The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons provides the following safety tips for winter sledding:

• No matter how tempting, do not permit your children to sled on public streets.
• Make sure your child is sitting in a forward-facing position while sledding.
• Sled only in designated and approved areas where there are no trees, posts, fences or other obstacles in the sledding path.
• Supervise your children while sledding. To avoid collisions, make sure there aren't too many children sledding in one area.
• It is preferred for young children to wear fitted helmets while sledding.
• Chose sleds that have steering mechanisms when possible.
• Only sled in well-lighted areas in the evening.
• Do not use plastic sheets or other materials for sledding.
• Protect your children from injury and cold by dressing them in layers of clothing.

By following these simple safety tips, you can ensure that your children not only have fun in the snow, but are also well protected from injury. The Law Offices of Jeffrey J. Kroll hopes that you and your family have a safe and fun winter.

The case, Lebron v. Gottlieb Hospital target= "_blank", involves a girl who suffered a brain injury during delivery at Gottlieb Hospital. The law that the Court deemed unconstitutional capped the maximum non-economic damages that could be awarded in a medical malpractice case against a single doctor at $500,000. The law also set a $1 million limit on damages against hospitals and staff.

The court was not persuaded by medical malpractice caps in place in other states. Justice Fitzgerald, writing for the court, stated: "That 'everybody is doing it' is hardly a litmus test for the constitutionality of the statute." Justices Freeman, Kilbride and Burke joined the decision.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.