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Recent Blog Posts
What Are My Legal Options If I Suffered a Catastrophic Injury in an Agricultural Accident?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, agricultural workers like farmers and ranchers have one of the most dangerous professions in the country. Over 250 agricultural workers were killed while performing work duties and 280 received non-fatal injuries in the year 2018 alone. If you or your loved one suffered a disabling injury in an agricultural work accident, it is essential to know your rights. You may be able to recover compensation through workers’ compensation as well as a third-party claim.
Understanding Your Available Options
Workers in the agricultural industry work with dangerous chemicals, heavy agricultural machinery, and from great heights. If you or your loved one were seriously hurt in a tractor rollover, fall, or machinery accident, you may be left wondering what your legal options are. Per the Illinois Workers’ compensation Act, the owners of small agricultural enterprises may be exempt from workers’ compensation. If your employer does carry workers’ compensation insurance, this should cover your medical bills and part of your lost income; however, workers’ compensation alone may not cover the full extent of the financial harm caused by your injury. You may have a permanent disability or reduction in functioning that affects you for months or years after the incident. This can result in an overwhelming financial burden. If another party’s negligence caused or contributed to the accident, you may be able to bring a separate claim against that party.
Bringing a Personal Injury Claim After an Amputation Injury
While they are painful, cuts, bruises, and even most broken bones eventually heal. Some injuries change the entire course of a person’s life. If you or a loved one have suffered an amputation injury, you know just how devastating this type of catastrophic injury can be. Losing a hand, foot, arm, or leg in an accident is something that no one should have to go through – especially when the loss of limb is caused by the negligence of another party. A personal injury claim can help victims of amputation injuries recover compensation for their medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, and more.
Types of Negligent Conduct That Can Lead to Loss of a Limb
Amputation injuries are sometimes caused by the carelessness or negligence of another individual or entity. Dismemberment may be caused by a singular traumatic event such as a car crash, motorcycle collision, truck accident, or pedestrian accident. Incidents involving heavy machinery such as construction accidents and agricultural accidents are also a top cause of amputation injuries. Fireworks accidents and explosions may also lead to losing a limb.
What Types of Damages Are Typically Available in Catastrophic Injury Cases?
Some injuries occur in a split second but result in lifelong consequences. If you or a loved one have suffered a catastrophic injury, you may be entitled to compensation for your damages. Compensation for the financial harm caused by the catastrophic injury as well as the non-financial consequences of the injury may be available. Because a catastrophic injury has such a profound impact on the injured person, these cases are usually higher value than cases involving milder injuries. If you are interested in bringing a personal injury claim after a catastrophic injury, it is important to work with an attorney who has experience handling high value cases.
What is a Catastrophic Injury?
Although painful, people eventually recover from injuries such as broken bones and lacerations. A catastrophic injury, on the other hand, is one that can affect a person for the rest of his or her life. Catastrophic injuries are injuries that result in long-term or permanent disability or loss of functioning.
When is an Ambulatory Surgery Center Liable for a Medical Mistake?
Understandably, most people are nervous about having a surgical procedure done. Whether it is a minor procedure or a major surgery, going under the knife can be nerve-racking. While most surgeries are completed without complication, some surgery patients are injured or even killed by surgical mistakes. If you or a loved one were harmed by a surgical mistake at an ambulatory surgical center, you may have a valid medical malpractice claim. You may be able to recover compensation for your medical debts, lost wages, and other damages.
Errors at Outpatient Surgery Centers
More and more surgery patients are turning to same-day surgery centers for routine procedures. These centers are often less expensive and more convenient than having the surgery performed in a hospital operating room. However, an investigation led by USA Today and Kaiser Health News suggests that ambulatory surgery centers may not be the safest choice for even minor surgeries. Through the investigation, they found that 260 people had died after having routine surgeries at ambulatory surgery centers between 2013 and 2018. Many point to under-trained staff and lack of government oversight as reasons for their distrust in surgery centers. However, each case is different and there may be a multitude of factors that lead to a bad surgical outcome.
What Are the Laws in Illinois Regarding Dog Bites?
While we usually think of dogs as adorable pets, they are also animals capable of causing serious injuries and even death. Dog bites can cause severe lacerations, puncture wounds, nerve damage, and broken bones. An individual pushed to the ground in a dog attack may also suffer a traumatic brain injury, back injury, or another type of bodily injury. Sadly, some dog attack victims do not survive these injuries. If you or a loved one were the victim of a dog bite, you may be curious to learn about dog bite-related laws in Illinois.
Dog Owner Liability
Owning a dog is a serious responsibility. Dog owners have a legal duty to protect others from their dogs. Many dog bites and dog attacks occur because a negligent owner let the dog run through the neighborhood or failed to keep the dog on lease on public property like a park. The laws describing dog owner liability vary from state to state. In some states, a dog owner is not legally responsible for a dog attack if the dog had no history of aggression. These so called “one free bite” laws allow a dog owner to evade liability if they did not know that the animal was capable of biting. Illinois is not a “one free bite” state. Dog owners are strictly liable for injures caused by their dog. If you or a loved one were injured by a dog, you will not need to prove that the dog has vicious tendencies.
When is a Pharmacy Liable for a Medication Error?
Getting a prescription filled at a pharmacy is something most people do dozens if not hundreds of times in their life. Pharmacists have the critical responsibility of reading doctors’ prescriptions and providing the correct mediation to patients. Although rigorous regulations are designed to prevent mistakes, medication errors do sometimes occur. If you or a loved one were given the wrong medication, the wrong dosage of medication, or you were otherwise the victim of a pharmacy-related medication mistake, the pharmacy may be liable for damages. You could be entitled to compensation for your medical bills, lost income, and more.
Pharmacists and Other Pharmacy Staff Are Held to High Standards
Pharmacy workers must follow specific procedures and policies when dispensing medications. However, issues like staffing shortages, misinterpretation of a prescription, misunderstanding a doctor’s directions, and inattention to detail can lead to mistakes. Some of the most common pharmacy errors include:
What Are My Rights if My Doctor Failed to Diagnose My Cancer?
One of the most devastating diagnoses someone can ever receive is a cancer diagnosis. However, once a person has been diagnosed with cancer, they can begin treatment. The sooner a patient learns his or her diagnosis, the sooner they can begin exploring their options, speaking with medical experts, and starting down the road to recovery. When cancer is not caught quickly, there is typically a greater chance of the cancer spreading throughout the body. In many cases, an early cancer diagnosis and swift treatment regimen can save someone’s life. However, when a doctor fails to diagnosis cancer or misdiagnoses it as something else, the patient may experience unnecessary pain and suffering and worsened health. The diagnostic mistake may even cost the patient his or her life.
Diagnostic Mistakes Involving Cancer
There are two main types of diagnostic mistakes regarding cancer: failure to property diagnose cancer and diagnosing cancer when the patient does not actually have cancer. More commonly, a person does have cancer but doctors do not take the appropriate steps to recognize and treat the cancer. It is often very difficult to know if a doctor has made a diagnostic error. Doctors and other healthcare professionals are not omniscient. They cannot always know for sure what is wrong with a patient. However, there are some cases where a doctor’s diagnostic mistake constitutes medical negligence.
Are Non-Workers Entitled to Compensation for Injuries Sustained at a Construction Site?
When we think about construction site injuries, we typically think about injured construction workers. When a construction worker is harmed as an employee on a construction site, he or she is typically entitled to compensation for medical bills and lost wages though workers’ compensation. You may wonder, however, what happens when a non-worker is injured at a construction site. For example, what happens if you are walking near a construction site and are injured by falling building debris? In a situation like this, you may be able to recover compensation via a personal injury claim.
Non-Employee Construction Site Injuries
Construction sites are filled with dangers. Partially-constructed buildings, suspended beams, hazardous materials, other dangers can lead to severe injuries and deaths. Construction companies and contractors are expected to follow strict safety regulations to protect the wellbeing of workers as well as non-workers. However, construction site accidents still can and do occur. A construction accident can lead to traumatic brain injuries, broken bones, internal organ damage, amputation injuries, and much more.
How Can a Personal Injury Lawyer Help Me During My Case?
A personal injury claim is a legal action that allows someone who was injured by another party’s negligence or wrongdoing to seek compensation for damages. Injury claims are often used to pursue damages after a car accident but they may also follow slip and fall accidents, injuries caused by defective products, and other types of injury-causing incidents. An experienced personal injury lawyer is a valuable asset when bringing a personal injury claim.
Demonstrating the Elements Needed to Prove Your Entitlement to Damages
To receive financial compensation for damages after an injury, you must establish four main points. First, the defendant, meaning the party against whom you are brining a claim, owed you a duty of care. This may the duty of a driver to drive a reasonable speed, the duty of a company to design a safe consumer product, the duty of a property owner to maintain a safe premises, or another type of duty. Next, you will need to show that the defendant failed to uphold this duty of care. Proving fault for an injury is often the most pivotal part of winning an injury claim. You will also need to show that the defendant’s breach of duty caused your injuries. Finally, you must demonstrate that you sustained damages as a result of your injuries. Damages are losses you suffered because of your injury such as medical expenses, lost wages, and property damage. Your attorney can help you demonstrate each of these elements. Your attorney may consult with medical experts, accident reconstructionists, or other professionals, gather evidence such as surveillance camera footage, review police reports, and find other sources of evidence to prove the required elements.
Common Causes of Truck Accidents in Illinois
Semi-trucks and other large trucks carry everything from building supplies to groceries across the country. It is safe to say that our modern way of life would be nearly impossible without the services that trucking companies and truck drivers provide. However, large trucks can also cause horrific traffic accidents. If you or a loved one were involved in a truck accident, you may be able to recover financial compensation for damages through a personal injury claim. However, before you can successfully recover compensation, you and your attorney will need to identify the cause of the accident and determine who is liable for your damages.
Loose, Shifting, or Fallen Truck Cargo
Rigorous safety policies regulate the way that truck cargo must be loaded and secured. Truck cargo that is inside of a trailer must be loaded in such a way that the weight is evenly distributed. The cargo must be properly secured so that it does not move around the trailer during transit. When cargo is not loaded and secured correctly, it can cause the truck to become off balanced and even tip over. Cargo that is improperly loaded on a flatbed truck may fall out of the truck and onto the road. Other vehicles may collide with the fallen cargo or generate another accident trying to avoid a collision.
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Orland Park Office
Suite 100
Orland Park, IL 60462
Phone: 708-888-2160
Elmhurst Office
Suite 300
Elmhurst, IL 60126
Phone: 630-415-0500
Glen Ellyn Office
Glen Ellyn, IL 60137
Phone: 630-349-2325
Joliet Office
Joliet, IL 60432
Phone: 815-723-7300
Peoria Office
Peoria, Illinois 61602
Phone: 309-650-8700
14496 John Humphrey Drive, Suite 100, Orland Park, IL 60462
708-888-2160
