Chicago Injury Attorney Blog

A Chicago wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against James Lacy. He is the man who was pushing 61-year-old Sarah Goenne in a wheelchair outside the Columbia Yacht Club on the night of April 8 when they both fell into Lake Michigan.

Goenne and Lacy, 59, were leaving a party at the club when the two accidentally fell into the water. Rescuers pulled both of them out at DuSable Harbor and they were transported to the hospital. Lacy has survived the incident, but Goenne died several days later.

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s office says that her cause of death was broncho-pneumonia and sepsis. The amputation of her right leg following a car crash and spina bifida were listed as secondary causes of death.

The Chicago wrongful death complaint accuses Lacy of failing to control the wheelchair and not keeping a proper lookout. The plaintiff, Martha Bante, is seeking over $50,000.

Cook County Wrongful Death
A wrongful death claim can be filed when a person dies and someone else was legally at fault. The person “at fault” doesn’t need to have intended to cause or directly cause the victim’s passing. There may be more than one party who should be held liable.

Also, the victim’s family may be able to claim economic damages (medical costs related to the death, funeral/burial/cremation expenses), loss of income/benefits/inheritance, and/or services), non-economic damages (survivors’ pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of love/society/companionship of the deceased, loss of protection/care/advice/guidance, nurturing/training from the deceased, and/or loss of consortium), and punitive damages.

Man Sued Over Lake Wheelchair Death, MyFoxChicago, April 18, 2011

Family sues wheelchair pusher in Lake Michigan death, ABC Local, April 19, 2011

Related Web Resources:
Wrongful Death Claims, Nolo

Illinois Wrongful Death Act, Illinois General Assembly

More Blog Posts:
Family Files Chicago Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Chinese Restaurant After 7th Grader Suffers Fatal Peanut Allergy, Chicago Injury Attorney Blog, March 22, 2011

$10M Illinois Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against LeRoy Police Over Delay in Issuing Amber Alert Goes to Federal Court, Chicago Injury Attorney Blog, August 19, 2010

Illinois Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed in Teacher’s Drowning on the Vermillion River, Chicago Injury Attorney Blog, June 5, 2010

James Arthur has filed a Cook County trip and fall lawsuit for injuries he sustained while visiting Memorial Park Cemetery last year. Arthur says he was at a relative’s burial chamber when he tripped and broke hip. He says the Skokie fall accident happened because a cemetery worker turned off the lights “well before closing time.”

Arthur contends that although the mausoleum wasn’t supposed to close for another half hour, and one of his relatives told the cemetery worker that they would leave before then, the latter started shutting down the premise.

In his $100,000 Cook County injury lawsuit, Arthur accuses the cemetery employee of negligence. He says that the cemetery management and Service Corporation International were also negligent for failing to make sure that the cemetery stayed safe during visiting hours.

Trip and Fall
Chicago trip and fall accidents usually involve someone tripping over a raised object on the ground or an uneven surface. This can cause the person to suffer broken bones, cuts or bruises, back injuries, neck injuries, and other painful, debilitating injuries. Property owners are responsible for making sure there are no trip hazards on the premise.

Examples of Other Same-Level Fall Accidents that Can Cause Painful Injuries:
• Slip and fall accidents
• Stump fall accidents
• Step and fall accidents
• Fall accidents involving the victim experiencing “forced rotation,” such as the twisting of an ankle

Chicago Slip/Stump/Step/Trip and fall accidents are not uncommon. The medical costs to treat and recover from this type of Cook County premises liability accident can be high and the victim could be laid up for weeks or even months, which could prevent him/her from going to work. These are just a few reasons why obtaining your Chicago personal injury recovery is so important.

Mourner blames cemetery worker for broken hip, Chicago Tribune, April 14, 2011

Related Web Resources:
Slip and Fall, Nolo

Premises Liability, Justia

More Blog Posts:
Illinois Slip and Fall Lawsuits Filed Over Personal Injuries from Snow and Ice Accumulation, Chicago Injury Attorney Blog, February 21, 2011

Chicago Slip and Fall: Woman Settles Cook County Injury Lawsuit with Brookfield Zoo, Chicago Injury Attorney Blog, November 2, 2011

Target is Sued for Illinois Slip and Fall, Chicago Injury Attorney Blog, July 6, 2010

Fritzie and Cameron Burkett have filed a Chicago wrongful death lawsuit against Lutheran General Hospital. In their Cook County medical malpractice complaint, the couple claims that the hospital’s negligence caused their six-week-old son Genesis to die from a medication overdose.

Genesis, who was born prematurely died after receiving an overdose of sodium. His parents say that he was intravenously given over 60 times the prescribed dose, which caused his heart to stop. They blame a medication mistake on a pharmacy mix-up involving a technician filling an intravenous bag with a dosage much greater than what the doctor had prescribed. Their attorneys say that a sticker on the IV bag showed the amount that was prescribed for the infant but that it concealed the description of the amount that was in the bag.

The hospital has admitted that several medical mistakes happened. A spokesperson for Lutheran General Hospital says that a data entry error occurred in the “formation of the IV solution” and that the prescribed dose was incorrectly inputted into the machine that prepares the IV solutions.

Medication Mistakes
Medication errors, especially ones resulting in the overdose of an infant can prove fatal. Hospitals must ensure that they have the proper procedures and protocols in place so that mix-ups don’t occur.

Some Common Causes of Medication Mistakes:
• Inadequate information about a patient’s medical history
• Miscommunication about medication orders
• Illegible handwriting non-prescriptions
• Exhaustion
• Multitasking
• Inappropriate/confusing labeling or packaging
• Mixing up drugs with similar names or packaging

Medication errors that result in injury or death can be grounds for a Chicago hospital malpractice lawsuit.

Alleged IV overdose kills premature infant, 9News, April 6, 2011

Lutheran General Hospital Sued over Infant’s Fatal Overdose, MyFoxChicago, April 6, 2011

Related Web Resources:
Advocate Health Care

Hospital Medication Errors: Reducing Your Risk, WebMD

More Blog Posts:
Illinois Wrongful Death Complaint Blames Fentanyl Overdose, Medical Malpractice, and Slip and Fall for Husband’s Passing, Chicago Injury Attorney, August 30, 2010

Illinois Wrongful Death Lawsuit Alleges Medical Malpractice and Pharmacy Mistakes, Chicago Injury Attorney Blog, December 23, 2009

Lake County Family Wins More than $9 Million in Illinois Medical Malpractice Case Involving Son’s Wrongful Death, Chicago Injury Attorney Blog, December 18, 2008

3-year-old Jayson Dansby died on Saturday after he fell off a child roller coaster at the Go Bananas entertainment center in Norridge and was then hit by one of the cars. Dansby and his twin brother were riding the Python Pit roller coaster when Jayson ended up out from under the safety bar and got stuck between two of the cars. He then dropped three or four feet from the roller coaster, which was still moving. He suffered serious head injuries during the Cook County injury accident.

The state has since shut down the roller coaster. While the ride passed government inspection in December, records indicate that it has been involved in two other roller coaster incidents since 2006. One girl bumped her eye while walking away from the ride that year. In 2008, another rider sustained head injuries after the Python Pit became derailed.

Also, according to NBC.com, the family of Destiny Lofton is suing Go Bananas for Cook County injuries to a minor. The 8-year-old girl fractured her wrist while shaking hands with someone in another car. Lofton’s mother, Crystal Malone, says that no one warned her daughter to make sure she kept her hands in the car.

Amusement Park Accidents
Amusement parks can be held liable for Chicago wrongful death or personal injury if someone gets seriously hurt while on a ride. Fall injuries can result in head trauma, spinal cord injuries, broken bones, paralysis, severed limbs, brain hemorrhages, and other serious injuries.

Common causes of amusement park accidents:
• Mechanical failures
• Operator negligence
• Inadequate operator training
• Ride design defects
• Faulty maintenance

Dolton boy dies in freak roller coaster accident, Naperville Sun, April 6, 2011

Girl Injured at Go Bananas Three Years Ago, NBC Chicago, April 4, 2011

Related Web Resources:
Go Bananas

RideAccidents

More Blog Posts:
Chicago Injury Lawsuit Involving Boy with Brain Damage After He was Struck by Tree Branch is Settled for $1.55M, Chicago Injury Attorney Blog, February 7, 2011

Mother Sues Chicago Public Schools for Injuries to Minor After Son Breaks Femur While Class was Left Unattended, Chicago Injury Attorney Blog, April 28, 2010

Family of Toddler Reaches $2 Million Lake County, Illinois Wrongful Death Settlement with Day-Care Center, Chicago Injury Attorney Blog, March 13, 2010