Posted on September 21, 2020 in Truck Accidents

Auto accidents happen throughout Illinois and across the United States on a daily basis. Many of the individuals involved in those accidents are able to escape with relatively minor injuries such as small cuts and bruising. They do not require significant medical treatment and are able to continue on with their lives as usual soon after the accident. However, other car accident victims are left with severe, life-altering injuries. They must endure months or years of medical treatment and are never again able to live their lives the way they could before the accident. Because commercial trucks are so massive, collisions involving semi-trucks, flatbed trucks, and other large trucks often lead to these types of catastrophic injuries.

Truck Accident Injuries Can Leave a Person Permanently Disabled

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 Posted on September 08, 2020 in Birth Injuries

Pharmacological advances have made pregnancy, labor, and delivery safer and less painful than in decades past. Unfortunately, the risks associated with certain medications are not always fully understood. Improper use of medications can cause serious injury or even death to a mother or an infant. If a doctor or other medical professional’s negligence results in a preventable birth injury, the victim or the victim’s surviving loved ones may have a valid medical malpractice claim. Compensation for past medical bills, future medical care, pain and suffering, and other damages may be available.

Medication Mistakes That Often Lead to Medical Malpractice Claims

Any patient can suffer injury or death from mistakes involving medications or medical procedures; however, pregnant women are especially vulnerable to medical mistakes. The birth process is already very hard on a woman’s body. When doctors and other medical staff do not uphold their duty to provide competent medical care, they put the woman’s life and the life of her unborn child in danger. One of the most egregious types of medical negligence occurs when a pregnant woman is given the wrong type of medication. Doctors, nurses, or other staff may misread the medication label or otherwise become confused and administer the wrong drug. Another serious error occurs when a woman is given an inaccurate dose of a medication.  

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 Posted on August 31, 2020 in Car Accidents

When a motorist drives under the influence of alcohol or drugs (DUI), drives while distracted, or is otherwise negligent, the driver jeopardizes the lives of everyone on the road, including innocent children. In 2017, nearly 700 children died in car accidents and almost 116,000 suffered injuries. If your child was hurt in a car accident, you may justifiably feel angry, confused, and overwhelmed. You may be unsure of the steps you should take to hold the negligent diver accountable for his or her actions. You may also have concerns about how you will pay for the costs incurred by your child’s injury.

Insurance Companies Are Often Quick to Offer Inadequate Settlements

Car accidents can leave lasting physical and mental scars. A child who is severely injured by the negligent actions of another driver may suffer painful, debilitating injuries that require months if not years of medical treatment. When anyone is injured in a car accident, they may assume that the responsible party’s insurance company will reimburse them for the damages incurred in the accident. Unfortunately, insurance companies often offer compensation that only covers part of the injured party’s damages. In many cases, a personal injury claim is the best way to obtain the full compensation you and your injured child deserve. Through a personal injury claim, you may be entitled to compensation for your child’s pain and suffering, mental anguish, medical expenses, disability, disfigurement, and more.

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 Posted on August 25, 2020 in Medical Malpractice

Doctors are required to complete rigorous degree programs and training before becoming licensed physicians. They learn about the signs and symptoms of countless medical conditions so they can diagnose these conditions and provide the necessary treatment. However, doctors are not always able to pinpoint the exact cause of a person’s health concerns. It may take dozens of diagnostic tests and procedures before the person has an accurate diagnosis. In some cases, doctors and specialists are not able to determine the cause of a patient’s symptoms. While not every diagnostic mistake is the result of negligence, there are some situations in which a doctor’s failure to make a timely and accurate diagnosis is considered medical malpractice.  

Doctors Have a Duty to Provide Reasonably Skilled Medical Care

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 Posted on August 17, 2020 in Birth Injuries

Approximately one-third of all infants in the United States are born via Cesarean section or C-section. Some C-sections are planned because the mother or baby has certain risk factors that make vaginal delivery an unsafe option. In other cases, a mother plans to have a traditional birth but complications require an emergency Cesarean delivery. C-sections can often prevent medical complications that would have likely been caused by traditional delivery. However, when a C-section is performed incorrectly, delayed, or performed unnecessarily, preventable birth injures may occur.  

Delayed C-Sections  

Obstetricians and other medical professionals must carefully evaluate the mother’s medical history and the baby’s health in order to determine whether or not a C-section is a safe delivery method. C-sections are often ordered when the infant is in a breech or transverse position or shows signs of fetal distress. A C-section may also be ordered if the mother experiences problems such as:

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 Posted on August 11, 2020 in Personal Injury

Most of us drive several times on any given day. Although the act of driving may become second nature, it is important to remember how dangerous driving a vehicle actually is. Motorists should always exercise caution and constantly be on the lookout for hazards which could cause an accident. This is especially true when sharing the road with a semi-truck, flatbed truck, or tractor-trailer. Fully loaded, a tractor-trailer may weigh up to 80,000 lbs. These vehicles are not capable of maneuvering as swiftly as smaller vehicles and also take significantly longer to stop. Truck accidents can lead to catastrophic and often fatal injuries, so learning how to reduce your risk of being involved in a truck accident is essential.

Avoid Driving in The Truck Driver’s Blind Spots

Driving in a large truck is dramatically different than driving a passenger vehicle. While drivers of smaller vehicles can see most of the space around the vehicle, truck drivers must contend with large blind spots. Because of the way truck windows and mirrors are orientated, there are large spaces on all four sides of the truck that the truck driver cannot see. A truck driver cannot see up to 20 feet in front of the cab and up to 200 feet behind the truck as well as certain areas on each side of the truck. Staying out of these blind spots or “no-zones” is crucial to your safety and the safety of other drivers. If you cannot see the driver’s face in his or her mirror, that means that he or she cannot see you either.

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 Posted on July 29, 2020 in Construction Accidents

The city of Chicago and surrounding neighborhoods are constantly changing — new buildings are constructed while others are renovated or torn down, and highways and roads are remodeled in order to allow more efficient traffic flow. Construction projects such as these are necessary to maintain our busy way of life, but construction sites can also be extremely dangerous. If you have been injured while you were working on or visiting a construction site or your loved one was killed in a construction accident, a personal injury claim may allow you to recover compensation for your losses.

Common Causes of Construction Site Accidents

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reports that of the nearly 5,000 worker fatalities in 2018, over 20 percent were in the construction industry. Although construction projects are subject to strict regulations and safety rules, serious and often fatal injuries do occur. Just over one-third of all construction worker fatalities were caused by falling. Being struck by an object, such as dropped equipment or falling debris, was responsible for approximately 11 percent of the deaths. Electrocutions accounted for 8.5 percent of worker fatalities. Just over 5 percent of worker deaths were caused by being caught between equipment or objects or being crushed by a collapsing structure.

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 Posted on July 28, 2020 in Personal Injury

If you have ever watched a news story about an airplane accident, you may have heard experts talking about the plane’s flight recorder or “black box.” Many commercial trucks are also equipped with a recording device which is often referred to as a black box. Technically called an event data recorder (EDR), this device can be an extremely valuable source of evidence in a truck accident injury case. Most personal injury claims hinge upon the question of fault and proving that the negligent actions of the truck driver, trucking company, or other party caused your truck accident is often the biggest obstacle in successfully obtaining compensation for injuries.

How Do EDRs Work?  

Most event data recorders are capable of recording vehicle and occupant information immediately before, during, and after a collision. Depending on the type of EDR installed, the device may record data about the vehicle’s engine performance, vehicle speed, whether or not the brakes were applied, steering performance, airbag deployment, seat belt usage, electronic stability control, and the force of the impact. Commercial trucking companies are not required to install EDRs in their trucks; however, more and more trucking companies are voluntarily installing these black boxes. After a truck accident, a data-retrieval technician may be able to extract data from the EDR. Because many of these devices do not permanently retain data, it is important to retrieve EDR information as soon as possible after an accident.

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 Posted on July 14, 2020 in Medical Malpractice

When you get a medication prescription from the doctor and have it filled at your local pharmacy, you probably trust the pharmacy staff to do their jobs accurately. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. It is estimated that 1.3 million people are injured by medication mistakes in the United States every year. While some of these errors are minor and do not cause harm to the patient, others result in hospitalization and death. If you or a loved one were the victim of a pharmacy error, a medical malpractice claim may help you recover compensation.

Common Pharmacy Errors

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 Posted on July 07, 2020 in Birth Injuries

While a baby is still in the womb, oxygen is delivered to the infant via the placenta and umbilical cord. One of the most critical times during the birth process is the baby’s transition to breathing on his or her own. When problems occur during this transition, the baby may receive too little oxygen. Hypoxia, or inadequate oxygen, can lead to a number of devastating birth injuries as well as death.

What Complications Can Lead to Hypoxia?

Hypoxia is often caused when a problem with the baby’s umbilical cord reduces the oxygen available to him or her. Nuchal umbilical cord occurs when the umbilical cord wraps around the baby’s neck. A short umbilical cord or knotted umbilical cord can also cause hypoxia. Umbilical cord prolapse occurs when the cord drops through the mother’s cervix and reduces blood flow to the baby. Placental abruption occurs when the placenta separates from the uterus. This can not only deprive the baby of oxygen but may also cause dangerously heavy bleeding in the mother. The use of forceps has also been shown to sometimes cause hypoxia.

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