Chicago Injury Lawyer Blog

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is urging owners of certain Ford, Lincoln and Mercury SUVs, pickup trucks, vans, and cars to take their vehicles to a local dealership for a corrective repair. According to a NHTSA press release, these vehicles contain a defective cruise control switch that could lead to a fire at any time, even while the vehicle is turned-off or unattended. The exhaustive list of models that are affected can be found here.

NHTSA is concerned that many owners have yet to respond to multiple safety defect recall notifications from Ford, including Chicagoland consumers. Of the 12 million vehicles involved in the recall, nearly five million have not yet been brought to Ford for repair. Consumers with questions should contact their local Ford/Lincoln/Mercury dealer, or call 888-222-2751. Additional information is available at www.ford.com.

Continue reading "ILLINOIS CONSUMER ADVISORY: Five Million Unrepaired Fords, Lincolns and Mercurys Pose Serious Fire Hazard " »

CBS Chicago reported today that tainted baby formula from China may have found its way into Illinois Asian food markets. The FDA and Illinois Department of Health issued a warning cautioning residents to stay away from any milk-based infant formula manufactured in China.

Over 400 Chinese babies have developed kidney stones after drinking the formula, and at least one death has been reported. Chinese baby formula is illegal in the United States - but the FDA is investigating reports it may have been smuggled in for sale illegally. The Illinois Department of Public Health’s release also said there is no known threat of contamination in infant formula manufactured by companies that have met the requirements to sell infant formula in the United States.

The Illinois Department of Public Health and local health departments are working with the FDA to help locate and remove any Chinese infant formula found on store shelves.

Continue reading "FDA Warning: Chicagoans Should Avoid Infant Formula Made In China" »

Chicago cyclists should be aware of a recent recall involving Electra Amsterdam bicyles. Late last month, the CSPC announced a recall on Electra “Amsterdam” model bicycles. The alert reported there were reports that interior alignment tabs of the bicycle’s chainguard can push against the chain, causing the chain to derail, posing serious risk of injury to riders. Ten thousand of Amsterdam’s Classic 3, Original 3, Royal 8, and Sport 3 styles are involved in the recall. The bikes were sold nationwide from January 2007 through June 2008 for between $400 and $850 at authorized Electra dealers. There is potential for product liability litigation relating to this recall.

Continue reading "Chicago cyclists be on alert for Electra Amsterdam recall" »

Nissan recently recalled over one-thousand 2008 Altimas relating to a loose bolt which could lead to difficulty controlling the car if it fell out- this includes Nissan models driven by Chicagoland drivers.

According to NHTSA’s report, the left-side front suspension transverse link bolt in the 2008 Altimas may not have been tightened to specification at the factory. "This condition could cause the bolt to become loose while the vehicle is being driven," it said. "If the bolt were to come out, the driver may experience difficulty controlling the direction of the vehicle, which could result in a crash." If you own the aforementioned vehicle, have it checked out immediately by your dealer. Nissan dealers will tighten the bolt free of charge. Owners can contact Nissan for more information at (800) 647-7261.

Continue reading "NHTSA issues a recall to Illinois Nissan Altima Drivers" »

Trish McCloud was permanently disabled when her motorcycle’s rear tire blew out in 2002. After the jury awarded damages to her in her products liability case, the tire manufacturer, Goodyear Dunlop Tires, asked for a new trial, raising a variety of issues, including the adequacy of the tire expert’s testimony.

At trial, McCloud’s expert testified that he believed that the blowout occurred because a nylon cord became imbedded in the tire’s innermost layer and as a result, a bubble formed at the sidewall layer of the tire which caused the burst. He testified that the error could have occurred in three ways during manufacturing.

Goodyear countered this trial testimony with claims that McCloud’s expert did not pinpoint when in the manufacturing process the defect occurred and claimed it had not received reports of this problem from other customers-- thus the tire rupture was not due to a manufacturing defect. The company argued that user error caused the blowout. Specifically, Goodyear claimed that the owner either overloaded or underinflated the tire or that they had installed too many accessories on the bike which put the vehicle over its recommended weight.

In upholding the jury award, the Federal Judge held that under Illinois Law, McCord’s expert witness was not required to pinpoint the exact cause of the crash but instead could, through credible testimony, narrow the cause to one of three possible manufacturing errors.

Continue reading "Illinois judge rules that expert need not pinpoint exact cause of tire failure" »

A lawsuit testing the constitutionality of Illinois' medical malpractice damage caps is expected to come before the Illinois’ Supreme Court this fall. The 2005 state law limits medical malpractice awards for non-economic damages such as pain and suffering to $500,000 for doctors and $1 million for hospitals. The law does not limit compensation for economic damages such as the cost of medical care and lost wages.

The case that could overturn the law was filed by Frances LeBron, whose daughter Abigaile was seriously injured during her October 2005 birth. The complaint alleges that the girl suffers mental impairment and cerebral palsy and will need extensive medical care for the rest of her life. In November, Cook County Circuit Judge Diane Larsen sided with plaintiffs and declared the law unconstitutional and invalid in its entirety. She said the statutory limits on awards interfered with juries' responsibility to award appropriate compensation for injuries.

At least twice before the Supreme Court has declared laws that limit personal injury awards to be unconstitutional, partly on grounds they violate the separation of judicial and legislative powers. Arguments before the high court have not been scheduled but could come as early as next month. A consistent ruling by the Supreme Court will mean that this law limiting the damages of the most severely injured victims will be rejected like those before it. If you have comments about this post, please contact Chicago Medical Malpractice Attorney Chris Hurley at (312) 553-4900.

In the hopes of curtailing future bicycle injuries, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in cooperation with Look Cycle voluntarily recalled approximately 80,000 KéO brand bicycle pedals. The San Jose, California company made this decision after it uncovered a defect in the structural composition of the bicycle pedal it distributes. Specifically, the steel axle inside the bicycle pedal has showed systematic weakness and a tendency to break, thus creating a hazard for any cyclist using the pedal. The recall can be found here.

After 14 reports of Look Cycle bicycle pedals breaking--seven of those cases resulting in injuries--the CPSC recommended that all users of the pedals discontinue use immediately and exchange the faulty pedals in hopes of avoiding injury. Because bicyclists are virtually unprotected on the road, bicyclists often suffer severe injuries from accidents. There is potential for product liability litigation in relation to this recall. If you have questions about the product recall discussed in this blog, contact Chris Hurley at Hurley McKenna & Mertz, P.C. at (312) 553-4900.

Each year, millions of Americans are treated for Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI). In fact, TBI is the leading cause of death among those 45 or younger. TBI can be caused by direct head trauma but can also be caused by severe shaking or whiplash from a car accident. More recently it was discovered that exposure to explosive charges-- like soldiers serving in the Iraq war have been exposed to—can cause brain damage when pressure from an explosion moves through the body and causes damage to the brain cells.

While many people show signs of TBI, it is common for people who suffer from brain damage to not show any outward symptoms, as there may be no bleeding or loss of consciousness. To add to the complication of diagnosing TBI is the fact that MRIs fail to detect 15% of TBIs, however, more research is being conducted as a result of the number of soldiers coming back from Iraq with brain injury. Many times, the success of civil lawsuits relating to TBI depends on the quality of the medical expert retained to testify about the plaintiff’s brain trauma. The attorneys at Hurley, McKenna & Mertz, P.C. have a long history of pursuing difficult cases on behalf of average citizens who were injured due to no fault of their own.

Earlier today, Chicago lawyers Hurley McKenna & Mertz filed a lawsuit in Winnebago County, Illinois against the Boy Scouts of America alleging that Charles “Chuck” Bickerstaff, a long-time paid senior district executive with the Rockford-based Blackhawk Area Council, Boy Scouts of America, sexually abused a Boy Scout over a ten-month period in 2006.

Bickerstaff, 56, is now in jail in Dixon, Illinois on $4 million bond awaiting trial on multiple counts of child molestation involving at least two victims. One of the victims was known to be younger than 13 years old when the abuse occurred.

Police have recovered six diaries of 120 pages in length from Bickerstaff’s home which describe in detail his sexual relationships with underage boys dating back to at least 1989.

The victim was a member of the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts for most of his childhood who “looked (to Bickerstaff) as an authority figure,” the lawsuit says. Using the power and trust of his position, the suit says, Bickerstaff’ routinely spent time alone with (the boy) outside of Scout events. The BSA staffer “enticed, induced, directed, coerced, and forced” the child “to engage in deviant sexual acts with him.” The crimes took place on a Scout trip to Lansing, Michigan, at Bickerstaff’s home, and “other locations.”

According to the suit, the BSA “knew or should have known” that Bickerstaff was dangerous, failed to adequately investigate allegations of misconduct involving Bickerstaff and failed to adequately supervise Bickerstaff’s activities. The suit also alleges that the BSA knew for decades that sexual predators “had infiltrated scouting,” but its leadership “failed to inform Scouts’ parents of that fact.”

Earlier today, Chicago lawyers Hurley McKenna & Mertz filed a lawsuit in Winnebago County, Illinois against the Boy Scouts of America alleging that Charles “Chuck” Bickerstaff, a long-time paid senior district executive with the Rockford-based Blackhawk Area Council, Boy Scouts of America, sexually abused a Boy Scout over a ten-month period in 2006.

Bickerstaff, 56, is now in jail in Dixon, Illinois on $4 million bond awaiting trial on multiple counts of child molestation involving at least two victims. One of the victims was known to be younger than 13 years old when the abuse occurred.

Police have recovered six diaries of 120 pages in length from Bickerstaff’s home which describe in detail his sexual relationships with underage boys dating back to at least 1989.

The victim was a member of the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts for most of his childhood who “looked (to Bickerstaff) as an authority figure,” the lawsuit says. Using the power and trust of his position, the suit says, Bickerstaff’ routinely spent time alone with (the boy) outside of Scout events. The BSA staffer “enticed, induced, directed, coerced, and forced” the child “to engage in deviant sexual acts with him.” The crimes took place on a Scout trip to Lansing, Michigan, at Bickerstaff’s home, and “other locations.”

According to the suit, the BSA “knew or should have known” that Bickerstaff was dangerous, failed to adequately investigate allegations of misconduct involving Bickerstaff and failed to adequately supervise Bickerstaff’s activities. The suit also alleges that the BSA knew for decades that sexual predators “had infiltrated scouting,” but its leadership “failed to inform Scouts’ parents of that fact.”

An interesting phenomenon occurs bicycles equipped with disc brakes that makes wheel separation more likely. The link describes this phenomenon more fully, but essentially, when the caliper is mounted behind the fork, the braking force actually works to eject the wheel from the fork. This obviously increases the likelihood of severe personal injury.

There are several alternate designs, but the bicycle should never become more dangerous when the brakes are applied. This is an area where product liability litigation is likely to increase.

The Illinois Appellate Court has affirmed the largest known verdict for a plaintiff in an institutional negligence case ever obtained in Illinois. The case is also the first reported case in Illinois dealing with a hospital's liability for negligently credentialing a physician, podiatrist or other health care provider. Christopher T. Hurley and Mark R. McKenna of Hurley McKenna & Mertz obtained the $7,775,668 verdict in August of 2004 for their client, a long-time critical care nurse who went to Silver Cross Hospital in Joliet, Illinois for removal of a bunion on her left foot. Dr. Paul Kirchner, a podiatrist with surgical privileges at Silver Cross Hospital, performed the procedure, known as a bunionectomy, in spite of the fact that the patient had a diabetic ulcer present at the site of the bunion. Diabetic ulcers are a known source of infections, and podiatric standards generally require that an elective surgery such as a bunionectomy be delayed until the ulcer is completely healed.

During the original trial, the jury heard testimony that Dr. Kirchner made an incision near the diabetic ulcer, and placed a screw in patient's left foot. As a result, the bones in patient's left foot at the site of the screw became severely infected. No attempt was made to remove the infected screw until February of 1999 at Silver Cross Hospital, and trial testimony indicated that Dr. Kirchner was unable to remove the screw at that time because of his alleged lack of proper surgical training.

As a consequence of the negligent October, 1998, left foot surgery at Silver Cross Hospital, the bones in the patient's left foot became so infected that she was forced to undergo the amputation of her left foot. The patient has been unable to return to work as a nurse since the surgery.

During the case, Hurley and McKenna presented evidence to the jury that Silver Cross Hospital granted hospital privileges to Dr. Kirchner in 1992 contrary to the hospital’s own by-laws. The hospital’s by-laws required all podiatrists seeking surgical privileges at the hospital to have completed either a 12-month podiatric surgical residency program, or be board-certified by the American Board of Podiatric Surgery. Dr. Kirchner met neither of these requirements in 1992, when he initially began performing procedures at Silver Cross Hospital, or in 1998, when he performed surgery on the patient. During that time period Dr. Kirchner re-applied several times for continuation of his surgical privileges at Silver Cross Hospital, and each time the hospital’s Board of Trustees granted the privileges in violation of its own rules and by-laws.

Illinois law requires hospitals to use reasonable care to determine the qualifications of health care professionals added to a hospital’s medical staff. A hospital's failure to use reasonable care to select and supervise health care professionals to care for patients, which leads to serious injury, can give rise to a claim for institutional negligence.

In this case the jury agreed that podiatrist Dr. Kirchner was professionally negligent in performing the surgery and failing to properly treat the foot infection, and that Silver Cross Hospital was negligent in giving hospital privileges to Dr. Kirchner to perform the surgery in the first place.

You can read the Illinois Appellate Court's opinion here.

Chicago-based Hurley McKenna & Mertz, founded in 1991, is devoted solely to the representation of severely injured persons. The firm has tried and settled hundreds of cases, and obtained numerous multi-million dollar verdicts. If you believe you or a loved one has been a victim of institutional negligence by a hospital or health care facility, feel free to contact us at 312/553-4900