Chicago Accident and Injury Lawyer Blog

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed a lawsuit against SFCA, Inc., a crib distributor, for allegedly ignoring a nationwide recall of bassinets that can cause babies to suffocate. Simplicity bassinets were recalled in August 2008 after at least one baby suffered a strangulation death. SFCA purchased the assets of Reading, Pa.-based Simplicity earlier this year. CNN has reported that SFCA has said that it is not responsible for products previously manufactured by Simplicity. I think it is a shameful business practice to not take the necessary steps to protect consumers, especially newborn babies.

"Our investigation revealed that SFCA continued to distribute recalled products that posed serious risks to children," Madigan said in a statement. "I will not allow this company to wash its hands of responsibility to Illinois families."

Attorney General Madigan has issued a guide called, Rest Assured, to help parents and caretakers determine if their crib, bassinet or playard is part of the recall.

Continue reading " ILLINOIS ATTORNEY GENERAL SUES BASSINET DISTRIBUTOR " »

Open-road tolling is not just convenient and conducive to getting you to your destination quicker, it also could help save lives.

Illinois toll roads have been the scene of fatal pile-ups at toll booths in the past. On October 1, 2003, around 3 p.m., a multi-vehicle accident occurred on the approach to an I-90 toll plaza near the Hampshire-Marengo toll plaza. A 1995 Freightliner tractor trailer was traveling eastbound approaching the toll plaza when it struck the back of a 25-passenger specialty bus. The specialty bus struck the rear of a pickup truck, which was pushed into the rear of another tractor trailer causing it to overturn. The pickup truck was struck by another tractor trailer approaching the toll booth. Sadly, eight of the passengers on the bus were fatally injured and twelve other bus passengers suffered injuries.

View an NTSB animation of the toll booth accident here.

After completing an investigation of this tragic accident (NTSB Number HAR-06/03), the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined that the probable cause of the accident was the failure of the Freightliner truck driver to slow down for traffic and operating his vehicle too fast for traffic conditions. The NTSB found that contributing to the accident was the traffic backup in a 45-mph zone, created by vehicles stopping for the Hampshire-Marengo toll plaza.

The NTSB identified “toll plaza design and the lack of national standards for toll plaza design” as a safety issue that needed to be addressed.

It was recently reported that Chicago Skyway Concession Co. - the Spanish-Australian consortium that is leasing the Chicago Skyway - is asking the Illinois General Assembly to authorize camera enforcement and administrative adjudication of Skyway toll violators. This may be the first step toward replacing the current system with open-road tolling and potentially reducing accidents related to traffic backing up at toll booths.

Continue reading " ILLINOIS TOLL ROADS: REDUCING TOLL BOOTH ACCIDENTS " »

Nine medical helicopters have crashed since last December in the United States causing the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to call upon the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) to institute more stringent operating rules. Other proposals include requiring the air ambulance companies to identify potential risks pre-flight and to install devices to warn pilots of a danger of striking the ground or other obstructions.

Earlier this month, an Air Angels medical helicopter crashed in Aurora after striking a radio tower wire killing all four aboard the aircraft.

The Chicago Suntimes reported that 2008 was the deadliest year on record for medical transport helicopters. 'We need to put the foot down to the pedal. People are dying,'' NTSB board member Debbie Hersman said. ''There needs to be a sense of urgency. The fatalities are going up and up.''

The Illinois Supreme Court is being asked to hold that a St. Clair County Municipal Bus Service has no duty to ensure the safety of young children after they get off their bus. Whitney Evans v. Bi-State Development Agency, No. 107329. The duty to ensure the safety of students after they get off the bus has traditionally been confined to school bus operators. Here, Bi-State was operating a bus service for the St. Clair County Transportation Authority. Bi-State provided a “tripper service” in which they would accommodate the extra demand of students traveling to and from school. The underlying lawsuit arises from a situation where a student was struck by a car after attempting to cross the street after the Bi-State bus she was riding departed from the bus stop.

In Illinois, bus operators and bus companies which transport our young children to and from school are required to use the highest degree of care in the practical operation of their buses. In this case, although they may not be a bus company by “name,” Bi-State is in the business of transporting children during the tripper service. As the plaintiff alleged in the case, Bi-State is operating as a “de facto” school bus company.

The bus company is attempting to avoid liability and financial responsibility by contending they were not operating a school bus “service” at the time of the incident.

Sadly, this is not an isolated incident. As previously mentioned on www.chicagoaccidentinjurylawyer.com, an average of 20 children die in school transportation-related crashes each year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Parents entrust that the bus companies, which are profiting from this business venture, will safely get their children from point “a” from “b.” Bi-State’s position seems to differ from that of the parents in Illinois law. Are they a school bus service? The Illinois Supreme Court may opt to decide this issue. Coincidentally, the appellate court denied Bi-State’s leave to appeal last month. All I know is if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and looks like a duck, it is usually a duck.

Halloween is a frightfully fun time of year, for adults and children alike, but keep these "tricks" in mind to keep the holiday a "treat" for everyone.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends the following tips:

*Look for the label "FLAME RESISTANT" when buying costumes, wigs, masks, and beards.
*Avoid costumes made with flimsy material and outfits with big, baggy sleeves or billowing skirts.
*Wear costumes that are light and bright enough to be clearly visible to motorists.
*Decorate or trim costumes with reflective tape that will glow in the beam of a car's headlights.
*Make sure your child's costume is short enough to prevent your child from tripping and falling.
*Have your child wear well-fitting, sturdy shoes.
*Hats and scarves should be tied securely to prevent them from slipping over children's eyes.
*Apply a natural mask of cosmetics rather than have a child wear a loose-fitting mask that might restrict breathing or obscure vision. If your child does wear a mask, make sure it fits securely and has eyeholes large enough to allow full vision.
*Swords, knives, and similar costume accessories should be of soft and flexible material.

Happy Halloween, Chicagoland! Be safe!

Continue reading " HALLOWEEN COSTUME SAFETY TIPS...FOR YOU AND ALL YOUR LITTLE "PUMPKINS" " »

It won't be too long before it will be too cold for the kids to be playing on the jungle gym at school, but in these last few weeks, remind your kids to play it safe.

Just last week a fifth grade boy in Lake Oswego, Oregon died during recess while playing flag football. Children die at play far too frequently. Indeed, the National Program for Playground Safety (NPPS) reports that approximately 205,860 preschool and elementary children receive emergency department care each year for injuries that occur on playground equipment. More than three-quarters of these injuries happened on public playground equipment and nearly 45% of those injuries occurred on school property. Tragically, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission concluded that 147 children under the age of 15 were killed in accidents involving playground equipment. According to CPSC Chairman Ann Brown, "Children should be out on the playground where they belong, not in the hospital emergency room."

NPPS suggests the following tips to keep your children S.A.F.E.:
SUPERVISION: Adult presence is necessary to watch for potential hazards.
AGE-APPROPRIATE EQUIPMENT: Younger children are developmentally different and need different equipment located in separate areas from equipment for older children.
FALLS: Nearly 70% of all playground injuries are related to falls to the surface Playground surfaces should not be concrete, asphalt, grass, blacktop, packed dirt or rocks.
EQUIPMENT: Equipment should be anchored safely in the ground and all equipment should be in good working order.

Recess turned tragic last week in Lake Oswego, Oregon when a 5th grader died during a game of flag football. The deputy state medical examiner who performed the autopsy determined that the boy died from blunt force trauma that stopped his heart. Doctors agree that this was an "extremely unusual" and "very, very, very rare" injury. Students, teachers and parents in the Lake Oswego community are still reeling from this tragedy and my heart goes out to them. It is heartwrenching to think that a child could be taken so abruptly and unfairly from his family.

The American Heart Association reports that more than 200,000 Americans die of sudden cardiac arrest each year and that up to 50,000 of these deaths could have been prevented with an automated external defibrillator (AED). An AED is a portable automatic device used to restore normal heart rhythm to patients in cardiac arrest. Schools are a logical place to put defibrillators, doctos say, because on any given day as much as 20% of a community's population passes through its schools.

In response to a number of preventable children's deaths, the US House of Representatives passed a bill earlier this summer which will establish a grant prgram throught e Department of Education that will provide schools with funds for lifesvaing AEDs and AED/CPR training. The bill was modeled on a successful AED program recently implemented in Ohio which has already saved 13 lives. U.S. Rep. Betty Sutton (D-OH), the bill's sponsor, said, "The availability of AEDs can be the difference between life and death when an individual goes into sudden cardiac arrest. Schools are central gaterhing places in our communities, and placing AEDs in our schools will not only potentially save the lieves of students enrolled there, but they will be available for teachers and sfaff, parents and volutneers, and the many other members of the communicty who pass through our schools every single day."

Illinois is ahead of the game. Pursuant to Illinois's Physical Fitness Medical Emergency Preparedness Act all schools are required to have an automated external defibrillator (AED) available in their indoor physical fitness facilities.

All thirteen schools in Lake Oswego have portable defibrillators. Unfortunately, the school staff did not use it on this young child. As made tragically clear last week, legislation requiring AEDs and AED training does little good if those trained to use the AED fail to use it in situations that warrant it.

An average of 35% of the restrained occupants of heavy trucks (weighing in excess of 10,000 lbs) involved in accidents in the United States in 1994, 1995, and 1997 suffered incapacitating or fatal injuries, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA)) in their report on truck rollovers. Significant injuries occur for occupants of tractor trailers involved in a rollover, even when they are restrained. Of course, the rollover impacts other individuals on the roads as well. There is a new system that could help to prevent rigs from rolling over and hopefully reduce the number of fatalities and incapacitating injuries.

The computer program works by employing the brakes on both the right and left sides of the vehicle to prevent a rollover. The system works to enhance driver control.

Meritor WABCO, a manufacturer of stability solutions, describes its rollover prevention technology as follows:

Rapid lane changes and cornering on slippery surfaces can trigger spinout, driftout or jackknifing, often before the driver is aware. ESC's lateral accelerometer, steer angle sensor and yaw rate sensor enhance driver control in these conditions. Brakes are applied selectively to individual wheels on the front and rear axles, as well as the trailer axles, to bring the vehicle back to its intended direction.

Continue reading " TRUCK ACCIDENTS: USING TECHNOLOGY TO PREVENT ROLLOVERS " »

This year, as you don your Halloween costumes and head outside for trick-or-treating, keep in mind that statistics show that Autumn is the deadliest time of year for pedestrians. A June 2008 report from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) indicates that Halloween (October 31st) has one of the highest rates of fatalities for pedestrians, preceded only by New Years Day. In the United States in 2006, there were 306 pedestrian fatalities in May, versus 497 in October. Be careful!

The report details NHTSA's examination of police-reported pedestrian crash deaths from 1997 to 2006. Of the cities that have the highest number of pedestrian fatalities, Chicago ranks third. Between 1997 and 2005, there were 687 pedestrian fatalities in Chicago.

The Center for Disease Control offers the following tips for a safe Halloween for pedestrians:

- Remind drivers to look out for trick-or-treaters;
- Fasten reflective tape to costumes and bags to help drivers see you;
- Hold a flash light to help drivers see you;
- Look both ways before crossing the street;
- Use crosswalks;
- Only walk on sidewalks or on the far edge of the road facing traffic; and
- Wear well-fitting masks, costumes and shoes to avoid blocked vision, trips and falls

Continue reading " PEDESTRIANS, BE CAREFUL THIS HALLOWEEN! " »

This past Saturday a motorcyclist was killed in central Illinois when he was struck by a boat that flew off its trailer and into oncoming traffic after the driver of the trailer hit a guardrail. The motorcyclist was not wearing a helmet. An autopsy report concluded that the man died from multiple injuries.

A research note from August, 2005 prepared by the National Highway Traffic Safety Adminsitration's National Center for Statistics and Analysis (NHTSA NCSA) reported that helmets are roughly 37% effective in preventing fatalities. In 2003, there were 3,661 rider deaths in fatal motorcycle crashes. An effectiveness of 37% for motorcycle helmets suggests that an estimated 1,158 additional motorcyclists would have died were it not for the fact that they were wearing helmets. Had all motorcyclists consistently worn proper helmets, an additioanl 640 motorcyclists could have survived otherwise fatal crashes in 2003.

Currently, there is no law in Illinois requring motorcyclists to wear helmets. The only "equipment" that Illinois law mandates motorcyclists to use are glasses, goggles or a transparent shield. (See Section 11-1404 specifically).

Illinois is only one of three states in the entire country that has no motorcycle helmet law in any form. This is shocking considering the value of a helmet. Hopefully Illinois will catch up with her sister states soon and enact life-saving legislation.

For more information on the history of helmet laws (or lack thereof) in Illinois, click here.

Continue reading " NO HELMET, NO HARLEY " »

A medical helicopter operated by Air Angels, Inc. en route from Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago from Valley West Hospital in Sandwich crashed in a field in Aurora minutes before midnight. Sadly, everyone on board died, including three crew members and a 13-month old infant who was believed to be suffering from seizures.

Initial reports indicate that the helicopter may may have clipped a wire from a 750-foot WBIG radio tower. Reports indicate that the tower's structural integrity is in question and engineers are currently evaluating it.

Air Angels, Inc. is based out of Clow Airport in Bolingbrook, IL. This is the third crash involving an Air Angels helicopter. A January 2003 crash involved pilot error and weather and an August 2007 crash involved mechanical problems.

As previously mentioned on this blog, in an October 13, 2008 post, there has been increased attention regarding the need for additional safety measures on EMS helicopters.

Continue reading " MEDICAL HELICOPTER CRASHES IN AURORA " »

Two people were killed this past weekend in St. Clair County as the result of a car accident. The vehicle struck a culvert and flipped over, ejecting the passenger and partially ejecting the driver. Neither person was wearing a seat belt.

Mascoutah Police Chief Bruce Fleshren told reporters, "Here again, and far too many times, we tragically lose young people to what statisitcs show could possibly be a preventable death, if people would wear seat belts." The police chief noted that seat belts are "no guarantee," but failure to use them rapidly increases the risk of death or injury. "I find it hard to believe that today people do not wear seat belts," he said. I echo that sentiment...it takes mere seconds to buckle up and the choice to do so could very well be the difference between life and death.

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported in December 2007 that the use of seat belts in vehicles saved an estimated 15,383 lives in 2006 and a whopping 75,000 lives between 2002 and 2006. In Illinois alone, 465 lives were saved thanks to seat belts. Sadly, an additional 5,441 lives would have been saved in 2006 if all unrestrained motor vehicle occupants involved in fatal crashes had worn their seatbelts. These statistics make me question why anyone would choose to forgo buckling up.

On the bright side, according to a September 2008 press release, the NHTSA has found that more Americans are buckling up than ever before, with 83% of vehicle occupants using seatbelts during daylight hours; this represents a 1% increase from 2007. The NHTSA estimates that approximately 270 lives are saved for every one percent increase in belt use. The report unfortunately also reveals that the lowest use of seatbelts is right here in the Midwest, with only 79% of people buckling up.

Buckling up should be an automatic thing when you get into a vehicle. Remember; it only takes a second to potentially prevent an unnecessary death.

Continue reading " HEY ILLINOIS! BUCKLE UP! " »

Harvest season is upon us. For those of us in congested Cook County, we might not be aware of this, but if we head down south to Kankakee County or west out to DeKalb County, one need only drive down a rural road to see farmers out gathering their crop. Farmers use these same rural roads to get to their various fields and the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) along with the Illinois Department of Agriculture are encouraging motorists to be on alert for tractors and farm equipment sharing the roads.

IDOT reports that last year there were 267 vechicle-farm equipment collisions. Of these, 98 injuries and 4 fatalities resulted. The 2007 collision rate represents a marked increase from the collision rate of 2006 when there were only 239 crashes. The majority of these accidents were rear-end collisions, and it is not the farmer who gets injured.

Drivers from the city or suburbs don't always understand or acknowledge that tractors usually don't have brake lights, or that they run at less than 20 miles per hour, or that most farmers can't see what's behind them if they are pulling something. As such, it is up to motorists to proceed with caution.

Continue reading " Tractors vs. Vehicles: Tension on Rural Roads during Harvest Season " »

Earlier this month, a tree limb impaled an Illinois woman's leg as a result of a crash on Interstate 70 in Indiana. The accident was reportedly due to road rage. The 30-year old injured woman was a mere passenger in the vehicle. The driver told police that he lost control of his car after a gray Mustang swerved into his car as he drove in the right westbound lane. According to the driver, the Mustang had been tailgating him prior to the accident.

Road rage has become a big problem in the United States. In fact, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety reports that unverified figures of up to 1,200 road rage-related deaths a year have been reported. A survey commissioned by the Automobile Association in 1995 found that 90% of drivers had experienced road rage incidents in the previous year and over 60% of respondents had admitted losing their tempers while behind the wheel.

The US Department of Transportation (USDOT) recommends the following tips to avoid road rage:
* Don't yell or use obscene gestures.
* Don't block the passing lane. Stay to the right if you are obstructing the flow of traffic.
* Always signal when changing lanes. Use your horn sparingly.
* Don't tailgate.
* Cooperate and don't compete on the road. Let other drivers merge into traffic in an orderly fashion.
* Don't take another's actions personally. Everybody makes mistakes.

Continue reading " ROAD RAGE LEADS TO CATASTROPHIC RESULTS " »

This past Saturday, four people were killed when a helicopter operated by the Marlyand State Police went down in a park in suburban Washington, D.C. This was the eighth fatal medical helicopter crash in the past year in the United States. According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the accident rate for medical helicopters is far too high.

A 2006 report published by the NTSB investigated 55 EMS aircraft accidents that occurred between January 2002 and January 2005. The NTSB found that 29 of the 55 accidents could have been prevented. One technology that could undoubtedly improve safety of EMS pilots is the use of night-vision goggles which would improve visibility for pilots flying in darkenss. The importance of night-vision goggles cannot be overstated; the NTSB report found that while only 38% of all helicopter EMS flights occur at night, a whopping 49% of accidents occurred at nighttime. The high rate for nighttime accidents can be explained by the lack of night-vision technology. Presently, fewer than one-third of 800 EMS helicopters in the United States have such technology. Unfortunately, there is a shortage of night-vision goggles due to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Moreover, while the NTSB can offer recommendations, as it did in 2006, only the Federal Aviation Administration can mandate such technology. As of yet, no such regulations have been enacted and the FAA does not currently have a timeframe for implementing night-vision technology in EMS helicopters. The FAA's inaction is even more striking in light of the fact that since the NTSB's 2006 recommendations, 52 more people have died in EMS flight accidents and nearly two-thirds of those fatalities involved nighttime or poor-visibility results.

EMS pilots, in particular, have advocated strongly for night-vision technology. A survey performed by the National EMS Pilots Association (NEMSPA) found that 82% percent of pilots prefer to use night-vision equipment. This is understandable; one respondent commented, "Night-vision goggles (NVGs) are the most significant improvement in night EMS history. To limit their use with unrealistc requirements just puts more Air Medical crews at risk. I hope the FAA will listen to Industry where the preponderance of the Generation 3 NVG experience is, and agree on realistic rules, regulations and guidelines that can be universally accepted and applied." Another respondent said that "NVGs have significantly improved our safety and crew comfort level while flying at night. Use of NVGs have improved our ability to complete more missions safely and that equates to more lives saved." Others echoed these sentiments and noted, "At night there is no greater tool than NVGs. A pilot is better off in every night situation wearing and using night vision goggles."

EMS helicopters are invaluable in emergency situations, but it is ironic, at best, that these life-saving vehicles can actually produce opposite results...results that can easily be prevented with the proper equipment and technology.

Continue reading " ACCIDENT RATES OF EMS HELICOPTERS IS FAR TOO HIGH; LIVES LOST NEEDLESSLY " »

A recent study sponsored by Texas Tech University concludes that English-speaking Hispanics fare better in the courtroom than their non-English-speaking counterparts. In fact, a non-English-speaking Hispanic is 15% LESS likely than an English speaker to obtain a better jury trial verdict than the last settlement offer. This finding corresponds to a different study, published in the Social Sciences Quarterly , in which researchers found that Spanish-speaking Hispanics express less trust in juries than non-Hispanic whites and other English-speaking persons. The authors concluded that "faith in the jury as a more trustworthy decision-making body [than a judge] is weakest among those groups that have a history of discriminatory treatment in the legal system and who are less acculturated on other measures, such as language dominance."

The study noted that Hispanic individuals who do not speak English very well, or perhaps at all, must testify in Spanish which necessarily results in the use of a translator and perhaps some loss in communication with the jury. Consequently, "less than optimal communication between the plaintiff and the jury may result." Moreover, testifying in Spanish may subject the plaintiff to various biases, discrimination and prejudices. Such effects, the study notes, may be especially prevalent in group contexts, such as a jury of twelve individuals.

This study makes me question whether non-English-speaking plaintiffs are receiving the fair and impartial trial to which they are constitutionally entitled. This study raises important questions that policymakers, lawmakers and community leaders should consider and address. More importantly, a trial lawyer needs to take this into consideration when presenting evidence when representing a non-English speaking plaintiff.

Continue reading " ARE CIVIL JURIES PREJUDICED AGAINST NON-ENGLISH SPEAKING PLAINTIFFS? " »

Chicago Alderman Edward M. Burke has recently proposed new legislation prohibiting drivers from texting and driving, with certain exceptions for drivers of emergency vehicles and stationary, parked vehicles. The proposed legislation banning texting states:

... No person shall drive a motor vehicle while using a mobile, cellular, analog wireless or digital telephone. Using a mobile, cellular, analog wireless or digital telephone shall include, but not be limited to, talking or listening to another person on the telephone, text messaging, sending an electronic message, or browsing the internet via the mobile, cellular, analog wireless or digital telephone.

In the recent Metrolink train crash in Los Angeles, the engineer of the commuter train sent a text message 22 seconds prior to the train colliding with a freight train which killed 25 people and seriously injured more than 130 other people. I frequently have seen the effects of driving distracted. I have represented numerous plaintiffs who have been injured in automobile accidents as a result of the defendant driver not paying attention. In addition to cases involving cell phone use, I represented a plaintiff who was injured when a teenager was skipping a song on a CD player and rear-ended my client. In another case, a semi-truck driver was looking at a billboard instead of at the road ahead of him and collided with the vehicle ahead of him and killed two innocent people.

Occupants in vehicles can get hurt when the driver of a motor vehicle is not paying attention.

Continue reading " CHICAGO, IF YOU TEXT AND DRIVE, YOU LOSE " »

Bedside manner is important to patients. You want your doctor to care about you and your medical needs and to understand how you feel, especially in the event that you have a potentially fatal disease. On prime-time medical television shows, such as, Grey's Anatomy and ER, the doctors are often deeply affected by the diagnoses they are making and they "put themselves in the shoes" of their patients. In reality, there is only a 10 percent chance that a patient with a deadly disease will get an empathetic response from a doctor.

In a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine named, "Missed Opportunities for Interval Empathy in Lung Cancer Communication" by Dr. Diane S. Morse and colleagues at the University of Rochester Medical Center, the researchers analyzed twenty recorded and transcribed consultations between lung cancer patients and nine physicians. Of the 384 opportunities to provide empathy, physicians responded with empathy 10 percent of the time.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), more than 5,000 American teenagers die each year in car-related accidents. The rate of crashes, fatal and non-fatal, per mile driven for 16-year-old drivers is almost 10 times the rate for drivers ages 30 to 59 and is three times greater than for drivers ages 65 to 69. In fact, researchers from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) have found that car accidents are the leading cause of death among teenagers. The U.S Department of Transportation (USDOT) reported that 3,490 drivers in this age group died in motor vehicle crashes in 2006 and an additional 272,000 were injured. Drivers under 20 years of age accounted for 12.9 percent of all the drivers involved in fatal crashes and 16 percent of all the drivers involved in police-reported crashes.

In response to such chilling statistics, at least one major automotive manufacturer has created new technology that allows parents to set limits on the vehicle their child is operating. The new feature, which will be available on many 2010 models, is essentially a special key with a computer chip which will limit the teen driver to 80 mph. Parents can also program the key to limit the stereo system's volume and to sound continuous warnings if the driver is not wearing a seat belt. Parents can even program the key to sound a chime if the teen driver exceeds a certain speed limit.

Anne McCartt, IIHS senior vice-president for research, noted that research performed by IIHS has shown that speeding is a major factor in teen crashes, especially teen drivers with limited driving experience. As such, she thinks a system that attempts to correct the speeding behavior of teenage drivers has the potential to improve safety. The IIHS understands the adage that speed kills.

Hopefully this new technology will become standard on every new car made or sold in the US. There can be no question that such limits will improve the safety of our teen drivers and their passengers, as well as those of us sharing the roadways with them.

Continue reading " NEW VEHICLE SAFETY MEASURE TARGETING TEEN DRIVERS " »

Surgical fires in the operating room affect between 550 and 650 patients a year. Twenty to thirty of these victims will suffer serious, disfiguring burns while one or two of these patients will die. This information comes from the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting System, which is collecting this data for the first time ever.

These types of medical errors are almost always preventable. What needs to occur is better training and communication. The nation’s doctors, nurses and others in the operating room need to be trained in basic steps to keep fires from happening and hold surgical fire drills to make sure the appropriate steps are undertaken. Fewer than half of the hospitals in the United States conduct operating room drills to prevent and control fires.

The chief focus of this training should be between the surgeon and the anaesthesiologist. Common sense tells us that the three primary elements needed to ignite a fire in an operating room are heat, air and fuel. With seventy percent of the surgical fires occurring due to electrical surgical tools known as Bovies, a device that uses a high-frequency electric current to cut tissue or stop bleeding, the communication between the surgeon and anaesthesiologist is of the utmost importance.

Some have taken steps to prevent surgical fires, including discontinuing oxygen face masks, lowering oxygen levels and requiring staff to implement checklists for the prevention of steps before the procedures are actually undertaken. This is a favorable step in preventing an operating room mishap.

Continue reading " OPERATING ROOM FIRES ON THE RISE " »

Mere days ago, a 17-year old in southern Illinois was seriously injured after her vehicle struck a cow in the roadway. Police have yet to find the owner of the cow, but will continue to investigate...after all, livestock owners can be held liable for injuries caused by their animals.

Under the Illinois Domestic Animals Running at Large Act, owners of livestock, such as cattle, can be held liable for injury to the person or property of another. In order for a person, such as this 17-year old, to recover under this law, it must be proven that the owner of the livestock did not use reasonable care in restraining his or her livestock. Instead of holding livestock owners strictly liable, this law encourages owners of livestock to restrain their animals so as to prevent accidents. Those livestock owners that allow their animals to roam free will be liable to others for the damage the animals cause. Those that are not aware that their animals are running free and can demonstrate that they used reasonable control in restraining their animals will not be held liable.

Continue reading " CRASHING INTO CATTLE: ANIMAL LIABILITY " »

On October 2, 2008, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that a mother whose fifteen-year-old son died of a drug overdose can pursue a wrongful death lawsuit alleging wilful and wanton misconduct by paramedics from the City of Park Ridge. Jo Ann Abruzzo v. City of Park Ridge, Docket No. 104935. The trial and appellate courts had ruled that the City of Park Ridge was shielded from liability based on the State’s Tort Immunity Law for Municipalities. The Illinois Supreme Court determined that based on the facts this case, the lawsuit could proceed under a less restrictive law covering emergency medical services. The Illinois Supreme Court noted that the Emergency Medical Services Systems Act, 210 ILCS 50/3.150(a) applied to the death of the young boy and not the absolute immunity that the City of Park Ridge claimed under the Tort Immunity Act, 745 ILCS 10/1-101.

This ruling by the Illinois Supreme Court, although based on the particular facts of this case, will allow lawsuits to proceed against paramedics where there are situations, like here, when they fail to assess or examine a person appropriately. This lawsuit is favorable to consumers, however, it is on a very fact-sensitive basis. Most municipalities will claim that they are immune from lawsuits based on the Tort Immunity Act. Of course, each case needs to be evaluated based on its particular facts.

Continue reading " A WRONGFUL DEATH LAWSUIT AGAINST PARAMEDICS ALLOWED TO PROCEED " »

One week ago, a truck driver hauling sound equipment for Bret Michaels' reality show "Rock of Love," fell asleep at the wheel, crossed the interstate into oncoming traffic, and slammed into a SUV and a pick-up. The occupants of the SUV, Yasmin Jackson and Kevetta Davis, both 19 year old sophomores at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, were killed. Florida residents William and Colleen Wiley were air-lifted to a hospital for injuries sustained. As irony would have it, the truck driver suffered only minor injuries.

This is just one more example, among thousands, of truck driver fatigue causing catastrophic accidents. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), more than 5,000 people died in large truck crashes in 2005. IIHS Vice President for Research Anne McCartt notes that studies have repeatedly shown that fatigue is a signifcant factor in truck crashes.

A federal work rule that went into effect in 2004 lengthened the mandatory rest period that truck drivers must abide by, but it also permitted drivers to stay on the road an extra hour every day. IIHS reports, that although sleep time has increased under this new rule, drivers nevertheless reported slightly more instances than the previous year of driving drowsy or falling asleep at the wheel. In fact, 15% of drivers acknowledged dozing at the wheel at least once in the previous month. How did this result? Truck drivers admit to driving more than the new daily limit of 11 hours and eight of ten drivers take advantage of a "restart provision" which allows them to drive 25% more in a week.

A dozing truck driver is arguably more dangerous than a drunk driver. As the IIHS reports, trucks often weigh 20-30 times as much as passenger cars and loaded tractor-trailers travel 20-40% farther than cars to stop; this discrepancy is greater when trailers are empty, on wet and slippery roads, or with poorly maintained brakes.

Continue reading " 2 SIU STUDENTS KILLED BY TRUCKER ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL " »

Tragedy can strike suddenly, unexpectedly, and from seemingly out of nowhere. Just last week, as the University of Mississippi prepared to receive the presidential candidates for the first of many debates, a truck driver in the nearby town of Batesville was driving a load of freshly cut 35-40 foot hardwood logs down an idyllic small-town road. The truck somehow tipped over, the logs became dislodged, and one by one, tens of thousands of pounds of logs rolled off the truck and into oncoming traffic. The pick-up truck of William "Son" Hudson, the director of emergency operations in Panola County, was effectively buried by the logs. Mr. Hudson, a beloved man in Panola County, lost his life.

In an accident like this, there are many factors at play and many questions to consider: Was the truck driver negligent - was his speed excessive for the conditions? were his brakes not properly working? Were the logs improperly loaded? Was there a mechanical defect with the truck itself, causing it to tip over? Were the bonds holding the logs defective? A host of factors could have caused this accident. It is the lawyer's duty to determine who was responsible - and it could turn out that multiple people were at fault. It is the lawyer's duty to ensure that each responsible party is held accountable for its actions. It is the lawyer's duty to seek justice for the victims and the families of these needless accidents.

Continue reading " LOGGING TRUCK ROLL-OVER: VARIOUS FACTORS AT PLAY " »

With the upcoming presidential election, voters should be on a higher alert than on most other days. A recent study by the Journal of the American Medical Association found that on average, 24 more people will die in automobile crashes during voting hours in presidential elections days than on other Tuesdays during the fall. Unfortunately, that amounts to almost a 20% increase risk of death. Moreover, compared with non-election days, an additional 800 people will suffer disabling and crippling injuries.

Some of the possible reasons cited by the study for the increased risk in car crashes are drivers rushing to get to polling places either before or after work, driving on unfamiliar routes and even distractions due to their thinking about the candidates.

Sadly, the increase in deaths is not limited to elections. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has indicated that traffic deaths increase when there are more people on the road, including but not limited to, summer months, festive times when alcohol use increases, winter holidays and Superbowl Sunday.

Next month, people should exercise their right to vote. However, they need to do it carefully. Pedestrians need to be on high alert for vehicle traffic on that date and drivers can easily avoid the risk of an automobile crash by not speeding and maintaining a proper lookout for both pedestrians and vehicular traffic.

Continue reading " CAN VOTING BE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEALTH? " »