February 12th, 2010
While some states believe that anyone who buys a home near a golf course assumes the risk associated with such a location, Illinois is not one of these states. As a result, a judge has allowed a woman who was struck by a golf ball while tending her flowers in a home near the course to sue the man who hit the ball for negligence. She has said that the injury caused her to suffer from migraine headaches. Her Chicago accident attorney has asked that she receive $50,000 in damages.
To read more on the issue, see the article in the Chicago Tribune. Image via chispita 666 [Flickr].
Tags: accidents, golf, golfing, negligence, responsibility, risk
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February 5th, 2010
The Illinois Supreme Court overturned the legislature’s decision to cap medical malpractice awards. The state had enacted a rule limiting medical malpractice damages to no more than $500,000 for doctors and $1,000,000 for hospitals. The decision was not based on whether these caps were reasonable, but on the fact that these types of decisions should be considered a judicial duty, not a legislative duty.
“The separation of powers clause prohibits one branch of government from exercising ‘powers properly belonging to another,’” wrote Chief Justice Thomas R. Fitzgerald, “Thus, the inquiry under the separation of powers clause is not whether the damages cap is rationally related to a legitimate government interest but, rather, whether the legislature, through its adoption of the damages cap, is exercising powers properly belonging to the judiciary.”
Supporters of the cap claimed that it would help lower medical malpractice insurance rates and amount to lower medical treatment for citizens. Opponents, like most Chicago personal injury lawyers, agreed with the judge that the courts should have the right to assign any value they see fair in a medical malpractice case.
To read more about the decision, see the article in Courthouse News Service. Image via Vet Moves.com [Flickr].
Tags: judicial decisions, lawsuit laws, lawsuits, malpractice caps, medical malpractice
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February 1st, 2010
One of the biggest misconceptions people have about lawsuits is the idea that the plaintiff is always after money and operating out of greed. This is not always the case though. Many lawsuits are filed with the intent of preventing harm from befalling another person.
In one example, the Chicago accident attorney representing Rev. Chester Przybylo is trying to help his client restore his good name and to dissuade people from falsely accusing other church representatives of sexual assault. In 2006, the reverend was accused of molesting a boy in the early nineties. While the charges against Przybylo were dropped, he continues to face harassment at his home and church. His car has been vandalized and people have spit at him on the street.
In an effort to get his good name back and to retrieve money his accuser won in a settlement with the diocese, the pastor is now filing suit. He and his lawyer say that by bundling several abuse cases at once, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) are preventing many innocent priests from defending themselves against such allegations. Przybylo has filed 11 counts of wrongdoing against SNAP, his accuser and his accuser’s attorney. He claims if he wins his suit, he will return the money to the churchgoers who fund the parish.
To read more about the suit, see the article in the Daily Herald. Image via METROgrl [Flickr].
http://www.yourchicagoaccidentattorney.com
Tags: clergy abuse, defamation, emotional distress, false allegations, sexual assault, slander, tarnished repuations, wrongful accusations
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January 25th, 2010
The family of a man shot by police are now suing the department, claiming the officer’s actions went too far.
The police officers who killed Dan Mojziszek claim they had no other choice, as he was attempting to run over them in his car.
Mojziszek was a teacher until an array of legal and mental health problems put him on a dangerous track. He had gone to jail around six times, often on vehicular-related charges. Finally, the bipolar man led police on a slow-speed chase that would be his last. Police followed him for several miles because he was driving erratically and tried to hit their squad cars. After officers stopped the car and surrounded Mojziszek, he put his car in gear and seemed ready to hit them. That’s when the police opened fire.
His family has questioned the officer’s decision to shoot the driver, rather than his car’s tires. “Should he have been behind the wheel? Absolutely not. But the punishment of shooting him, the alleged danger or the perception by police I do not buy,” said Frank Avila, the family’s Chicago accident attorney, who is expected to file a multi-million dollar lawsuit in the upcoming month.
The mayor of Franklin Park, Barrett Parson, supports the police department, “I believe that the protocol followed by my officers here in Franklin Park and the officers in surrounding communities was appropriate given the circumstances and the threat to public safety.”
To read more about the suit, see the article on ABC Local. Image via Davidsonscott15 [Flickr].
Tags: excessive force, police abuse, police brutality, wrongful death
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January 15th, 2010
A drunken off-duty police officer struck and killed 29 year old Man Wong on December 20 when he lost control of his car and struck the median at the Stevenson Expressway near Central Avenue. The car flipped over the median and entered oncoming traffic, where it struck Wong’s car. Now Wong’s family is taking the officer, 34 year-old Edward Stapinski, to court in a lawsuit. The family is seeking $20 million in damages from the reckless Lockport police officer.
Stapinski is being formally charged with reckless homicide and aggravated drunken driving. The Wong family’s Chicago personal injury lawyer will also be able to use any evidence against the officer in his criminal trial for the civil lawsuit. This means even if Stapinski is able to avoid some of the criminal convictions for his crimes, he will likely lose his lawsuit, as civil trials have a lower burden of proof than criminal proceedings.
The WestEnd Bar and Grill in Chicago and the company that operates the bar, Four Corners Tavern Group, are also named in the lawsuit, as the WestEnd Bar continued to serve Stapinski after he was noticeably intoxicated –making them liable for his actions under the state’s dram shop laws. Because Stapinski’s blood alcohol content was around three times the legal limit for driving, there is good reason to believe that the bar was aware of his intoxicated state.
To read more about this accident, see the article in the South Town Star. Image via Phillippe Sergent [Flickr].
Tags: car accidents, drunk driving, manslaughter, reckless driving, wrongful death
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January 11th, 2010
A Hurricane Katrina hospital negligence lawsuit could result in widespread consequences when it comes to how hospitals deal with emergency situations. The problem all started when a woman on a breathing machine in the Pendleton Memorial Methodist Hospital in New Orleans died after her machine’s power shut off, leaving her to suffocate. This is the first civil lawsuit filed in the wake of the devastating hurricane and one certain to have ramifications that can affect the entire county.
The lawyers representing the family are saying that the hospital failed to prepare for the hurricane and are asking for $11.7 million in damages. The hospital’s attorneys have claimed the hurricane was a natural disaster and could not have been planned for. The plaintiff’s lawyers have countered by pointing out that the city’s health officials previously asked the hospital staff if they believed the generators could survive through a fifteen foot flood. At that time, the staff members said the generators could not continue working in such conditions.
In 2007, the state’s supreme court decided the case was not a malpractice case, which permitted the family to seek an unlimited amount of damages, as malpractice cases in the state are subject to a $500,000 cap.
Chicago personal injury attorneys say the case could make hospitals responsible for their patients no matter what emergencies occur, including snow storms, tornadoes, etc.
To read more about the story, see the article in USA Today. Image Via au tiger01 [Flickr].
Tags: around the nation, emergency preparedness, hospitals, katrina, medical malpractice, negligence
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December 30th, 2009
When Katherine Willeke was held up by two men with weapons on the L line, her first reaction was to call for help by using the panic button. Unfortunately, the button was out of order, despite police recently sending out a “robbery alert” after a series of thefts took place on the Green line earlier in the month. When Willeke tried to call the police on her cell phone, the muggers began physically attacking her and hit her multiple times with a metal pipe. She claims the subway operator witnessed the entire incident and failed to help or notify authorities.
Now she is working with a Chicago personal injury attorney to sue the Chicago Transit Authority for their role in failing to prevent the incident. She contends that they should have known better than to disable the panic button, particularly after the police issued their warning about the recent robberies. She also says the train operator was negligent in failing to summon aid during the attack.
To read more about this tragic incident, see the article in the Chicago Sun Times. Image Via Pirate Alice [Flickr].
Tags: chicago transit authority, crime, muggings, negligence, robbery, subways
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December 23rd, 2009
Soy, like most good things, still needs to be taken in moderation. While the beans can be turned into a number of inexpensive, flavorful, protein-rich foods, it can be very hard on the digestive tract and cause other problems when eaten in too high quantities. The prisoners at a local prison have found this out the hard way, as their food options are mostly limited to items containing soy. A typical menu at the prison consists of turkey patties with soy, soy hot dogs, soy sloppy Joe’s and soy chicken patties. The average prisoner is consuming around 100 grams of soy -about four times the FDA recommended soy intake. To make matters worse, some prisoners are actually allergic to the bean and find themselves lacking suitable alternatives in the cafeteria.
Fed up with the health dangers of this diet, nine prisoners suffering from allergies, gastro-intestinal problems and thyroid problems are now filing suit against the prison, with the help of the Weston A. Price Foundation, a charity against the over-industrialization of foods. While the Department of Corrections has urged the judge to drop the lawsuit, the case has many people turning their heads to pay attention to the prisoner’s plight. One prisoner nearly passed out after suffering from gastro-intestinal pain from the soy diet. Another prisoner, allergic to soy, had to go on a hunger strike before he was offered an alternative diet.
The prisoner’s Chicago personal injury attorney is seeking a court injunction preventing soy from being served in the prisons and an undisclosed amount of compensation for his plaintiff’s health problems.
To read more about the case, see the article in the Chicago Tribune. Image Via House of Sims [Flickr].
Tags: health problems, inhumane conditions, prison food, prisoners, soy
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December 21st, 2009
An Illinois appeal court has overturned a 2003 lawsuit verdict requiring the city of Chicago pay $12.5 million to the family members of a man who was wrongfully killed by the police. The higher court explained that the city had received an unfair trial after the jurors in the case were told too many times that Officer Alvin Weems acted with “willful and wanton conduct” when he shot the unarmed victim. While the city’s attorneys agreed that Weem’s conduct was “willful and wanton” they asked the judge to limit the family’s Chicago personal injury attorney’s use of the word during the trial. The appellate court believed the lawyers representing the victim had violated this order by using the term too often, thus denying the city’s right to a fair trial.
Originally the city denied that Weems had acted in an inappropriate manner, but they accepted responsibility after a security camera surveillance tape was released to the public, showing the officer’s behavior.
The family says they will now take the case to the Illinois Supreme Court.
To read more about this decision, see the article in the Chicago Tribune. Image Via PetroleumJellife [Flickr].
Tags: appeals, crime, police, police brutality, police shootings
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December 11th, 2009
One of the last places a person would expect to be injured would be at a concert of the pop-group Hanson, best known for their mid-90’s single “Mmmbop,” however, that’s just what happened to 23 year old Brittney Hernandez. Brittney stood outside after the concert and snapped a photo of the group as they entered their tour bus. It was at this point that a 31 year old security guard from the concert venue attempted to take the camera from Brittney’s hands, never once saying why.
A bystander watching the incident recorded the incident, from this point on, with her cell phone’s video camera (a still image from the video can be seen at right). As seen in the video, the guard, Darrell Gibson, hit Brittney in the face. She fell on the floor and he hit her in the face again, leaving her crumpled on the ground and motionless. Two other House of Blues guards watched the incident, but did not break it up.
“We played tug-of-war at first with just the camera and then he just, like, attacked me,” she says. “He ripped my hair and put my face into the cement.”
Brittney’s Chicago personal injury attorney says they will not know the full extent of the damages she suffered until the treatment has been completed. Although the value of the suit has yet to be decided, the lawyer has stated that the House of Blues will face accusations of assault, battery, theft, negligent hiring and training, and statutory ordinance violations such as battery, theft, and failing to report the activity to police.
To read more about the incident, see the article in Marina City Online.
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While some states believe that anyone who buys a home near a golf course assumes the risk associated with such a location, Illinois is not one of these states. As a result, a judge has allowed a woman who was struck by a golf ball while tending her flowers in a home near the course to sue the man who hit the ball for negligence. She has said that the injury caused her to suffer from migraine headaches. Her Chicago accident attorney has asked that she receive $50,000 in damages.
