Chicago Accident and Injury Lawyer Blog

Wrongful death and tragic injuries may occur when a vehicle collides with the rear end of a stopped tractor-trailer. Drivers may not see the truck or its trailer until it is too late to avoid the collision. It is imperative that hazard signals be activated and that warning devices be placed far enough away from the parked tractor-trailer to give sufficient warning.

Under Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulation 392.22, the driver of a stopped or disabled vehicle shall immediately activate his or her hazard warning signal flashers and place a warning device on the traffic side the vehicle, approximately 10 feet away, a second device 100 feet from the stopped commercial motor vehicle in the center of the traffic lane or shoulder occupied by the commercial motor vehicle and in the direction of approaching traffic and a third device approximately 100 feet from the stopped commercial motor vehicle in the center of the traffic lane or shoulder occupied by the commercial motor vehicle and in the direction away from approaching traffic.

When a safety recommendation is made by a federal agency or a product manufacturer, the recommendation should be taken seriously. In our homes, in the skies and on the roads, too often, recommendations are not followed and tragedies continue to occur.

In April of 2009, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) urged the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to ground the Zodiac CH-601XL, an experimental amateur-built plane, until a flight control problem could be corrected. The plane was not grounded and it was involved in another fatal accident on November 6, 2009. The flight broke up near Agnos, Arkansas and killed the pilot who was the sole occupant. The debris scattered over an area more than 600-feet long. Both winds separated from the fuselage in flight.

In this situation, one governmental entity failed to heed the advice of another when the FAA failed to ground the planes based on the NTSB's recommendation.

It is unfortunate that as consumers, the products that we use are not always safe. Thus, when recommendations are made to remove unsafe products from our homes, backyards and cars, heed the warning to protect yourself and your family.

As we count our blessings on this Thanksgiving holiday, please be mindful of the dangers on the roadways. Today is the deadliest day on American roads. Last year, 502 people died in car accidents, which is significantly higher than the number of deaths on an average day (102 people). Today, as you travel to and from your holiday celebrations, please:

Do not drink and drive.
Wear you seatbelt.
Be a vigilant driver.
Do not speed.
Do not follow the car ahead of you too closely.
Keep a proper lookout.
Do not talk on your cell phone.
Do not text.

As a personal injury attorney, I have represented many clients who were involved in tragic car accidents because other drivers failed to drive safely and follow the aforesaid rules. This Thanksgiving, please drive safely.

The attorneys and staff at the Law Offices of Jeffrey J. Kroll wishes you and your family a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

With toy-buying season upon us, it is a good time to take inventory of the toys that are in our homes right now. Any toys that have been recalled in the past, are broken or missing parts should be removed from your children's access.

There have been many recalls in the past years, including a massive recall by Mattel. The Office of the Illinois Attorney General has issued a guide identifying toys that have been recently recalled. The guide documents 121 products that have been recalled from January 1, 2009 to November 13, 2009. The guide includes a photo of each toy, which is extremely helpful to help caregivers identify dangerous toys. There is also a section in the guide highlighting ten dangerous products that were recalled during 2009, including cribs.

Cribs have been the focus of intense scrutiny this year. Yesterday, the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued the largest crib recall in history.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has released its Motorcoach Safety Action Plan. The plan addresses major safety issues such as driver fatigue and inattention, oversight of unsafe carriers, rollovers and occupant ejections.

750 million passengers annually travel by motorcoach. There is an average of 19 motorcoach occupants killed in crashes each year. Pedestrians and occupants of other vehicles involved in these crashes are not included in these statistics.

The plan proposes enhanced regulatory oversight and the use of new technologies, such as electronic on-board monitoring. The plan also proposes rulemaking to prohibit texting and limit the use of cellular telephones and other devices by motorcoach drivers to reduce distracted driving. Requiring seat belts is also advised in the plan to better protect motorcoach passengers.

It is widely know that talking on a cell phone while driving is one of the most dangerous behaviors a driver can engage in, but a new study published in the journal "Accident Analysis and Prevention" shows that walking while talking on a cell phone can also be dangerous.

Researchers from the University of Illinois studied 36 college students as they walked on a treadmill in a "virtual environment" meant to simulate crossing a busy street. The subjects "crossed the street" while undistracted, while talking on a cell phone, or while listening to music on an iPod. The researchers found that the students who were talking on a phone took 25% longer to cross the street than those who were not on the phone. Moreover, those on the phone were less likely to cross the street in the 30 seconds allotted. Students not on the phone or listening to music had no problem crossing the street in the time permitted.

In a second, unpublished study, the researchers studied 48 adults, aged 60 and older, including some with a history of falling. Older adults on the phone got "run over" 15% more often than those who were not on the phone.

This study suggests that "distracted walking" can be just as hazardous as distracted driving. As pedestrians, we have a duty to be alert to traffic and to obey traffic signals and signs. Do your part to prevent pedestrian accidents by paying attention and minimizing distractions.

Continue reading " NEW STUDY REPORTS DANGERS OF WALKING & TALKING " »

Association of Plaintiff Interstate Trucking Lawyers of America (APITLA) National Advisory Board Member, Jeffrey Kroll, from Chicago, Illinois will be presenting a webcast on Tuesday, November 17, 2009 regarding "Deposing the Truck Driver and Other Trucking Personnel."

As a medical malpractice attorney, I appreciated an article recently posted on CNN.com encouraging patients to be proactive when receiving medical treatment in an effort to prevent medical errors. The article highlighted an unfortunate story involving a young pregnant woman who received a CAT scan of her abdomen when she was mistaken for another person with the same first name.

In an effort to reduce medical errors due to performing procedures and tests on the wrong person or body part, it is suggested that you do the following:

1. Identify yourself, your date of birth and the procedure you are getting to every doctor, nurse or technician who treats you.

2. Ask everyone who treats you to "Please check my identification bracelet."

3. Say: "Could you please look at my chart and tell me what procedure it states that I am having."

4. Tell your nurse that you want to mark up your surgical site with the surgeon present because if you mark it outside of the surgeon's presence and the surgeon does not know about the marking, then it may be pointless. Marking the site is an extra precaution to take to ensure that surgery is performed on the correct body part.

5. Speak up and if necessary, be impolite. Patients often nod their head or agree to what the nurses or doctors tell them in an effort to be polite. If something does not seem right, say something.

When a person suffers a brain injury, their body responds to the trauma in the same way it would any injury, which is with inflammation. The swelling causes increased pressure in the brain called intracranial pressure. This pressure in the brain can be fatal. The swelling restricts blood flow to the brain and puts pressure on areas of the brain that affect breathing, heart rate and blood pressure.

Cooling therapy is used by many medical treaters to reduce the swelling. With the use of cooling blankets and other methods, internal body temperature is reduced to help prevent further damage.

Similarly, research has shown that using cooling therapy on newborns who suffer from oxygen deprivation during birth may reduce rates of cerebral palsy and other problems caused by hypoxia.

Maclaren, a British company, is recalling approximately 1 million of its umbrella strollers due to a potential hazard to children's fingers. Consumers should stop using all single and double Maclaren strollers immediately. This voluntary recall applies to all Maclaren strollers sold in the U.S. from 1999 through November 2009. The strollers are manufactured in China.
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Maclaren received 15 reports of children placing their finger in the stroller’s hinge mechanism, resulting in 12 reports of fingertip amputations in the United States. The stroller's side-hinge mechanism poses a hazard to children when the stroller is being opened or closed.

Maclaren is providing consumers and retailers free repair kits which will cover a joint on the faulty hinge mechanism. For more information regarding how to receive a free repair kit call Maclaren toll-free at (877) 688-2326 or visit http://recall.maclarenbaby.com/.

A Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) bus drove into a home in the Morgan Park neighborhood in Chicago injuring at least four people. The bus struck a home at 115th and Vincennes where there were six people inside. There were reportedly three passengers on the bus along with the bus driver.

There was extensive property damage. The bus tore into the brick and concrete blocks on the side of the house.

Continue reading " CTA BUS DRIVES INTO A SOUTHSIDE HOME AND INJURES FOUR " »

As a Chicago personal injury lawyer who handles car crash and truck crash cases, it is my goal to successfully represent each of my clients. It is also my goal to improve safety on the roadways. I am happy to hear the latest news from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) regarding a reduction in traffic fatalities. The NHTSA has issued a summary stating that the number of highway fatalities are down seven percent from this time last year. Government estimates show that 16,626 people died in traffic crashes between January and June of 2009, down from 17,871 for the same period last year. It is anticipated that the fatality rate for 2009 will be 1.15 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, down from 1.23 deaths during the same period in 2008.

As a Chicago personal injury attorney, my work involves handling a variety of car insurance coverage issues. One of these issues is whether a vehicle's insurance applies when someone other than an owner or insured driver is at the wheel. Generally, as long as the driver is a "permitted" driver of the vehicle, insurance does apply. Essentially, the insurance follows the car. This scenario may be present as a result of an incident that occurred last night. Around 6 p.m., an employee at car wash on Pingree Road in Crystal Lake was driving a customer’s Land Rover Discovery when he lost control of the SUV. He then crashed into the corner of a hotel building and into two cars, one of which was a Ford minivan holding a mother and two young children.

Continue reading " CAR CRASH IN CRYSTAL LAKE INJURES MOTHER AND CHILDREN AND DAMAGES PROPERTY; EMPLOYEE AT CAR WASH BEHIND THE WHEEL " »

School children in Chicago and throughout the country may be at risk in certain school buses equipped with unsafe materials. Nearly 2,000 unsafe school buses, which are primarily used to transport disabled children, are out on the road, despite the knowledge of the problem. Some problems include seat backs that fail to meet strength requirements and seat belt anchors that may also detach from the floor or wall.

After involvement from the National Highway Safety Transportation Authority (NHTSA), a New York company named Transportation Collaborative Inc. (TCI) agreed to notify customers this month that the small buses have parts that must be recalled. TCI alleges that a different company, U.S. Bus Inc., is to blame for manufacturing the faulty bus parts, which were sold from 2001 to 2007. NHTSA officials maintain that TCI and U.S. Bus are essentially the same company with different names.

Continue reading " UNSAFE SCHOOL BUSES ON THE ROAD " »

Working for the railroad is not easy work. With a railroad job, serious injuries and deaths often occur due to the nature of the job and some of the risks associated with railroad employment. Congress recognized this in 1908 and enacted the Federal Employer’s Liability Act (FELA). FELA provides benefits for railroad workers who sustain injuries in the scope of their employment. Individuals who have been injured while working for the railroad, such as a brakeman, maintenance worker, engineer, fireman, switchman, conductor, yard master or any other railroad jobs, are entitled to file a FELA claim for monetary damages. The monetary damages under FELA are not subject to any cap or limitation in recovery.

There are three basic requirements that must be established under FELA in order for an injured railroad worker to recover damages. They are as follows:

- The accident must have occurred in the course and scope of the worker’s employment with the railroad. This does not require that the accident occur on railroad property. Conversely, as long as the injury occurs in the furtherance of the worker’s employment, that individual is covered by the act.
- The railroad must be engaged in interstate commerce between two or more states.
- The railroad must have caused or in some way contributed to the injuries sustained by the railroad worker.

There are several different types of monetary damages which are recoverable in an FELA case. For example, an injured worker can recover past and future medical hospital expenses; past and future lost earnings; past and future physical pain and mental suffering; and, past and future disability, to name a few. There are additional FELA benefits which are recoverable when a railroad accident results in the railroad worker’s death.

Continue reading " CHICAGO RAILROAD NEGLIGENCE LAWYER EXPLAINS THE FEDERAL EMPLOYER'S LIABILITY ACT (FELA) " »

Recently, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration came out with the 2008 Crash Statistics regarding children. Motor vehicle crashes were the number one cause of death of children between the ages of 3 and 14 years old. Everyday, an average of four children under the age of 14 are killed. Sadly, 529 are injured in traffic accidents. Of all the states, Illinois ranked sixth in the number of children killed in automobile accidents. The report did have some good news. Child safety seats reduced the risk of fatal injury to infants by 71 percent and by 54 percent for toddlers in passenger vehicles.