As the winter season begins, Illinois residents are preparing to deal with cold and inclement weather. While most people will be taking precautions to protect themselves while at home or while driving, it can be impossible to foresee every potential hazard. This is especially true when it comes to snow and ice, which can greatly increase the chances of slip and fall accidents that lead to serious injuries. If you have been injured in this type of accident while you are in a public place or on someone else’s property, you will want to work with an attorney to determine how you can receive financial compensation.

Liability for Fall Accidents Caused by Winter Weather

During the winter, slip and fall accidents may occur on sidewalks or other outdoor walkways due to the accumulation of snow and ice. These accidents can also take place indoors at locations such as restaurants or stores due to wet floors caused by snow, sleet, or rain entering through a building’s doorways or water dripping from people’s shoes and clothes.

Property owners or tenants who are in control of a property are required to protect the safety of their visitors. If a property owner does not take steps to address hazards, they may be held liable for injuries that occur because of their negligence. For instance, a store owner may be responsible for slip and fall accidents that occurred because they did not clean up wet floors, did not use floor mats to prevent the accumulation of water near a building’s entrance, or did not provide warnings about slipping hazards.

Medical technology is constantly improving, and new devices and techniques are regularly made available to help address patients’ conditions and improve their health. Unfortunately, there are many cases where new products are found to be unsafe after being made available for public use, and defective medical devices can cause serious injuries to patients. Those who have been injured by these devices will want to work with a personal injury attorney who can help them determine their options for pursuing compensation from a product’s manufacturer or others who were responsible for their damages.

Medical Device Recalls and Patient Injuries

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regularly reviews and investigates the medical devices that are used by doctors and hospitals throughout the United States. If the FDA uncovers problems with medical devices that may present a danger to patients, a device’s manufacturer may be required to perform a recall, which may include removing devices from the market or performing repairs to address issues that affect patient safety. Some medical devices that have been subject to recalls in recent years include:

• Hip replacements - Artificial hip joints may be made of metal and other materials, but those that have metal-on-metal components have a high failure rate. Corrosion and wearing of these components can release toxic substances into a patient’s body, leading to infections, damage to muscles, nerves, and bones, and other complications.
• Transvaginal mesh - These implants have been used to address issues such as incontinence or injuries to pelvic organs. In some cases, mesh implants can deteriorate and break down, leading to sharp fragments that can perforate tissues and organs, resulting in internal bleeding and infections.
• IVC blood filters - Small metal filters may be inserted into major blood vessels to prevent blood clots from traveling to the lungs, brain, or heart. These filters may break apart, and metal pieces may travel through the bloodstream and perforate organs, leading to hemorrhaging and organ damage.
• Surgical warming blankets - During surgery, blankets that are heated by warm air may be used to stabilize a patient’s temperature. However, the circulation of air through these blankets may allow for the spread of germs, leading to serious infections.

Contact Our Rolling Meadows Product Liability Lawyers

While medical devices are meant to improve patients’ health, they can cause long-lasting or permanent injuries if they do not function properly. The attorneys of Newland & Newland, LLP can help you determine your options if you were injured by a defective medical device, and we will fight to ensure that you are fully compensated for the damages you have suffered. Contact our Palatine defective product attorneys at 847-797-8000 to set up a free consultation today.

Serious injuries can occur in a wide variety of situations, and in many cases, victims will be able to understand the immediate physical effects of their injuries and the impact this will have on their lives. However, some types of injuries are not always immediately obvious. Traumatic brain injuries are sometimes considered “invisible injuries,” since they cannot be easily observed, and their effects may not make themselves fully known for weeks or months after the injury occurred. 

Long-Term Complications of Traumatic Brain Injuries

Brain injuries can occur in a wide variety of different situations, ranging from car accidents, to slip and falls, to workplace accidents in which a person is struck by a falling object. Medical malpractice can also lead to brain injuries, such as when a doctor misdiagnoses a condition such as a blood clot that leads to damage to a patient’s brain.

In the immediate aftermath of a brain injury, a victim may experience symptoms such as loss of consciousness, headaches, dizziness, problems with balance and coordination, sensory issues, memory loss, or difficulty concentrating. In cases involving minor concussions, these symptoms may clear up over time with no permanent effects. However, moderate or severe brain injuries can have a permanent impact on a person’s health and well-being, leading to effects such as:

The holiday season is a dangerous time on our nation’s roads due to increased amounts of drunk driving. This period typically starts with “Blackout Wednesday,” when many people drink large amounts of alcohol on the day before Thanksgiving. The rest of Thanksgiving weekend usually sees hundreds of fatalities in drunk driving accidents, and this trend generally continues in the weeks leading up to Christmas as people enjoy drinking with friends and family during holiday parties. Alcohol consumption is also prevalent on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, and this often leads to another spike in traffic accidents and deaths. 

While this year’s holiday celebrations are likely to be smaller and more subdued than in years past for most families, there will still be too many people drinking and driving. Those who have been injured in accidents involving drunk drivers will want to understand their options for pursuing financial compensation.

Liability for Holiday Drunk Driving Accidents

In most car accident cases, victims will need to demonstrate that a driver acted negligently in order to collect compensation for their injuries and damages. In accidents involving a drunk driver, proving negligence is not difficult, since violating the law and driving while intoxicated is an act of negligence that puts others’ safety at risk. Victims may be covered by a drunk driver’s insurance policy, or they may pursue a personal injury lawsuit against the driver and seek to recover compensation for their damages, including medical bills, loss of income, and pain and suffering.

Putting a loved one in a nursing home can be a difficult decision, and it is one that is often made out of necessity, since family members may not be able to provide the ongoing care an elderly person needs. Unfortunately, some nursing homes fail to provide the appropriate level of care, and this can cause residents to experience serious injuries due to neglect. In these cases, families will want to work with an attorney to understand who was responsible for the harm suffered by their loved one and determine how to take legal action against a negligent nursing home.

Nursing Home Neglect Injuries

Staff members at a nursing home should always be attentive to patients’ needs. Unfortunately, many nursing homes are understaffed, or they may employ staff members that are not properly trained. This can result in a lack of proper supervision of patients and a failure to address concerns that could affect residents’ health and well-being. Some common injuries that can occur because of neglect include:

• Malnutrition or dehydration - If staff members do not ensure that patients are eating the proper food and drinking enough liquids, this can lead to a serious decline in a person’s overall health. In these cases, patients may experience weight loss, fatigue, dizziness, confusion, mental health issues, or loss of consciousness.
• Falls - Patients who have mobility issues may need assistance getting into or out of bed or moving throughout a nursing home during their daily routines. Failure to provide help or failure to address tripping or slipping hazards in a nursing home could cause residents to fall down and suffer injuries such as broken bones, brain trauma, or damage to internal organs.
• Bedsores - Residents who are bedridden or who spend most of their time sitting down should be moved regularly to prevent the development of sores on the parts of their body that remain in contact with beds, wheelchairs, or other surfaces. If bedsores are not addressed promptly, they can become infected and threaten a person’s overall health.
• Lack of medical care - All of a patient’s medical needs should be attended to by nurses or other personnel with the proper training. If a patient does not receive the proper medical care, a serious condition could go undiagnosed, or they may not receive the medications necessary to maintain good health.
• Wandering and elopement - If patients with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease are not properly supervised, they may wander into hazardous areas of a nursing home, or they may leave the premises altogether, putting them at risk of suffering harm due to slip and fall accidents, being hit by a car, or robberies.

Contact Our Arlington Heights Nursing Home Negligence Attorneys

If your loved one has been injured as a resident at a nursing home, Newland & Newland, LLP can work with you to determine whether this occurred because of neglect or other forms of negligence. We will help you understand your legal options for holding a nursing home responsible for the harm done to your family. Contact our Schaumburg nursing home neglect lawyers today at 847-797-8000 to arrange a free consultation.