Posted on November 10, 2020 in Car Accident

A car accident can be a frightening, traumatic experience. Even if a collision does not seem to cause serious injuries, it can still have long-lasting effects on your health and well-being. Addressing the costs of immediate medical treatment, long-term therapy, impairment to your ability to earn an income, repairs to your vehicle, or replacement of other damaged property can be difficult. These matters can become even more problematic if the driver who was responsible for the collision did not have insurance or if their insurance policy will not fully cover the costs of your damages. In cases involving uninsured or underinsured motorists, a skilled attorney can help you determine how you can receive the financial compensation you deserve.

UM and UIM Coverage

In Illinois, liability insurance policies are required to include uninsured motorist (UM) coverage at the legal minimum amounts. The minimum coverage for bodily injury or death is $25,000 for one person or $50,000 for multiple people. Your liability insurance will provide you with at least this amount if you are injured by a motorist without insurance. Depending on the terms of your policy, you may have coverage that is above this minimum amount. Your policy may also include underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage that will address the difference between what is covered by an at-fault driver’s policy and the full amount of your damages.

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 Posted on November 03, 2020 in Personal Injury

While everyone takes steps to protect their safety, the risk of injury is often present during our daily lives. While a personal injury suffered due to an accident can be difficult to deal with, a situation can become even more problematic when injuries are inflicted intentionally. This has become a major concern in our nation’s current politically charged atmosphere, and disagreements about issues such as wearing masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19 can sometimes lead to violent outbursts and physical altercations. Those who have been injured due to assault and battery or in bar fights or other situations involving alcohol intoxication should be sure to understand their options for pursuing compensation to address the ways their injuries have affected their lives.

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 Posted on October 30, 2020 in Drugs

The majority of U.S. residents take prescription medications from time to time. Unlike over-the-counter medications like aspirin, prescription medication must be prescribed by a physician and are typically dispensed by a pharmacist. The reason many medications are only available through a doctor’s prescription is because the medications have the potential to be abused or cause dangerous side effects. When we take a prescription medication, we trust that the medication will be safe and effective. Unfortunately, harmful medication mistakes happen to countless individuals every year in the United States.

Types of Medication Errors

Medication mistakes often occur due to an oversight or mix-up at a doctor’s office, hospital, or pharmacy at which a prescription is filled. Some of the most common medication mistakes include:

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 Posted on October 27, 2020 in Car Accident

Although it may seem like second nature to experienced drivers, driving a vehicle takes a great deal of attentiveness and concentration. When a driver is distracted by his or her cellphone, GPS system, stereo, or even other vehicle occupants, the driver can make critical errors. Distracted driving is estimated to cause over 1,000 car accident injuries and approximately nine deaths every day in the U.S. In fact, some experts say that distracted driving has become an even greater danger than drunk driving.  If you or a loved one were involved in a car accident caused by a distracted driver, you may be entitled to compensation.

Proving a Distracted Driver’s Negligence

Through a personal injury claim, you may be entitled to compensation for the costs incurred by your accident. You may receive compensation for your medical bills, vehicle damage, future and ongoing medical expenses, lost wages from missed work, and reduced earning capacity. If your loved one was killed in a distracted driving accident, you could be compensated for the loss of his or her financial support and household services, funeral and burial expenses, and more. However, to win a personal injury claim and recover compensation, you will need to prove that the driver’s negligence led to your injuries or your loved one’s death. An experienced personal injury lawyer can help you gather evidence that demonstrates the driver’s negligence. Police reports, photo and video evidence, data from the vehicles’ event data recorders, accident reconstruction, and eyewitness testimony may all be used to prove the driver’s fault.

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 Posted on October 19, 2020 in Medical Malpractice

Most people are nervous before going into surgery. This is certainly understandable. There are countless things that could go wrong during a surgical procedure, and a successful outcome is never guaranteed. While some negative surgical outcomes are unavoidable, other times, a patient’s injury or death during surgery is the result of medical malpractice. If you or a loved one were the victim of a surgical error, you may be entitled to financial compensation through a medical malpractice claim.

Medical Standard of Care

A surgeon, just like other medical professionals, has a duty to provide reasonably skilled medical treatment to the patients in his or her care. A surgeon fails to uphold this crucial duty if he or she provides treatment that violates the medical “standard of care.” The medical standard of care is the type of care that a medical professional of similar training and status would have provided in a comparable situation. In most medical malpractice claims, medical authorities offer expert opinions about whether the physician, surgeon, or other medical professional in question violated the medical standard of care.

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 Posted on October 13, 2020 in Car Accident

According to Illinois law, driving with a “willful or wanton disregard” for others’ safety is considered reckless driving. Unlike speeding or other minor traffic infractions, reckless driving is a criminal offense. If you were or a loved one were hurt in a car accident caused by a reckless driver, you may be eligible for financial compensation. The type of compensation you may be entitled to will depend on the circumstances of the accident, the severity of your injuries, and the costs incurred by these injuries.

Establishing the Reckless Driver’s Negligence

Criminal charges may bring a reckless driver to justice, but they do not provide restitution to the parties injured by the reckless driver’s actions. If your car accident was caused by a driver who was charged with reckless driving, you may bring a civil claim for damages against the driver in addition to the criminal charges he or she faces. However, a criminal conviction is not needed to recover compensation through a civil claim. You may still be entitled to financial compensation even if the driver was not charged or convicted of reckless driving.

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 Posted on October 08, 2020 in Uncategorized

Pharmacies have the exceptionally important responsibility of filling patients’ prescriptions and dispensing medication. If a pharmacist or other pharmacy worker makes a mistake, it is possible that a patient could receive the wrong medication or the wrong dosage of medication. This may lead to serious or even fatal consequences. If you or a loved one were harmed because of a pharmacy error, you may have a valid medical malpractice claim.

Common Types of Pharmacy Mistakes

When patients take a prescription to the pharmacist to have it filled, most trust that they will receive the correct prescription in the dosage ordered by their doctor. Unfortunately, pharmacists sometimes make mistakes. If a patient does not recognize a pharmacy mistake before taking the medication, he or she may take a drug that leads to severe medical complications. Some of the most common pharmacy errors include:

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 Posted on October 05, 2020 in Car Accident

If you were hurt in an auto accident caused by the negligent, careless, or wrongful actions of another party, a personal injury claim may enable you to recover compensation for your damages. Many people who are interested in bringing an injury claim after a car accident worry about how their own actions may influence the viability of their claim. Fortunately, it may be possible to bring a successful Illinois injury claim and recover financial compensation even in cases involving shared fault.

What If I Contributed to My Own Injuries?

Some people assume that an injured person cannot bring an injury claim and collect damages if he or she worsened his or her injuries in some way. For example, a person who sustains a severe head injury in a car accident may assume that he or she does not have a valid injury claim because he or she was not wearing a seatbelt or was speeding at the time of the accident.

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 Posted on September 30, 2020 in Car Accident

In 2018, alcohol was a factor in 27 percent of all fatal car accidents in Illinois, resulting in hundreds of deaths, and many more people were injured in non-fatal crashes involving alcohol. Drunk drivers in Illinois often face serious criminal charges to deter them from continuing to endanger others on the road, but this does not necessarily mean that they are required to make amends to the people whom they have harmed. If you or a family member has been injured in an accident caused by a drunk driver, your best chance at compensation is to work with a reputable attorney to file a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit.

Demonstrating Negligence in an Illinois Drunk Driving Accident

In most personal injury cases, obtaining compensation through a settlement or verdict is dependent on your ability to show that another party was negligent. This means that their behavior failed to account for their duty of care to you, and subsequently caused an accident resulting in your injuries and other damages.

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 Posted on September 25, 2020 in Car Accident

Commercial semi-trucks account for over 100 fatal crashes and 2,000 crashes causing injury in Illinois each year, and the majority of the victims are the occupants of other vehicles. Many of these accidents are caused by an error on the part of the driver, perhaps related to driver fatigue, speeding, or drunk driving. However, a substantial number are also caused by improper loading or maintenance before the truck even takes to the road. If you are injured in one of these accidents, it is important that you understand all possible options for compensation.

Trucking Industry Regulations for Maintenance and Loading

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) issues regulations for interstate truck drivers and trucking companies throughout the United States to ensure safe vehicle operation. Regarding maintenance, the FMCSA requires regular inspections of trucks and trucking equipment to identify any necessary repairs, as well as detailed record-keeping of repairs and maintenance. Any truck determined to be unsafe for the road must not be driven until it has been adequately repaired.

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