Chicago Accident and Injury Lawyer Blog

Spinal cord trauma, paralysis, concussion, traumatic brain injury, headaches and head trauma are all types of injuries caused by cheerleading accidents listed in the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Data Tables. The data was collected between the Fall of 1982 and the Spring of 1998 and contains summaries of the injuries. While the report contains many guidelines and suggestions for improving cheerleading safety, the sad statistic is that cheerleading injuries resulting in hospital emergency room visits have increased to nearly 30,000 in 2008, which is almost six times the number of injuries in 1980, according to the Chicago Tribune who cited a report by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Continue reading "CHEERLEADING INJURIES ON THE RISE: CHICAGO SPORTS INJURY ATTORNEY URGES IMPROVEMENTS IN SAFETY MEASURES AND TRAINING" »

Many of us pass through automatic doors in our daily lives, trusting that store owners and contractors have inspected and maintained these doors properly. Automatic doors can injure individuals when they open too widely or operate too quickly. A body part, such as, an arm or a hand may get crushed in the malfunctioning door. Sadly, those people who often require the use of automatic doors, including the elderly and persons with disabilities, are often victims of faulty doors.

Typically, businesses install three main types of automatic pedestrian doors: swinging, sliding and/or folding doors. National standards define and govern the guidelines for installing and maintaining such doors and their sensing devices. The American Academy of Automatic Doors (AAADM) recommends that automatic pedestrian doors be inspected annually by an AAADM certified inspector and that the doors be checked daily by premises owners. Unfortunately, many businesses fail to properly check and inspect automatic doors.

Continue reading "INJURIES CAUSED BY A MALFUNCTIONING AUTOMATIC DOOR" »

Recently in Omaha, Nebraska, three workers were hurt while working in a construction boom lift on the Creighton University campus. The workers from Midwest Glass and Glazing, suffered electrical shocks after their lift came in contact with a live and downed power line. One of the workers suffered severe burns and was taken to the hospital, but is expected to survive.

Continue reading "THREE WORKERS WERE INJURED IN A BOOM LIFT ACCIDENT" »

For one family in Winston-Salem, North Carolina the unthinkable occurred. Their six-year old girl was found unresponsive in the deep end of the Kimberly Park Pool. She was at the pool with the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club. Reportedly, there were eight lifeguards on duty at the time of the incident.

The victim’s grandfather, commented that the accident was preventable, stating, “if you have eight lifeguards on each end of the pool, somebody should have taken responsibility if the child was in the pool or not.”

With the summer temperatures escalating, the need for pool and water safety should also be on the rise. This holiday weekend, be safe at the pool and the beach!

If you or a loved one has suffered due to the negligence of others, please consult with the Law Offices of Jeffrey J. Kroll at jeff@kroll-lawfirm.com or dial (312)-676-7222.

Continue reading "DAY AT THE POOL DEADLY FOR LITTLE GIRL" »

A man working at a scrap metal business on the Southwest Side of Chicago was was killed Tuesday after being struck by a Bobcat. A Bobcat is a heavy-duty machine that can be used as a forklift, loader or excavator. Police said the the man was possibly struck by a heavy piece of equipment believed to be a forklift. The man was struck by the piece of equipment about 2:40 p.m. on June 16, 2009.

A Yellow Pages online directory listed "A Metals Scrap Inc." as the business located at 3200 S. Kedzie Ave.

As a Chicago personal injury attorney, I have been involved in a number of heavy equipment cases involving wrongful death and injury. Prior to moving the Bobcat or the equipment attached to the Bobcat, such as the forks or bucket, the operator must ensure that there is no one surrounding the vehicle to ensure safety on the jobsite.

Golf season is upon us. Like all sports, care and caution should be used to prevent injury. Sadly, over the weekend, a 78-year-old Gold Coast woman died after being struck by a golf cart at Idlewild Country Club, 19201 Dixie Hwy. in Flossmoor. An autopsy scheduled for today will reveal if the injuries she sustained caused her death.

The decedent was an avid golfer and well-known commercial real estate broker at Rubloff Residential Properties who focused on high-end residential properties on the Gold Coast and in Old Town and Lincoln Park.

Flossmoor police said Cook County sheriff's police were investigating and would only say that the incident happened in the afternoon on Sunday.

Continue reading "CHICAGO WOMAN DIES AFTER BEING STRUCK BY A GOLF CART AT A FLOSSMOOR COUNTRY CLUB" »

A 19-year old man from Chicago's suburbs died early Saturday after falling down an elevator shaft at an apartment building in Ames, Iowa. The incident occurred at 12:30 a.m. Legends American Grill is located on the seventh floor of the building.

Ames police said the man was a graduate of Hinsdale South High School and was visiting friends at the time of the accident. This was certainly a tragic occurrence for a young man who had his whole life ahead of him.

The incident occurred at Legacy Tower, which is located just south of the Iowa State University campus at 119 Stanton Ave. The building is seven stories high.

Throughout my career as an attorney, I have seen injuries and wrongful deaths in elevators caused by poor maintenance and defective products. Often, there is a cause of action against building owners for failure to have the necessary maintenance performed on elevators. Elevator manufacturers, maintenance providers and other entities or individuals may also be liable.

Continue reading "DEADLY FALL IN ELEVATOR SHAFT FOR HINSDALE MAN " »

A 2-year-old boy was seriously hurt after falling from a second-floor window of a Northwest Side residence. The incident happened about 5:45 p.m. in the 3600 block of West Shakespeare Avenue in the Logan Square neighborhood. Apparently, the boy was looking out the window at his father, who had just arrived home, when the window's screen gave way. Police said the boy fell out of the window onto some dirt.

Hours earlier in the Mayfair neighborhood, a 4-year-old boy fell from a window in the 4600 block of North Kenton Avenue. "He might have been playing near [the window]," said Police Officer JoAnn Taylor.

Police said the 4-year-old suffered skull and wrist fractures, and there were other people inside the apartment when the incident occurred. The boy was found crying by either a family member or family friend on the patio after the fall, police said.

I recently posted a blog on hidden hazards for children in the home and windows were part of my discussion. A screen will not hold back a child from falling. Consider placement of furniture and installation of window guards to prevent a similar tragedy.

The outdoor pools in Chicagoland will be opening now that the weather is warming up and the summer is upon us. Swimming pools provide us a welcome relief on a hot day. However, there is a real danger in swimming pools. Among children ages 1 to 4 years, most drownings occur in residential swimming pools. Most young children who drowned in pools were last seen in the home, had been out of sight less than five minutes, and were in the care of one or both parents at the time. Please consider the following tips for staying safe in the in the pool this summer from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

- Barriers, such as pool fencing, can help prevent children from gaining access to the pool area without caregivers' awareness.

- If you have a swimming pool at home, make sure that a responsible adult is watching young children swimming or playing in or around water. Adults should not be involved in any other distracting activity while supervising children.

- Never swim alone, always swim with a buddy.

- Avoid drinking alcohol before or during swimming. Do not drink alcohol while supervising children.

- Learn to swim. Be aware that the American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend swimming classes as the primary means of drowning prevention for children younger than 4. Constant, careful supervision and barriers such as pool fencing are necessary even when children have completed swimming classes.

- Learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). In the time it might take for paramedics to arrive, your CPR skills could make a difference in someone’s life. CPR performed by bystanders has been shown to improve outcomes in drowning victims.

- Do not use air-filled or foam toys, such as “water wings”, “noodles”, or inner-tubes, in place of life jackets (personal flotation devices). These toys are not designed to keep swimmers safe.

If you have a swimming pool at home:

- Install a four-sided, isolation pool fence that is at least 4-feet high and completely separates the house and play area of the yard from the pool area. Use self-closing and self-latching gates that open outward with latches that are out of reach of children.

- The presence of floats, balls and other toys in the pool and surrounding area encourages children to enter that area; therefore, immediately after use, remove all of these toys.

While most adults are well aware of the need for covering outlets, keeping poisonous household cleaning products locked away and not allowing children to play with an object small enough to be a choking hazard, many homes have less obvious safety hazards that could have deadly results for our children. The unfortunate death of Mike Tyson’s 4-year-old daughter raises these concerns once again.

Each year, more than 25,000 children are injured from exercise equipment. Sadly, many of those injuries are related to power cords. Exodus Tyson was strangled by a cord connected to a treadmill. It is believed that she was playing with the machine. While it may be unpractical to unplug a piece of exercise equipment after each and every use, parental supervision is the primary means of eliminating such avoidable accidents. If need be, keep the exercise room door locked and if you need to leave the room, take your child with you. Limiting your child’s access to the room and equipment is crucial.

Another hazard to children is falling through windows. Relying on screens to protect against such falls is not the solution. Emergency rooms are full of examples of screens not “working.” The two most obvious ways to avoid this potentially tragic occurrence are to not place furniture close to windows and utilizing window guards.

Another common source of injuries to children are window treatment cords. Parents should tie up any cords from blinds or curtains and ensure that they are high enough and outside of a child’s reach. Like windows, parents should not place furniture near the cords as they may be viewed as an invitation to children. It is also a good idea to not place changing tables or cribs within reach of window coverings.

Along those same lines, power cords are a source of danger for children. Not only can they cause electrical burns, but strangulation and tripping are foreseeable. Sadly, there have been a number of reported incidents where serious head trauma has been caused from appliances being pulled down by children. If possible, parents should unplug and secure power cords. The alternative is to move the appliances out of the way of the curious toddlers.

Furniture tip-overs are another major hazard to children. In May of 2009, the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital found that tipped over furniture sent roughly 15,000 children a year to the emergency room. The most common topple furniture pieces are dressers and flat screen television sets. Many children will pull out a dresser drawer and use that as a “ladder” to climb and reach for something up above. An inexpensive wall mounting kit can secure a large amount of weight and prevent the furniture from tipping.

Obviously, know your child. A child’s ability to “get into trouble” varies with their developmental age. Mitigating hazards for your children and all children is something that parents must do.

Memorial Day Weekend marks the unofficial beginning of summer and with that, pools nationwide are opening for a summer of fun in the sun. Make sure your summer experiences at the pool are safe ones. According to a new report from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), nearly 300 young children die in pools and spas every year. An additional 3,000 children younger than 5 suffer serious injuries in pools and spas. About two-thirds of the deaths and injuries involve children ages 1 or 2, with a whopping 80% of the deaths happening in residential settings.

Nancy Nord, acting chairman of the CPSC, urges parents, caregivers, and pool and spa operators "to ensure that fencing and other layers of protection are in place; that there is constant supervision of children in and around the water; and that new, safer drain covers that prevent entrapment incidents are installed." Pool owners are encouraged to erect barriers around pools and spas, such as fences with alarms, to keep young children from swimming unsupervised.

CPSC also announced the launch of a new website which serves as a valuable source for information about drowning prevention for the general public, the swimming pool and spa community, state and local officials, and the media.

Continue reading "ILLINOIS PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEY URGES CAUTION AS POOLS OPEN THIS WEEKEND" »

A 6-year old Chicago boy was killed this past Saturday due to compressional asphyxiation after he was trapped under a garage door. The boy's 9-year old brother found him.

On Wednesday, the boy's family filed suit in Cook County Circuit Court, naming as defendants the boy's uncle, who owns the home where the accident occurred, the manufacturer of the garage door, and the installer of the garage door. The suit alleges that the garage door wasn't equipped with a motion sensor and that the homeowner failed to warn his relatives that it could unexpectedly close or fall.

Since 1992 the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has required garage door openers to have devices that reverse the door when it comes into contact with a person or an object. The CPSC urges upgrading your garage door if it is more than 10 years old and to replace pre-1992 garage doors that do not reverse. This strong recommendation is based on the fact that the auto-reversing feature has significantly reduced personal injury and property damage. The measure has been so successful, in fact, that in 2001 the standard was extended to include automatic security gates that are increasingly common at the entrances of apartment and condominium complexes.

The CPSC also recommends testing your garage door periodically and performing regular maintenance and repairs as needed. Be sure to check to your owner's manual or contact the opener manufacturer about specific procedures.

As an added measure, the CPSC, along with the National Safety Council (NSC), advises parent to not let children play with or use garage-door remote controls. As a further precaution, you should mount the keypad wall control out of children's reach and in a location where users can clearly see the moving door.

My deepest condolences to the family and friends of this young boy whose life was cut tragically short.

With the warmer temperatures and sunnier days, many homeowners are starting to work on their gardens and spruce up their lawns. Unfortunately, with the annual rush to get yards in shape too often, there is also a rush... a rush to the emergency room to treat an injury. In 2007, there were 78,773 injuries treated in U.S. hospital emergency rooms for the use of lawnmowers. Chainsaws accounted for 26,669 injuries. Even the handheld trimmers and small powered garden tools accounted for close to 20,000 emergency room visits. Therefore, homeowners need to be careful. The tools and equipments used to make lawn care maintenance easier can be hazardous when not used safely. These products all require special care.

The Consumer Products Safety Commission offers safety tips for the use of outdoor power tools and equipment. For example, here are some of the tips they recommend:

1. Never allow young children to operate or play on powered equipment;

2. Always turn off the machine before leaving it unattended;

3. Always turn off the machine when refueling;

4. Always turn off the machine when clearing debris from in or around the machine;

5. Use caution when refueling. Ensure the fuel is kept in an appropriate, child-resistant container.

6. When using a ride-on lawnmower, mow up and down slopes and not across the slopes. This will help prevent tip-overs.

7. Eye and hand protection are essential to safeguard against stones, sticks and other flying debris.

Continue reading "CHICAGO PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEY WISHES YOU A HAPPY EARTH DAY WITH TIPS FOR SAFE YARD CARE" »

A Naperville couple sat in their vehicle in the parking lot of a McDonald’s restaurant in Arizona when the golden arches toppled off their pedestal, severely injuring both of them. The retired husband and wife were enjoying their winter in Arizona and were on their way back home to Naperville, Illinois when the golden arches toppled onto their vehicle, crushing their Chevy Trailblazer. The husband and wife were both injured. The husband suffered a laceration to his head and is in fair condition. Unfortunately, his wife suffered a fractured spinal column and sternum and was in critical condition.

There is no doubt that an investigation will ensue. Questions will arise as to whether the golden arches were properly secured. What, if anything, did McDonald’s do to ensure that the arches were properly attached to the pedestal, even in situations involving heavy winds. There could be an issue as to whether or not the McDonald’s was aware that the high winds were gusting across the reservation for the past two or three weeks and what, if anything, did they do to stabilize or mobilize the golden arches. Inevitably, there will be issues as to the corporate entity and what will they do to ensure that the “golden arches” are secure throughout this country.

Continue reading "MCDONALD'S GOLDEN ARCHES CAUSES FAMILY TRAGEDY" »

I remember watching the news and learning of the tragic death of actress, Natasha Richardson. After hearing of her death, I kept asking myself the same question: do all head injuries need medical attention, even ones that seem minor?

In most cases, it is pretty clear when someone needs medical attention after a head injury. They are often confused, they are extremely agitated. They may be dizzy. Some could have even been unresponsive. The scarier scenario is what doctors call the “talk and die” scenario, where someone seems fine, only to die hours or days later. The "talk and die" scenario occurs with various kinds of brain injuries. In the case of epidermal hematomas, blood pools in the area between the lining of the brain and the skull. This fluid continues to build up in a contained space, creating pressure. In that scenario, essentially, something has to give. Unfortunately, it turns out to be the brain. If you do not get that person to the hospital immediately to have the appropriate surgery to drain the fluid, it will most likely be fatal. So what should be done for someone suffering from a head injury?

1. Look for dizziness, vomiting, confusion or headaches. If an injured person has one of these signs, take them to the emergency room.

2. Look for changes in the person’s behavior. If a person suddenly becomes sleepy within the first 8 to 12 hours following trauma to the head, it may mean that parts of the brain responsible for staying awake are experiencing pressure from a bleed.

3. Vigilance. Keep an eye on someone that has hit their head. This is especially true even if they have not lost consciousness.

4. Be on alert if someone has been drinking, is elderly or young. It could be difficult to distinguish brain-injured behavior from drunken behavior. Similarly, you need to be extra vigilant when dealing with an elderly person or young athletes.

5. Go to an emergency room. You want to go to a trauma center that has a neurosurgeon present or on call. One can find this out by looking on the map from the American Trauma Society.

When in doubt, err on the side of being conservative and seek treatment.

Continue reading "CHICAGO ACCIDENT LAWYER ANSWERS THE QUESTION: WHEN SHOULD YOU GO TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM " »

Sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite... There has been increased press coverage lately regarding the return of bedbugs. Apparently, with decreased use of the bugkiller DDT (since the 1950s when bedbugs were nearly eradicated), the little buggers are on the rise in urban areas.

Reports of bedbug infestations have increased in Chicago from 900 to 1,650 since last year. New York is considering legislation to establish a bedbug task force, ban the sale of used mattresses, train exterminators, and regulate mattress disposal.

Hotel owners, especially, should be vigilant in the effort to rid their properties of bedbugs because they could be liable to their guests for the itchy bites that they receive. In Mathias v. Accor Econ. Lodging, 347 F.3d 672 (2003), the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an award for compensatory and punitive damages from the District Court of the Northern District of Illinois for hotel guests who had sued a motel chain owner claiming willful and wanton conduct under Illinois law in allowing hotel guests to be attacked by bedbugs. The hotel owner had appealed, primarily complaining about the punitive damages award.

In upholding the jury's verdict, Justice Posner found that the evidence was sufficient to show willful and wanton conduct given that bedbugs had been discovered in the hotel two years prior to the incident involving the plaintiffs. Additionally, the hotel should have either warned its guests or taken effective measures to eliminate the bedbugs.