Leroy Turner filed the lawsuit in St. Clair County Circuit Court on August 25, 2015. He alleged Wal-Mart Inc. and pharmacist Christopher L. Hurtte were negligent in providing him with the wrong prescription. Pharmacist Laura Drouis was added as a defendant later in an amended complaint.

According to the lawsuit, Turner went to the Walmart pharmacy with a prescription for Cardura in February 2015. Hurtte allegedly gave Turner Warfarin without his knowledge or consent.
Cardura is used to treat high blood pressure while Warfarin is a blood thinner. Blood thinners are contraindicated for patients with high blood pressure.

Turner claimed he suffered extreme fatigue and bruising on his back, shoulders, arms and thighs after taking Warfarin for several weeks. Concerned, he called his doctor, who instructed him to “double up” on the medication. The doctor did not know his patient was taking the wrong drug by mistake.

After following his doctor’s orders, Turner allegedly experienced additional, more severe symptoms for around a week before realizing he was taking the incorrect medication. He is seeking more than $50,000 in damages against each defendant, in addition to court costs.

If you suffered an injury or illness as a result of a medication error due to negligence or medical malpractice, you should consult the medical malpractice attorneys at Briskman Briskman & Greenberg.

Tom Steinbacher Sr. and Christine Steinbacher, as co-administrators of their son’s estate, filed the complaint in Cook County Circuit Court on April 21. They are seeking a jury trial in addition to damages in excess of $50,000. Among the doctors, pharmacies and health care facilities named as defendants in the suit were Walgreen Co., Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc., Loyola University Medical Center Co. and Dr. Robert J. Barnes.

According to the lawsuit, the teenager died of morphine intoxication on April 22, 2014. The DuPage County coroner’s office confirmed the cause of his death the following day. Morphine is a prescription drug for treating acute or chronic pain. It can cause serious harm such as seizures and addiction when used erroneously, and overdoses can be fatal.

The teen had been prescribed morphine for pain. The Steinbachers claimed the defendants were negligent in prescribing the morphine and failed to advise them of its dangers. The plaintiffs alleged the instructions for the medication’s use were incorrectly transcribed on the label. They did not reflect the instructions that the prescribing doctor provided to the pharmacy.

Prescription medication errors are a common form of medical malpractice that can have minimal to fatal consequences. Some common mistakes include administering the incorrect drug or dosage, mislabeling the medication or failing to warn the patient about its side effects. Pharmacies, hospitals, doctors, nurses, other individuals and facilities involved with prescribing drugs can be liable for such errors.

If you suffered an injury or illness as a result of a medication error due to negligence or medical malpractice, you should consult the medical malpractice attorneys at Briskman Briskman & Greenberg.

Plaintiff Kathryn Howe-Vandelinder filed a lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court in July 2012. She alleged the negligence of doctors in administering the medication led to her husband’s kidney failure and eventual death.

Michael Vandelinder, 56, traveled to Northwestern in July 2010. He sought treatment at the Chicago, Illinois, hospital for an infection he suffered after undergoing a bone marrow transplant for leukemia. During his hospital stay, doctors ordered Vandelinder be given the antiviral drug Foscarnet.

However, the lawsuit claimed the hospital administered 10 times more medication than was ordered. Vandelinder received 24,000 milligrams of Foscarnet, when the dosage was actually 2,400 milligrams. He was placed on dialysis for 12 days as his kidneys started to fail after the overdose. The Detroit resident died in August 2010.

The jury delivered the verdict on August 10, 2016 after deliberating for less than two hours. Northwestern admitted its pharmacy department’s negligence in dispensing and administering the Foscarnet overdose. However, the hospital denied the overdose caused Vandelinder’s death.

“Hospitals need to be vigilant when it comes to dispensing drugs,” the family’s attorney said in a statement. “There is no excuse for giving someone 24,000 milligrams when the order was supposed to be for 2,400 milligrams. There needs to be a better check-and-balance system, especially when you are talking about life-and-death circumstances.”

If you suffered an injury or illness as a result of a medication error due to negligence or medical malpractice, you should consult the medical malpractice attorneys at Briskman Briskman & Greenberg.

According to Illinois State Police, a semi-truck crashed into a line of cars stopped in slow-moving traffic on Interstate 94’s far right westbound lane. The accident occurred close to Six Flags Great America. Six other vehicles were involved besides the truck.

State police said the truck failed to slow down for traffic and plowed into a 2012 Ford Focus. The resulting pileup caused a 2014 Jeep Wrangler to become airborne and land on another car’s roof. Another vehicle overturned. The incident occurred at about 5:45 p.m. and obstructed rush hour traffic for approximately five hours.

Seven people were hospitalized with minor injuries, while one other person was in critical condition. Gurnee Fire Department Battalion Chief Bob Herazer said two victims had to be extricated from their vehicles.

Authorities said a 31-year-old man from Joliet was driving the truck. However, his identity has not been released. No tickets were issued to the driver nor any charges filed in the crash.

As part of their investigation, police examined a YouTube video that captured the collision. It was shot from a moving vehicle ahead of the semi-truck. Illinois State Police Capt. Robert Meeder said investigators were aiming to identify the person who took the video so that they could obtain a witness statement.

If you were injured in a motor vehicle accident, call the personal injury attorneys at Briskman Briskman & Greenberg.

The motorist struck two cars, after which he attempted to leave the scene by going in the southern direction. The SUV then went onto the curb, struck the child and crashed into a porch. Many people in the area are questioning whether the accident could have been prevented by the presence of more stop signs or a traffic light. The girl’s grandfather said that cars often drive through the neighborhood at the rate at 50 or 60 miles per hour.

The intersection at which the accident occurred in West Chatham is a two-way stop. The grandfather said that for years, he had hoped to see four stop signs at that intersection. Felicia Sylvertooth, the president of the 80th and Harvard Block Club for the last 14 years, said that for the previous six years, she has requested that a stop light be placed at that intersection. She said there is a school called Westscott in the vicinity, and that a stop light would make it safer for children to cross the street. It would also be safer for the crossing guard.

According to police, charges are currently pending against the motorist.

If you were injured in a motor vehicle accident, call the personal injury attorneys at Briskman Briskman & Greenberg.

According to the Cook County Record, Madiline Hicks filed a lawsuit in Cook County Court. The lawsuit alleges personal injury on the part of defendants Walgreen Co., Bond Drug Company of Illinois LLC and Edward C. Chen, a pharmacist. The complaint states that on January 4, 2014, Hicks requested a recommendation from Chen at a Walgreens for a sinus medication that would be safe for her to take along with her anti-epilepsy prescription medication, Kepra. The lawsuit says that Chen, who had previously filled several of Hicks’ prescriptions, assured her that she could safely take Sudafed with it.

However, due to the incompatibility of the drugs, she lost consciousness and fell into a coma. Hicks accuses Chen and Walgreens of committing a violation of their responsibilities to give her proper medical advice. She is seeking more than $50,000 in damages.

The FDA reveals that medical errors cause injury to over one million people annually in the United States and result in a minimum of one fatality per day. Such mistakes include pharmaceutical errors. The most common medication errors are those involving the wrong dosage, incorrect prescriptions and drug interactions.

In some cases, the physician gives the patient a prescription for a drug without first determining whether there is a possibility for an adverse interaction with other medications that the patient is taking. Medication errors can cause harm and in some instances, can even be fatal. When a patient takes an incorrect dose of a medication, it can cause an overdose, which can have lasting effects.

If you suffer an injury or illness as a result of a medication error due to negligence or medical malpractice, you should consult the medical malpractice attorneys at Briskman Briskman & Greenberg.

One drug that her mother was prescribed was missing. It was intended to prevent heart patients such as Oyler from keeping fluids. Instead, she was given a toxic drug with a name that resembles the correct drug, but has a different objective. The toxic drug was mainly used to treat cancer and serious cases of arthritis, and the label instructed the patient to ingest it every day.

When her daughter collected all of her mother’s medicines, and saw the incorrect one, she knew that her mother would not recover. She observed that the hospital committed several errors following her mother’s discharge. Oyler died at one of the most perilous moments in medical care, which is when patients are sent home from the hospital. Studies have revealed that poor coordination frequently affects patients’ transfers to the care of home health agencies, nursing homes and other health care professionals who have a responsibility to help them recover from their illness.

Medication errors such as the one that occurred in Oyler’s case are one of the most typical complications for patients who have been discharged from the hospital. Court records indicate that the error went unnoticed by her pharmacist and home health nurses. Oyler, who was 66 years old at the time, was discharged from Heartland Regional Medical Center in St. Joseph, Missouri after receiving treatment for congestive heart failure. Upon her return home, a hospital nurse called the local Hy-Vee Pharmacy to inform them of eight new prescriptions, one of which was for the diuretic metolazone.

However, the pharmacy technician neglected to write down the medication metolazone, and instead wrote methotrexate. The drug is sufficiently powerful for the Institute for Safe Medication Practices to include it among eight drugs that have a heightened risk of causing considerable harm to patients. Such medications require certain safeguards because they are said to have disastrous consequences.

In February, a jury found in favor of Oyler’s family, and rendered an award of $2 million from the pharmacy. However, the judge reduced the amount to $125,000 because Missouri has a maximum amount for noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases. The family reached a settlement with the hospital in the amount of $225,000.

If you or a loved one has an illness that was exacerbated due to a medication error, call the medical malpractice attorneys at Briskman Briskman & Greenberg.

Source

NBC Chicago reported that in 2005, Tanya Karney-Brown placed her brother, Joseph, into The Renaissance Park South nursing home after he had a stroke and a heart attack. Then two years later, Joseph received a diagnosis of gastrointestinal cancer. Although Karney-Brown said Joseph reacted favorably to the cancer medication called Gleevac, his condition changed for the worse months later.

The family learned that the nursing home staff failed to administer Joseph’s cancer medication for almost one year. They filed a lawsuit alleging that the nursing home neglected to have Joseph return to his oncologist for subsequent appointments. Unfortunately, the error was not discovered in time to prevent the cancer from spreading and ultimately causing Joseph’s death. He died in early 2010.

If you or a loved one suffered an injury or illness due to a medication error committed by a health care professional, call the medical malpractice attorneys at Briskman Briskman & Greenberg.

The complaint states that the children were born between 1996 and 2008, and alleges that their injuries were caused by the mothers’ ingestion of Depakote while they were pregnant. The defendants were engaged in the formulation, design, manufacture, licensing, testing, advertisement, marketing and sale of the drug Depakote, which was taken to manage seizures. The plaintiffs claim medical researchers established that the medication posed a greater risk for pregnant women.

As a consequence of their ingestion of the drug, the children suffered serious and permanent injuries, became physically impaired and disfigured, and experienced a considerable amount of physical and mental pain and suffering. In addition, they were beset by medical expenses, lost earnings, loss of potential future earnings, and attorney fees and court costs.

The plaintiffs are requesting damages for the following torts:
• Product liability
• Negligence
• Breach of express warranty
• Breach of implied warranty
• Fraud and misrepresentation
• Misrepresentation by omission
• Willful and wanton conduct
• Negligent infliction of emotional distress
• Intentional infliction of emotional distress

They are requesting actual damages, punitive damages, court costs and any other remedy that the court thinks is suitable.

Depakote presents a high risk of birth defects, particularly for those women who take the maximum dosage of 1,000 mg on a daily basis. Women who ingest Depakote are also more prone to develop symptoms of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), which can cause the growth of cysts on the ovaries, and prevent women from becoming pregnant. Among the birth defects caused by ingestion of Depakote are spina bifida, cleft palate and reduced intelligence.

If your child suffered a birth injury due to the negligence of a hospital or manufacturer, call the birth injury attorneys at Briskman Briskman & Greenberg.

In December 2010, the patient, Nicholas Figaro, who was age 35 at the time, was taken to the hospital in Arlington Heights by ambulance with a complaint that he had suddenly felt stabbing chest pains. A chest x-ray was performed on him, and was interpreted as normal by Dr. Vinay Singh in spite of the fact that it revealed that the part of his aorta nearest to his heart was enlarged.

Figaro was admitted overnight, and the following morning he was subjected to a stress test, the results of which indicated that he had a cardiac abnormality, and that potentially, there was an insufficient supply of blood to his coronary arteries. However, the doctors interpreted that result as a false positive, and did not view it as a serious concern. Thus, they discharged him at about 5:00 p.m. on the day after he was admitted. Then, at 3 a.m., he got out of bed, and fell face forward into a nightstand. When his wife turned him over, he was unconscious. She and his father attempted to give him CPR, but he did not regain consciousness.

The results of the autopsy revealed that the cause of death was cardiac tamponade, which is a condition in which fluid fills the sac around the heart to the point at which the pressure causes the heart to stop beating. That occurred because a tear on the inner part of Figaro’s aorta caused its middle membrane to fill with blood, thereby subsequently causing the outer part of his aorta to burst.

The lawsuit alleged that the hospital was careless and negligent when Figaro’s doctors failed to treat his aortic dissection, and that Dr. Singh should have made a notation of an abnormality, and ordered additional testing.

If your loved one was injured or killed due to the negligence of a hospital, doctor, or other health care professional, call the medical malpractice attorneys at Briskman Briskman & Greenberg.

However, the funds do not compensate the family for the huge loss they have suffered. Driscoll and her dog, Quincy, were killed on the night of November 9, 2014, as they were crossing Rickert Drive in Naperville. The 75-year-old driver, whose name is Kenneth E. Holmberg, was charged with disobeying a traffic signal and failing to use due care to avert a collision with a pedestrian or bicyclist. He pleaded guilty to both charges and was put on six months of probation.

The attorney for the family said that the case was worth millions, but that Holmberg had inadequate insurance. The amount of the award was very small compared to what they could have won.

Driscoll graduated from Waubonsie Valley High School, where she participated in the school orchestra. Her father, Timothy Driscoll, said his daughter was very talented, and had asked her parents for a dog for years. Eventually, they had the chance to adopt a retired racing Greyhound. Timothy Driscoll described Quincy as a rescue dog, who resided at their home, but was taken care of by his daughter.

This was truly a tragic accident. If your family member was killed in an accident due to the negligence or intentional actions of another person, call the wrongful death attorneys at Briskman Briskman & Greenberg.

In 2012, Rebecca Ruiz, the victim’s sister, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Willowglen Academy-Illinois Inc. and many of those who took care of her sister, Ivette Ruiz. The lawsuit alleges that they neglected to provide Ruiz with sufficient medical care to prevent her from falling many times, and subsequently suffering a brain injury in December 2010.

Ruiz initially fell in August 2010, and fractured her left heel bone and a toe. However, she fell again in November when she was without supervision in a bathroom, where she suffered a sprain to her left ankle. Then, three days later, she suffered another fall, and required a wheelchair due to pain in her feet. The next day, she fell again while exiting a van at day training, a program in which the home’s residents participated in educational activities.

Nurse Stephen Aho performed an assessment the following day that revealed that Ruiz had sustained bruises on her feet and felt pain when she put weight on them. The next day, while at day training, she fell again on her way to the bathroom.

According to her attorney, no one who took care of her during the day training communicated information about her fall to those who attended to her upon her return to her room. She was again left without supervision, and fell while standing next to her dresser. Caretakers found her reaching for her glasses on the floor, and she became disoriented and unresponsive while an ambulance carried her to a hospital.

As a result of the fall, she suffered extreme bleeding on her brain, and she had surgery to drain the blood and alleviate pressure. However, she had suffered damage to her brain. After the surgery, she was on life support, and died of blunt trauma to the head 13 days later when doctors removed her from the machine.

The estate contended that the defendants were negligent in providing supervision and assistance to Ms. Ruiz, carry out fall prevention policies or ask for more supervision in a timely fashion.

If your loved one was killed due to the negligence of another person or entity, call the wrongful death attorneys at Briskman Briskman & Greenberg.

The family of 38-year-old Philip Coleman was awarded $4.95 million. Coleman died in police custody in December 2012. His parents warned officers their son was suffering from mental illness. They asked the police to hospitalize Coleman instead of jailing him after he assaulted them during “an acute mental breakdown.”

According to the lawsuit, the commanding officer’s response was “he doesn’t do hospitals, he does jails.” Police officers tased Coleman thrice in a jail cell and 13 additional times later in a hospital emergency room. He died after hospital staff injected him with a commonly used anti-psychotic medication that caused a rare allergic reaction.

The committee approved a settlement of $1.5 million for Justin Cook’s family in the second wrongful death case. Cook, 29, died after an asthma attack during his arrest in 2014. The father of three children begged police officers to give him his inhaler. According to the lawsuit, one of the arresting officers allegedly denied him the use of his inhaler by spraying it in the air.

The Independent Police Review Authority is looking into Cook’s arrest. Recently appointed Chief Administrator Sharon Fairley plans to reopen Coleman’s case to investigate how the police handled it.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago wrongful death lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

According to a report from hospital rating organization The Leapfrog, CPOE systems have significantly reduced the number of dangerous drug errors. However, they still fall short of catching all possible mistakes and require clinicians to recheck orders to truly prevent patient harm. Leapfrog surveyed 1,750 U.S. hospitals and collaborated with Castlight Health to analyze the data. Participating hospitals were asked to use dummy patients with fake drug orders to test their digital systems.

The findings released on April 7 showed around 40 percent of potentially harmful medication errors were not caught by the systems. Mistakes included prescribing an adult dosage to a child, giving medication orders for the wrong illness, or overlooking dangerous drug interactions. In addition, computer systems failed to flag 13 percent of errors that could potentially have killed patients.

“CPOE systems have done a remarkable job in reducing the likelihood of medication errors, but mistakes are still seen with far too much frequency,” said Leapfrog President and CEO Leah Binder. “Hospitals spend millions of dollars to implement CPOE systems, but our results clearly show that many hospitals’ systems are not operating as well as they should, putting patients’ lives at risk.”

The results show that while technology is helpful, it is not foolproof. The survey highlights the need for hospitals and patients to be cautious when it comes to managing their medications. Erica Mobley, Leapfrog’s development and communications director, recommended supplementing computer checks with system-wide initiatives such as manual medication reconciliation activities.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

According to a report from hospital rating organization The Leapfrog, CPOE systems have significantly reduced the number of dangerous drug errors. However, they still fall short of catching all possible mistakes and require clinicians to recheck orders to truly prevent patient harm. Leapfrog surveyed 1,750 U.S. hospitals and collaborated with Castlight Health to analyze the data. Participating hospitals were asked to use dummy patients with fake drug orders to test their digital systems.

The findings released on April 7 showed around 40 percent of potentially harmful medication errors were not caught by the systems. Mistakes included prescribing an adult dosage to a child, giving medication orders for the wrong illness, or overlooking dangerous drug interactions. In addition, computer systems failed to flag 13 percent of errors that could potentially have killed patients.

“CPOE systems have done a remarkable job in reducing the likelihood of medication errors, but mistakes are still seen with far too much frequency,” said Leapfrog President and CEO Leah Binder. “Hospitals spend millions of dollars to implement CPOE systems, but our results clearly show that many hospitals’ systems are not operating as well as they should, putting patients’ lives at risk.”

The results show that while technology is helpful, it is not foolproof. The survey highlights the need for hospitals and patients to be cautious when it comes to managing their medications. Erica Mobley, Leapfrog’s development and communications director, recommended supplementing computer checks with system-wide initiatives such as manual medication reconciliation activities.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

A new study published in March indicates there is little danger to an infant’s health if a woman has a planned C-section after previously undergoing the same mode of delivery. The University of Aberdeen’s Dr. Mairead Black analyzed the second births of over 40,000 women in Scotland who had delivered via C-section. Their second births were either a vaginal delivery, or a planned or unplanned C-section. The researchers assessed their children for various health conditions including cerebral palsy, asthma, learning disabilities and obesity five years after the birth.

Babies delivered by planned C-section had a 24 percent higher chance of being hospitalized for asthma at five years of age compared to infants born vaginally. However, the statistic was not considered significant by the researchers. There was also no major difference noted for other health conditions.

“These results are reassuring for women who are considering a planned cesarean and worried about how it might affect the health of their babies,” wrote Black in the journal PLOS Medicine. The researchers suggested doctors and pregnant women should plan subsequent births by taking into account the woman’s values and preferences, along with considering which option would be the safest for both mother and baby.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago birth injury lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit www.briskmanandbriskman.com.

A new study published in March indicates there is little danger to an infant’s health if a woman has a planned C-section after previously undergoing the same mode of delivery. The University of Aberdeen’s Dr. Mairead Black analyzed the second births of over 40,000 women in Scotland who had delivered via C-section. Their second births were either a vaginal delivery, or a planned or unplanned C-section. The researchers assessed their children for various health conditions including cerebral palsy, asthma, learning disabilities and obesity five years after the birth.

Babies delivered by planned C-section had a 24 percent higher chance of being hospitalized for asthma at five years of age compared to infants born vaginally. However, the statistic was not considered significant by the researchers. There was also no major difference noted for other health conditions.

“These results are reassuring for women who are considering a planned cesarean and worried about how it might affect the health of their babies,” wrote Black in the journal PLOS Medicine. The researchers suggested doctors and pregnant women should plan subsequent births by taking into account the woman’s values and preferences, along with considering which option would be the safest for both mother and baby.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago birth injury lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit www.briskmanandbriskman.com.

If you filed a claim for survival damages, or the wrongful death lawsuit or statute permits you to recover medical expenses, then the Medicare lien is required to be paid from the settlement proceeds. But if your claim was filed only for the decedent’s wrongful death, and not for the right to seek reimbursement of medical expenses, then the Medicare lien does not have to be paid from the proceeds of the wrongful death settlement.

The Department of Health and Human Services manages the Medicare program, which was established to pay the medical expenses of certain people. If a Medicare recipient was injured by a third party, then any payment by Medicare to cover the recipient’s medical bills is considered provisional, and Medicare must be repaid if the third party’s liability insurer subsequently pays for those expenses.

In Hall v. United Security, 2012 IL App (1st) 112158-11, the defendants made a motion to include Medicare as a payee on the check in settlement of a wrongful death action. The lawsuit did not consist of a claim covered by the Illinois Survival Act, and the trial court sided with the plaintiff. Upon filing an appeal, the defendants contended that exclusion of Medicare from the settlement check left them susceptible to a lawsuit from the federal government for funds expended by Medicare for the decedent’s medical expenses. But the Appellate Court declined to accept the defendants’ contention.

At first, the court recognized the difference between a claim filed under the Survival Act, and one filed under the Wrongful Death Act. The court determined that the Illinois Wrongful Death Act permits damages to be recovered only when they were sustained by the closest family members while the Illinois Survival Act allows damages to be recovered only when they were suffered by the decedent until the time of death.

The court said that the plaintiff’s complaint consisted only of claims for wrongful death, and that the damages that could be recovered were only those based on financial loss to the decedent’s survivors. Because the claims of this action were not ones for financial loss, damages and pain and suffering of the decedent, there were no claims to which the Medicare lien applied. Therefore, when a plaintiff’s complaint seeks damages only for the decedent’s wrongful death, Medicare does not have to be reimbursed for payment of the decedent’s medical expenses.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago wrongful death lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

If you filed a claim for survival damages, or the wrongful death lawsuit or statute permits you to recover medical expenses, then the Medicare lien is required to be paid from the settlement proceeds. But if your claim was filed only for the decedent’s wrongful death, and not for the right to seek reimbursement of medical expenses, then the Medicare lien does not have to be paid from the proceeds of the wrongful death settlement.

The Department of Health and Human Services manages the Medicare program, which was established to pay the medical expenses of certain people. If a Medicare recipient was injured by a third party, then any payment by Medicare to cover the recipient’s medical bills is considered provisional, and Medicare must be repaid if the third party’s liability insurer subsequently pays for those expenses.

In Hall v. United Security, 2012 IL App (1st) 112158-11, the defendants made a motion to include Medicare as a payee on the check in settlement of a wrongful death action. The lawsuit did not consist of a claim covered by the Illinois Survival Act, and the trial court sided with the plaintiff. Upon filing an appeal, the defendants contended that exclusion of Medicare from the settlement check left them susceptible to a lawsuit from the federal government for funds expended by Medicare for the decedent’s medical expenses. But the Appellate Court declined to accept the defendants’ contention.

At first, the court recognized the difference between a claim filed under the Survival Act, and one filed under the Wrongful Death Act. The court determined that the Illinois Wrongful Death Act permits damages to be recovered only when they were sustained by the closest family members while the Illinois Survival Act allows damages to be recovered only when they were suffered by the decedent until the time of death.

The court said that the plaintiff’s complaint consisted only of claims for wrongful death, and that the damages that could be recovered were only those based on financial loss to the decedent’s survivors. Because the claims of this action were not ones for financial loss, damages and pain and suffering of the decedent, there were no claims to which the Medicare lien applied. Therefore, when a plaintiff’s complaint seeks damages only for the decedent’s wrongful death, Medicare does not have to be reimbursed for payment of the decedent’s medical expenses.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago wrongful death lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

It is alleged that a small but disastrous error on the pill bottle caused Smith’s death. This case marks the fourth trial regarding a pharmacy error that resulted in a fatality since September 2006 for Walgreens, the country’s largest drug store chain in terms of sales and profits. In the three prior trials, which occurred in Illinois, Arizona and Florida, jurors reached verdicts in excess of $61 million against Walgreens, which is based in Illinois.

Walgreens has disputed the three verdicts and has made a motion to dismiss the court complaint filed by lawyers for Smith’s family. Nevertheless, the cases could adversely affect the image for Walgreens, which describes itself as “The Pharmacy America Trusts.” According to the complaint, Walgreens neglected to create a system that was likely to serve as a preventive measure against prescription errors.

In the September 2006 case in Cook County, Illinois, the jury rendered a judgment of $31 million against Walgreens for the death of 79-year-old Leonard Kulisek. A Walgreens pharmacist gave Kulisek the wrong drug instead of his gout medication. The pharmacist gave him Glipizide, a drug used to treat diabetes, which caused his kidneys to deteriorate and compelled him to have regular dialysis, causing his health to undergo a fatal decline. The pharmacist subsequently admitted that he had been abusing prescription painkillers.

Although it has been reported that pharmacy errors do not occur very frequently, the fact that they occur at all and can result in death, is very alarming. Such errors may prompt some people to check their prescriptions after picking them up to ensure that they are receiving the correct medication.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

It is alleged that a small but disastrous error on the pill bottle caused Smith’s death. This case marks the fourth trial regarding a pharmacy error that resulted in a fatality since September 2006 for Walgreens, the country’s largest drug store chain in terms of sales and profits. In the three prior trials, which occurred in Illinois, Arizona and Florida, jurors reached verdicts in excess of $61 million against Walgreens, which is based in Illinois.

Walgreens has disputed the three verdicts and has made a motion to dismiss the court complaint filed by lawyers for Smith’s family. Nevertheless, the cases could adversely affect the image for Walgreens, which describes itself as “The Pharmacy America Trusts.” According to the complaint, Walgreens neglected to create a system that was likely to serve as a preventive measure against prescription errors.

In the September 2006 case in Cook County, Illinois, the jury rendered a judgment of $31 million against Walgreens for the death of 79-year-old Leonard Kulisek. A Walgreens pharmacist gave Kulisek the wrong drug instead of his gout medication. The pharmacist gave him Glipizide, a drug used to treat diabetes, which caused his kidneys to deteriorate and compelled him to have regular dialysis, causing his health to undergo a fatal decline. The pharmacist subsequently admitted that he had been abusing prescription painkillers.

Although it has been reported that pharmacy errors do not occur very frequently, the fact that they occur at all and can result in death, is very alarming. Such errors may prompt some people to check their prescriptions after picking them up to ensure that they are receiving the correct medication.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

The case involved the Bolingbook Police Department and the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission. One of the plaintiff’s job duties as a police officer included the safekeeping of his duty bag. The bag contained items such as his helmet, service weapon and ammunition.

The Commission claimed the responsibility for the duty bag’s safekeeping was a job-related task. The police officer’s employer required the duty bag to be kept “with his person.” At the end of his shift, he was allowed to either store the bag in his locker at the police station, or secure it at home. The employer accepted both options as there were no rules prohibiting the storing of duty bags at officers’ personal residences.

The plaintiff chose to take his duty bag home. He suffered a lower back injury while loading the bag into the trunk of his personal vehicle in preparation for reporting to the police station for work. The accident aggravated his existing back condition and led to a subsequent back surgery.

The court found the officer’s injury was compensable even though it occurred at home and before the start of his work shift. It ruled that he was carrying out an activity that benefited the employer by helping to keep the community safe from the duty bag’s contents.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago workers’ compensation lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit www.briskmanandbriskman.com.

The case involved the Bolingbook Police Department and the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission. One of the plaintiff’s job duties as a police officer included the safekeeping of his duty bag. The bag contained items such as his helmet, service weapon and ammunition.

The Commission claimed the responsibility for the duty bag’s safekeeping was a job-related task. The police officer’s employer required the duty bag to be kept “with his person.” At the end of his shift, he was allowed to either store the bag in his locker at the police station, or secure it at home. The employer accepted both options as there were no rules prohibiting the storing of duty bags at officers’ personal residences.

The plaintiff chose to take his duty bag home. He suffered a lower back injury while loading the bag into the trunk of his personal vehicle in preparation for reporting to the police station for work. The accident aggravated his existing back condition and led to a subsequent back surgery.

The court found the officer’s injury was compensable even though it occurred at home and before the start of his work shift. It ruled that he was carrying out an activity that benefited the employer by helping to keep the community safe from the duty bag’s contents.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago workers’ compensation lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit www.briskmanandbriskman.com.

Shawn Garrett, 25, was traveling east on Chicago’s 69th Street on Jan. 10, 2011. According to the lawsuit, a police officer driving south toward the intersection failed to stop at a red light and hit his car. The lawsuit alleged the police officer was speeding while driving to a call and did not use police lights or a siren when he collided with Garrett’s car in the fatal crash.

Garrett’s mother, Louise Bohannon, filed the lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court on Nov. 23. She is seeking in excess of $50,000 in damages from each party. According to the claim, the officer “was driving the marked police car at an excess of the posted speed limit, and did not have his pursuit lights or sirens active.”

The officer was allegedly negligent and careless in looking out for other vehicles, slowing down or changing the direction of his SUV. Garrett died on the day of the accident. Two passengers in his car were taken to different hospitals with critical injuries.

However, the lawsuit’s allegations contradict the version of events police gave on the day of the crash. According to a Chicago Tribune report, police said two officers were driving in an SUV with its emergency signals activated. The police claimed Garrett’s vehicle ran a red light, collided with the police car and crashed into a pole.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago wrongful death lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit www.briskmanandbriskman.com.

Shawn Garrett, 25, was traveling east on Chicago’s 69th Street on Jan. 10, 2011. According to the lawsuit, a police officer driving south toward the intersection failed to stop at a red light and hit his car. The lawsuit alleged the police officer was speeding while driving to a call and did not use police lights or a siren when he collided with Garrett’s car in the fatal crash.

Garrett’s mother, Louise Bohannon, filed the lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court on Nov. 23. She is seeking in excess of $50,000 in damages from each party. According to the claim, the officer “was driving the marked police car at an excess of the posted speed limit, and did not have his pursuit lights or sirens active.”

The officer was allegedly negligent and careless in looking out for other vehicles, slowing down or changing the direction of his SUV. Garrett died on the day of the accident. Two passengers in his car were taken to different hospitals with critical injuries.

However, the lawsuit’s allegations contradict the version of events police gave on the day of the crash. According to a Chicago Tribune report, police said two officers were driving in an SUV with its emergency signals activated. The police claimed Garrett’s vehicle ran a red light, collided with the police car and crashed into a pole.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago wrongful death lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit www.briskmanandbriskman.com.

Charles Chessor sued Dr. James McPike, Memorial Medical Group, Cardiovascular Associates of Southern Illinois and Liberty Village of Maryvale for negligence. McPike performed the pacemaker surgery on the plaintiff on Sept. 30, 2013. Liberty Village was named a defendant in the case for failure to recognize the issues Chessor was having with his pacemaker.

McPike operated on the plaintiff for a generator change to his pacemaker at Memorial Hospital in Illinois. According to the lawsuit, the procedure resulted in injuries as the doctor ignored Chessor when he complained the pacemaker was causing him pain.

The suit alleged McPike failed to select an appropriate site for the implantation and recognize that the pacemaker was herniating out of Chessor’s chest. In addition, the claim said McPike did not administer the required treatment in response to the issues.

Chessor suffered difficulties with his pacemaker, fever, pain and infections over the course of around two years. The lawsuit said he was admitted to several hospitals due to the health problems. He is seeking damages in excess of $50,000 for his medical costs, emotional and mental anguish and pain and suffering from all four defendants.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit www.briskmanandbriskman.com.

Charles Chessor sued Dr. James McPike, Memorial Medical Group, Cardiovascular Associates of Southern Illinois and Liberty Village of Maryvale for negligence. McPike performed the pacemaker surgery on the plaintiff on Sept. 30, 2013. Liberty Village was named a defendant in the case for failure to recognize the issues Chessor was having with his pacemaker.

McPike operated on the plaintiff for a generator change to his pacemaker at Memorial Hospital in Illinois. According to the lawsuit, the procedure resulted in injuries as the doctor ignored Chessor when he complained the pacemaker was causing him pain.

The suit alleged McPike failed to select an appropriate site for the implantation and recognize that the pacemaker was herniating out of Chessor’s chest. In addition, the claim said McPike did not administer the required treatment in response to the issues.

Chessor suffered difficulties with his pacemaker, fever, pain and infections over the course of around two years. The lawsuit said he was admitted to several hospitals due to the health problems. He is seeking damages in excess of $50,000 for his medical costs, emotional and mental anguish and pain and suffering from all four defendants.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit www.briskmanandbriskman.com.

According to court documents, the inhabitants of the home discovered Ms. Harvey in their yard, and tried to revive her. But she later died at an area hospital, and her death was determined to be a drowning brought about by a clinical seizure.

When Ms. Harvey’s husband, Stephen, filed a workers’ compensation claim relevant to her death, Bridgeport city officials contended that because she was not a city employee, she was ineligible to receive workers’ compensation benefits. They also argued that Ms. Harvey was a contractor who was compensated on a monthly basis, did not have taxes withheld from her paycheck, and did not receive benefits that are usually granted to city employees.

Court records indicate that employees of the city of Bridgeport have taxes deducted from their paychecks, which are paid biweekly. In addition, the city contended that unlike city employees, Ms. Harvey had the ability to control how and when she performed her work responsibilities. Initially, an arbitrator determined that Ms. Harvey did not meet the requirements for an employee of the city of Bridgeport, and was thus, ineligible for workers’ compensation benefits.

However, when Mr. Harvey filed an appeal with the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, the arbitrator’s decision was reversed, and it was ruled that Ms. Harvey’s death occurred during the course of her employment. The Illinois Compensation Commission issued an order for the city to pay $2,069.25 for medical expenses, $8,000 for burial expenses, and $466.13 each week for 25 years, or $500,000. When the city filed an appeal with the Crawford County, Illinois, Circuit Court, the commission’s decision was upheld. The city’s appeal to the Illinois Court of Appeals also resulted in a unanimous decision in favor of Mr. Harvey.

The appellate court reasoned that although Ms. Harvey had some control over her work, she had to check a specific number of meters every month in order to remain employed as a meter reader. Furthermore, due to the type of work she performed, she sometimes had to travel to low-lying rural areas in which water could collect. The ruling also stated that unlike the general public, her job required her to read the meter in standing water, and that doing so in such a secluded area meant that in the event of an accident, she would not likely receive immediate help.

I believe the court ruled correctly because her job required her to put herself at risk of falling in a pool of water, and potentially suffering injury or death. If you were injured at work, or a loved one suffered an injury, resulting in death, while on the job, you should consult a workers’ compensation attorney.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago employment and workers’ compensation lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit www.briskmanandbriskman.com.

Under Illinois law, any claim filed against a physician, dentist, nurse or hospital is required to be filed within two years from the date the injury occurred, or from the date on which the injured individual should have been aware of the injury. However, a medical malpractice lawsuit cannot be filed more than four years following the date on which the act or omission that allegedly caused the injury or death occurred.

But in the event of a birth injury, the plaintiff has eight years within which to file a medical malpractice lawsuit. According to Illinois law, the person entitled to file the claim must have been under the age of 18 at the time the cause of action accrued. However, under no circumstances may the action be brought after the person attains the age of 22. Whenever a minor suffers an injury due to medical malpractice, the minor has a minimum of eight years within which to file a claim. Thus, a child who is injured because of complications during labor or delivery has a minimum of eight years to bring a lawsuit.

In addition to causing physical injury, birth injuries, including cerebral palsy, frequently give rise to mental disabilities. If someone under age 18 is also physically or mentally disabled, then the period of limitations does not start to run until the disability is removed. If a minor is mentally incapacitated, the minor’s claim cannot be denied by the statute of limitations unless the disability is corrected.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago birth injury lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit www.briskmanandbriskman.com.

The 113 women from 28 states are seeking millions of dollars in damages for their pain and suffering, lost wages and expenses to cover the cost of raising a child. Ninety-four of the women involved in the lawsuit delivered babies following unplanned pregnancies, 17 did not have full-term pregnancies and two women did not get pregnant.

According to court documents, the birth control pills manufactured by Qualitest were allegedly packaged in the wrong order. They were “rotated 180 degrees . . . reversing the weekly tablet orientation.” The error led the women to take the placebo pills at the wrong time of the month instead of during menstruation. The lawsuit claimed the women were left “without adequate contraception” as a result.

Birth control pills are meant to prevent pregnancies through stopping the release of an egg by tricking the body into believing it has already done so. Qualitest, a subsidiary of Endo Pharmaceuticals, announced a national recall of 1.4 million packages of birth control pills for a packaging error in 2011. An Endo Pharmaceuticals spokesperson said the company emphasizes that “patient safety is our top priority.” However, it has not issued any recent or new product recalls.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

The plaintiffs, Alizabeth and Elvin Hana, received an award of $1.35 million in compensatory damages because their daughter was born with a brain injury, the cause of which was oxygen deprivation. She died three years later.

For the last 10 years, ISMIE has been embroiled in 25 cases concerning bad faith. The Hanas filed a lawsuit naming their obstetricians, emergency room physicians and Rush North Shore Hospital as defendants. They reached a settlement in the amount of $1.5 million with the hospital and ER doctors.

In 2009, the jury rendered an award of $6.17 million against the obstetricians, Albert and Joyce Chams. However, the judgment was limited by their malpractice policy with ISMIE, which was capped at $3 million for the death, and $2 million for the mother’s claim of injury.

According to the plaintiffs’ attorney, the plaintiffs had the option of pursuing the personal assets of the obstetricians, but instead, chose to file the bad-faith claim against ISMIE. The lawsuit alleges that in an attempt to safeguard its legal and financial interests, ISMIE deceived the Chamses regarding the amount of insurance coverage that was available to cover the wrongful death claim, and hid from them a settlement offer from the parents that would have diminished the Chamses’ financial risk. The plaintiffs’ attorney stated that ISMIE had a duty to the physicians to negotiate in good faith on their account.

If you or someone close to you was injured due to the medical malpractice of a doctor or other health care professional, you should consult a medical malpractice attorney.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

The lawsuit states that Culbreath lived at the facility from July 12, 2012, until her demise on Jan. 21, 2015, with sporadic hospital stays. The suit alleges that she fell and sustained closed head wounds on Oct. 8, 2013, and suffered a seizure disorder due to her injuries. The lawsuit also accuses the nursing home staff of carelessness with regard to Culbreath’s fall, which resulted in severe and permanent injuries, disfigurement, disability and pain and suffering. Williams seeks damages in excess of $50,000.

Wrongful death lawsuits are frequently filed in cases arising out of abuse or neglect by nursing home staff and other situations involving elder care. Such abuse committed by nursing home workers can be willful or a result of negligence.

Those who are permitted to file wrongful death lawsuits are referred to as “real parties in interest,” and can include spouses, children of the deceased and parents of an unmarried child. Depending on the state in which you live, they can also include those who were previously economically dependent on the deceased, such as “putative spouses,” or people who thought that they were legally married to the deceased, and life partners. In addition, more distant members of the family, such as siblings or grandparents, may be allowed to file a wrongful death lawsuit. Some states even allow anyone who has suffered a financial loss to bring a wrongful death claim.

If you know someone who has suffered an avoidable death due to the willful misconduct or negligence of a person or entity, you should consult a wrongful death attorney.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago work accidents and wrongful death lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

The complaint alleges that on April 8, 2015, Ligekis was operating a Benjamin Moore truck on Interstate Highway 55 in Plainfield when he struck 47-year-old Eric Sharpe, who was driving a Chrysler Sebring sedan. According to the lawsuit, Ligekis was driving too fast, and neglected to keep his vehicle at a sufficient distance from Sharpe’s vehicle.

Don Sharpe is seeking damages in excess of $50,000 as compensation for the surviving family members, as well as court costs.

In this case, the truck driver’s employer was likely vicariously liable for the negligent behavior of its truck driver while he was carrying out his duties, or acting within the scope of his employment. This is called vicarious liability, which arises under the doctrine of respondeat superior.

However, if the truck driver was not performing his work responsibilities at the time at which he was driving, but was driving for personal reasons, then he was engaged in a “detour” or “frolic,” in which case the employer will not be held liable. In order for the employer to be held liable for the employee’s actions, the employee must be in the process of performing an act that was authorized by the employer.

If you know someone who was killed in a motor vehicle accident due to the negligence or willful misconduct of another person, you should consult a wrongful death attorney.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago work accidents and wrongful death lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

Automatic braking technology uses laser, radar or camera systems to detect an impending collision and apply the brakes automatically, preventing or at least lessening the severity of crashes.

Volvo, Volkswagen, Toyota, Tesla, Mercedes-Benz, Mazda, General Motors, Ford, BMW and Audi will make these systems standard on all the car, SUV and truck models they sell. More than half of the new vehicles sold in the U.S. are sold by these companies.

The news was announced by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). IIHS is a research group funded by the insurance industry.

IIHS President Adrian Lund said that the systems have vast potential to reduce accidents, because most collisions are caused by human error. Lund said that automatic braking systems are always on alert, never getting distracted or tired.

Automatic braking technology is most effective at preventing rear-end crashes, which are extremely common. According to government statistics, rear-end collisions caused 1,700 deaths and 500,000 injuries in 2012.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommended in June that automatic braking be required as standard equipment on all new cars.

IIHS said that its research indicates automatic braking could reduce auto insurance injury claims by approximately 35 percent.

Beginning with the 2012 model year, new cars have been required to feature electronic stability control, a system that helps prevent skids.

According to a study by Boston Consulting Group, if a number of auto safety technologies that are currently available as options, such as automatic braking and lane-departure warnings, were made more widely available, nearly 10,000 traffic fatalities per year could be prevented, and $251 billion saved.

If you were injured in an automobile accident, contact Briskman Briskman & Greenberg for a free consultation. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

The lawsuit was filed against the medical center and two of its doctors in Cook County Circuit Court on Oct. 27. According to the complaint, the doctors allegedly used excessive traction when delivering the couple’s baby on Feb. 18, 2011.

The child was born with brachial plexus palsy in which her right arm was paralyzed due to the spinal nerves in her shoulder and neck being damaged. The couple is seeking damages in excess of $50,000 in addition to legal expenses.

There are a number of factors that can cause such birth injuries during the delivery process. Brachial plexus palsy can occur due to the baby’s shoulders being pulled with excessive force during a head-first delivery, or the head and neck being stretched while the newborn passes through the birth canal.

In many cases, brachial plexus injuries are the result of the doctor or hospital staff’s negligence. Most injuries can be avoided by monitoring the mother’s prenatal status for possible risk factors and providing her with proper medical attention both before and during the delivery.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago birth injury lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit www.briskmanandbriskman.com.

Walgreens, which is headquartered in the Chicago suburb of Deerfield, IL, owns and manages 620 Walgreens pharmacies in California. The California State Board of Pharmacy informed the three district attorneys’ offices of the health risks posed to consumers as a result of pharmacists’ failure to give the requisite consultations. Officials stated that incorrect use of prescription medications causes harm to approximately 150,000 individuals in California every year, and adds to $1.7 billion in financial losses for the state.

The state Board of Pharmacy had implemented rules mandating that a pharmacist is to give a patient a personal consultation if that patient has been prescribed a medication that was not given to him or her on a prior occasion. A personal consultation must also be provided if the drug was prescribed in a different dosage, form or strength, or at the request of the patient.

The three district attorneys’ offices worked in conjunction with the Board of Pharmacy to carry out an undercover investigation of the consultation practices of some large pharmacy chains in California. In the judgment issued against Walgreens, the pharmacy chain must comply with an injunction that requires it to follow California regulations for providing patient consultations, and must start an internal compliance program.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

In 2014, there were fewer fatalities from car accidents in Illinois than in nearly a century. The total of 910 traffic deaths was the lowest recorded since 1921. However, preliminary data from the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) indicate that fatalities are likely to increase in 2015. As of Nov. 5, the department reported 835 traffic deaths, an increase from 791 as of the same date in 2014.

The change from year to year in the death toll from car accidents is affected by many factors. Although snow and ice on roads makes driving more dangerous, traffic accidents are actually often reduced during a harsh winter, because fewer people are on the roads. This may have accounted for the record low number of fatalities for 2014. Another factor, the recent decrease in the price of gasoline, has led to more people driving, a possible factor in the projected increase in fatalities in 2015.

Even if 2015 ends with a greater number of roadway deaths than last year, the long-term trend of reduced traffic accidents is expected to continue. Illinois has seen fewer than 1,000 traffic deaths each year since 2009, while just ten years ago, the number of fatalities topped 1,300, and in 1995 there were over 1,500 traffic deaths. Experts say that trend is attributable to safer vehicles being made, and highway deaths will likely stay low and even drop further as safety innovations continue.

State safety officials said that changes such as rumble strips on roads, barrier systems and more guardrails had also made a positive impact. In addition, the 2013 ban on using handheld electronic devices while driving has likely resulted in fewer accidents, officials said.

In 2013, the most recent year for which complete information is available, there were 285,477 total car accidents in Illinois, an increase from 274,111 in 2012, according to IDOT. Nearly half of the accidents took place in Cook County, including 250 fatalities. That’s about the same number of fatalities as the year before, but 5,869 more crashes. In Illinois overall, about one-third of the 895 fatal crashes in 2013 involved alcohol, and excessive speed was a contributing factor in one third of the fatal crashes as well.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago wrongful death lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

Joseph Kehrer and two companies affiliated with him, D7 Roofing and Kehrer Brothers, violated numerous health and safety standards, according to an investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), part of the U.S. Department of Labor.

Joseph Kehrer and Kehrer Brothers face fines of $1,792,000 for willful exposure of workers to asbestos after inspectors found that Kehrer and company supervisors ordered employees to remove materials that contained asbestos during the renovation of a school.

Many of the workers were foreign workers hired temporarily by Kehrer under the H-2B visa program. According to OSHA investigators, Kehrer knowingly exposed non-English-speaking workers to asbestos and threatened to fire them if they spoke to investigators.

Kehrer and Kehrer Brothers were cited for 16 egregious violations, nine willful violations and six serious violations. The investigation found that in addition to knowingly exposing workers to asbestos, the companies and Kehrer failed to provide proper equipment and training for asbestos removal. OSHA found that the companies also failed to create a required decontamination area and failed to use appropriate methods to minimize asbestos exposure. Kehrer Brothers was also placed in OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program. The companies were given 15 days to contest the findings.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago workers’ compensation lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

The lawsuit was filed by Olessor Anthony against the hospital and medical personnel over the death of Dorothy Foster after a blood transfusion.

According to the lawsuit, Foster was given a transfusion of type A blood cells, though she has type B blood. The lawsuit alleges that hospital personnel failed in their duty to exercise due care in several ways: failing to label blood samples accurately, failing to provide safeguards against clerical errors, failing to provide communication between the nursing staff and the blood bank that could have prevented errors, failing to adhere to proper procedure and failing to proofread the patient’s information. According to the lawsuit, these errors caused Foster to be given the wrong type of blood. Foster died the same day she received the transfusion. The lawsuit claims that her two adult children have suffered pecuniary loss.

The defendants are charged with medical professional negligence. The suit is brought as a survival action, alleging that the patient was conscious and experienced pain and suffering prior to death. The lawsuit claims damages of more than the minimum jurisdictional amount, plus attorneys’ fees and costs.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

Raymond Simpson filed the lawsuit July 28 in Cook County Circuit Court, claiming negligence in the operation, which took place in November 2014.

According to the lawsuit, on Nov. 24, 2014, Simpson had an emergency laparoscopic appendectomy, but the doctor did not remove the entire organ, leaving a portion of the appendix measuring about three centimeters. The lawsuit claims that there was a later infection and the site ruptured on March 30, 2015, forcing the patient to undergo a second and more serious surgery.

The lawsuit alleges that professional negligence on the part of the doctor caused Simpson to suffer medical expenses, loss of a normal life, disfigurement and pain and suffering, which would have been avoided had the defendants not breached their duty to exercise due care in the first operation.

The plaintiff seeks damages of over $50,000, and attorneys’ fees and costs. The case is Cook County Circuit Court case number 2015L007824.

According to a study published in the Journal of Patient Safety, between 210,000 and 440,000 patients die each year in part because of preventable medical errors, which makes medical malpractice the third leading cause of death in the United States, behind heart disease and cancer.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

The lawsuit was filed July 30 in Cook County Circuit Court by Myree Tate, as special administrator of the estate of Lakeisha Tate, against Harrison and Homan Citgo Inc. According to the lawsuit, many serious violent crimes had been committed on the business’ premises, and the business knew or should have known that its customers were at risk.

According to the lawsuit, Lakeisha Tate was shot several times and died. The lawsuit claims that the defendant gas station failed to warn Tate of the danger, failed to have adequate security measures in place, and failed to intervene when Tate was in danger of imminent bodily harm.

The lawsuit alleges that Tate’s injuries and death caused her estate to incur hospital expenses, other medical expenses and funeral costs. The lawsuit also claims that Tate’s next of kin suffered loss of companionship and pecuniary losses.

The lawsuit seeks damages of more than $50,000, plus attorneys’ fees and costs. The case is Cook County Circuit Court case number 2015L007758.

According to law enforcement, there were more than 2,500 shootings in Chicago in 2014, and at least
390 murders.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago work accidents and wrongful death lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

The lawsuit was brought against Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corp., otherwise known as Metra, by Melanie Boyer, as the special administrator of the estate of Gardenia Boyer. The lawsuit was filed in Cook County Circuit Court July 28.

According to the lawsuit, on March 7, 2012, Boyer was walking on 95th Street in Chicago and attempted to cross railroad tracks east of Vincennes Avenue, when she was struck by a Metra train, resulting in her almost instantaneous death. Boyer is survived by two children.

According to the lawsuit, Metra and the engineer of the train were in breach of their duty to exercise due care in operating locomotive No. 409. The lawsuit alleges that the defendant failed to keep an adequate lookout, failed to sound its horn to provide warning of its approach and failed to maintain a proper speed.

The lawsuit demands damages in excess of $50,000, plus attorneys’ fees and costs. The case is Cook County Circuit Court case number 2015L007634.

According to a study by Northwestern University, a pedestrian is killed by a train every 10 days, on average, in the metropolitan Chicago area. Between 2004 and 2010, 260 pedestrians were killed by Metra trains.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago work accidents and wrongful death lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

According to the lawsuit, the baby was born in March 2010 to a mother who had previously given birth via cesarean section. Although the mother and doctor agreed to a trial labor to see whether vaginal delivery was possible, the lawsuit claims that the labor was not monitored with due care.

The lawsuit claims that after 12 hours of labor, the baby was born and was found to be suffering from hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain during labor. According to the lawsuit, medical personnel failed to detect the condition, and this caused the infant to suffer a permanent brain injury.

The lawsuit claims that negligence on the part of hospital personnel included failure to perform a cesarean after signs of fetal distress, failure to properly monitor the prenatal heart rate of the baby, failure to properly resuscitate the baby and failure to respond to the seizures the infant suffered immediately after birth.

The complaint alleges that the baby has been diagnosed with microcephaly, cerebral palsy, seizures, fine motor and speech delays, developmental articulation disorder and developmental delays. According to the lawsuit, the child’s brain damage will reduce her cognitive abilities for the rest of her life.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago birth injury lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

According to the lawsuit, the mother, a gestational diabetic woman pregnant with her third child, was admitted to the hospital approximately three weeks before her due date, with ruptured membranes.

According to medical records, the unborn child was significantly larger than average, which may increase the risk of complications during vaginal delivery and may put the child at risk of injury or other health problems.

During delivery, medical personnel performed shoulder dystocia resolution maneuvers and applied a vacuum extractor. According to medical records, the child suffered cardiac arrest during the labor and delivery process. Ultimately, the child suffered acute kidney failure, respiratory failure, subgaleal hemorrhage resulting in permanent brain damage, Horner’s Syndrome and brachial plexus palsy.

Brachial plexus injuries occur when there is stretching, ripping or compressing of the nerves that send signals from the spine to the shoulder, arm and hand. This type of birth injury may occur during a difficult delivery process.

The lawsuit claims that negligence on the part of medical personnel contributed to the injuries suffered by the child.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago birth injury lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

The lawsuit was filed in St. Clair County Circuit Court by Edward McDonald, administrator of the estate of Evelyn McDonald, against Caseyville Nursing and Rehabilitation Center Inc., Caseyville Property and SW Financial Services Co.

According to the lawsuit, Evelyn McDonald died in July 2013. Caseyville Nursing and Rehab Center was the nursing home that last handled her care, as she was a resident there from March 2013 to June 2013, the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit claims that during Evelyn McDonald’s stay at the nursing home, the staff were negligent in their care, and the center violated the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act in multiple ways. According to the lawsuit, Evelyn McDonald suffered from sepsis with organ failure, malnutrition, dehydration, weight loss and multiple open wounds. The lawsuit alleges that these and other conditions caused and contributed to her death. In order to prove the case, the plaintiff must show that negligence occurred and that it was a cause of Evelyn McDonald’s injuries.

The lawsuit seeks $50,000 or more for each of 12 counts of medical malpractice or negligence, plus costs. The case number is 15-L-142 in St. Clair County Circuit Court.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

In the case, Lenhart v. Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, the claimant worked for USF Holland as a truck driver and dockworker. He injured his back in a workplace accident, and filed for workers’ compensation benefits.

At an arbitration hearing, the claimant argued that he was permanently and totally disabled. The employer stipulated that the claimant was not able to perform his previous duties, but argued that he was not totally and permanently disabled. The claimant engaged in vocational rehabilitation, and there was evidence that he was still employable, but at a diminished earning capacity.

The arbitrator found the claimant permanently and totally disabled, but after the employer appealed, the Commission found that he was not totally disabled, but entitled to permanent partial disability benefits representing a 75 percent loss of abilities.

The Appellate Court overturned the Commission’s decision and ruled that the Commission should have decided whether the claimant’s benefits should be calculated based on a wage differential rather than a percentage of the person as a whole.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago workers’ compensation lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

The case, Pryor v. Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, concerned a worker who was injured while moving a suitcase into his personal car while still at his home in preparation for a work trip. The appellate court found that while there is a lower threshold of reasonableness concerning the actions of a traveling employee, in this case, the worker was not a traveling employee until he reached the premises of his employer.

The claimant in the case was employed by a transport company as a truck driver, delivering new automobiles to car dealerships. His work responsibilities included loading cars onto a semitrailer at a terminal in Belvidere, Illinois, driving the truck to various dealerships and unloading the vehicles. The worker would usually drive his personal car to the terminal, and would bring a suitcase when he anticipated an overnight stay while on the road to the dealerships.

The claimant injured his back while loading the suitcase into his personal vehicle. The appellate court found that the truck driver’s injury did not “arise out of” or occur “in the course of” his employment, and he was therefore not eligible for workers’ compensation benefits.

Each case is different, and injured workers should never assume that they do not have a case. Instead, contact an experienced workers’ compensation attorney for a free consultation.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago workers’ compensation lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

Kyna Mitchell and her daughter filed the lawsuit in Madison County Circuit Court, against Alton Memorial Hospital, Southern Illinois Health Care Foundation Inc. and a doctor involved with the vacuum-assisted delivery.

Mitchell was admitted to the hospital on Feb. 20, 2007, for labor induction because of pre-eclampsia at term. According to the lawsuit, the doctor attempted vacuum-assisted delivery multiple times and failed. The lawsuit alleges that after the release of the vacuum cup and completion of delivery, the shoulder where the vacuum cup was attached was weak and “suggestive of Erb’s palsy.”

According to the lawsuit, the vacuum procedure caused a brachial plexus injury and permanent nerve root damage. Brachial plexus injuries are one of the more common types of birth injuries, and can often be caused by medical malpractice during the labor and delivery process. In order to prove the case, the plaintiff must show that negligence occurred and that it caused the injury.

The lawsuit seeks damages of $150,000 or more, plus costs. The case number is 15-L-233 in Madison County Circuit Court.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago birth injury lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

Robert Hudson, a Chicago resident, filed the lawsuit against Symphony of Crestwood, alleging that the nursing home was responsible for his wife, Catherine Hudson, developing pressure sores, a knee fracture and an infection caused by improper insertion of a gastronomy tube, which eventually led to her death.

Catherine Hudson was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and was admitted to Symphony in 2011, as she needed assistance with activities of daily life. The lawsuit alleges that Hudson developed multiple injuries as a result of the failure of the facility’s staff to follow her care plan.

According to the lawsuit, Hudson developed several infected pressure sores in 2013 and fractured her left knee in 2014, after which she had a feeding tube inserted. On Aug. 19, 2014, the feeding tube became dislodged, and staff reinserted it without using x-ray imaging to confirm proper placement, the lawsuit claims. According to the complaint, Hudson was fed through the improperly inserted tube, causing a widespread infection due to liquid food leaking into her body.

Symphony was cited by the Illinois Department of Public Health for failure to confirm correct placement of the feeding tube.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago work accidents and wrongful death lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

The lawsuit, filed against the makers of Xarelto, alleges that the medication, which is designed to prevent strokes, instead prevented the plaintiff’s blood from properly congealing. The plaintiff, Sonja Lemoins, filed the 90-count complaint in Madison County, Illinois, against Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Bayer Corporation and several related companies.

Lemoins alleges that while the defendants marketed the drug as an effective and safe treatment to reduce the risk of systemic embolism and stroke, they had learned from clinical trials that the medication could cause an increase in excess bleeding, including bleeding that required transfusions, and gastrointestinal bleeding.

According to the lawsuit, in 2012, there were 2,081 reports filed of adverse events involving the drug, with 151 resulting in death.

Lemoins alleges that the defendants’ negligence caused her severe injuries, and she seeks a judgment of more than $4.35 million.

An MDL proceeding was established by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation for Xarelto complaints in the Eastern District of Louisiana, assigned to federal judge Eldon E. Fallon. On March 5, Lemoins’ lawsuit was removed to the MDL court, along with four other lawsuits from other jurisdictions.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

According to the lawsuit, on June 2, 2010, the plaintiff was admitted to the labor and delivery unit of a hospital at Fort Knox, Kentucky, where her husband, a United States Army Captain, was stationed. As the healthcare professionals were agents of the federal government, the United States of America is named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

The plaintiff’s daughter was born after 13 1/2 hours of delivery. Immediately following the birth, the baby developed interventricular hemorrhage and intracerebral hemorrhage, the lawsuit claims. According to the complaint, negligence on the part of medical personnel caused the girl to suffer post-birth seizure-like activities and a neurologic injury, caused by a lack of oxygen.

The lawsuit claims that the hospital staff failed to properly monitor the mother prenatally and during labor, failed to perform a cesarean section when the baby was in distress, failed to properly monitor the fetal heart rate and failed to detect that the baby was suffering from respiratory failure and was hypoxic.

Hypoxemia or hypoxia occurs when the body lacks oxygen. This dangerous condition can cause severe birth injuries, including injuries to the liver, brain and other organs.

The lawsuit seeks damages for past and future loss of income, past and future medical expenses and permanent impairment of earning capacity.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago birth injury lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

In the case of Estate of Burns v. Consolidation Coal Company, the deceased worker had worked as a coal miner for 38 years. His death was attributed to pneumoconiosis, pneumonia and severe chronic pulmonary disease. His widow filed state and federal claims related to his death, but she passed away before the claims were resolved. An arbitrator eventually found that the total benefits payable to the estate under the Workers’ Occupational Diseases Act were $97,845.45. During the pendency of that state claim, the employer conceded liability in a federal claim and paid $23,386.30 under the federal Black Lung Benefits Act.

After the state occupational disease benefits claim was upheld on appeal, the employer paid $89,865.30 to the wife’s estate, subtracting amounts paid under the federal claim, and adding interest. In its ruling, the Illinois Appellate Court held that the employer was not entitled to offset the amount of the federal claim against the workers’ compensation benefits.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago workers’ compensation lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

In personal injury lawsuits, the “Discovery Rule” allows injured people to file a lawsuit beyond the usual two year statute of limitations if they did not learn of the wrongful cause until a later date.

However, in the case at issue, the specific statute relating to physicians applied rather than the general statute of limitations because the lawsuit alleged medical malpractice.

Several Illinois courts have found the discovery rule to apply to wrongful death lawsuits as well, and the Moon case conflicts with previous holdings. According to legal observers, in order for the discrepancy to be resolved, the Illinois Supreme Court may have to author an opinion that applies to all wrongful death lawsuits, regardless of whether the action is brought against a doctor.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago work accidents and wrongful death lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

According to the lawsuit, medical personnel failed to properly manage the delivery, and did not properly take into account the risk factor that the mother suffered from gestational diabetes. The lawsuit seeks $2.5 million in damages.

The lawsuit alleges that the plaintiff was admitted to the healthcare clinic in 2013 for labor induction. In order to induce contractions and expedite the labor, Pitocin was administered and gradually increased. The certified nurse midwife performed an examination, but did not take fetal weight into consideration, the lawsuit claims.

Medical records reflect a manually assisted vaginal delivery, and show that the baby experienced shoulder dystocia. According to the lawsuit, the baby weighed almost nine pounds at birth and had limited arm movement and facial bruising.

According to the lawsuit, an examination later showed that the baby had suffered an injury to the brachial plexus nerves, which affect the movement of the shoulders, arms and hands.

The lawsuit claims that the baby may suffer permanent disability, and has been referred for occupational and physical therapy, and possible reconstructive surgery.

The lawsuit seeks damages for physical impairment, pain and suffering, loss of earning capacity and mental anguish.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago birth injury lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

A study of 50 pharmacies nationwide found a 1.7 percent error rate. With 4 billion prescriptions filled each year in the United States, that means there could be more than 60 million medication mistakes made annually in retail pharmacies.

In Illinois, accurate statistics on medication mistakes are lacking because the state does not require pharmacies to report them. Fifteen other states do require such reporting. In addition, under national law, as long as pharmacies create an internal review system, they may keep errors confidential. In Illinois, thanks to a court case won by Walgreens, pharmacies can ignore state subpoenas for reports on medication mistakes.

People who suffer injuries due to medication errors may be entitled to compensation through a pharmaceutical negligence lawsuit. Illinois parents Robin and Eda Ahmed filed a lawsuit against Walgreens recently, after their five-year-old son was allegedly given an antipsychotic instead of allergy medication. The antipsychotic was intended for an adult with the same first and last name as the boy, the lawsuit claims.

According to the Ahmeds’ attorney, the pharmacist should have noted that the dosage was ten times the amount that a child should receive. After the child received two doses of the medication, the parents said he could not breathe or talk. The boy’s mother said that doctors told her one more pill would have killed her son.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

In 2011, a series of changes were made to Illinois’ workers’ compensation program. In mid-June, the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission released a report that showed that since the changes were made, there has been a 19 percent decrease in benefit payments to injured workers, the largest such decrease in the country. The report also revealed that from 2010 to 2012, the average medical payment per workers’ compensation case decreased 16 percent, moving Illinois from the state with the highest such cost to near the median.

Illinois state Rep. Jay Hoffman said that the report shows that the 2011 changes had the desired effect, and further changes are unnecessary. Gov. Rauner is seeking stricter standards that injured workers must follow to prove their injury happened in the workplace. He also seeks changes to the rules for workers traveling to their place of employment, and lower reimbursement rates for medical providers. Democrats, who control both houses of the state legislature, have resisted the changes, saying that they would hurt middle-class workers.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago workers’ compensation lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

The wrongful death lawsuit, filed by Molly Young’s father, was dismissed by Judge W. Charles Grace of the Jackson County Circuit Court. The lawsuit had been filed against Richie Minton, a police dispatcher in whose apartment the woman was found dead.

Young was found dead on March 24, 2012, from a gunshot wound, and the lawsuit was filed June 30, 2014, after the statute of limitations had passed. Mr. Young’s attorney argued that crucial evidence had been kept from him in what amounted to fraudulent concealment. The evidence allegedly included Minton wiping the gun clean of any fingerprints, Minton waiting for hours before calling 911, police allowing Minton to shower and clean his clothes at the scene, and Minton indicating in the 911 call that Young had overdosed, while placing a bottle of pills nearby.

Judge Grace did not comment on the merit of the allegations, but said that there was still time to file the wrongful death lawsuit, as there were 14 months remaining under the statute after the inquest was completed. Mr. Young’s attorney had argued that the inquest was a key factor in discovering information about the death.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago work accidents and wrongful death lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

According to the lawsuit, an outpatient hysterectomy and oophorectomy was performed on Tammy Sparks on October 11, 2012, at Protestant Memorial Medical Center in Belleville, Illinois. The complaint states that the doctor perforated the patient’s bladder and vesciovaginal fistula.

The lawsuit claims that as a result of the perforation, Sparks had to undergo multiple additional surgeries and suffered diminishing health as well as physical, mental and emotional anguish. The lawsuit further claims that Sparks experienced pain and discomfort, incurred medical costs, suffered depression and anxiety, lost her normal life and endured financial hardship.

The lawsuit alleges that the doctor was negligent in failing to treat the patient’s symptoms, contact appropriate specialists, complete examinations and workups, monitor the patient and have her properly tested.

The motion to dismiss claims that Sparks failed to attach a report by a reviewing health care professional to her complaint. Sparks filed the lawsuit pro se.

The lawsuit seeks damages in excess of $150,000, plus costs and other relief.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

State Senator Dale Righter (R-Mattoon) introduced a bill that would require “primary causation,” meaning that a claim would be paid only if a worker’s injury was caused primarily by an on-the-job accident.

Righter said that the more stringent causation standard was necessary in order to create jobs and attract investment. He said that too many businesses were choosing to relocate in neighboring states, in part because of Illinois’ higher premiums for workers’ compensation insurance.

Critics of Righter’s bill point out that it would result in denial of benefits for workers who have preexisting conditions that are aggravated by workplace injuries. This could result in discrimination against older workers, who are more likely to have preexisting conditions.

Righter estimated that requiring primary causation would reduce insurance premiums in the state by $1 billion per year. However, similar estimates were made regarding the 2011 changes to Illinois workers’ compensation law, and employers saw very little reduction in premiums.

Senate Bill 846 would also prevent the payment of temporary partial disability benefits and temporary total disability benefits to workers who are discharged by their employers for cause.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago workers’ compensation lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

According to the lawsuit, the mother presented to the hospital on January 23, 2013 with a rupture of the amniotic sac, severe vaginal bleeding and poor fetal heart monitor readings. The lawsuit states that such a presentation at 27 weeks gestation was consistent with a placental abruption.

The lawsuit claims that despite signs of an obstetrical emergency requiring immediate intervention, the doctor did not take emergency action, failed to contact neonatology specialists and did not call for an immediate delivery by cesarean section. The suit states that the baby was delivered after a three-and-a-half hour delay and showed signs of prolonged hypoxia. The baby died soon after.

According to the lawsuit, the doctor failed to follow the proper standard of care by failing to recognized the severity of the situation and take emergency action. The complaint states that delays in the assessment and cesarean delivery of the baby resulted in a birth injury that the child stood little chance of recovering from.

The lawsuit seeks more than $1 million in damages.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago birth injury lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

The lawsuit alleged that negligence on the part of a hospital and obstetrician during labor and delivery led to a boy being disabled for life.

Jurors cleared the Ob/Gyn of liability, but found the hospital negligent and liable. Although jurors ordered the defendant to pay $18.27 million, the mother agreed to accept a slightly lower settlement amount in exchange for the hospital not appealing the verdict.

The lawsuit claimed that the mother presented at the hospital in 2007 for the delivery of her son, with no known injuries or conditions and no indication of a high-risk pregnancy. The doctor ordered that labor be induced with the commonly used medication Pitocin, and the obstetrician left standing orders for Pitocin to be administered.

According to the lawsuit, the mother experienced a certain contraction pattern for six hours, causing the baby’s brain to be deprived of oxygen. The lawsuit also claimed that the epidural was not turned off despite a doctor’s orders to do so, and that this resulted in the baby becoming lodged in the birth canal.

As a result of the birth injury, the child developed spastic quadriplegia, a form of cerebral palsy, and will require lifelong care, the suit claimed.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago birth injury lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

The order was issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit after the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued penalties in 2013 for exposing workers to excavation hazards at a Des Plaines worksite. The owner of the company was held for 23 days in federal jail in December 2014 after violating a court enforcement order. The owner was released on a $10,000 recognizance bond. The court order vacates the bond, but permits OSHA to enforce a collection action to recover $110,440 in penalties.

Nick Walters, OSHA regional administrator in Chicago, said that the agency will pursue all avenues to uphold the law against employers who violate safety standards.

The 2013 penalties stemmed from an OSHA inspection in October 2012. The agency said that the owner of the company was uncooperative and refused to acknowledge that any violations had occurred. Excavation and trenching operations can expose workers to hazards such as asphyxiation, cave-ins, drowning, fire, being struck by machines or equipment or coming into contact with underground utility lines.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago work accidents lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

The six-count complaint was filed October 29, 2014 by Kristina and Joseph Brand against St. Joseph’s Hospital, Southern Obstetrics & Gynecologic Associates and a doctor. According to the lawsuit, Kristina was a patient at the hospital and had a cesarean section performed in 2012, but was not given appropriate anesthesia. The lawsuit claims that the hospital did not inform the plaintiffs that the care provided by a certified registered nurse anesthetist was that of an alleged independent contractor. According to the suit, the plaintiffs relied on the hospital for care, rather than an independent contractor. The suit further claims that the hospital negligently failed to provide proper anesthesia, causing Kristina to experience extreme pain and suffering, mental anguish, permanent damage and disfigurement.

In addition, the complaint alleges that Joseph Brand has been deprived of companionship, love, support, consortium and services from his wife, to which he was entitled.

On December 16, 2014 the plaintiffs moved to transfer the case from St. Clair County to Clinton County. Judge Vincent Lopinot granted the request the same day.

The lawsuit seeks damages in excess of $75,000.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

The “Bike Sense” technology currently being researched by Jaguar Land Rover is one example of auto safety technology designed to protect bicyclists. The British automaker’s Advanced Research Centre is conducting research into what types of warning systems would be most effective in alerting drivers to the presence of bicyclists that they might not otherwise notice. The company is seeking to provoke an instinctive reaction from drivers by, for instance, playing the sound of a bicycle bell from the speaker on the side of the car where a bicyclist is approaching. The company is also exploring door handles that buzz when a bicyclist is approaching, to prevent doors from being opened into bike lanes.

Public safety advocates dismiss the policy question of having drivers pay for systems to ensure non-drivers’ safety, pointing out that pedestrians and bicyclists are not solely responsible for their own safety. Of course, non-drivers should exercise responsibility, advocates say, but society must also protect the most vulnerable. And safety advocates say that if major states require such features in vehicles, practically speaking, the auto industry will have to comply.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago wrongful death lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

Renato Velasquez was found guilty of one felony count of operating a commercial truck while fatigued. He was also found guilty of two felony counts of failing to follow hours-of-service requirements, and misdemeanors including failure to yield to an emergency vehicle and failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident.

DuPage County Judge Robert Kleeman said that a felony charge of falsifying records was dismissed because prosecutors were not able to show that the forgeries took place in Illinois. The convictions were handed down February 26 after a two-day bench trial.

Kleeman said that the truck driver must have been fatigued after spending 20 hours driving in a 26-hour period. Kleeman also said that the fact that Velasquez claimed not to have seen the dozens of ground flares, tow truck flashing lights and police emergency lights that had been implemented during an attempt to tow away a disabled semi, showed that he must have been fatigued. The accident occurred when the semi-trailer Velasquez was driving struck tollway worker Vince Petrella’s truck and Illinois State Trooper Doug Balder Balder’s squad car, causing both vehicles to catch fire.

Kimberli Balder, wife of Balder, who suffered serious injuries in the accident, said her family believes the charges were not severe enough because Petrella was killed in the crash. Mrs. Balder said that when the trucker is released from jail, her husband will still be recovering from his injuries. A pre-sentencing hearing was scheduled for March 23, and Velasquez faced a maximum jail sentence of three years.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago wrongful death lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

According to the Chicago Department of Transportation, bicyclist fatalities over the past five years were as follows: seven in 2014; three in 2013; eight in 2012; seven in 2011; and five in 2010. With regard to bicyclist injuries from auto collisions, data from 2014 was not yet available. However, there were 1,567 bicyclist injuries in 2013; 1,479 in 2012; 1,279 in 2011; and 1,566 in 2010.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel has said that by May of 2015, he wants Chicago to install 100 miles of protected bike lanes. According to Rebekah Scheinfeld, the Chicago Department of Transportation Commissioner, the city is on track to meet that goal, with 85.5 miles of protected bike lanes installed as of January. She said that the remaining 14.5 miles of bike lanes would be installed in the spring of 2015. “Protected” bike lanes refers to bike lanes that are separated from automobile traffic lanes by a barrier.

Scheinfeld called the increase in bicyclist deaths “significant” and said that any traffic death is one too many. She said that Chicago had launched a “Zero in Ten” campaign to eliminate all bicycle, pedestrian and overall traffic deaths by 2020. To achieve that goal, Sheinfeld said that the city would continue to invest in barrier-protected bike lanes and increase target enforcement efforts.

Bob Briskman is a injury lawyer and attorney in Chicago with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

Over the past decade, workers’ compensation benefits have deteriorated across the country as states initiate cost-cutting measures. A comprehensive new investigation by ProPublica and NPR reveals that these workers’ comp “reforms” have had a brutal effect: injured workers denied the help they need and taxpayers forced to bear the cost of workplace accidents.

The ProPublica report, titled The Demolition of Workers’ Comp, states that cutbacks in many states have been so drastic, they “virtually guarantee” that injured workers will descend into poverty. According to the nonprofit news organization, workers’ comp reform has been pushed by insurance companies and big corporations based on the “false premise” that costs are too high — when in fact employers are currently paying the lowest premiums for workers’ compensation insurance since the 1970s.

Meanwhile, 2013 (the most recently studied year) was the most profitable year for insurers in more than 10 years.

The changes are different in each state, but ProPublica documents that since 2003, the legislatures of 33 states have passed laws either reducing worker’s comp benefits or making it more difficult for injured workers to qualify for them. According to the report, workers in 37 states are not able to choose their own doctor or must choose from a list of doctors pre-approved by their employers. In 22 states, there are now arbitrary time limits on temporary wage benefits for injured workers, even if they have not recovered yet.

In California, insurers may now reopen old cases and take away workers’ benefits based on the opinions of doctors. Those doctors are not required to have ever examined the patient, and they do not have to be licensed in the state.

In Illinois, as in other states, workers’ compensation reforms were passed with the promise that they would reduce costs for employers, making the state more attractive to businesses. In 2011, Illinois:

• reduced payments to hospitals and doctors on medical fee schedules by 30 percent
• limited the ability of some workers to choose their own doctors
• raised the burden of proof for workers who have suffered an injury to qualify for workers’ comp
• created a presumption that a second opinion or medical review sought by an insurer or employer is correct if it is based on certain treatment guidelines
• created a cap for wage-loss benefits if workers take a lower-paying job five years after the injury or at age 67, whichever is later
• limited benefits for carpal tunnel syndrome
• required disability awards to be determined by new guidelines from the American Medical Association, which results in lower ratings used for compensation.

As Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner has proposed further “reforms” to the workers’ compensation system, we should be wary of allowing our state to participate in a “race to the bottom,” sacrificing workers’ rights for business profits.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago work accidents and wrongful death lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

The parents of a child who suffered a disability filed the birth injury suit in 2007. The lawsuit alleged that the girl, who was born in October 2005, suffered a permanent disability to her left arm due to the doctor’s negligence. According to the lawsuit, the doctor let the labor go on too long and failed to perform a cesarean section when the birth was complicated by shoulder dystocia.

Shoulder dystocia is a condition where the baby’s shoulders become lodged in the birth canal.

According to the lawsuit, the doctor continued to use a vacuum extractor and forceps after the failure of an initial attempt, when such use was contraindicated. The doctor also moved forward with a vaginal delivery despite an abnormal first and second states of labor and despite the presence of multiple other risk factors, the suit claimed.

The lawsuit claimed that the child will suffer from physical pain and mental suffering for the rest of her life and needed compensation. According to the plaintiff’s attorney, the doctor did not respond to the lawsuit, and a default judgment was entered against him. The plaintiff’s attorney would not comment on whether a settlement was reached in the case.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago birth injury lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

This argument — that restricting the rights of workers will help businesses by reducing the premiums they pay for workers’ compensation insurance — has been contradicted by two recent studies by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and NPR/Pro Publica. Those studies showed that any cost savings from recent reforms have mostly benefited insurance companies.

This was the demonstrable case in Illinois, where a workers’ compensation reform package was passed into law in 2011. The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services studied the results and found that while there was a steep drop in workers’ compensation rates — a 24 percent decrease between 2012 and 2014 — there was no corresponding drop in insurance premiums paid by employers. Instead, the insurance companies kept the difference, estimated to be between $625 million and $1 billion.

Attacking employees’ right to compensation hurts workers, and it does not help employers. Workers’ rights must be protected from further so-called “reforms,” and employers who are fed up with the high cost of insurance should support state regulation of insurance premiums.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago work accidents and wrongful death lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

Roshad McIntosh was killed in August 2014. At a news conference, his mother, Cynthia Lane, said that police have not revealed the names of the officers who fired the shots that killed him, nor whether they have been disciplined or are still on duty. The lawsuit alleges that McIntosh was killed without provocation, and it further claims that authorities have since tried to cover up the incident.

According to the lawsuit, which names as defendants two “John Doe” police officers as well as the city of Chicago, McIntosh was unarmed when police officers chased him with weapons drawn. The lawsuit claims that officers chased McIntosh into a backyard, where he surrendered, but the officers shot and killed him without response.

Police claim that McIntosh had a 9mm handgun that he pointed at officers, leaving the officers no choice but to fire their weapons. McIntosh was pronounced dead at Mount Sinai Hospital.

The lawsuit also claims civil rights violations, alleging that policies of the Chicago Police Department have led to racially-motivated shootings of black men and a “code of silence” when it comes to investigating and disciplining officers.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago work accidents and wrongful death lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

The study, conducted by the University of Iowa and funded by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, found that distractions such as texting, talking with passengers and grooming played a role in almost 60 percent of moderate-to-severe teen car crashes. Previously, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had estimated that 14 percent of teen crashes involved distraction.

The foundation analyzed in-car videos from the six seconds prior to 1,691 crashes where a teenage driver was behind the wheel. The crashes happened between August 2007 and July 2013 and took place mostly in the Midwest, the researchers said.

Researchers said the in-car videos provided data that was previously unavailable.

It is possible that distracted driving among teens is even more prevalent than indicated by the study, because all of the teens knew they were being filmed. Some may have limited their distracting activities because of that fact. Researchers said that the study provides indisputable evidence that distraction is a major factor in teen crashes. However, they did caution that the study represents only one set of data, and that more research is needed.

According to Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, Illinois’ graduated licensing laws for teens are among the strongest in the nation, and they are already more restrictive than what is recommended by AAA.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago car accident lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

The jury awarded $28,215,278.00 to Anna Rahm for pain and suffering, for future loss of earnings and for future medical expenses after a four-week trial. The jury found Kaiser Permanente liable for improper medical treatment that resulted in Rahm losing parts of her spine, half of her pelvis and her right leg.

According to the lawsuit, in 2008, at the age of 16, Rahm began experiencing pain in her lower back, which later radiated to her right leg. She pursued chiropractic treatment, which was unsuccessful, and then sought an MRI at Kaiser Permanente. Rahm claimed that, accompanied by her mother, she saw a primary care physician and a physical medicine specialist at Kaiser Permanente and requested an MRI.

She alleged in the lawsuit that the doctors refused to order an MRI and refused to document the request. The doctors claimed at trial that no MRI was ever requested.

An MRI was eventually performed on July 2, 2009, and it revealed an osteosarcoma (an aggressive tumor) in Rahm’s pelvis. She required surgery that resulted in the loss of her leg and of portions of her pelvis and spine. Rahm’s lawsuit argued that the hospital’s refusal to perform an MRI resulted in a four-month delay in diagnosing the tumor, which in turn caused the loss of her leg.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

The internet search giant launched Google Compare on March 5 in California only. The company’s plans call for pilots in Illinois, Pennsylvania, California and Texas within the first quarter of the year, and the overall program has been cleared to operate in a total of 26 states at the time of this release.

The pilot program will be a test for Google to see if the service can continue to expand. However, Google Compare has operated in the United Kingdom since 2012, so the program itself is hardly new.

Google will offer insurance policies from major carriers and earn a commission on sales. Google Compare has already obtained authorization to offer policies from MetLife, Dairyland, Mercury, Workmen’s, and Viking Insurance of Wisconsin, with more to follow.

According to industry analysts, car insurers may have reason to be wary of Google’s entry into the market. On one hand, the service will provide another platform for sales. On the other, the company will be adding insurance information to its already massive amounts of data on consumers, which could give Google an advantage in terms of underwriting. Analysts also said that Google’s existing search data could be used to build risk profiles for individual consumers.

In addition, insurance companies may be concerned that Google’s new website will insert itself between consumers and insurers, disconnecting traditional insurance companies from their customers.

For consumers, the new site may be a boon from every angle, allowing them to compare and shop much more quickly. One popular insurance advertising slogan promises to save consumers money in just 15 minutes. Another claims to cut that in half. But Google aims to do the same in a matter of seconds.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago car accident lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

The report, “2013 Illinois Crash Facts and Statistics,” detailed an important series of facts:

• There were 285,477 Illinois traffic collisions in 2013.
• In Chicago, there were 79,384 car crashes.
• Of all these crashes, 21.4 percent involved an injury.
• Less than 1 percent involved a fatality.
• During 2013, there were 991 fatalities in 895 fatal crashes.
• Of the people who died, 152 were motorcyclists, 125 were pedestrians and 30 were bicyclists.
• The report states that excessive speed was involved in 35 percent of the fatal crashes.
• Deer were involved in 5.4 percent of all crashes.

Although 2013 had the highest number of fatalities since 2008, the year did maintain a trend of traffic deaths below 1,000 per year in the state. This trend stands in stark contrast to the 1990s through the mid-2000s, when annual traffic fatalities ranged from 1,300 to more than 1,500.

According to the report, more crashes happen on weekdays. Each weekday in 2013 saw more than 40,000 accidents, while Saturday and Sunday saw 38,796 crashes and 33,403 crashes, respectively. Friday had the most accidents, with 47,527.

The greatest number of accidents took place during the afternoon and evening. The time period from 4 p.m. to 7:59 p.m. saw 77,088 accidents. There were 71,547 accidents in the time period from 12 p.m. to 3:59 p.m.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago car accident lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

It is a basic principle of our legal system that negligent parties should not be able to evade responsibility for the damages they cause. Yet the lack of a legal requirement for medical malpractice insurance means that individual doctors and even some hospitals can choose to “go bare,” or purposely choose to forgo carrying insurance. These practitioners may form a corporation and then file for bankruptcy – or threaten to file – if they are sued, leaving injured patients with no recourse.

The vast majority of medical professionals in Illinois do carry insurance. Most hospitals and many managed care plans require it. However, the lack of a state legal requirement means that some patients will not be able to obtain compensation if a medial error causes them injury.

The state of Illinois does not keep records of how many doctors are uninsured. In Florida, another state that does not require such insurance, about 5 percent of doctors choose to go bare. However, Florida requires doctors without insurance to obtain an irrevocable line of credit to cover malpractice claims and to post a notice in their offices informing patients that they do not have insurance. Illinois has no such requirements. Doctors and hospitals may claim that they are self-insured, meaning that they have sufficient resources to cover malpractice claims, but when a lawsuit is filed, they may still threaten bankruptcy.

Doctors cite the high cost of medical malpractice premiums as the reason they forgo insurance. Premiums are indeed high, and at least part of the blame lies with the insurance companies. Insurers often claim that they are forced to raise premiums because of high payouts in medical malpractice lawsuits, but in fact, they have raised rates out of proportion to payouts – and even increased premiums when paid claims are declining.

If insurance companies are fleecing doctors, state regulation of insurers can resolve the conflict. However, this injustice, however real, should not be used as an excuse to allow medical professionals to evade their responsibilities. Illinois should join other states in requiring all doctors and hospitals practicing in the state to carry medical malpractice insurance.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

According to a report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 3,331 people were killed in automobile crashes involving distracted driving in 2011. An additional 387,000 were injured. Other researchers say the actual number is likely much higher, as many crashes are caused by distractions that the driver does not admit to.

Cell phones are a big part of the problem, to be sure. A researcher at the University of Utah found that a cell phone conversation can make a driver four times more likely to crash — about the same risk as drunk driving. Texting is even more dangerous. A 2009 study by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration of commercial vehicle accidents found that text messaging made a crash 23 times more likely.

A great deal of attention is paid to the danger of cell phone use while driving, and rightly so. But there are other types of distraction that you may not have considered. These include eating food or drinking beverages in the car, grooming, talking with vehicle passengers, attending to pets or children in the car, and simple inattention.

Experts say that there are three main categories of distraction: manual, visual and cognitive. Manual distractions include anything drivers do with their hands other than driving, like reaching for a soda or changing the radio station. Visual distractions are anything that can cause the driver to look away from the road, such as looking at a map or reading a text message. Cognitive distractions include anything that takes one’s mind off the task of driving, such as a conversation with another occupant of the vehicle or with someone on the phone. An often-overlooked cognitive distraction is simple inattention, or daydreaming.

One reason texting while driving is so dangerous is that it distracts the driver in all three categories. When people send a text, they are usually manipulating the phone with their hands, looking at the phone and thinking about the message. It’s a deadly combination, and campaigns to put a stop to texting while driving are well worth the effort. But drivers also need to remember that anything that takes their mind, eyes or hands off the task of driving can be a deadly distraction.

If you were injured in an automobile accident, contact Briskman Briskman & Greenberg for a free consultation. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

Allegedly, during labor, the mother was told to start pushing when the baby’s head was not positioned at the cervix, causing distress. According to the lawsuit, after the baby’s heart rate dropped, the doctor performed an emergency cesarean section. The lawsuit further states that the baby was born having inhaled meconium and unable to breathe, and that the doctor and nursing staff failed to clear his airway before attempting to use an oxygen mask to resuscitate the child. A doctor also removed the baby’s edotrachial tube for 45 minutes, according to the argument. 

The baby was stabilized and transported to a neonatal intensive care unit at another hospital.

According to the lawsuit, the oxygen deprivation caused the child to suffer from cerebral palsy, a neurological disorder that hinders coordination and body movement.

The parents are seeking $40 million in economic and noneconomic damages through the lawsuit. The defendants have denied wrongdoing. The trial is expected to last 14 days.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago birth injury lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

The suit claims that medical malpractice occurred during labor and delivery, causing the child to suffer a permanent disability. The boy has been diagnosed with severe shoulder dystocia and a brachial plexus injury.

Prior to the delivery, an ultrasound indicated that the weight of the fetus was in the 53rd percentile. On June 17, 2012, the mother began experiencing labor contractions and went to the hospital. According to the lawsuit, two doctors who had been monitoring the mother recommended a cesarean section.  However, the doctor who delivered the baby performed a vacuum delivery. The lawsuit alleges that the doctor failed to perform his own pelvic and abdominal examination and relied instead on information given by other medical providers.

The lawsuit alleges that the doctor’s medical errors caused the baby’s injury. Despite surgery, the child is not expected to be able to use his left arm in the future. The lawsuit seeks compensation for past and future pain and suffering and for past and future medical expenses.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago birth injury lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

Justin Jokerst, 31, was working at a construction site in Edwardsville, Illinois on a Grove HL150T crane when he was crushed by the crane’s boom, according to authorities. The accident took place on Lakeview Corporate Drive at about 11 a.m.

Authorities pronounced Jokerst dead at the scene. An Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) investigation is underway. The building under construction is a 500,000-square-foot commercial warehouse addition off New Poag Road.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 4,405 workers were killed on the job in 2013. This is the lowest total since the bureau’s fatal injury statistics began being kept in 1992, but at more than 12 deaths every day, it is still far too many.

Twenty percent of worker fatalities in 2013 happened in the construction field. The lead cause of construction fatalities was falls, which accounted for 36.9 percent of the total deaths in construction. The other three most common causes of construction deaths were being struck by an object, which accounted for 10.3 percent of the total; electrocutions (8.9 percent); and being caught in or between objects (2.6 percent).

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago work accidents and wrongful death lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

Penny Lucas claims that she suffered an injury when she fell at work on December 27, 2012. She went to the hospital and was given a post-accident drug test, which came back negative, according to her lawsuit. However, the suit states that Atrium required Lucas to submit to another drug test on January 15. When the results of that drug test were allegedly found to be positive, Lucas demanded a retest, but was refused. She then paid for another drug test at a different hospital, for which the results were negative, the suit states.

The lawsuit further states that Atrium fired Lucas despite being notified of the discrepancy, and in violation of her rights under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act.

On January 14, 2015, Penny Lucas filed her lawsuit in St. Clair County Circuit Court against Cahokia’s Atrium Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center.

Lucas alleges that the job loss resulted in loss income and benefits, mental distress and emotional anguish. She is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, plus interest, attorney’s fees, costs and other relief in excess of $75,000.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago workers’ compensation lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

Rhonda McCullough, the late comedian’s wife, filed the lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court against dermatologist Rene Earles, claiming that the doctor failed to respond appropriately to her husband’s signs of respiratory distress a few weeks before his death. The comedian died of complications from pneumonia in 2008.

The wrongful death lawsuit claimed that Earles should have called an ambulance to take Mac to the hospital instead of keeping Mac at his clinic for several hours.

McCullough’s attorneys said that they asked the judge to dismiss the case in such a way that it could be refiled within one year. According to the attorneys, the case will not be dropped, but will be refiled in order to address certain “internal issues.”

Earles and his attorney said that the suit was dismissed because there is “no legitimate case” against the doctor. Earles treated Mac for sarcoidosis for more than a decade. According to Earles’ attorney, on the day in question, Earles noticed that Mac was ill and recommended that he rest before treatment, and he later had Mac’s driver transport him to the hospital.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago wrongful death lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

Venus Anderson has filed the suit in federal court against the city of Highland Park and two police officers, claiming that they used excessive force in firing nine shots in under two seconds, killing her son.

Anderson was involved in a car crash during the evening hours of November 3, and he was taken to NorthShore Highland Park Hospital. A few hours later, a 911 call was made from the hospital. The caller reported that Anderson had a gun. 

Police said that upon their arrival, Anderson drew the gun and refused to put it down, despite several warnings.

An investigation by the Lake County state’s attorney’s office determined that the police officers involved in the incident followed correct protocol. However, Venus Anderson claims in the lawsuit that unreasonable force was used, and that the aggressive barrage of gunfire, certain to kill, was uncalled for. Neither the city of Highland Park nor the police department would comment on the lawsuit, stating that they had yet to see the complaint. However, an attorney for the city stated that based on the “known facts,” there is no basis for the city to be liable.

The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago wrongful death lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

Amber Hines is pursuing the lawsuit her father, Edward Hines, filed before his death from bladder cancer in April 2013. The lawsuit alleges that a urologist practicing at Oak Park’s West Suburban Medical Center removed a tumor from Hines’ bladder in 2011, then informed him that he was free of cancer. According to the lawsuit, a pathology report issued a week later revealed that the patient had bladder cancer, but the doctor failed to inform him.

According to the lawsuit, Hines did not learn he had cancer until a year later, when he visited a different doctor. The suit alleges that Hines would have had a greater chance for survival if he had learned of the diagnosis earlier.

In court documents, the doctor contested Hines’ version of events, saying that the patient was informed that he had cancer after the tumor was removed. The doctor claims that Hines failed to follow up as instructed and did not ask for results of the pathology report.

According to the lawsuit, Hines went without treatment for one year. After the 2012 diagnosis, he saw several doctors, had his prostate and bladder removed and underwent chemotherapy.

Bob Briskman is a Chicago malpractice attorney with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

According to news reports, in 2005, a Peoria physician accidentally removed a woman’s healthy kidney when he was supposed to extract part of her spleen. The woman suffered from a blood-clotting disorder, and she had had part of her spleen removed previously as part of her treatment. The 2005 operation was to remove a further remnant of her spleen after her condition deteriorated. However, the surgeon removed her kidney instead. The woman filed a lawsuit claiming medical malpractice in 2007, and the case settled for $2 million in 2013.

In spite of the lawsuit and settlement, no action was taken to discipline the doctor until September 24, 2014. The doctor was reprimanded and will pay a $2,500 fine for his mistake. Both actions are listed under the doctor’s profile on the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation website.

A civil lawsuit for medical malpractice does not automatically result in a physician’s discipline. A patient must file a formal complaint, and if the agency investigates the complaint and finds it to be accurate, disciplinary action is taken.

Bob Briskman is a Chicago malpractice attorney with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

The family of Northern Illinois University freshman David Bogenberger filed the suit against the fraternity Pi Kappa Alpha and several of its members. Bogenberger died in November 2012 at the age of 19, after drinking alcohol in excess at a fraternity party.

The lawsuit alleged that fraternity members made heavy drinking a condition of membership. The lawsuit also claimed that when Bogenberger lost consciousness, fraternity members put him in a bed instead of getting help. Bogenberger was found dead the next day. According to authorities, Bogenberger had a blood alcohol content of 0.351.

In dismissing the lawsuit, Judge Kathy Flanagan said that the plaintiffs had not shown that intoxication was a requirement for membership in the fraternity, which might have violated Illinois’ anti-hazing law. Flanagan said that according to Illinois law, social hosts cannot be held liable for their guests’ alcohol consumption.

The incident is also the basis of 22 criminal hazing cases, which are still ongoing after the state’s anti-hazing law survived a constitutional challenge. Authorities have charged the men who planned the party with felonies and have charged 17 other men with misdemeanor hazing. Authorities have said that fraternity members and other guests ordered the pledges to drink vodka in excess.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago wrongful death lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

Carmen Cantu, 61, died in a April 2013 crash when her Nissan Sentra was struck by a car and then a tractor-trailer on Interstate 88 near the border of DeKalb and Kane counties.

Cantu’s daughter, Veronica, filed the suit against the two other drivers involved in the crash and Breckenridge Trucking Inc., the Wenona, Illinois company responsible for the tractor-trailer.

The driver of the car that rear-ended Cantu was cited for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident. The truck driver was not cited.

The settlement was approved by Judge James R. Murphy. Under the terms of the settlement, Breckenridge will pay $1 million, and the car driver’s insurance company will pay $250,000. Veronica Cantu and her sister, Evelyn Cantu, will share the settlement.

Truck accidents, while less frequent than car accidents, are more likely to be fatal. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, about half a million truck crashes occur each year in the U.S., causing about 5,000 fatalities annually. According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, truck accidents have accounted for between 8.6 percent and 10.6 percent of traffic fatalities over the last five-year period.

Bob Briskman is a truck accident attorney with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

The parents of Maverick Ramseyer, now age six, filed the suit against Silverton Hospital in Oregon. The boy’s movements and coordination are hindered by the neurological disorder. He needs physical therapy and will probably need to wear a leg brace for the rest of his life.

Elizabeth Ramseyer’s pregnancy was healthy. However, when labor began, the baby’s head was not positioned at the cervix. According to the lawsuit, his heart rate dropped to 60 beats per minute for a period of about six minutes. The doctor then decided to deliver the baby via emergency cesarean section. The baby was apparently unable to breathe when he was born, and doctors attempted to resuscitate him using an oxygen bag and face mask before clearing his airway, which had become blocked, the lawsuit alleges.

Maverick’s parents and attorney say that he will need medical care for the rest of his life, and that he currently has one to three appointments each week with physical, speech and occupational therapists. The Ramseyers said that they max out their insurance plan each year and incur $500 per month in medical debt.

The lawsuit seeks damages for medical expenses, loss of earning capacity and other damages.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago birth injury lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

The family had been awarded $21 million by a jury in Baltimore City Circuit Court, but that was reduced to $20.6 million because of Maryland’s cap on non-economic damages.

Baltimore’s MedStar Harbor Hospital argued that there was insufficient evidence that the cerebral palsy resulted from delivery complications, but the Maryland Court of Special Appeals affirmed the capped award.

The appeals court, in a 3-0 decision, said that the central issue in the trial was a “classic battle” between expert witnesses, and that it was the jury’s decision who to believe.

The family’s experts said that the obstetrician’s failure to perform a cesarean section promptly caused the delivery complications and the child’s cerebral palsy. They testified that the baby’s low oxygen levels, shown on a fetal heart rate monitor, called for a C-section, but that the doctor allowed labor to continue for three more hours.

In its opinion, the court wrote that while the experts disagreed, there was sufficient evidence from the plaintiff’s side to make the question of causation an issue for the jury’s consideration.

Bob Briskman is a birth injury lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

A component fell from a crane and injured Rudolf Das on Monday, December 1, 2014 underneath the Interstate 90 bridge at Duncan Avenue.

Das is a 51-year-old employee of K&S Engineers from Naperville, Illinois. According to his wife, Das suffered a broken back, knee, ribs and nose, along with an ankle injury and punctured lung, in the accident. He was pinned under a crane component weighing several thousand pounds.

Das spent nearly three weeks in the intensive care unit at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge and underwent multiple surgeries. His wife, Jona Das, told the Daily Herald that doctors are not optimistic that Das will walk freely again.

Tony Dahms, a heavy equipment operator and one of Das’ co-workers, started a fundraiser for the family. Dahms said he had never worked with a nicer man than Das, who he said possessed an exceptionally calm demeanor. “There’s no screaming or arm-waving like we’re used to,” Dahms told the Daily Herald. “He’s just not the kind of person you run across in construction.”

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the cause of the accident, according to Tollway officials. Jona Das has filed a personal injury lawsuit against K&S Engineers and several others, seeking multiple millions of dollars in damages on her husband’s behalf.

Bob Briskman is a workers compensation lawyer in Chicago and work injury attorney with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

Now, a federal appellate court has allowed a medical malpractice and wrongful death case to proceed against a cruise line.

The case involves an elderly passenger who suffered a fall while a Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines ship was docked in Bermuda. The man, Pasquale Vaglio, returned to the ship and sought treatment in the ship’s hospital. The man fell into a coma and died a week later, allegedly as a result of negligent care. The patient’s daughter filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the cruise line in federal court in Miami, alleging that health care providers on the ship failed to properly diagnose the patient’s cranial trauma.

The trial judge dismissed the suit, applying immunity under maritime law. However, the appellate court, in a 63-page decision, found that the cruise line could be held vicariously liable for the medical malpractice of on-board doctors and nurses, even under maritime law.

Paul Greenberg is a medical malpractice lawyer in Chicago and malpractice attorney with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

The study also found that many doctors are seeing declining liability insurance costs and payment amounts. The study was published online in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Researchers analyzed data from Illinois, California, New York, Colorado and Tennessee for the period from 2002 to 2013. They found that the overall rate of paid malpractice claims per 1,000 physicians dropped from 18.6 to 9.9 during that time. The average annual decrease was estimated to be 6.3 percent for doctors of medicine (MDs) and 5.3 percent for doctors of osteopathic medicine (Dos).

Trends in liability premiums paid by doctors were mixed. In Illinois, premiums charged to internists and obstetrician-gynecologists (OB/GYNs) by the state’s largest issuer of medical malpractice insurance policies dropped by 36 percent from 2004 to 2013. The premiums paid by general surgeons decreased by 30 percent. California and Tennessee experienced similar declines. Colorado saw a drop in premiums for internists but a rise for OB/GYNs and general surgeons, while New York saw an increase in premiums charged by the state’s largest insurer for all three types of doctors.

Bob Briskman is a Chicago malpractice attorney with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

The plaintiff in the personal injury claim was injured four years ago, before FitBits were on the market. However, because she worked as a personal trainer, her attorneys argue that she had an active lifestyle, and they plan to use her current FitBit data to show that her activity levels are below what they should be for someone of her age and profession.

The plaintiff’s attorneys will use an analytics company, Vivametrica, to compare the woman’s raw FitBit data to the general population.

While the data in this case is being used to support an injured person’s claim, similar data could easily be used against the wearer in court as well.

Anyone who chooses to wear such a device may find that the data can be subpoenaed. Insurers could use the information to deny a disability claim, and prosecutors could seek incriminating evidence. In that context, defense attorneys may argue that the evidence constitutes self-incrimination, against which the Constitution protects.

The variability of the data from different tracking devices is another thorny issue. Each brand of wearable fitness device has its own method of measuring a user’s movements, and Vivametrica and its competitors each have their own way of analyzing the raw data – all of which could lead to different legal outcomes when such information is used as evidence in court.

Bob Briskman is a injury lawyer and attorney in Chicago with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

The lawsuit accuses Bushmaster of negligence and wrongful death for manufacturing and distributing the weapon. Nine of the families are parents and spouses of people who died in the shooting, and the tenth is a teacher who survived after being shot multiple times.

The lawsuit claims that because the rifle is a military-style assault weapon, Bushmaster should not have entrusted it to the general public. According to the lawsuit, the rifle is unsuited for civilian use because individuals who are mentally unfit to operate the weapon can gain access to it.

According to the lawsuit, Bushmaster knew or should have known that the rifle posed a high risk for involvement in multiple deaths and serious injuries.

The lawsuit notes that Bushmaster is the largest supplier of combat rifles to the public. Bushmaster’s parent company is Remington Outdoor Company.

Previously, at least 12 families of victims opened estates in their children’s names while providing notice that they intended to file wrongful death claims.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago wrongful death lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

The jury found that medical personnel at Northeast Georgia Medical Center did not follow the proper standards of care when the boy was born in 2008.

Jakob Medley, now age five, went without a needed breathing tube for eight minutes because the neonatal resuscitation team at the hospital was occupied and medical personnel failed to call for a backup team. According to court documents, a physician was never called, despite the fact that fetal monitoring showed a lack of oxygen and a possible need for an early delivery by cesarean section.

Jakob suffers from developmental delays, cerebral palsy, seizures and disfigurement. He cannot talk or walk, and he must be fed through a tube in his stomach. The family’s attorneys said that the verdict will ensure that the care the boy will need throughout his life will be paid by the hospital and its insurance company, not by taxpayers.

The family’s attorneys said that in a large hospital, there was no excuse for failing to have a backup team available and to follow standards of medical care.

Bob Briskman is a birth injury lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

Nighttime driving can be dangerous simply because it is more difficult for drivers to see other cars, pedestrians and road obstacles. Headlights make night driving possible, but the glare from other drivers’ headlights is a problem of its own. Adaptive LED lighting is being developed to address these problems.

BMW’s Dynamic Light Spot system uses LEDs in place of fog lights. The system illuminates what it senses are a person’s feet, following a pedestrian crossing in front of the vehicle, and it can illuminate objects in the vehicle’s path before normal headlights would reach them. However, the system is outlawed in the United States. The LEDs bring the total lumens above the limit set by the 1968 Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.

Audi’s Matrix LED system uses camera sensors to determine where light is needed on the road. It can prevent glare by sensing other vehicles and then directing headlight beams away from the other driver’s windshield. But not in the U.S., where old safety standards dictate that cars must have high and low beams, and nothing in between.

Paul Greenberg is a car accident lawyer in Chicago and car crash attorney with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

Rosekind said that the number of complaints made to the agency has recently increased from 45,000 to 75,000 per year. Meanwhile, he said, there are only 16 field investigators and nine people to analyze complaints.

Rosekind also said that advanced technology is needed to find innovative ways to interpret sometimes vast data sets in order to spot problems.

Rosekind’s nomination comes in a time of turmoil for the agency, which has been without a permanent head for more than a year. Safety advocates and members of Congress have criticized the agency for not taking a hard enough line with auto manufacturers over safety defects.

Bob Briskman is a Chicago vehicle accident attorney with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

Land departure warnings, blind spot detection and lane-keep assistance have tremendous potential for driver safety. However, there have been few tests to study how these tools work in the real world, and the studies that have been done frequently reveal flaws in the new systems.

In one study, researchers from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found troubling situational inconsistencies in lane departure warning and blind spot detection systems. The systems often had trouble detecting motorcycles and fast-moving vehicles, and warnings were often provided too late for evasive action.

The lesson: drivers can use these new safety features as a backup warning system, but they should continue to rely primarily on their own safe driving skills.

Bob Briskman is a Chicago vehicle accident attorney with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

The 526 lawsuits, which have been combined into multidistrict litigation in Philadelphia, allege that Pfizer was negligent in failing to warn pregnant women that birth injuries such as cleft palate, cardiac problems and club feet could result from taking the drug. Pfizer maintains that Zoloft is safe for pregnant women to take according to federal guidelines.

After Judge Cynthia Rufe excluded four expert witnesses against Pfizer, on the basis that their arguments were not rigorous enough, Pfizer moved to dismiss all of the lawsuits, claiming that there is not enough evidence for the plaintiffs to prevail.

However, the plaintiffs’ attorneys have applied to present a new expert witness. The plaintiffs want Nicholas Jewell, a professor at the University of California at Berkeley’s School of Public Health, to testify that birth injuries can be caused by Zoloft.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs said that the drug “obviously” causes problems, and that they would prove it in court.

An attorney for Pfizer said that the company has sympathy for the families but believes there is no evidence that the birth injuries were caused by the women’s use of Zoloft.

Bob Briskman is a birth injury lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

At least five fatalities have been linked to the airbags, which can rupture during deployment, causing metal shrapnel to strike passengers. The defect is most prevalent in humid areas; the airbags’ propellant is affected by moisture. The regional recall has involved 4.1 million cars in hot and humid areas of the country.

Takata resisted the demand for a nationwide recall, saying that it could divert replacement airbags from where they are most needed. Meanwhile, auto safety advocates said that even the NHTSA’s demand for a nationwide recall is not enough, because it covers only driver-side airbags, and passenger airbags may also be defective.

Bob Briskman is a car accident lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

According to data from the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), there were 876 fatalities on all roadways within the state as of December 15 – 75 fewer fatalities than were recorded by the same date in 2013. In 2009, Illinois reached a modern-day low of 911 roadway deaths. Since then, the number of traffic fatalities has stayed above that number, while still remaining below 1,000 per year.

If the current trend continues, roadway deaths in Illinois will be much lower than in 2013, and possibly lower than in 2009.

IDOT and law enforcement officials are doing their part to help support that trend with a joint campaign to remind drivers to “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” and “Click It or Ticket.” As snow, ice and increased traffic during the winter holiday season bring an increased risk of accidents, strong enforcement efforts will be underway. Officers will focus on impaired, unrestrained, speeding and fatigued drivers, officials said. The enforcement efforts will also focus on nighttime hours, when more car accidents occur.

Teen driving deaths have also dropped in Illinois. In 2013, there were 71 teen fatalities, down from 155 in 2007. Officials say the state’s graduated driver licensing system, which launched in 2008, is a key factor in the decline. Under the graduated system, teenage permit holders must spend a certain amount of time driving with adult supervision before obtaining an unrestricted driver’s license.

Bob Briskman is a Chicago vehicle accident attorney with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.