out and keep it to yourself. You may be embarrassed about getting hurt or tempted to think it’s no big deal. However, there are some very important reasons to file the report — one of which is that you need proof that you were injured in the first place.

This becomes very important if your injury is such that you can’t do your job as well as you usually do, even for just a short time. For example, if your job involves moving pallets around a warehouse, and you hurt your back, you may not be able to pull the pallets as quickly as you usually do, or you may not be able to pull them at all.

Keep Your Kids Safe This Summer

Published on: April 26, 2016 | by Seidman, Margulis & Fairman, LLP

Child Injuries | April 26, 2016

Summer is right around the corner, and most kids can’t wait to get outside and have some fun away from school. However, the summertime freedom that the children anticipate causes their parents a certain amount of fear and trepidation, and for good reason.

Summer is a dangerous time for kids. With kids outside for much longer periods of time and outside the more contained environment of school, the reality is that accidents occur much more frequently than they do during other seasons. But what can you do to minimize the risk for your kids?

Avoid Accidents With Drunk Drivers

Published on: April 26, 2016 | by Seidman, Margulis & Fairman, LLP

Drunk driving accidents | April 26, 2016

The rules of the road are meant to ensure all of the drivers are safe. The vast majority of drivers follow these rules. If everyone were to do the same, we would almost never have serious motor vehicle accidents.

However, some people disregard the rules of safety, and by doing so, they put everyone else in serious danger. Drunk driving is one of the most common causes of serious accidents. Even though everyone knows the dangers and legal consequences associated with drunk driving, this behavior continues.

A Squib Round Is a Serious Firearm Malfunction

Published on: April 19, 2016 | by Seidman, Margulis & Fairman, LLP

Defective Products | April 19, 2016

A firearm isn’t all that complicated, but it’s very important for every part to work properly. Remember, each time you pull the trigger, the bullet is propelled away from the gun by an explosion that takes place just a few inches from your hands and face. That’s definitely something that you want to happen properly to avoid injury.

One malfunction that is very serious is known as a squib round. When the gun is fired, a squib does not exit the barrel, but gets stuck. Much of the time, this means the round is totally invisible, and shooters will not understand what malfunction they had. They may shoot again, with the next round up, and fire that bullet right into the one that is stuck.

Mandatory Garage Door Safety Features

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

Defective Products | April 15, 2016

If you have a garage door that was installed in the last two decades, and if it has an automatic, motorized opening system, it probably has a light sensor and a pressure sensor. When something breaks the light beam, if the door is coming down, it stops and reverses direction. The same is true if it encounters unexpected pressure before it is all the way down.

These safety features are now mandatory and required by law. This has not always been the case, though, as the laws saying they must be used were instituted in 1992. This happened after a landmark court case in which the safety and design of these doors was called into question. The safety features had been options before, meaning people had to pay extra to get them, but the new laws said they had to be used on all doors.

Can a Serious Car Accident Cause a Lung Injury?

Published on: March 29, 2016 | by Seidman, Margulis & Fairman, LLP

Car accidents | March 29, 2016

People often think of lung injuries as injuries that happen due to sickness or inhalation of hazardous materials, but, while they definitely can occur that way, they can also happen in car accidents.

A car accident can cause massive trauma to the chest, especially in older vehicles without airbags. The driver could be in the most danger, as he or she could directly strike the steering wheel. When these types of injuries occur, internal injuries to the lungs can be more dangerous than any external injuries.

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