Chicago Injury Attorney Blog

A recent Allstate study ranks the Chicago area the 27th metro area (out of 50) with the safest teen drivers in the United States on New Year’s. The data was compiled over an 8-year period by Allstate and research firm Sperling’s BestPlaces. Among the findings was evidence that more deadly accidents involving teen drivers occurred in less densely populated rural areas where there was more room to engage in high speed driving.

Traffic crashes continue to be the leading cause of death among young drivers, ages 15 – 20. In 2007, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:

• 6,982 young drivers died in deadly auto crashes.
• 3,174 young drivers died in these crashes.
• 252,000 others sustained injuries.
• 1,631,000 young drivers were involved in police-reported auto accidents, of which there were 10,524,000.
• 118 young drivers died in Illinois motor vehicle crashes.
• 80 traffic victims died while riding in vehicles operated by young drivers.
• 53 of the people that died in Illinois teen driving accidents were occupants of other vehicles.

Common Causes of Teen Car Crashes:

• Inexperience
• Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs
• Nighttime driving
• Speeding
• Teens riding in cars with teen drivers
• Reckless or careless driving

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drivers ages 16-19 are the age group most likely to be involved in a motor vehicle crashes. However, especially during the holiday season, they are not the only age group at high risk of getting involved in auto accidents.

The NHTSA says drivers in the 21-24 year old age group are more likely to be involved in deadly drunk driving accidents. 4 out of 10 fatal crashes involving alcohol that occur each year often happen during the holiday season leading up to New Year's.

Teen drivers safer in big cities, Allstate study suggests, Chicago Tribune, December 31, 2008

Allstate Holiday Teen Driving Hotspots Study Reveals Highest Rates of Deadly Teen Crashes on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, Allstate Newsroom, December 29, 2008

Teen Drivers: Fact Sheet, CDC
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Continue reading "Chicago Area Ranks #27 out of 50 Major Metro Areas for Safest Teen Drivers on New Year’s, Says Allstate" »

In St. Clair County Circuit Court, two Monroe County women filed an Illinois truck crash lawsuit against Collins Industries and semi-truck driver Rusty Arnold White. Elizabeth M Lewis and Henrietta J Langbein say they suffered serious injuries from the January 9, 2007 truck crash. They are seeking over $200,000, plus costs.

The accident occurred on Illinois State Route 3 when White, who was towing a 48-foot flatbed trailer behind his semi-tractor, struck Lewis’s 1998 Mazda Protégé. Langbein was riding in Lewis’s car with her.

The women’s Illinois personal injury lawsuit contends that the women suffered serious and permanent injuries, as well as disability and disfigurement. As a result of their injuries, they claim they can no longer do their job or engage in certain activities. They also say they experienced mental trauma from the crash and have racked up medical expenses while getting treatment for their injuries.

Their complaint accuses White of negligence due to his failure to control his large truck, maintain a proper lookout, slow down his vehicle to avoid causing a crash, drive at a slower speed, stop in a safe manner, keep enough space between him and the car in front of him, and stay in his own lane. The woman say Collins Industries failed in its duty of care because one of its employees did not drive in such a manner that would prevent the truck crash from happening.

Illinois Truck Crash Cases
Large truck crash cases are harder to pursue than motor vehicle claims and lawsuits against car drivers or motorcyclists. It is important that your Illinois truck crash lawyer is familiar with state and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulations and knows what questions to ask and what evidence to look for when investigating your case.

Companies that own large truck companies are experts when it comes to minimizing their liability. A good Illinois truck crash lawyer will know what evidence to look for and how to examine a trucker's log and other records to determine what caused the truck collision.

Monroe County women sue over auto accident, The Record, December 23, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

Collins Industries

In Illinois, the state appellate court has ruled that the owners of Diamonds Gentlemen’s Club, a DuPage County strip club located near West Chicago, must remain a co-defendant in a wrongful death lawsuit filed against a man who drank alcohol at the club before causing a deadly drunk driving accident.

The DUI crash occurred on January 4, 2006 on Illinois 25 and was caused by John Homatas, a 26-year-old Wayne resident, when his SUV crossed the center line and struck another vehicle.

The owners of the strip club had argued that it should be excluded from the Illinois wrongful death lawsuit because their business did not serve the alcohol that Homatas consumed while at the club.The club is a BYOB establishment.

However, the court ruled that the strip club owed the plaintiffs a duty of care because its workers made Homatas leave the premise after they found him throwing up in the bathroom. They also let him get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle even though they knew he was drunk.

Homatas, who was drunk and also took cocaine prior to the crash, was convicted for causing the deaths of Yorkville resident April Simmons, her 8-month old fetus, and Homatas's friend, St. Charles resident John A. Chiariello.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there were 12,998 victims who died in drunk driving accidents in 2007. 434 of those deaths occurred in Illinois.

Illinois Department of Transportation Drunk Driving Facts:

• Approximately 310,000 people are injured because they were involved in drunk driving accidents.
• In 2002, 51,649 people were arrested for DUI in Illinois.

Strip club can't escape lawsuit, Daily Herald, December 4, 2008

Illinois Drunk Driving Fact Sheet, Illinois Department of Transportation

Related Web Resource:

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

In Illinois, the mother of a Joe Rizza Ford employee is suing two of the company’s car dealer agents for her son’s wrongful death. Kevin Devuono died after he was found unconscious in a Rizza-owned motor vehicle in downtown Chicago.

Her Chicago wrongful death lawsuit names Anthony Rizza and John Rizza as two of the defendants. According to the complaint, Devuono, who was a finance director at the Ford dealership, met with the two men at an Orland Hills bar. John Rizza then asked him to drive him to the Buzz nightclub. Devuono became so drunk, the lawsuit contends he required medical care.

Rather than get him medical attention, the lawsuit says John Rizza drove and parked the vehicle. Devuno remained in the car in freezing weather until he was found by a tow truck driver. The Chicago wrongful death lawsuit also names the Buzz nightclub as one of the defendants.

Dram Shop Injuries
Under the Illinois Liquor Control Act, a business owner can be held liable for causing a person to become legally drunk. If someone is injured by a drunk driver or another drunken party, the injured party is allowed to sue the drunk person, the business that sold or served the alcohol to the drunk person, as well as any other parties that may have acted negligently to cause the personal injury accident.

Illinois Wrongful Death
The surviving family members of someone who died in a preventable accident can sue the party who engaged in the negligent, reckless, or careless act that may have caused or contributed to their loved one's wrongful death. Illinois has a 2-year statute of limitations from the date of death for filing a wrongful death lawsuit.

Car dealer agents sued over employee's death, Chicago Tribune, December 19, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Illinois Liquor Control Act

Buzz, the Club-

In Cook County, Illinois, the estate of Franke Leon Isom is suing Scientific Protein Laboratories and distributor Baxter International Inc. for wrongful death. Leon, 59, died on December 14, 2007 one day after he was administered Heparin at the Woodland Dialysis Clinic in Elizabethtown where he was undergoing kidney dialysis.

Isom was transported to Breckinridge Memorial Hospital after he began experiencing adverse symptoms. He was later pronounced dead. One month later, Baxter International issued a warning regarding potential adverse side effects.

The Illinois wrongful death lawsuit is one of over 50 similar lawsuits filed against Scientific Protein Laboratories, which manufacturers the anticoagulant. The complaint claims Isom was given Heparin that had been contaminated with over-sulfated chondroitin sulfate (OSCS). The contamination occurred in China, where the drug was manufactured. The lawsuit contends that both Scientific Protein Laboratories and Baxter are liable for allowing the contaminated Heparin to arrive at the dialysis center and other medical facilities, where patients could be treated with the drug.

Heparin with OSCS
Heparin is used as a blood-thinner during both medical and minor procedures. The US Food And Drug Administration says that of the 246 reported deaths between January 2007 and May 31, 2008 that can be attributed to contaminated Heparin, 149 deaths were patients who exhibited adverse symptoms associated with OSCS. There have also been hundreds of patients who did not die from exposure to OSCS but say they experienced allergic reactions to it. Earlier this year, Baxter issued a recall for the contaminated Heparin ordering the drug to be removed from medical facilities.

Drug manufacturers can be held liable for products liability or wrongful death in Illinois if a drug is dangerous, defective, fails to warn of adverse reactions, or is packaged incorrectly. A dangerous drug can be fatal for a patient, who is taking the medication to get better.

While Baxter acknowledges responsibility for allowing the contaminated batches of Heparin to be distributed, a company spokesperson says it is not responsible for the contaminations that caused the deaths and allergic reactions.

Lawsuit: Heparin caused dialysis patient’s death, News-Enterprise

Drug company confirms Heparin was contaminated, News-Enterprise

Related Web Resources:

Scientific Protein Laboratories

Baxter Healthcare

Heparin, FDA

The Archdiocese of Chicago has agreed to settle two separate lawsuits accusing Catholic priests of child sex abuse. Over the last 30 years, the archdiocese has paid over $65 million to settle approximately 250 such claims filed.

The first settlement of $1.2 million is for an Illinois child sex abuse lawsuit filed by the family of a boy who says he was sexually abused by former priest Daniel McCormack. The boy, now 16, will receive $1.1 million. His mother is to receive $100,000.

McCormack is in a Jacksonville prison where he is serving a 5-year sentence after pleading guilty to molesting 5 boys when he was the pastor at Our Lady of the Westside School. The family’s sex abuse lawsuit accuses McCormack of molesting the boy in 2004, as well as during a White Sox game in 2005. The Cook County Circuit Court approved the clergy sex abuse settlement on Tuesday.

In September, the Chicago archdiocese agreed to pay the boy’s younger brother, also a McCormack abuse victim, $2.5 million. The archdiocese has so far paid almost $10 million to settle the abuse claims filed by McCormack’s victims. One more lawsuit, filed by the family of a boy who says he was abused from the 4th – 7th grades, is still pending.

In another case, the Archdiocese of Chicago has agreed to pay nearly $1.4 million to a man who says Catholic Rev. Chester Przybylo sexually abused him when he was a child. The man says the abuse began when he was just 13 in 1987 and continued through 1992. The plaintiff is now 30 and married.

Przybylo was never criminally charged, but documents indicate that the archdiocese knew about the allegations against him. The priest denies the abuse allegations and has filed a slander lawsuit against the alleged victim, the victim’s lawyers, and two groups that are involved in clergy abuse cases.

Chicago Archdiocese to pay $1.4M in sex-abuse case, AP, December 18, 2008

Abuse victim gets $1.2 mil., Chicago Sun-Times, December 18, 2008

Related Web Resource:

Archdiocese of Chicago

The family of a 12-year-old boy who died after he was given an antibiotic he was allergic to has won the second appeal in the Illinois medical malpractice case over his wrongful death. In 2006, a Lake County jury ordered Lake County Anesthesiologists, anesthesiologist Dale Gordon, and surgeon Andrew Kontrick to pay the family of Andrew Muno $7.5 million. Kontrick settled with the family but the two other defendants appealed the verdict twice.

This week, Lake County Judge Raymond McKoski upheld the original jury award plus interest. This means the family has been awarded over $9 million for Muno’s wrongful death.

In December 1999, Muno underwent surgery at Condell Medical Center to repair a cut tendon on his arm. He died after experiencing an allergic reaction to a specific antibiotic and started having problems breathing.

The family’s wrongful death lawyers accused the doctors of failing to recognize that Muno was experiencing respiratory distress and failing to treat his condition. Their Illinois wrongful death lawsuit contends that Kontrick and Gordon should have stopped the surgery as soon as Muno started having breathing problems.

Medication Errors
In 2006, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies reported that 1.5 million people a year are injured because of medication errors. These types of medical mistakes can occur during all phases of treatment, from prescription through the monitoring of care.

More Medication Error Facts:

• 400,000 preventable injuries that are drug-related occur in hospitals annually.
• 800,000 medication errors occur each year in long-term care facilities.
• 530,000 outpatient, Medicare recipients each year are the victims of medication mistakes.

Side effects from a medication mistake may include allergic reactions, health complications, adverse reactions when combining one medication with another, and death.

Wildwood family wins lawsuit in death of son, Pioneerlocal.com, December 11, 2008

Family Wins 2nd Appeal In Wrongful Death Of Boy, CBS2Chicago, December 11, 2008

Medication Errors Injure 1.5 Million People and Cost Billions of Dollars Annually;
Report Offers Comprehensive Strategies for Reducing Drug-Related Mistakes, National Academies, July 20, 2006

Related Web Resource:
Read the June 20 Appeal (PDF)

The Mt. Prospect Heights teen who has been charged in the Illinois hit-and-run collision that killed Hersey High School classmate Monika Skrzypkowski has admitted that he drank vodka and seven beers at a party before getting behind the wheel of his motor vehicle. Schuh is the school’s rugby team captain.

Following the tragic DUI accident on Saturday night, 17-year-old Kevin Schuh registered a .063% blood alcohol content. While this figure is lower than the .08% BAC legal limit for driving in Illinois, Schuh has admitted that he was too drunk to drive. He is accused of hitting Skrzypkowski as she crossed a Prospect Height street.

Skrzypkowski, 15, was struck by Schuh’s minivan on Elmhurst road after she and a few friends left her boyfriend’s birthday party. Following the crash, Schuh contacted police and at first claimed that someone vandalized his vehicle. He later admitted to driving the vehicle that killed the high school sophomore.

Schuh is charged with reckless homicide, aggravated DUI causing a death, and leaving an accident scene. In Cook County Circuit Court on Monday, a judge set his bail at $500,000.

Illinois Drunk Driving
• Every year, about 50,000 motorists in Illinois are charged with DUI.
• 4,000 of these drivers are underage drinkers.
• Since the state enacted its “Use It and Lose It” Provision in 1995 that enforces a zero-tolerance law for underage motorists who drive with any alcohol in their system, an additional 3,000 underage drivers are ticketed annually.
• In Illinois, DUI charges can be brought against a driver even if his or her BAC was less than .08% if prosecutors can prove that the drinking resulted in personal injury or wrongful death.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that the 21-year-old minimum drinking age has saved 4,441 lives in the last five years.

Teen in Prospect Heights crash that killed girl admitted drinking, Cook County prosecutors say, Chicago Tribune, December 9, 2008

$500K Bond For Teen Accused Of Fatal Hit-And-Run, CBS2Chicago.com, December 9, 2008

New Data Show Drinking Age Laws Saved 4,441 Lives Over 5 Years, NHTSA, November 6, 2008

Related Web Resource:

Facts about Use It & Lose It, CyberDrive Illinois

Continue reading "High School Rugby Star Involved in Illinois Hit-and Run Accident that Killed Classmate Admits He Drank Alcohol Before Getting in Minivan" »

Another person is accusing Reverend John Powell, a Jesuit priest who taught at Loyola University Chicago, of child sexual abuse. The woman, who filed her Illinois personal injury lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court, is seeking at least $50,000 in damages.

The woman says Powell, now 83, molested her in 1967 during private counseling sessions when she was a 17-year-old teen attending a spiritual retreat. In her lawsuit, where she is identified as “Jane Doe 125,” the plaintiff contends that Powell made her sit on him, kiss him, and at least once had her take off part of her clothing so he could touch her.

Also named as a defendant in her child sex abuse lawsuit is Chicago Province of the Society of Jesus. The plaintiff says the Jesuit order was aware that Powell was sexually abusing minors and covered up his misconduct.

This is the third civil lawsuit filed since 2003 that seeks damages from Powell for alleged sexual abuse. Other alleged victims have accused Powell of using his roles as a professor and counseler to sexually abuse young girls. As a professor at Loyola University, he conducted numerous spiritual retreats where he had access to minors.

In a 2006 sex abuse lawsuit, a former Loyola University student sued the Chicago order of Jesuits because Powell allegedly sexually abused her during private counseling sessions when she was a college student. Plaintiff Diane Ruhl says school administrators and Jesuit leaders were notified about the abuse incidents but did nothing to stop Powell. In 2003, four females sued Powell for sexual abuse. He settled their civil lawsuit out of court in 2005.

Illinois Child Sex Abuse Lawsuit
While Illinois generally requires that victims of child sexual abuse file their civil lawsuits by their 28th birthday, a victim who is older can to file an Illinois sexual abuse lawsuit if no more than five years have passed since he or she “discovered” that the sexual abuse occurred. With this latest case, the woman claims that it was only recently that she realized Powell sexually abused her.

Delayed Discovery
It may take years for some victims of child sexual abuse to remember or realize what happened to them. The victim may have been too young to understand what happened or did not know how to properly convey that he or she was being abused. The victim may also have suppressed the memories out of fear or trauma. It can take years for the memories to resurface.

Former Loyola professor charged in sex abuse case, Chi Town Daily News, December 10, 2008

Former Loyola Jesuit was professor, author and counselor, Loyola Phoenix, December 4, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Chicago Province of the Society of Jesus

The Illinois mother of a Waukegan elementary school student is incensed because she says that Hyde Park Elementary School workers directed her daughter to walk home. Kandi Stone says her daughter Arejohnnae Powers, now 7, became so traumatized when she wandered on her own that she continues to have nightmares. Following the incident, Stone removed her daughter from the Waukegan elementary school and Arejohnnae now studies at home with a licensed teacher.

According to Stone, her older daughter arrived at the school to pick Arejohnnae up on September 15, 2008, but the young girl could not be found. Stone and other officials went looking for Arejohnnae. A relative reported finding the girl nearly two hours later.

Hyde Park school officials say they apologized to Stone and her daughter and remedied all policies that allowed the incident to happen. Principal Brian Carr says the proper steps were followed that day. The school office told Arejohnnae’s teacher that an older sibling was coming to get the girl and after school, the teacher told the younger girl to go outside with the other students.

However, no one was outside the school to pick Arejohnnae up because her older sister was waiting in the school office. The young girl ended up leaving the school by herself. The school says there were teachers supervising the school grounds but no one saw Arejohnnae leave the premise.

Schools, daycare centers, summer camps, and other facilities where children are placed in the care of adults are supposed to make sure that their charges are properly supervised and not placed in situations were they could suffer physical harm. The premise managers/owners are also supposed to remedy any conditions that could lead to injuries or death, including:

• Defective playground equipment
• Inadequate security
• Poor supervision
• Improper safety procedures

Waukegan mother says daughter, 6, was mistakenly told to walk home from school, Chicago Tribune, December 5, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Premises Liability, Justia

Hyde Park Elementary School

Continue reading "Waukegan Mother Says 6-Year-Old Daughter Continues to Have Nightmares After School Directed Her to Walk Home" »

At least 36 people sought medical attention at local hospitals for injuries they sustained in an Illinois bus-truck accident on Interstate 39 on Wednesday night. Peoria Charter Coach President Bill Winkler says the motor vehicle crash occurred when the tractor-trailer jackknifed in front of the bus, causing the vehicles to collide.

The charter bus was carrying a group of Chicago high school students and their chaperone. 10 ambulances reportedly arrived at the crash scene. 13 students were treated at St. Margaret's Hospital in Spring Valley. 23 other students were treated at Illinois Valley Community Hospital in Peru.

Tractor-Trailer Accidents
Colliding with a tractor-trailer can lead to serious injuries. Tractor-trailers are large vehicles that often carry heavy loads or transport huge quantities of hazardous substances. In 2007, 413,000 large trucks were involved in US motor vehicle crashes, resulting in 4,808 deaths and at least 100,000 injuries. 4,006 of those killed were not even riding in the trucks when these truck crashes happened.

One reason that the other parties involved in large truck crashes are more prone to serious injuries than truck occupants is that trucks are so heavy (large trucks have a gross vehicle weight rating above 10,000 pounds) and massive in size that pedestrians, pedalcyclists, and the occupants of other vehicles involved are at a disadvantage in terms of physical protection. Even passengers of large buses, where seatbelts are not a requirement, risk serious injury during a large truck collision.

The impact of a large bus colliding with a large truck or any other vehicle may throw bus passengers from their seats or cause a rollover crash that can result in serious injuries, such as spinal cord injuries and traumatic brain injuries, for bus occupants.

Minor injuries after bus, truck collide in Ill., AP, December 4, 2008

Dunlap students aboard bus that crashed on I-39, December 3, 2008

Related Web Resource:

2007 Truck Safety Fact Sheet, NHTSA

Continue reading "Illinois Motor Vehicle Crash Involving Tractor-Trailer and Bus Carrying Chicago Students Injures at Least 36 People" »

The widow of Robert Shank III, a hospital patient who died after undergoing gallbladder surgery at the Marion VA Medical Center, has reached a wrongful death agreement with the US government for $975,000. Shank’s surgeon was Dr. Jose Veizaga-Mendez, who has come under investigation for at least 9 patient deaths and 34 patient injuries at the Illinois hospital. Veizaga-Mendez no longer has a license to practice medicine.

Katrina Shank had initially sought up to $12 million for Robert’s death. Her Illinois wrongful death lawyers say the settlement she received is an admission of the government’s role in her husband’s death.

An investigation by the Veterans Affairs Administrative Investigation Board had determined that the Marion VA failed to take proper action when questions arose about Veizaga-Mendez’s credentials. Katrina’s wrongful death lawsuit accused the VA of medical malpractice and negligence because of the hospital's failure to properly check Veizaga-Mendez’s medical background. Her complaint also contended that Veizaga-Mendez was negligent during Robert’s surgery and in the way that he handled the patient’s care after the operation.

Following surgery, Robert did not regain consciousness. He underwent a number of blood transfusions, which led to complications and further surgery. He died soon after. Surgical services at the VA hospital were temporarily suspended last year following the increase in patient deaths.

Veteran Administration (VA) Medical Malpractice
If you or someone you love received poor medical care at a VA medical hospital, you may have grounds to file file a medical malpractice lawsuit. Unsanitary conditions, inadequate staffing, poorly maintained medical devices, patient abuse and neglect, and medical errors can be grounds for a personal injury claim or wrongful death lawsuit if a patient suffers injuries or dies as a result.

Ky. widow settles lawsuit against VA for $975,000, Washington Post, November 25, 2008

Widow settles VA hospital suit, Chicago Tribune.com, November 25, 2008

Related Web Resources:

VA: 10 patients died under care of former surgeon at IL hospital, Boston.com/AP, October 19, 2008

Durbin, Obama, Costello Request Meeting with VA Secretary to Discuss Marion VA, Barack Obama, US Senator of Illinois, May 27, 2008

Continue reading "Widow to Receive $975,000 for Wrongful Death Lawsuit Alleging Negligence and Medical Malpractice at Marion, Illinois VA Hospital " »