There are a variety of ways that doctors or other medical professionals can make mistakes that affect the health and well-being of their patients. Misdiagnosis is one of the most prevalent forms of medical malpractice, and it can cause patients to suffer serious harm. If a person’s condition is not properly diagnosed, they may not receive the necessary treatment in time to prevent serious risks to their health, or they may receive the wrong type of treatment, which can lead to additional health complications. 

Conditions That Can Lead to Misdiagnosis

Misdiagnosis or missed diagnosis can occur for a variety of reasons. Doctors may fail to properly consider a patient’s medical history, they may not spend enough time examining a patient, or they may not give enough weight to the symptoms reported by the patient. In other cases, diagnostic errors, including mistakes at medical labs, failure to order the proper tests, or failure to properly review test results, can lead to an incorrect diagnosis.

Some of the illnesses and ailments that are most commonly misdiagnosed include:

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.

Before making a claim through another driver’s insurance policy or with your own insurance company, it is advisable to consult with an attorney. Insurance companies will be looking to minimize the value of your claim, and any information you provide to them could be used to reduce the amount you can receive. Our lawyers can speak to insurance companies on your behalf, and we will work to negotiate a settlement that will fully address your injuries and damages and ensure that you receive compensation that will allow you to recover from your accident.

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.

Who Can Be Held Liable for Intentional Injuries?

Injury victims have the right to pursue financial compensation from those who were responsible for the harm they have suffered. In cases involving assault and battery, a victim will typically be able to take legal action against the person who intentionally injured them. By filing a personal injury lawsuit, a victim may be able to recover compensation for the costs of their medical treatment, the income they have lost due to their injuries, and the physical and emotional pain and suffering caused to them and their family.

In addition to the perpetrator of assault, other parties may also be liable for a victim’s injuries. If an assault occurred in a public place, such as a store, restaurant, or bar, the property owner or the tenant in control of the property may be held liable because they failed to take steps to protect their patrons’ safety. A victim may be able to pursue compensation from a property owner or tenant because of negligent security, including in cases where staff members did not break up a fight or remove a person from the premises because they were being violent or belligerent. Negligent security may also involve the failure to provide the proper safety measures on a property, such as inadequate lighting that led to a patron being robbed or attacked outside a store.

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:

• Mixing up “sound alike” medications with similar names such as hydroxyzine and hydralazine
• Administering the wrong type of medication to a patient in a hospital
• Giving a patient too little or too much medication
• Skipping doses of medication
• Prescribing or administering a medication the patient is allergic to
• Prescribing or administering a medication that negatively interacts with another drug
• Mixing up patient files
• Failing to adequately warn patient about drug interactions or side effects
• Failing to provide adequate instructions regarding how to take the drug
• Mislabeling medication
• Incorrectly manufacturing a medication that results in a medication defect

Bringing a Medical Malpractice Claim for Drug Errors

If you or a loved one were the victim of a drug mistake, you may be interested in bringing a legal action against the liable party. The party legally responsible for a drug mistake may be a medical professional such as a physician or a pharmacist, or it may be an organization such as a nursing home, hospital, or drug manufacturer.  To bring a successful medical malpractice claim for a medication error, you and your attorney will need to show that:

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.

Texting and Driving is Against the Law in Illinois

When a driver looks down at his or her cellphone or other electronic device, he or she cannot possibly pay attention to the road simultaneously. Texting and driving or using other smartphone applications while driving has led to countless car accidents in Illinois and across the U.S. Because of the danger it poses, Illinois has established laws prohibiting the use of hand-held phones and other electronic devices while driving. If your accident was caused by a someone texting and driving, it is possible that the driver will be considered “negligent per se.” This is a legal doctrine that makes an action automatically considered to be negligent because it is in violation of the law.