Posted on June 05, 2015 in Orland Park Personal Injury Lawyer

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) recently released its report on the ten most dangerous jobs in the country, based on workplace injuries and deaths from 2013. Although the bureau reports that the number of workplace fatalities were the second lowest since 1992, when they began recording this data, there were still 4,585 lives lost to workplace accidents.

According to the BLS, the people with the most dangerous jobs in the U.S. are those that work in the logging industry. There were 59 lives lost in logging accidents in 2013, which comes out to 91.3 fatalities for every 100,000 workers.

Fishermen, and other workers who are employed by fisheries, came in at number 2, with 27 work-related fatalities in 2013. The fatality rate for this occupation was 75 for every 100,000 workers.

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 Posted on June 01, 2015 in Cook County personal injury lawyer

Tracy Morgan and Walmart have announced a settlement regarding the New Jersey truck accident which seriously injured Morgan and killed comedian James McNair last year.  The terms of the settlement are being kept confidential, according to a press release first published by Marketwatch.

The lawsuit stems from a crash in June of 2014 when the limo in which Morgan and others were riding was struck from the rear by a semi-truck operated by a Walmart employee.

The lawsuit alleged that the Walmart truck driver had been awake for more than 24 hours before the crash and that his commute of 700 miles from his home in Georgia to work in Delaware was "unreasonable." It also alleges the driver fell asleep at the wheel.

A report by federal transportation safety investigators said the Walmart driver was driving 65 mph in the minute before he slammed into the limo van. The speed limit on that stretch of the New Jersey Turnpike was 55 mph and was lowered to 45 mph that night because of construction.

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 Posted on May 27, 2015 in Medical Malpractice

For many women, having their annual or bi-annual mammogram done and waiting for the results can be somewhat stressful. That stress often turns into fear when the tests show that there is the possibility of the presence of breast cancer. This diagnosis followed by a biopsy to determine whether or not there is cancer present. However, a new study has concluded that many of these biopsy results are actually inaccurate. Those inaccurate diagnoses, which are used to determine what course of treatment should be given, could potentially be causing patients to undergo unnecessary treatments, causing other medical issues.

There are three different types of biopsies which are used by doctors to determine if a patient has breast cancer. When a doctor suspects that a breast lump is filled with fluid, they will usually perform a fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy. If the lump is only a cyst, then it will typically collapse as the fluid is removed by the needle.

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 Posted on May 12, 2015 in Cook County personal injury lawyer

A new study conducted by the Stanford University School of Medicine discovered that the number of eye injuries sustained by children from non-powder guns has increased sharply within a two year period. In fact, these injuries rose by more than 500 percent.

Instead of using gunpowder to fire, non-powder guns utilize compressed air or springs. Examples of the types of non-powder guns included in the study were air, BB, paintball, and pellet guns. These items have experienced a surge in popularity over the past few years,  and according to statistics, there are approximately 3.2 million non-powder guns sold in this country every year.

Researchers analyzed the number of reported eye injuries, caused by non-powder guns, which occurred between 2010 and 2012. The data used came from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System.

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 Posted on April 23, 2015 in Marijuana Use

On April 20, 2015, Cook County State’s Attorney, Anita Alvarez, announced a new policy in the Cook County State’s Attorney office regarding the prosecution of  persons charged with possession of marijuana and related drugs.

Under the new policy, the State’s Attorney’s Office will no longer prosecute most cases of misdemeanor cannabis possession and will divert Class 4 felony cannabis possession and other Class 4 controlled substance offenders to alternative programs, including a newly created drug deferred prosecution program.  This includes cases involving possession of cocaine, heroin and ecstasy, as well as other controlled substances.

However, each new charge will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.  Additionally, persons with certain criminal backgrounds will not be eligible for the new program.

Additionally, the State’s Attorney has stated that the new policy will not apply to those persons already charged.

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 Posted on April 23, 2015 in Orland Park Personal Injury Lawyer

Getting sued over a dog bite is one of the most costly experiences a pet owner can go through. According to the Insurance Information Institute, as reported by Forbes, the average cost of a dog bite lawsuit is more than $26,000. While the number of insurance claims have dropped nearly 5 percent since 2010, the costs associated with the lawsuit have steeply risen. In fact, according to a separate report from the Insurance Information Institute, dog bites accounted for more than 30 percent of all homeowners insurance liability claim dollars paid out in 2011, costing consumers nearly $479 million that year. In that time period, the average claim was up 12.3 percent from the previous year, to more than $29,000.

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 Posted on April 18, 2015 in Car Accidents

When the nation attempted to crack down on drinking and driving, a national ad campaign was launched to raise awareness about the problem. In 1980, for example, the year that Candy Lightner founded Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), there were estimated to be more than 21,000 Americans killed in drunk driving accidents. Today, that number has decreased by almost 50 percent.

With social evolution and technological advances, of course, come new challenges. Today’s greatest driving safety challenge may not have to do with intoxicating substances, but with devices ubiquitous in our everyday lives. Texting and driving has become one of the greatest new road safety challenges of the 21st century. And many states have launched campaigns—in the tradition of MADD way back in 1980—to combat this.

In 2014, Illinois put into effect a new law that not only banned texting and driving, but represented one of the strictest measures in the country against the use of handheld mobile devices while driving. NBC Chicago reports that statistics gathered soon after the law was put into place showed that the crackdown was having an effect—depending on where you lived. Evanston, Illinois, was one area in which the new law seemed to have a strong impact. Police there reported that more than $100,000 had been collected for the city based on tickets given for handheld device use infractions; more than 500 in the first few months of the new law.

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 Posted on March 18, 2015 in Illinois personal injury attorney

It can seem unfathomable to an animal lover that his or her beloved companion might be capable of inflicting life-changing harm. Many dogs, of course, will live out their lives without ever placing a person in any danger. Others, however, may attack without warning causing serious and potentially fatal injuries to an unsuspecting individual. Dog bites may also result in the animal’s owner being held liable for any and all injuries sustained as a result.

Dangerous Breeds

Research compiled from the United States and Canada by Merritt Clifton, editor of Animals 24-7, indicated that in the last 30 years, a large majority of dog bites and attacks are inflicted by a single category of breeds known as molosser dogs. This group of animals, which includes pit bulls, rottweilers, mastiffs, boxers, and sharpeis, was responsible for more than 85 percent of all attacks causing bodily harm.  Particularly striking is the fact that such breeds constitute less than 10 percent of the total dog population.

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 Posted on March 06, 2015 in Car Accidents

One of the most popular modes of transportation for youth sports groups, church groups, and other organizations is the 15-passenger van. Many families or groups of friends will also rent these large vehicles when traveling together, rather than using separate vehicles. However, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) warns that these vehicles can be dangerous.

According to the NHTSA, overloaded 15-passenger vans have a greater risk of being involved in a rollover accident, and many of these accidents can be fatal. Overloading the van also makes it unstable when driving, which also increases the risk of other types of traffic accidents.

Past testing conducted by the NHTSA revealed that the more occupants in the van, the greater the risk of a roll-over, even in a single-vehicle crash. In fact, a van carrying 10 occupants has a three times higher risk of rolling over than a van carrying five occupants.

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 Posted on February 26, 2015 in Personal Injury

Every year, over 1.5 million older Americans visit hospital emergency rooms for treatment of injuries they sustain from slips or falls. For seniors, falls are the number one cause of injury death, hospital admission for traumas, and bone fractures. The most common fractures from falls are hips, pelvis, spine, arm, hand, and ankle.

The most serious type of fracture for seniors is a hip fracture. Many seniors who receive a hip injury from a fall never fully recover and lost their ability to live independently, often needling long-term care.

A recent study by the researchers from the University of Massachusetts found that seniors are more likely to suffer a slip or fall while they are walking on order to do routine errands, rather than when they are walking for exercise. The study points out what a catch-22 this is for older people as walking is good exercise and helps them maintain balance and muscle strength, yet 63 percent of falls are caused by walking.

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