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Chicago Personal Injury News Blog

12 January

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IDOT unveils life-saving Yellow Dot program

Posted by editor

in Chicago

CHICAGO — The Illinois Department of Transportation today unveiled the Illinois Yellow Dot program, a life-saving, traffic safety initiative that provides first responders with critical information to improve emergency care for persons involved in vehicle crashes. IDOT along with the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), Illinois Department of Aging (IDOA) and county health departments across the state are working together to increase awareness of the voluntary, federally funded program, and provide distribution centers and information for interested residents. “Roadway safety is always a top priority at IDOT, and the Yellow Dot program can help improve roadway safety by providing first...

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09 January

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Two Pit Bulls Attack, Seriously Injure Chicago Lakeside Jogger

Posted by editor

in Chicago

January 6, 2012 Nicole Howley Chicago, IL — The owner of two pit bulls is facing fines after his dogs attacked a lakefront jogger at Rainbow Beach Park, before the dogs were shot by a Chicago police officer on Monday, January 2, 2012, the Chicago Tribune reported. The owner of the dogs, Jimmy Johnson, 57, of the 7600 block of South Coles Avenue, claims that someone left the gate open at his home, which allowed the dogs to escape. The two dogs are described to be 70-pound unneutered adult male with collars, but did not have tags or microchips. One dog was...

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08 January

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Mouse in Mountain Dew case goes viral

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in Uncategorized

1/4/2012 1:53 PM By Ann Maher A Madison County personal injury lawsuit involving a dead mouse and a can of Mountain Dew has drawn international headlines. Since yesterday, nearly 100 news outlets have picked up on plaintiff Ronald Ball's lawsuit against PepsiCo, as first reported in the Madison County Record. Ball alleges that he bought a can of the soda from a vending machine at his place of work in November 2008, Marathon Oil in Wood River, and discovered a dead mouse after he took a sip from the can. He "became violently ill such that he began to vomit," his suit states. Link...

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07 January

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Don’t Let Your Personal Injury Claim Slip and Fall This Winter

Posted by editor

in Chicago, IL

Winter slip and fall claims in Illinois could depend on whether the dangerous condition was naturally or unnaturally accumulated. December 30, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- For the people of the Midwest, the change of seasons, from fall to winter, means the return of snow and outdoor activities such as snowshoeing, sledding and skiing. And, while snow can be picturesque and conjure images of hot chocolate and fireplaces, it also can have a dangerous side -- not all images of winter are idyllic. Along with snow, the return of winter also brings ice and the potential for slippery conditions. The risk of injuries from...

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05 January

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Asda pays compensation to worker injured in slip

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in Uncategorized

03 Jan 2012 Asda has agreed to pay personal injury compensation to a former employee who was badly hurt in an accident in which she slipped on a spillage. Irene Heslop had worked at the store in Hulme for seven years when the accident occurred in March 2007. She had been going about her duties in the bakery when she stood on some egg that had not been cleaned up and fell on to the concrete floor. Link...

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04 January

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Damages Are Taxable, Even for “Political Discrimination” Says IRS

Posted by editor

in Chicago

If you sue for physical injuries like a slip and fall or car accident, your damages are tax-free (except for punitive damages and interest). The tax-free treatment applies even if you sought lost wages because you couldn’t work after your injuries. Before 1996, “personal” damages were tax-free, including emotional distress, defamation, etc. But since 1996, your injury must be “physical.” Link...

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04 January

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Psychiatric Drugs Used for Dementia Patients in Nursing Homes Cause Undue Risk

Posted by editor

in Chicago

Says Briskman Briskman & Greenberg CHICAGO, IL, Dec 30, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Families with a loved one in a nursing home that has dementia should be vigilant about their care. Government inspectors from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently found that dementia residents are often being prescribed strong psychiatric drugs, but for off-label reasons. Medicines such as Seroquel and Zyprexa are being used to sedate these types of residents, and not necessarily for what they are supposed to do -- help treat patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. "These medicines can cause serious injuries and deaths...

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26 December

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Ill. restaurant settles sexual harassment lawsuit

Posted by editor

in IL

The Associated Press CHICAGO — A company that owns a KFC and Taco Bell restaurant in Mendota has agreed to pay $150,000 to settle a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit. In a news release Thursday, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says it filed a lawsuit that alleged a store manager harassed female employees for more than a year. A federal judge and magistrate judge entered a consent decree to resolve the case. The EEOC says the money is to go to 12 victims. Also, the company that owns the restaurant, Mendota Restaurants, Inc., must pay money to 12 victims. Ill. restaurant settles sexual...

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16 December

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Parents Sue After Teen Dies During Wisdom Tooth Surgery

Posted by editor

in Chicago

By KATIE MOISSE | ABC News – Wed, Dec 14, 2011 The parents of a Maryland teen who died earlier this year during wisdom tooth surgery have sued the oral surgeon and the anesthetist for medical malpractice. Jenny Olenick, a 17-year-old junior at Marriotts Ridge High School in Woodstock, Md., died in April from complications during the outpatient procedure performed on 5 million Americans each year. "It's so hard," Cathy Garger, Olenick's mother, told ABCNews.com. "She was the only one we had." The civil suit, filed in Howard Country Circuit Court, claims the oral surgeon, Dr. Domenick Coletti, and the anesthiologist, Dr. Krista Michelle...

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13 December

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Why 3 Hospitals Didn’t Hurt My Wife (And What That Means)

Posted by editor

in Chicago

The anxiety when a loved one is injured is compounded when you know just how risky making things better can get. As a long-time advocate for patient safety, my interest in the topic has always been passionate, but never personal. Now, as Susan was being rushed into the emergency room, I wanted to keep it that way. "Wife of patient safety expert is victim" was a headline I deeply hoped to avoid. In the weeks after the accident, we spent time at a 50-bed hospital in Maine, a Boston teaching hospital where Susan was transferred with a small vertebra fracture at...

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13 December

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The dangers of concussion in the young

Posted by editor

in Chicago

HOUSE CALL: The dangers of concussion in the young Dr. Hunt Batjer serves as chairman, Department of Neurological Surgery, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago. Posted December 12, 2011 at 9:28 p.m. SAN ANGELO, Texas — Concussions shouldn't be taken lightly, particularly in youngsters. Unlike adults, children and adolescents are susceptible to second impact syndrome. Second impact syndrome occurs when a young person suffers a second concussion before fully recovering from the first. It can lead to permanent brain damage or death. A concussion is caused by a blow to the head that causes the brain, which is suspended...

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12 December

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Prince Harry Car Crash Photographer Seeks Compensation

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in Uncategorized

Tuesday, December 13th, 2011 A photographer, who suffered serious personal injury after being run over by an unmarked police car, believed to be transporting Prince Harry, has launched a claim for car accident compensation. Fifty four year old Tony Margiocchi an ex-policeman and former soldier, was hit by a Ford Galaxy people carrier outside the Beaufort club in Knightsbridge, as he waited with other members of the press for the Prince, who had been at the exclusive West End club celebrating England’s win over France in the six nations rugby tournament. Mr. Margiocchi suffered a broken leg in the incident and tore his...

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08 December

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Concealing evidence: prosecutors gone wild

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in Uncategorized

“Given the Supreme Court’s repeated endorsement of professional discipline as the appropriate vehicle for addressing allegations of prosecutorial misconduct, one might suppose that state bar agencies frequently sanction prosecutors. In fact, prosecutors are rarely held accountable for violating ethics rules. A Chicago Tribune study identified 381 homicide cases nationally in which Brady Violations (withholding evidence) produced conviction reversals. Yet prosecutors faced disciplinary action in only forty-four of those cases, and seven of these actions were eventually dismissed.“ The journal went on to conclude: “As these studies indicate, infrequent punishment of prosecutors cannot be blamed on a paucity of discoverable violations. Even...

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07 December

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Widower Says Texting Driver Killed His Wife

Posted by editor

in IL

By GLYNIS FARRELL WOODSTOCK, Ill. (CN) - A lumber truck driver killed a woman by running a stop sign as he texted while driving, the woman's husband says. Alexander Lumber Co. employee Kenneth Englert broadsided the late Patricia McNamara's car on Sept. 30 "while using a telephone and/or texting," McNamara's husband says. Kevin McNamara sued Englert and Alexander Lumber in McHenry County Court. He claims Englert "failed to stop his vehicle for a stop sign," drove "at a speed greater than reasonable," and killed his wife by smashing a 2008 Ford Ranger pickup truck into her 2004 Chevy "while using a telephone and/or...

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06 December

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Jackson’s Dad Says ‘There’s More’ as Conrad Murray Civil Case Looms

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in Uncategorized

By LUCHINA FISHER and SHEILA MARIKARNow that a criminal jury has found Dr. Conrad Murray's guilty of involuntary manslaughter, his case will head for civil court where Murray could be found liable for medical malpractice.The Jackson family is ready for the next chapter. On his way out of Monday's court hearing when Murray receive his guilty verdict, family patriarch Joe Jackson told the crowd of media and fans, "There's more."Civil suits against Murray and AEG Live LLC, the firm behind Jackon's "This Is It" tour, have already been filed. Joe Jackson, Michael Jackson's father, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against...

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05 December

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Fallout From Listeria Outbreak Hits Wal-Mart: Retail

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in Uncategorized

In late August, Charles Palmer ate cantaloupe bought at a Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) store in Colorado. Two weeks later, he began feeling sick, then became unresponsive and was rushed to a hospital where doctors diagnosed a listeria infection. Now the 71-year-old retired Marine isn’t just suing Granada, Colorado-based Jensen Farms, which grew the tainted cantaloupe that he claims sickened him. He’s also suing Wal-Mart for selling the fruit. Fallout from the outbreak that’s killed 29 Americans is broadening to other major retailers that sold the tainted produce and is spurring a national debate on the role groceries and stores should play...

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04 December

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Alcoholic energy drink maker Four Loko sued by family of dead student

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in Uncategorized

By Heather Somerville / McClatchy Newspapers FRESNO, Calif. – The family of Rod Fiorini, a Fresno Pacific University student killed in a police shooting last year, is suing the makers of the alcoholic energy drink Four Loko. Brett and Pam Fiorini, who live in Bakersfield, Calif., are seeking damages for the wrongful death of their son. The lawsuit was filed this week in Fresno County Superior Court by Fresno, Calif., attorney Bill Schmidt. link...

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03 December

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Indiana State Fair Stage Collapse: 48 Victims Sue Sugarland (DISTURBING VIDEO)

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in Uncategorized

INDIANAPOLIS — Country duo Sugarland was named in a lawsuit filed Tuesday by 44 survivors of the Indiana State Fair stage collapse and family members of four people who died, by far the largest claim yet stemming from the tragedy. Attorneys representing at least 20 law firms across Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky filed the complaint alleging breach of reasonable care to the victims in Marion Superior Court in Indianapolis. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages from Sugarland, producers, stage riggers and others associated with the Dec. 13 show. Stage rigging collapsed into spectators following a wind gust of at least 60 mph, killing...

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02 December

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Cook County Jury Finds in Favor of Federal Signal Corporation in Trial of Eight Firefighter Hearing Loss Claims

Posted by editor

in IL

By Federal Signal CorporationOAK BROOK, Ill., Nov. 22, 2011 -- /PRNewswire/ -- Federal Signal Corporation (NYSE: FSS), a leader in environmental, safety and transportation solutions, announced today that a Cook County, Illinois jury absolved the Company from any liability in lawsuits brought by eight Chicago firefighters and found that the Company's siren products were not defective. These firefighters claimed that they had developed hearing loss caused by exposure to sirens manufactured by the Company. After a two week trial, the jury deliberated for less than two hours in reaching a unanimous decision in favor of the Company. This...

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01 December

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Will power tool makers’ liability change?

Posted by editor

in Chicago

November 6, 2011While the Consumer Product Safety Commission's possible requirement for table saws to include flesh-sensing technology appears likely to be implemented, the extent to which product liability exposures will increase remains to be seen.“I don't think it's going to increase litigation,” said C. Barry Montgomery, partner at Williams Montgomery & John Ltd. in Chicago and co-chair of the law firm's commercial litigation practice. “It's going to be an issue with respect to whatever the standard is,” said Mr. Montgomery, who represents manufacturers of power tools.If the rule becomes mandatory, “manufacturers are going to have to comply with it,” he...

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30 November

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Facebook privacy faceoff: Court orders password swapping

Posted by editor

in Chicago

Chicago, November 20, 2011— Oh, the possibilities! Imagine a world where your ex-spouse is ordered by a judge to give you his facebook password! There would be such great creative status updates to post, intriguing apps to download, and what was the name of that drug kingpin you read about yesterday? He definitely needs a friend request. There are reasons we do not share our passwords, although there are exceptions. Parents of teens and tweens often allow their children to have a facebook account on one condition: Mom and Dad get the password. The kids cry out about their rights to...

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29 November

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State Farm v. Chiropractors

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in Uncategorized

Posted On: November 30, 2011 by Ronald V. Miller, Jr. In State Farm v. Cavoto, a Pennsylvania appellate court decided a battle between two parties that are always at odds, State Farm and chiropractors. Usually, the skirmishes between these parties are fought by proxy but, in this case they faced off directly. Essentially, State Farm got fed up with paying chiropractors who were billing for adjunctive procedures performed by support staff who were not licensed. Particularly, and arguably understandably, annoying to State Farm was unlicensed people applying hot and cold packs, turning on and off mechanical devices, using a traction machine and...

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20 November

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Anne Murphy to succeed Max Brown as Rush University Medical Center general counsel

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in Uncategorized

Veteran attorney with grounding in health care will take the reins in January resolving tax-exempt status of nonprofit hospital likely to top agenda October 28, 2011|Ameet Sachdev's Chicago Law When Max Brown became a lawyer for a Chicago hospital 32 years ago, the biggest issue he had to deal with was the rising cost of medical malpractice. Now, as Brown, 64, prepares to retire from Rush University Medical Center, medical malpractice remains a significant issue for the hospital. But in the new world of health care, the complexity of running an academic medical facility has increased exponentially. Link...

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19 November

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Boat captain alleges actor Robert Wagner responsible for Natalie Wood’s death

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in Uncategorized

'We didn't take any steps to see if we could locate her,' captain tells TODAY Scott Stump, TODAY.com contributor The former captain of the boat from which actress Natalie Wood drowned in 1981 alleged on TODAY Friday that her husband, actor Robert Wagner, was responsible for her death. The former captain of the boat from which actress Natalie Wood drowned in 1981 Dennis Davern said he is now urging homicide investigators to look into Wood's death. She had been boating with Wagner and his "Brainstorm" co-star Christopher Walken near Santa Catalina Island off the coast of California when she drowned. "I made some terrible decisions...

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18 November

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Governor Quinn Makes Executive Appointments

Posted by editor

in Chicago, IL

Inspectors General Denise Kane (DCFS) of Chicago has served as inspector general for the Department of Children and Family Services since 2003. She previously worked in the Public Guardian’s Office of Cook County, Juvenile Division and was a juvenile court probation officer. She holds a Ph.D. in social service administration from the University of Chicago. Bradley Hart (HFS) of Hillsboro is the deputy bureau chief of Medicaid fraud and nursing home abuse/neglect in the Office of the Illinois Attorney General and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney-Central District. He graduated cum laude from the Southern Illinois University-Carbondale School of Law. William Davis (DHS) of Palos...

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17 November

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Peoria long-term care hospital singled out in complaints

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in Uncategorized

Four complaints of poor care were lodged against facility now called Kindred, Chicago Tribune report found By PAM ADAMS (padams@pjstar.com) of the Journal Star Posted Nov 07, 2011 @ 11:40 PM PEORIA — Greater Peoria Specialty Hospital, now Kindred Hospital, was among several hospitals statewide singled out for scrutiny by the Chicago Tribune in a report on the state's failure to investigate consumer complaints about hospital safety. The Illinois Department of Public Health did not look into 85 percent of the 560 allegations made to the agency in 2010, according to the Tribune investigation. IDPH spokeswoman Melaney Arnold said it's not that the agency...

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17 November

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Author Allan Fotheringham cheats death

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in Uncategorized

In his new memoir, Boy From Nowhere: A Life in Ninety-One Countries, Allan Fotheringham recounts a shocking tale of alleged medical malpractice. By Charlie Smith, November 16, 2011 When he shuffles into the lobby of the Wedgewood Hotel, Allan Fotheringham looks much smaller than I expected him to be. The famous newspaper columnist and author appears to have lost a lot of weight since he was a panelist on the CBC’s Front Page Challenge show in the 1980s and 1990s. It’s a bit shocking to realize that Fotheringham, once one of the sharpest, wittiest, and most energetic members of the Ottawa press...

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16 November

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Chicago Archdiocese to pay $3.2 million to settle sex abuse case, attorney says

Posted by editor

in Chicago

November 15, 2011 By the CNN Wire Staff Protesters call for Cardinal Francis George to resign in 2006 after he failed to remove a priest charged with abusing minors. The Archdiocese of Chicago will pay $3.2 million to settle a lawsuit that alleged church leaders failed to remove a priest they knew had sexually abused minors, the plaintiff's attorneys said Tuesday. The priest in question, the former Rev. Daniel McCormack, was arrested in 2006 and charged with multiple counts of criminal assault; he pleaded guilty in 2007, according to the attorneys. "On behalf of the victim, who was between the ages of 10-12 years...

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