Chicago Injury Lawyer Blog

CNN is reporting that a fourth teenage student has died in the fatal bus crash in Huntsville, Alabama. (Full Story). Fourteen students and the bus driver remain hospitalized.

"The bus, carrying 40 students from Huntsville's Lee High School, fell 30 feet to the street below an overpass on Interstate 565 and landed on its front end before flipping over." (Full Story).
The initial investigation indicated that a small sedan driven by a fellow high school student veered into the bus' lane, causing the bus to drag along the concrete barrier for more than 100 feet before plunging off the interstate overpass. (Full Story).

The driver of the small sedan has stated that something went wrong with the car immediately prior to impact. This tragedy will undoubtedly result in litigation including product liability and negligence cases.

The injuries likely could have been avoided, however, if the bus would have been equipped with seat belts. Molly Shannon of All Headline News reports that the students were thrown about in the bus. It is time to protect our children with safety belts in school buses.

The Daily Chronicle is reporting that a 23-year-old Northern Illinois Student was killed by a hit-and-run driver. The woman and her friend were arguing in the street and both were struck by the driver.

While cases involving pedestrians who are injured outside of a crosswalk can be difficult, injured persons can recover in cases involving hit-and-rin drivers. Most insurance policies will allow a person to recover under the uninsured motorists provision of the policy for the negligence of a hit-and-run driver.

Jason Meisner of the Chicago Tribune reports that two men were injured while working on a scaffold due to high winds. (Full Story). This incident is eerily similar to the scaffold accident at the John Hancock tower.

Construction accidents arise in many different circumstances and for many different reasons. Under Illinois law, general contractors have an obligation to schedule and coordinate work in a safe manner. General contractors also must provide a safe workplace. The injuries reported by Jason Meisner potentially give rise to construction accident litigation because the men probably should not have been working on the scaffold in high winds.

A man who was trapped for much of the day yesterday by a collapsed trench in a construction accident appears to have avoided serious injury.

The incident, however, appears to have been entirely avoidable. When workers dig trenches, the pressure from the weight of the surrounding dirt creates a hazard. If the walls of the trench are left unsupported, this pressure causes the trench to collapse and fill the hole with dirt.

Because of this danger, contractors are required to supply and use trench boxes, devices that serve as temporary walls to hold back the dirt.

In this incident, a trench box was likely not used. Contractors who fail to provide the necessary safety equipment, and insure that it is used, are liable to injured workers in construction accident cases.

Angela Rozas of the Chicago Tribune reported: Holmer would not comment directly about whether a trench box, designed to prevent such collapses, was in use when the wall gave way.

"Theoretically, you shouldn't have a trench collapse if you have a trench box," Holmer said.

A trench box sat on a trailer less than 100 feet from the hole.

Antonio Olivo and Tonya Maxwell of the Chicago Tribune reported on Tuesday that a six-year-old boy fell through a rotten step on a Chicago porch. (Full Story). This, unfortunately, is a typical personal injury case that could have resulted in serious injury or even death.

The authors report, "City officials attributed the accident at the 34-unit building near 79th Street and South Ingleside Avenue to "rotted wood," said Peter Scales, spokesman for the Buildings Department. Inspectors also found that other porches in the building were "in various states of disrepair, though none as serious as this one," Scales said. According to city records, the building has had problems since 2003 that included leaking ceilings, defective floors and windows and holes in walls."

The manager of the property is quoted as saying that nobody had reported problems with the porch and that he attributed the accident to someone damaging the stair.

This is a typical defense in these types of cases. While the defense is probably baseless, the law does not require the plaintiff to show that the owner or manager actually knew of the dangerous condition. The law allows an injured person to recover in circumstances such as this if they prove that the owner or manager should have known of the condition on its property. Lawyers ordinarily prove this concept, known as constructive notice, through testimony that the condition had existed for a significant period of time, or through evidence that the property had not been repaired or inspected for a significant period of time. In this case, the plaintiff could prevail simply by showing that the rotten wood slowly decayed over a period of years.

Bruce Japsen of the Chicago Tribune reported today, "11 million bottles containing varying quantities of 500-milligram acetaminophen caplets made by the Perrigo Co. for more than 120 national retailers, including Wal-Mart, Sears, Kmart and CVS Corp.," are being recalled. (Full Story). The caplets, some made as long as three years ago, may contain metal fragments ranging from "micro-dots" to pieces of wire a third of an inch long.

While the United States Food & Drug Administration has not reported any injuries, it is easy to see how a person could be injured if they ingested these pills. This recall might give rise to product liability litigation.

These pills should immediately be returned, and anyone injured should contact a qualified lawyer.

The Chicago Area Transportation Study analyzed the most-recent data concerning traffic accidents and found that 70% of all Illinois accidents occur in Chicagoland.

The study also revealed that Chicagoland residents are more likely to be injured in automobile accidents than other Illinois residents.

The highest pedestrian fatality rates in the region were experienced in Cook County. However, when compared to other large cities, the City of Chicago was found to be a relatively safe city for pedestrians.

Drowning cases in Illinois are very difficult to pursue, but can be successful with the proper legal approach. The Centers for Disease Control reports that drowning remains the second-leading cause of injury-related death for children ages 1 to 14 years. Despite this striking statistic, Illinois law makes it difficult for parents to recover for the drowning deaths of their children. Illinois courts hold that drownings are most often the fault of an inattentive parent. (Full story).

Even in this difficult setting, however, these cases can be successful. I have resolved drownign cases by proving that the parents took reasonable steps to ensure that their children would be unable to encounter the pool at issue.

In one case, I was able to show that the defendants were liable where the parents closed and locked the only door they were aware of that led to the defendants' pool. The defendants asked the court to grant summary judgment and hold that the drowning occurred because the parents were not watching the child carefully enough. I defeated the motion and was able to settle the case because I was able to show that the child likely entered the pool from another door in the home that led to the pool. The parents were unaware that this door even existed. The defendant, however, was aware that this door had an inoperable lock.

I was able to settle the case for the limit of the defendants' insurance policy after defeating the motion for summary judgment.

I recently settled a case for $12 Million for three children who were abused in their foster home. The most visible physical injuries in the case were severe bilateral burns one of the children received after her hands were forcibly placed in boiling water.

One of the most painful injuries that one can ever experience is a burn injury. When a burn occurs to the skin, nerve endings are damaged causing intense feelings of pain. Every year, millions of people in the United States are burned in one way or another. Of those, thousands die as a result of their burns. Many require long-term hospitalization. Burns are a leading cause of unintentional death in the United States, exceeded in numbers only by automobile crashes and falls. (Full story)

Many burns occur in situations that give rise to personal injury cases. I am currently handling a case for a man who suffered an electrical burn. Burns also occur as a result of chemical exposure, fires, and many other types of tortuous conduct.

If you have suffered a burn, it is important to contact an attorney who is experienced in investigating and litigating burn injuries.

A worker fell to his death on Wednesday morning. Michael Clancy and Liseth Perez Almeida of Newsday and Hoy, respectively, described that the, "hard-working Ecuadorian immigrant fell 18 stories to his death Wednesday in a scaffolding accident."

The contractor had a permit to do facade work on the building, but did not have the special permits for the outrigging scaffold it was using, said Buildings Department spokeswoman Jennifer Givner. In addition, the scaffold requires a special supervisory foreman to be on hand at all times. There was no foreman on site, Givner said. In addition, all workers using this kind of scaffolding are required to get special training, which the victim did not have.

Injuries and accidents like this are especially egregious. Safety standards and construction laws exist to protect workers. Unfortunately, some contractors cut corners because compliance with these regulations costs more money. This particular contractor needs to be held accountable for this apparent egregious violation of the applicable laws and regulations.

A vehicular collision yesterday morning between a car and a school bus in Orland Park, Illinois, injured six special needs children. The Chicago Sun Times reported that the six students and the two occupants of the car were taken to local hospitals for varying injuries.

An accident like this is interesting because regardless of who was at fault, the six occupants of the bus all likely have viable personal injury cases. Ordinarily in personal injury cases, the injured person's damages are reduced by that person's percentage of negligence, up to fifty percent. Under Illinois law, if an injured person is more than fifty percent negligent, they are unable to recover any damages.

In this case, however, the occupants of the bus were not driving, and therefore cannot be negligent. I do not know the particular facts of this collision, but the occupants of the bus likely have viable claims against the driver or the bus, the driver if the car, or both drivers, depending on the negligence of the drivers.