Chicago Injury Attorney Blog

A woman who sustained serious back, neck, wrist, shoulder, hip, chest, and body injuries in a February motor vehicle crash is suing the truck driver and the company he was working for at the time of the crash for personal injury. Onnie Randolph filed her Illinois motor vehicle crash lawsuit in St. Clair County Circuit Court.

According to Randolph's Illinois personal injury complaint, a truck driven by defendant Bill Hixenbaugh struck the vehicle she was riding in on 20th street. The traffic crash occurred in St. Clair County on February 8, and Randolph claims that she and Hixenbaugh were driving their vehicles in the same direction when he veered his truck outside his lane and struck her.

She is accusing Hixenbaugh of negligence, driving too fast, failure to keep a careful watch, failure to drive carefully, failure to control his truck, failure to sound his horn before the accident, failure to slow down or stop, and driving without a license. Randolph is also suing Phil Schwartz and Sons for personal injury. Hixenbaugh was employed by the Illinois corporation when the accident happened.

Randolph says that as a result of her injuries, she accrued medical expenses and lost wages because she took time off from work. She is seeking a judgment over $100,000, plus legal fees and other relief.

Truck Accident Lawsuits
With some truck crash cases involving liable truckers, there may be more than one defendant that can be held responsible for personal injury. Other defendants may include the trucking company, the truck leasing company, the owner of the truck, the truck shipper, the truck manufacturer, and other responsible parties.

Missouri woman files injury suit over auto accident, Madison Record, November 17, 2008

Working Together Increases Truck Driver Safety, RoadSafeAmerica.org

Continue reading "Injured Woman Files Illinois Motor Vehicle Accident Lawsuit in St. Clair County" »

In Cook County Circuit Court, the mother of Melvin Choice, one of the three North Lawndale College Prep students who drowned in a boating accident while attending Camp Algonquin earlier this month, has filed her Illinois wrongful death lawsuit. Virginia Choice is accusing Visionquest International, North Lawndale College Prep, and the YMCA of McHenry County of negligence.

Choice, Adrian Jones, and Jimmie Avant were staying at the camp because they were attending a leadership seminar with fellow students. The deadly boating accident happened after midnight on November 14 on the Fox River after the teens' chaperones and supervisors had turned in for the night.

Two of the boys drowned after the paddleboat they were riding in capsized, while the third teen drowned after he ran into the water to try rescuing them. The boat sank because it was missing the plug that stops water from entering it.

The camp’s boats had been winterized but hadn’t been put away. However, Paul Murray of the YMCA of McHenry County says the paddleboats had been stored “far away from the water’s edge” and that because of their heavy weight, a great deal of effort would have been required to get the boats into the water.

On the night of the boating accident, six of the camp’s seven winterized paddleboats were placed in the water by several of the students. There were no life vests on the boats.

The water in the area where the teens drowned was 42 degrees and about 8- to 10-feet deep when the accident happened. Even the rescue divers who went into the water to retrieve the boys’ bodies had a hard time navigating the cold, the current, and the debris.

Choice’s Illinois wrongful death lawsuit also accuses the three defendants of failing to keep the paddleboats in proper condition and failure to properly supervise her son. She is seeking over $800,000 in damages.

Common Causes of Drowning Accidents that Can Be Grounds for an Illinois Personal Injury or Wrongful Death Lawsuit:

• Inadequately supervised lakes, pools, beaches, and other recreational areas
• Defective watercrafts
• Fall accidents into the water

Mother of CPS student who died in boat accident sues, Sun-Times, November 19, 2008

Late-night fun turns deadly on Fox River, The Geneva Sun, November 15, 2008

Related Web Resources:

YMCA of McHenry County

North Lawndale College Prep

Visionquest International

Another police brutality lawsuit has been filed against the Chicago police for allegedly harassing black residents who were celebrating President-elect Barack Obama’s victory on Election Night. There are 22 black plaintiffs named in this latest lawsuit, which was filed in federal court.

According to the lawsuit, nine Chicago cops swore at and discharged pepper spray at the plaintiffs, who were peacefully celebrating outside their homes. One cop allegedly beat a man, while police Tasered another plaintiff. Another officer is accused of grabbing and breaking a cell phone belonging to someone who was trying to record the attacks.

One of the plaintiffs was charged with reckless conduct while two plaintiffs were charged with obstructing an officer. All of the charges have been dropped. The plaintiffs’ attorney says he believe the attacks were racially motivated.

This latest lawsuit is the third one filed this month accusing other Chicago police officers of engaging in similar racially motivated attacks of police brutality on Election Night. On November 13, eight people filed a federal lawsuit accusing Chicago cops of hitting them with pepper spray, assaulting them with profanity and racial insults, and knocking down their door after they ran into the house to escape police. They were also outside their home celebrating President Obama’s election win when the alleged attack happened.

The plaintiffs are accusing the Chicago police officers of battery, use of excessive force, unlawful search and seizure, and committing a hate crime. Their lawsuit seeks at least $200,000 in damages.

Another lawsuit, filed by Cornelius Voss and Christine Ballard, accuses Chicago police of harassing them and other family members while they were riding in their car and cheering Obama’s victory. The couple claims that Chicago cops in an unmarked squad car attacked them with pepper spray and racial insults.

22 people sue Chicago police over more alleged Election Night abuse, Chicago Tribune.com, November 22, 2008

Police sued for election night incident, Chicago Breaking News, November 13, 2008

Police Pepper-Sprayed Us for Celebrating Obama Win, Family Claims, NBCChicago.com, November 7, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Top 5 Police Brutality Videos, Huffington Post, July 30, 2008

Police brutality cases on rise since 9/11, USA Today, December 17, 2008

Continue reading "Third Lawsuit Accuses Chicago City Police of Harassing Black Residents on Election Night" »

One year after a deadly car crash involving State Trooper Matt Mitchell left two sisters dead and a man and his pregnant wife injured, a second Illinois personal injury lawsuit has been filed against him in St. Clair County Circuit Court. The motor vehicle crash occurred on November 23 when Mitchell, who was responding to a minor incident close to Mascoutah, lost control of his police-issued 2006 Chevrolet Impala while traveling at a speed of 126 mph.

His car crossed the I-64 median close to the Illinois 158 overpass before he drove head on into the car driven by 18-year-old Jessica Uhl. Jessica and her 13-year-old sister Kelli died from their injuries. Mitchell, who suffered serious leg injuries, was forced to use a wheelchair for a period of time.

Also injured in the deadly auto accident where Kelly Marler and his wife Christine. This latest Illinois personal injury lawsuit was filed by the couple. Kelly Marler says he sustained permanent wrist injuries. His wife Christine says she broke a leg and underwent surgery to repair a damaged knee.

The Uhl sisters’ mother filed her Illinois wrongful death lawsuit against Mitchell in May. According to Illinois State Police, this was Mitchell’s third auto accident in six years. Last March, Mitchell was indicted on charges of reckless homicide in connection with the deaths of the two girls.

Speeding Police Cars
Even when police officers are pursuing a suspect or heading to an accident scene, they are required to obey the rules of the road and exercise caution so that they do not involve pedestrians or other motorists in an Illinois traffic accident.

A second lawsuit filed against trooper involved in double-fatality crash on I-64, BND.com, November 20, 2008

Lawsuit against trooper about accountability, JG-TC Online, May 9, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Collinsville sisters' deaths spur road improvements on I-6, BND.com, November 14, 2008

Trooper cited in fatal crash relieved of duties, Newstin.com, March 19, 2008

Continue reading "Another Illinois Personal Injury Lawsuit Filed Against State Trooper Involved in Deadly Crash on I-64 that Claimed the Lives of Two Teenage Sisters" »

In Illinois, a Chicago jury is ordering two Johnson and Johnson units to pay $16.6 million to the family of a woman who died after using a defective Duragesic pain-killing patch. A doctor had prescribed the patch to her to combat the pain she was experiencing from reflex sympathetic dystrophy, which is a neurological disorder. Janice DiCosolo, a 38-year-old mother of three, died in February 2004.

It took the 12-member jury two days of deliberation to determine that the cause of DiCosolo’s wrongful death was the fentanyl overdose she received from the Duragesic patch. The patch, intended to counter chronic pain, is made by defendant Alza Corp, which is owned by Johnson & Johnson, and is distributed by co-defendant Janssen Pharmaceutica, also another J & J unit.

During the Chicago wrongful death trial, the family’s Illinois products liability lawyer accused the defendants of continuing to sell the patch for profit even though they knew it was dangerous and defective. A spokesperson for the defendants says they disagree with the verdict and are considering an appeal.

J & J is the world’s largest manufacturer of medical devices. Last year, J & J made $1.16 billion in Duragesic patch sales. The patch is J & J’s seventh largest selling product.

This Chicago wrongful death verdict is the fourth one against the J & J units over the painkilling patches. Just last month, a Florida panel awarded the family of a 34-year-old mother of five over $13 million because she died in 2002 after using the Duragesic patch. The J & J units are facing another Chicago personal injury trial involving the defective medical device early next year.

Defective Medical Device Lawsuits
Medical device manufacturers and distributors are obligated to make sure that all their products are safe for use and free from defects. If you or someone you love suffered serious injuries because of a defective medical device, you may have grounds to file an Illinois products liability lawsuit.

J&J must pay $16.6 mil to Glenview family for pain-patch death, The Daily Herald, November 17, 2008

Jury awards nearly $16.6M in Ill. skin patch case, CNN, November 18, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Johnson & Johnson

Duragesic

In Chicago, a 33-year-old transplant patient is suing University of Chicago Medical Center and one of its surgeons for medical malpractice. The woman, identified in her Illinois personal injury lawsuit as Jane Doe, tested positive for Hepatitis C and HIV after she received an infected kidney while undergoing an organ transplant at the hospital.

The plaintiff is one of four patients who underwent transplant surgeries at Chicago-area hospitals in January 2007 and received infected organs from the same male donor. All four patients received Hepatitis C and HIV diagnoses following their transplants. One of the four patients has died.

According to “Jane Doe’s” medical malpractice lawsuit, members of the Chicago hospital’s transplant team, including Dr. J. Richard Thistlewaite, were notified by the Gift of Hope Organ and Tissue Donor Network that her donor, who died in a car crash, was gay. The team, however, failed to notify the woman, who was suffering from a non-life threatening condition, that her donor was a homosexual, which made the man a “high risk” organ donor.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines say that a recipient must be notified if a donor is gay prior to the transplant surgery. The CDC also recommends that all organ recipients with high-risk donors undergo HIV testing no more than three months after surgery.

The plaintiff claims that it wasn’t until November 2007, after another organ recipient tested positive for HIV, that the Chicago hospital asked her to take the test. She tested positive for HIV and hepatitis C.

Her lawsuit accuses the University of Chicago Medical Center and Dr. Thistlewaite of medical negligence for its failure to notify her that her donor engaged in high-risk behavior when he was alive and for failing to make her undergo an HIV test sooner. Jane Doe is on dialysis because her body rejected the infected kidney and she is also undergoing treatment for HIV.

Her Illinois personal injury attorney says that prior to her transplant surgery, she rejected a kidney from a heavy drinker who was sexually involved with prostitutes and kidney from another donor who had a criminal record. He says that Jane Doe would have rejected her donor’s kidney if she had known he was gay.

Lawsuit: Patient got HIV-infected transplant, Chicago Breaking News, November 17, 2008

Woman Sues After Organ Transplant Led To HIV, CBS2Chicago.com, November 17, 2008

Related Web Resources:

University of Chicago Medical Center

Gift of Hope Organ and Tissue Donor Network

The paddleboat that two of the three Chicago teens who drowned were riding in on the Fox River early this morning was missing its bottom plug. According to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the plugs on all of the paddleboats used by students who were attempting to get on the river last night were removed because the vessels were taken out of service for the winter. However, no one stored away the boats, which remained on the ground.

The victims, 18-year-old Jimmie Avant, 16-year-old Adrian Jones, and 17-year-old Melvin Choice III, were students at North Lawndale College Prep. They were attending an eight-day leadership retreat at Camp Algonquin.

Some 31 students participated in the retreat at the YMCA camp, along with four adult supervisors from the charter high school. The camp participants were all reportedly told to stay away from the water.

According to police, a number of teenagers took six paddleboats onto the river. One boat sank immediately, taking Jones and Avant down with it. Choice, who was on the shore and ran into the water to save the two boys, also drowned.

The drowning accident occurred at around 1:30am while the chaperones were likely sleeping. It took recovery workers a number of hours to retrieve the three bodies, because water conditions were unsafe. The bodies were recovered by 11am.

Premises Liability
Premise owners are supposed to ensure that there are no unsafe conditions on a premise that can cause serious injuries or death. Failure to exercise this duty of care may be grounds for an Illinois personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit against the property owner and/or the supervisor on the premise.

2007 Boating Accident Statistics

• According to the US Coast Guard, there were 685 boating fatalities last year.
• Over 2/3rds of these victims died in drowning accidents.
• 90% of these drowning accident victims were not wearing life jackets.
• Out of every 4 boaters that drowned, 3 of them were riding in boats that were less than 21 feet long.

3 Chicago teens drown in Fox River, Chicago Tribune, November 14, 2008

Bodies pulled from Fox, teen victims identified, The Geneva Sun, November 14, 2008

Recreational Boating Statistics, US Coast Guard

Related Web Resources:

YMCA Camp Algonquin

North Lawndale College Prep

Continue reading "Three Chicago Teens Drown in Illinois Boating Accident on the Fox River" »

The Metra commuter rail agency and two families have reached an $11 million settlement agreement in the wrongful deaths of two Chicago train accident victims. An Illinois judge approved the settlement on Wednesday.

The deadly Illinois train crash occurred in September 2005 when a train headed to Chicago from Joliet derailed when changing tracks. The train twisted off the rails and skidded, while its fourth and fifth cars broke off. The fourth car rammed into a steel bridge.

Over 80 passengers were injured. Oak Forest resident Jane Cuthbert and New Lenox resident Allison Walsh died in the train derailment accident.

The National Transportation Safety Board and Metra determined that human error caused the crash. The train was reportedly moving at a speed of 70 mph when the accident happened even though signals indicated to the engineer that he needed to slow the train’s speed to 10mph before it reached the crossover.

Under the terms of the Chicago wrongful death settlement, Walsh’s family will get $5 million, while Cuthbert’s family will receive $6 million. Walsh and Cuthbert are the only two people to die while on a Metra commuter train.

At least 35 more Chicago personal injury lawsuits against Metra are still pending. Since the 2005 crash, Metra engineers must now undergo additional training.
.
If you or someone you love was injured while riding a Metra train or a Chicago Transit Authority train, it is important that you speak with a Chicago train crash lawyer that knows how to examine the crash scene and other evidence and can successfully pursue your train accident lawsuit.

$11 million settlement in Metra, Chicago Breaking News, November 12, 2008

$11 million settlements in Chicago train deaths, AP, November 12, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Metra

National Transportation Safety Board

An African-American Chicago family has filed an Illinois police brutality lawsuit accusing four unnamed cops of hate crimes, excessive use of force, and battery. The incident allegedly occurred on Election Night, while the rest of the United States was celebrating the election of Barack Obama as the country’s first black president.

According to Christine Ballard and Cornelius Voss, they were cheering the victory of President-Elect Obama while riding in their car with their two daughters and a niece on West Division Street at around 10:30pm when a man in the vehicle next to theirs called them the “n-word,” said “white power,” and assaulted them with pepper spray.

Voss says his wife and the girls were screaming and crying because the pepper spray got in their eyes, and he took them to West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park for treatment of their injuries. He and Ballard say that they believe the four men riding in the car next to them were Chicago cops because of the vehicle’s license plate.

The family tried filing a complaint with the Austin District police that night. However, they were told that they could not do so because all of the district’s cops were working the streets. They again experienced difficulties when they tried reporting the incident to police on Wednesday. The family finally filed a report with the Independent Police Review Authority.

Ballard and Voss are seeking over $150,000 in damages.

According to the Chicago IPRA, this was not the only allegation they received accusing Chicago cops of using pepper spray on civilians on Election night. There are up to 50 unconfirmed reports of similar incidents in the Austin area last Tuesday that allegedly involved police officers.

Police Brutality
Police officers are not allowed to use excessive or unreasonable force on anyone at any time. If you have been harassed, assaulted, or verbally abused by a Chicago cop or any other police officer in the state of Illinois, your civil rights have been violated and you may be entitled to compensation for the harm you have suffered.

Suit: Kids celebrating election pepper-sprayed, taunted by police, November 7, 2008

Family alleges police attack election night, ABC News, November 7, 2008

Related Web Resources:

City of Chicago Independent Police Review Authority

Communities United Against Police Brutality

Continue reading " Chicago Family Says They Were Victims of Police Brutality on Election Night" »

The parents of Ronald L. Heard Jr., a man who died in 2007 after being shot outside a restaurant in Chicago’s South Side, is suing White Castle System for his wrongful death. Their Illinois civil lawsuit accuses the restaurant of creating an environment that allowed drug dealers and violence on the premise.

Heard was gunned down on October 6, 2007 while trying to help a woman that a drug dealer was harassing in the restaurant parking lot. His parents, Nena Heard and Ronald Heard, Sr. are the plaintiffs in the wrongful death lawsuit against White Castle. They are accusing the restaurant of failing to protect its customers, failing to have a security guard on the premise who could reduce violence, allowing drugs to be sold on the property, and failing to tell police that drug deals were occurring on the premise.

Their son’s shooting death occurred at the White Castle on S. Western Avenue. A drug dealer reportedly tried selling Heard marijuana while he was in line to order food at the drive-thru window. Heard refused, and the drug dealer allegedly tried to sell drugs to a woman in another vehicle. The dealer reportedly began arguing with her and then shot the 23-year-old when he came forward to help the woman. Two men were charged in Heard’s shooting death.

Premises Liability
If a property owner knows that there is a history of crimes occurring on or around the premise, then he or she must take proper measures to protect patrons, visitors, customers, or residents from becoming the victims of similar crimes in the future. A failure to protect from criminal acts can be grounds for an Illinois premises liability or wrongful death lawsuit.

Steps property owners can take to protect others from crimes:

• Installing security cameras
• Hiring security guards
• Issuing warning signs
• Installing security alarm systems
• Reporting suspicious or illegal activities to Chicago police

Lawsuit Blames White Castle in Man's Shooting Death, The Southtown Star, November 4, 2008

Related Web Resources:
Premises Liability, Justia

White Castle System

Continue reading "Illinois Family Files Chicago Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against White Castle " »

In Chicago on Wednesday night, a male pedestrian died after he was hit by a motor vehicle as he crossed the street close to South Wabash Avenue and East Roosevelt Road. According to Fire Media Affairs Director Larry Langford, the victim was in “extremely critical” condition when he was admitted John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital in Cook County, where he was later pronounced dead.

The driver of the car that struck the male pedestrian is 26-year-old Chicago resident Karl Riley. Police gave him a citation for striking a pedestrian in the roadway. Chicago police are investigating the cause of the Illinois pedestrian crash.

2007 NHTSA Pedestrian Accident Facts:

• There were 171 pedestrian deaths in Illinois.
• Nationally, 4,654 pedestrians died in traffic accidents.
• 70,000 pedestrians sustained injuries in traffic crashes.
• 73% of pedestrian deaths in the US took place in urban areas.
• 77% of pedestrian fatalities happened at non-intersections.
• 90% of pedestrian deaths occurred in normal weather conditions.
• 67% of fatal pedestrian accidents occurred at night.

Truckers, motorcyclists, and passenger car drivers are supposed to yield the right-of-way to pedestrians whether or not they are crossing the street in unmarked or marked crosswalks.

Steps that Illinois motorists can take to prevent pedestrian accidents:

• Pay attention to the road.
• Always check for pedestrians, even when you aren’t at a crosswalk or intersection.
• If necessary, honk your horn to warn pedestrians you are there.
• Make sure your motor vehicle is up-to-date on all maintenance.

Pedestrian killed in South Loop, Chicago Sun-Times, November 6, 2008

2007 Traffic Safety Fact Sheets, NHTSA

Pedestrian Programs, City of Chicago

Continue reading "Male Chicago Pedestrian Dies in Illinois Motor Vehicle Accident in the South Loop" »

In Kane County, Aurora resident Tyre Davis is suing landlord Ismael Quintana II for personal injury. Davis, a father of three young children, ages 1, 3, and 4, says that his children got sick because they ate paint chips that had high levels of lead while in their apartment. The apartment is located in the 500 block of East Downer Place.

According to the Davis’s Illinois personal injury lawsuit, his client has had to pay for medical and surgical treatments to try and cure his children since they were exposed to lead from the paint chips. Davis alleges that Quintana painted the halls, window frames, and walls with lead-based paint prior to June 9. He is accusing Quintana of negligence because the landlord painted the apartment using the lead-based paint and failed to warn residents that this hazard now existed on the premise.

Illinois’s Lead Poisoning Prevention Act of 1973 bars anyone from applying lead-based paints to exposed surfaces of any structure that children frequent, including the exposed surfaces of any building. According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, some 310,000 children, 6 and younger, get sick from lead poisoning each year. The IDPH treated 7,600 children with lead poisoning.

Researchers say there are a number of ways children are exposed to lead at home including, from lead-based paint that has deteriorated or chipped away, dust from the deteriorating paint, and soil with lead-contaminated dust or paint chips that have fallen from the exterior walls of a building.

Children are more susceptible than adults to serious injuries from lead in paint, including learning disabilities, mental problems, stunted growth, and behavioral difficulties. Exposure to lead can also lead to permanent brain damage. One of the more common ways that children ingest lead is to use their hands to put paint chips or lead-contaminated soil or dust in their mouths.

If you or your loved one got sick or sustained an injury because of a hazard that existed on someone's premise, you may be able to file an Illinois premises liability claim for compensation.

Aurora Man Sues Landlord Over Lead, Suburban Chicago News, October 30, 2008

It's banned but not gone: Lead paint is still a danger, USA Today, August 29, 2007

Related Web Resources:

Preventing Lead Poisoning in Young Children, CDC

Lead Poisoning, KeepKidsHealthy.com