Recent Blog Posts
Did the Pandemic Make Driving More Dangerous for Illinois Residents?
It seems counterintuitive, to say the least. One would think that with more people working from home and avoiding large gatherings, there would be less traffic, equating to fewer opportunities for drivers to hit each other. You may be surprised to learn that the opposite is true. 2021 was the most dangerous year to be out on our roads in over a decade. Motor vehicle crash fatalities have only increased, despite there being generally less traffic. There are a number of theories floating around to explain this shift, most of which directly relate to how the pandemic has changed the mindsets of many drivers. Reckless driving behaviors, experts suggest, are on the rise.
Getting hurt in a car accident during a public health crisis can make your entire situation more difficult to deal with. If your crash was caused by a careless or reckless driver, an attorney may be able to recover financial compensation on your behalf.
4 Steps to Take if Your Child Gets Hurt in an Illinois Daycare
No parent ever hopes to receive a phone call from their child’s daycare saying that their child has been injured. This scenario would be a nightmare for most. Parents trust daycare centers to keep their kids safe, but accidents and injuries do happen in these facilities. While children are notoriously accident-prone, many daycare injuries could have been prevented or at least lessened in severity with appropriate care. Children are too often harmed due to the negligence of daycare staff. If your child was hurt at daycare, you may want to consult an attorney about your options for pursuing compensation. Further investigation may be needed to determine the cause of your child’s injury.
What Should I Do if My Child Gets Injured in Daycare?
You may be experiencing a range of emotions after learning that your child was injured at daycare. Parents are often shocked, fearful, and angry during the aftermath of a daycare accident. It can be difficult to remember the steps you need to take. Generally, steps you should take after a daycare injury include:
5 Issues that Can Complicate Your Illinois Car Crash Claim
When it comes to recovering compensation after a car accident, things may seem like they should be simple. Another driver was being careless. They crashed into you. They pay for your injuries and other expenses related to the accident. Rarely, however, is the actual process of filing a claim and receiving what you are rightfully owed as uncomplicated as it should be.
There are a number of sometimes complex legal issues surrounding car accident claims that may require the attention of a skilled lawyer to resolve. From proving the cause of a wreck to dealing with an uninsured driver, a number of issues can further complicate your case. It is best to have complex car accident claims handled by a qualified attorney.
Reasons Your Car Accident Case Could Become Complicated
Motor vehicle crashes are inherently chaotic events. Unfortunately, the aftermath can be quite chaotic as well depending on all the facts and surrounding circumstances. If any of these issues are present in your car accident case, you will probably need an attorney’s help to resolve them:
What Are the Most Common Injuries in Daycare Centers?
Parents expect daycare centers to be safe places for young children. Toddlers and babies in particular require extensive supervision. Anyone who has spent time around a little one that age can tell you that they are prone to hurting themselves when not watched carefully in a safe environment. This is why child care professionals are required to follow strict safety standards to minimize the risk of a child getting hurt. If your child was put in an unsafe situation and got injured at daycare, you will want to speak to a qualified personal injury attorney as soon as possible to put you on the path to recovering compensation.
What Injuries Are Children Most at Risk for in Day Care?
While all children will occasionally come home with minor scrapes or bruises from falling down on the playground, most more serious injuries in daycare centers are preventable. You may have a case for pursuing compensation if your child sustained one of these injuries in a child care facility:
How Does Chicago's Ice Clearing Law Affect Winter Slip and Falls?
Chicago winters are serious business. Extreme temperatures, high winds, and heavy snowfalls bring yearly dangers to our city’s residents. Thousands of Illinois residents slip and fall on the ice every year. Most get up laughing, but an unlucky few suffer serious injuries. A Chicago city ordinance requires anyone who owns or has charge of a property to clear ice and snow from the sidewalk in front of their home or business. Property owners and renters could face municipal fines for failing to shovel. However, this does not necessarily mean that anyone who fails to comply with this law is automatically liable to anyone who slips and falls in the snow on their sidewalk.
If you got hurt when you slipped and fell, it is best to talk over your options with a qualified attorney. Slip and fall cases are rarely as cut-and-dry as they may seem, and an attorney investigation may be needed to prove the cause of your accident.
What Rights Do Nursing Home Residents Have?
The Illinois Nursing Home Care Act spells out certain rights that all residents of skilled nursing facilities have. Many of these rights exist to protect a nursing home resident’s safety, dignity, and property. It is very serious if a nursing home violates the rights of a resident as outlined in the Act. Nursing home abuse or neglect is a form of medical malpractice. If you suspect that your rights or the rights of your loved one are being violated by nursing home staff, you should consider contacting an attorney. You or your loved one may be entitled to financial compensation.
What Rights Are Included in the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act?
When you trust a nursing home to care for you or your aging family member only to have the facility ignore these legal rights, it can be an extremely upsetting or even dangerous situation. Every nursing home resident - and everyone who loves a nursing home resident - should familiarize themselves with what rights they have. Here are a few of the rights the State of Illinois sets out:
What Can I Do If My Child Was Attacked by a Neighbor’s Dog in Illinois?
Dog bites can be serious matters, especially when children are the victim. Because children are smaller and less able to protect themselves against an attacking dog, their injuries can be severe and even life-threatening. Millions of people are bitten by dogs each year in the United States, and many victims of dog bites require medical treatment.
In this article, we will look at some of the consequences of dog bites and what legal remedies may be available to victims. If your child has been attacked or bitten by a neighbor’s dog in Illinois, contact a personal injury attorney right away to find out more about your options under Illinois law.
Who is Responsible for a Dog Bite in Illinois?
Illinois law has a statute specifically to address the responsibility of pets that attack, try to attack, or injure people. The statute provides that a victim of a dog bite can bring a claim for civil damages against the owner or caregiver of the dog for the full amount of the injury, as long as the dog was not provoked and the victim was in a place where he or she was legally allowed to be.
Is a Daycare Liable for My Child’s Exposure to Allergens?
Last month, Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker signed a bill requiring the Department of Public Health, the State Board of Education, and the Department of Children and Family Services to work together to establish an anaphylactic training policy at daycare facilities and schools in order to prevent personal injury due to allergies.
This means Illinois daycare centers must train their employees how to recognize and treat anaphylactic shock, a dangerous and sometimes life-threatening allergic reaction. This new law is known as an “Elijah’s Law,” named after a tragic incident in which a daycare fed a child named Elija Silvera dairy in his lunch despite knowing Silvera had a severe dairy allergy. Silvera, just three years old, passed away from an allergic reaction.
Are Illinois Daycares Responsible for Preventing Food Allergen Exposures?
In 2008, Congress passed an amendment to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This amendment codified specific protections for children with allergies, mandating that public and private schools and daycares provide accommodations and take safety precautions to protect children with food allergies.
What Happens if I Slip and Fall in an Illinois Restaurant?
Illinoians today dine out more than they ever have, saving themselves the time and effort of preparing meals after a long day of work. Unfortunately, people dining out more often also means an increase in mild and serious injuries that occur on Illinois restaurant premises. Restaurant owners have a duty of reasonable care to their customers, and nobody wants their evening out spoiled by a disaster because of negligence on the part of a restaurant owner. But because injuries do sometimes occur at restaurants, the injured party should always consider learning about their legal options with an experienced Illinois personal injury attorney.
What Is a Duty of Reasonable Care?
No matter the type of business, Illinois law requires property owners and businesses to provide a safe environment for visitors, guests, and customers. This is called a duty of reasonable care and business owners can exercise their duty of reasonable care by posting warnings about the danger (such as wet floor pylons) and ensuring proper maintenance.
July I-294 Accident Illustrates Common Causes of Trucking Crashes
A fatal crash involving two semi-trucks on I-294 Tri-State Tollway occurred at the beginning of July when one truck stopped due to construction and was rear-ended by another semi that failed to stop. The first driver went to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, but the driver of the second truck was pronounced dead at the scene.
Although this particular accident involved two semi-trucks, passenger vehicles driving on I-294 are also at significant risk from truck accidents. The disparity in size between a truck and a car is substantial and is a major factor in the high rates of serious injury and death resulting from these kinds of accidents.
What Are Common Causes of Semi-truck Accidents?
Investigations of semi-truck accidents with other trucks and passenger vehicles show they are caused by several common factors. Unfortunately, most of these factors are predictable and avoidable, and include: