Chicago Accident and Injury Lawyer Blog

Earlier this month, the federal government ordered Illinois (and nine other states) to develop plans to reduce the number of accidents at railroad crossings or risk lossing funding.

According to the Chicago Tribune, since 2006, Illinois has had approximately 588 grade-crossing accidents involving trains, vehicles and/or pedestrians, which resulted in 98 deaths. Illinois has the second-highest number of rail-crossing accidents in the nation, after Texas.

The federal government's new rule requires the 10 targeted states to develop specific solutions for improving safety, while focusing on crossings where multiple accidents have occurred and locations that are considered at high risk for accidents.

According to the Tribune, state officials "said they are working with communities along Amtrak's Chicago-to-St. Louis route … to close as many of the approximately 300 crossings along the route as possible; to install improved protective gates at the remaining crossings to keep vehicles off the tracks when trains are approaching; to build overpasses and tunnels; and to line pedestrian areas near tracks with fencing to deter people from trespassing on tracks."

The rule becomes effective Aug. 27, 2010.

The attorneys at the Law Offices of Jeffrey J. Kroll have experience handling railroad injury cases. In fact, early this year Jeff Kroll published an article entitled "Handling a Railroad Crossing Case" in the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association Trial Journal. You can read his entire article here.

A medical transport plane en route to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, crashed into Lake Michigan on Friday. The pilot has been rescued and authorities are searching for the other four passengers.

The plane, a Cessna 206, departed from Alma, Michigan, about 150 miles northwest of Detroit. The plane went down after 10 a.m. near Ludington, Michigan. Five people were aboard the plane; one person was rescued by a boater about two hours later.

Prior to the crash, the pilot reported a loss of power to an air traffic controller at the Minneapolis Center.

Those on board the plane included, Don Pavlik, the superintendent of the Alma Public Schools, was headed to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., for cancer treatment with his wife, Irene. Dr. James Hall and Earl David, who agreed to come with on the trip. A local businessman, Jerry Freed, owned the plane and offered the flight, a kind gesture he had done for others in the past.

Chicago trial attorney, Jeffrey J. Kroll has been selected as a member of the "Task Force on Expert Witness Code of Ethics" for the American Bar Association's Section of Litigation. The Section of Litigation provide valuable benefits to the members of the American Bar Association.

A study performed by Catherine DesRoches, DrPH, of Harvard Medical School, shows that 17 percent of doctors surveyed had personal knowledge of an impaired or incompetent physician at work. The study results, which were published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, showed that while two-thirds of the doctors in the study reported their knowledge of the impairment, one-third did not turn in their colleagues.

Certainly, there are many excellent physicians. However, as a medical malpractice attorney in Chicago, I have seen circumstances where doctors cover-up for each other. Personally, I would not want an impaired or incompetent physician assisting me. Patients deserve better.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has voted to adopt new mandatory standards for cribs. These new standards would potentially go into effect next year after final approval by the Commission, and would make many of the cribs currently on the market not up to code. The vote comes on the same day that the CPSC announced that Pottery Barn Kids is recalling its drop-side cribs due to suffocation, entrapment and fall hazards. According to the CPSC, 36 infants and toddlers have died because of crib structural problems between November 2007 and April 2010. 35 of those fatalities occurred when crib components detached, disengaged, or broke ending in a tragedy that was entirely avoidable. The new standards aim to eliminate gaps, where babies could become entrapped and suffocate, and to prevent babies from falling out of the cribs. For some, like Michele Witte, these standards have been a long time in the making. Michele's 10 month-old son, Tyler, died when his neck became stuck between the side rail and headboard of his crib 13 years ago. Michele has been an advocate for strengthening crib product safety standards ever since. Read about Michele's story on CNN.

In 1974, professors of neurosurgery at the University of Glasgow developed the Glasgow Coma Scale “GCS.” It is a neurological scale that aims to give a reliable and objective way of recording the conscious state of a person for initial as well as subsequent medical assessment. A patient is assessed against the criteria of the scale and points range from three (eyes do not open, unable to make vocal sounds and no motor movements) to 14/15 (opens eyes spontaneously, individual is oriented and localizes painful stimuli). At 15, the person is fully awake. At 3, the individual is in a deep coma. The GCS is often used to assess levels of consciousness after a head or brain injury and the scale is universally used by First Aid, responders, EMS, doctors and all other individuals treating acute medical and trauma patients.

Recently, a survey was given to Italian anesthesiologists who treat patients with brain injuries and the results of the survey show that the GCS is no longer enough to adequately classify, by itself, the severity of a traumatic brain injury. Conversely, the doctors believe, CT scans and pupil photo activity should be included in a modern clinical classification of traumatic brain injuries.

Roughly 2 million individuals suffer traumatic brain injuries each year. If the Italian anesthesiologists are correct, the CT findings and pupil reactivity to light should be included as additional ways of classifying the severity of a traumatic brain injury.

Continue reading " IS GLASGOW COMA SCALE ENOUGH TO CLASSIFY THE SEVERITY OF TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY? " »

Chicago personal injury attorney, Jeffrey J. Kroll, was interviewed and quoted in Chicago Lawyer Magazine on the topic of social media. The article was titled, “Lawyers Enter the Twitterverse” and was written by Robert Loerzel. Jeff was quoted as saying that the firm “tweets” and uses Facebook to “keep our clients up to date on what is going on in the legal world.” He also recognized that “using the social sites has allowed me to develop relationships.”

The Law Offices of Jeffrey J. Kroll is a Chicago-based personal injury law firm representing victims of transportation and construction negligence and medical malpractice. Please contact our office today at (312)676-7222 if you have any questions.

Can you think of anything more important than our children's safety? According to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), thousands of children are tragically injured or killed in motor vehicle crashes every year. NHTSA lists motor vehicle crashes as the leading cause of death for children age 3 and older in the United States.

Approximately 3 out of 4 parents do not properly use child restraints. The NHTSA website provides you with the tools to locate a child safety seat inspection station near you. There, certified technicians can inspect your car seat and teach you how to properly use it. You can also contact your local police or fire department for assistance.

NHTSA's website further advises:

- Keep infants in rear-facing child safety seats in the back seat of the car for as long as possible up to the height or weight limit of the particular seat. At a minimum, infants must remain in rear-facing seats until a minimum of 1 year and at least 20 pounds.
- When children outgrow rear-facing seats, they should ride in forward-facing child safety seats, in the back seat, until they reach the upper weight or height limit of the particular seat (usually around age 4 and 40 pounds).
- Children who outgrow forward-facing seats should ride in booster seats, in the back seat, until the vehicle's back seat lap belt lays across the upper thighs of the child and the shoulder belt fits across the chest (usually at age 8 or when they are 4’9” tall).
- When children outgrow their booster seats, they can use the adult seat belt in the back seat, if it fits properly.
- Always follow manufacturer's instructions regarding proper assembly and age and weight restrictions for a particular seat.
- Children younger than 13 should sit in the back seat to avoided being crushed by air bags if they deploy.
- Stay away from secondhand car seats. You never want to use a car seat that has been in an accident or is missing parts. Get rid of car seats that are six or more years old.

The company Campus Cruisers, LLC of Boulder, Colorado is recalling its Eastside Fix bicycle model due to a defect with the front fork of the frame, which connects to the front wheel. The bicycles front fork can crack or break, causing a sudden loss of steering control and posing a fall hazard to bicyclists. The bicycle has an aluminum frame and fork, and has been sold at bicycle retailers nationwide from March 2010 to May 2010. Consumers should immediately stop riding bicycles with recalled front forks and contact their local Campus Cruisers dealer. If you have been injured on a Campus Cruisers bicycle due to a sudden loss of steering control, the Law Offices of Jeffrey J. Kroll can help. Call Jeffrey J. Kroll today at (312) 676-7222 for a free consultation. The Law Offices of Jeffrey J. Kroll is experienced in all aspects of personal injury and product liability litigation. For additional information on the Campus Cruisers product recall follow the link to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Illinois has a new law to protect the state's bicyclists, pedestrians and horseback riders. Public Act 096-1007, which was introduced as Senate Bill 2951 was signed into law by Governor Quinn today.

The legislation amends Section 11-703 of the Vehicle Code to provide that a person driving a motor vehicle shall not, in a reckless manner, drive the motor vehicle unnecessarily close to, toward, or near a "bicyclist, pedestrian, or a person riding a horse or driving an animal drawn vehicle." Crowding a bicyclist, pedestrian or horseback rider is now a Class 3 felony, rather than a Class 4 felony.

Continue reading " CHICAGO PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEY APPLAUDS NEW LEGISLATION IN ILLINOIS " »

Happy 4th of July from the attorneys and staff at the Law Offices of Jeffrey J. Kroll! Have a safe and fun holiday!