Chicago Accident and Injury Lawyer Blog

The February 2, 2010 primary election is nearly upon us and many of you may be asking yourself the same question family and friends ask me: "For whom should I vote?" For Cook County residents, I refer them to the guide created by the Chicago Bar Association's Judicial Evaluation Committee (JEC). The "pocket guide" is a summary of the JEC's recommendations and is small enough to print and bring into the polling booth. The JEC was created to inform the public and the courts of the "qualifications, independence and integrity of judicial candidates."

The Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) and Mayor Daley’s Pedestrian Advisory Council (MPAC) are encouraging residents and business to remove sidewalk snow.

A program created by CDOT involves informational door hangers intended to increase awareness and encouragement. The door hangers were distributed to the offices of city aldermen and community and business groups. The door hanger promotes being a good neighbor when it comes to sidewalk snow removal. The hanger also informs residents and business that Chicago municipal code requires them to clear sidewalks of ice and snow.

The Sidewalk Snow Clearance campaign recognizes businesses that do an excellent job at removing snow and ice.

Snowy and icy sidewalks are a serious hazard to pedestrians. As I have observed countless times as a Chicago personal injury attorney, a fall on an icy patch can change a person's life due to the devastating injuries sustained. Homeowners, landlords and business owners, please keep sidewalks, common ways, driveways and parking lots free of ice and snow!

As part of an effort to combat traffic deaths due to distracted drivers, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has formally banned commercial truckers and bus drivers from texting with any handheld cellphone or other device while behind the wheel.

For those who insist on putting their passengers and other travelers at risk, the DOT promises there will be consequences: Any truck or bus driver who violates the Federal regulations mentioned in this guidance is subject to a penalty up to $2,750.

The DOT also stated in their official blog "Welcome to the Fast Lane," that in the near future they will propose additional legal remedies and develop new tools that will help them work alongside the law enforcement community, safety advocates, researchers, and others, to find new ways to raise awareness and bring an end to the terrible dangers posed by distracted driving.

Although this new prohibition focuses on commercial truckers and bus drivers, it is important that all drivers refrain from texting while driving. In 2008, more than 5,800 people died in accidents where at least one form of driver distraction was cited in the crash report. According to government research, on average, drivers who send and receive text messages while driving take their eyes off the road for approximately 4.6 seconds out of every six seconds while texting. During that time, if driving 55mph, a car will travel the length of a football field. As a result, drivers who text while driving are more than 20 times more likely to get into an accident than non-distracted drivers.

FocusDriven is a national not-for-profit organization devoted specifically to raising awareness about the dangers of distracted driving.

The site contains real-life stories of young people and adults who were killed by people driving distracted on a cell phone. Everyday, people around the world are severely injured or killed as a result of drivers not paying attention to the road in front of them because of their cell phone use.

Make a promise to yourself, other drivers, passengers, pedestrians and cyclists that you will drive focused on the road ahead of you and operate a motor vehicle without texting or talking on your cell phone.

Judge Robert Dow in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Illinois denied dismissal of a complaint against the Window Covering Manufacturers Association (WCMA) and the Window Covering Safety Council (WCSC). The action, Padilla v. Hunter Douglas Window Coverings, Inc., et al., No. 09 C 1222, was brought by the father of a 3-year old boy who was strangled by the pull cord on mini-blinds in his home. The complaint alleges that WCMA and WCSC failed to conduct a retrofit program. Judge Dow days it is possible, under the allegations of the complaint, that WCMA and WCSA owed a duty of care to Padilla's son.

A study presented by the 2009 Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons held on October 11 to 15, 2009 in Chicago, shows that injuries due to bicycling are on the rise. The researchers found that the severity and number of bicycle injuries has been on the rise the past eleven years.

The Law Offices of Jeffrey J. Kroll was recently retained by a young woman who was injured when her bicycle was struck by a motor vehicle in Cook County. The woman sustained multiple injuries as a result of the collision.

Continue reading " CHICAGO BICYCLE INJURY LAWYER URGES HELMET USE! " »

Oprah Winfrey highlighted the dangers of distracted driving on her January 18, 2010 show. Oprah is asking everyone to take a "no phone zone" pledge promising to not text or talk on the phone while driving.

As a Chicago personal injury attorney, I have seen the devastating effects of distracted driving and have made an effort to increase public awareness of the problem on this blog. From Boston, to California, here in Illinois, and around the world, distracted driving is a serious problem. It is great to see Oprah focusing everyone's attention on this serious hazard.

Remember, while texting and talking are serious forms of distracted driving and behavior that need to be stopped, please do not do anything that diverts your attention from the road in front of you!

On January 17, 2010, two students attending Hope College in Holland, Michigan were killed shortly after take-off of a small single-engine airplane. One of the deceased is a 20-year-old student from St. Charles and the pilot was a Kenyan student.

The plane had disappeared from radar after going over the Saugatuck area in Allegan County and then went down in a soybean field.

An investigation into the crash is underway.

Jeffrey J. Kroll has been named an Illinois Super Lawyer for 2010. Jeff has been recognized as a Super Lawyer every year since its inception in 2005. Attorneys recognized on the list were nominated by lawyers from across the state.

The Law Offices of Jeffrey J. Kroll has been retained by the family of a young woman who was sexually assaulted by a bus driver. The young woman is a Chicago Public School special needs student. An investigation into the incident is currently underway. The Law Offices of Jeffrey J. Kroll and the young woman and her family are assisting the Chicago Police Department with the investigation.

Today, a school bus driver was charged with sexually assaulting a mentally challenged student before driving her home on March 24, 2009. The school bus driver, Antonio Ross, was ordered held in lieu of $50,000 bail this afternoon. The victim, who was 17 at the time, was a student at South Central High School.

Ross is an employee of Jewel’s Bus Company, which is headquartered at 1035 W. 111th St. in Chicago.

In our society, we entrust our children to school bus drivers, teachers, coaches and other adults. We trust that these individuals will care for and respect our kids. This intentional act of violence by a person who was in a position to provide safety to children is devastating. More extensive investigation and background checks of bus driver employees should be conducted before allowing them access to operate a school bus.

Jeff Kroll from the Law Offices of Jeffrey J. Kroll, Jennifer Fernicola, an attorney and CPA who now writes and blogs for Chicagonow.com and Chicago Bar-tender.com, and Rob Johnson, a news anchor for CBS 2 will be panelists at a Chicago Bar Association (CBA) program on Thursday, January 28, 2010. The title of the program is

The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin shared the details of the program in their Monday, January 11, 2010 CBA Report. See the article here.

The seminar will be held at the CBA Building at 321 S. Plymouth Court. To register online, visit www.chicagobar.org.

On January 11, 2010, at about 7:00 a.m., an inbound Metra train struck a sport utility vehicle at a railroad crossing at 111th and Hale in Chicago.

The train originated in Joliet and was heading to the LaSalle Street Station.

I am an attorney in Chicago who handles personal injury and wrongful death cases. I have extensive experience in the courtroom and have obtained record-breaking results for my clients, including successful verdicts and settlements in truck accident cases.

A trucking company's liability is governed by the legal theory, agency. Under the theory of agency, the motor carrier is responsible and liable for the driver if he was acting in "the scope of his or her employment." Although a truck driver may have been acting in violation of a company's policies and procedures, he or she is still within the scope of employment if the actions furthered the motor carrier's business. This concept also applies to other transportation negligence cases, including automobiles and buses. Contact the Law Offices of Jeffrey J. Kroll today at (312)676-7222 if you or a loved one have been involved in a motor vehicle accident.

A small-plane crash near Chicago, in a Cook County forest preserve, killed two men this past Tuesday afternoon. The Learjet 35A airplane left Detroit Tuesday afternoon, bound for Chicago Executive Airport. Ninety minutes into the flight, and near its destination, the plane went down for unknown reasons. The pilot and co-pilot, the only people aboard the plane, were killed in the crash.

The National Transportation Safety Board will be conducting a full investigation into the crash. Investigators have noted that winds were out of the west-northwest on Tuesday, which requires pilots of small aircraft to perform a "circling approach" when landing. Investigators acknowledged that this is a more difficult landing technique and may have been in a factor in the crash. Investigators will also closely examine the systems, structure and engine of the jet.

My sincere condolences to the families of the two men on board.

As a father and a products liability attorney in Chicago, I am concerned about one of the recent product recalls involving children's products. This recall involves 447,000 infant child restraints manufactured by Dorel Juvenile Group and sold under the following brand names: Safety 1st, Eddie Bauer, Cosco and Disney.

The handle on the infant carrier being recalled could detach because the bolts could loosen causing the handle to partially separate. If the handle separates, a fall hazard is created. The infant carriers that are affected by the recall were manufactured between January 6, 2008 through April 6, 2009.

According the the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the car seat remains safe for use in a vehicle as it meets federal safety standards.

A free repair kit is available. Contact Dorel’s customer service department at 1-866-762-3316 or visit http://www.djgusa.com/safety_notice.

I have blogged about other recent recalls involving children's products, including crib recalls and toy recalls. If you own an item that has been recalled, discontinue using the product unless the appropriate modifications have been made.

An Illinois man from Morrison was injured Sunday night in a snowmobiling accident. The man was traveling on a snowmobile trail west of Morrison when he lost control and ended up in a cornfield. The snowmobile flipped and landed on top of him. The man was taken to Morrison Community Hospital for immediate treatment and later airlifted to a Rockford hospital.

Snowmobiling is a favorite winter pastime here in the Midwest, but it is fraught with danger. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources offers snowmobiling safety courses. These courses are mandatory for winter enthusiasts between the ages of 12 and 16, but people of all ages are strongly encouraged to take the course.

A snowmobile is only as safe as the person operating it. The key to safe operation is knowing your snowmobile, using good judgment, and courtesy. Click here for more information on how to safely operate your snowmobile.

A 13-year-old seventh-grader was killed in Lake Zurich after getting struck by a van in a busy street. The girl was crossing the street with a friend this past Thursday when one of them dropped a cell phone. She ran back to pick it up and was hit by a Dodge van. She died from the injuries she sustained on Saturday morning.

No charges are expected against the vehicle's driver.

Crossing the street is something people do all the time and often forget how dangerous this seemingly safe activity can be. Keep the following safety tips, courtesy of Safety 4 Kids, in mind and share them with your children:

* Do not cross the street. Cross with a grown-up, not by yourself.

* Cross only at the corners.

* “Cross at the green, not in between”: Only cross when you see a “walk” sign, or (if the corner does not have a walk/don’t walk sign) when the traffic light is green.

* Always wait for cars to stop. Look for cars in all directions (left, right, left, plus front and back) before you step into the street to cross.

* Be alert for turning vehicles. They are often so busy checking traffic and turning that they will not see pedestrians.

* Walk on the sidewalk, not in the street.

* Never play in the road, in driveways, or in parking lots.

* Do not enter the street from between parked cars or behind bushes or shrubs.

* Never chase balls, toys, pets, etc. into the street. Ask a grown-up to get them for you instead.

* Wear reflective clothing/tape and (when possible) carry a flashlight while walking after dark.

My sincere condolences to the family of this young girl.

The attorneys at the Law Offices of Jeffrey J. Kroll are experienced in handling cases involving individuals whom have suffered brain injuries. New research has shown that the administration of progesterone to individuals with brain injuries has shown beneficial effects and improvements in brain functionality. Progesterone is a naturally-occurring hormone that is produced by males and females. Progesterone can cross the blood-brain barrier and reduce swelling.

In the January issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology, the results of a study performed by researchers at Emory University in Atlanta, GA, indicate that progesterone can protect damaged cells in the central and peripheral nervous systems.