Personal Injury – Bicycle Injuries – $5M Settlement in Truck versus Bicycle Accident
April 14, 2012
The interesting thing that I keep seeing in personal injuries resulting from intersection related incidents, is that the person who is in the intersection at the time the personal injury event occurs, regardless of stop signs and who did or did not stop at the signs, controls the the intersection and therefore has the right of way.
In the personal injury case illustrated below, since the Plaintiff must have already been in the intersection, therefore was in control of the intersection, had the right of way. The truck driver did not look to his right before proceeding into the intersection and hit the biker causing him catastrophic injuries.
In other words, just because a person failed to stop at a stop sign, does not give green light for other drivers to plow them over…
A case involving an elderly bicycle rider who lost part of his leg after a truck struck him recently settled for $5 million.The case stems from an Aug. 14, 2009, accident between Paul Zanoni and a Mack truck.
On that date, Zanoni rode his bicycle home from church when a truck owned by Rossi Contractors Inc. of Northlake hit him near a Bellwood intersection, said [Plaintiff's Lawyers].
Zanoni did not stop his bicycle at the crosswalk near the intersection of Madison Street and 25th Avenue in Bellwood, he said.The truck’s driver, John O’Shea, moved through the intersection but did not look to the right and struck Zanoni, he said. Zanoni became trapped under his bike and the truck dragged him about 40 feet before stopping.
via Chicago Daily Law Bulletin – The City’s No. 1 Source for the Law Profession.
A World Without Lawyers
March 26, 2012
I have heard many tales about how life would be if only lawyers would not be around. You know, the joke that goes something like this: “What do you call a dozen lawyers dead at the bottom of the sea?” and the answer is something like: “a good start.” We have all heard the lawyer jokes and I always get a good chuckle out of them. But in reality, the world would be a dismal place was it not for us lawyers who are the last line of defense between those who place money and profit ahead of all else including the safety of the people around them. Lawyers are making sure your rights are preserved and those who do harm are held accountable for their action.
It is all about personal responsibility.
Work Injury – Product Liability – Doctors Remove 3.5-inch Nail from Worker’s Brain
March 20, 2012
What came to my mind was a question about safety of the nail gun used. As lawnmower have what is commonly referred to as a “dead-man’s switch” which cuts of the engine to the mower if the operator lets go of the handle, I am surprised that a nail gun could still fire without anyone holding it. Here, the accident occurred when the worker let go of the nail gun and it fell on his head! I like to hear about what causes of action, aside from the obvious worker’s compensation claim resulting from the workplace injuries, an attorney looking at the facts and the details could come up with. Off the top of my head, I see a potential product liability case here.
Autullo was standing on a ladder, reaching over his head to drive nails into the top of a wall, when he lost his grip on his nail gun. The recoil swung the gun back and pressed it against his skull. From the outside, it appeared to be a minor scrape, but just below the skin was the head of a nail.
via Doctors remove 3.5-inch nail from man’s brain – chicagotribune.com.
Criminal Law – Go to Trial – Crash the Justice System
March 19, 2012
In this era of mass incarceration — when our nation’s prison population has quintupled in a few decades partly as a result of the war on drugs and the “get tough” movement — these rights are, for the overwhelming majority of people hauled into courtrooms across America, theoretical. More than 90 percent of criminal cases are never tried before a jury. Most people charged with crimes forfeit their constitutional rights and plead guilty.
“The truth is that government officials have deliberately engineered the system to assure that the jury trial system established by the Constitution is seldom used,” said Timothy Lynch, director of the criminal justice project at the libertarian Cato Institute. In other words: the system is rigged.
In the race to incarcerate, politicians champion stiff sentences for nearly all crimes, including harsh mandatory minimum sentences and three-strikes laws; the result is a dramatic power shift, from judges to prosecutors.
via Go to Trial – Crash the Justice System – NYTimes.com.
Insurance Rates – Allstate Using Driving Records to Set Homeowners’ Rates in Oklahoma
March 6, 2012
The Northbrook-based company confirmed that it has begun considering the driving records and auto-claims history of people who apply for a new homeowner’s product in Oklahoma called House & Home.
House & Home, introduced in the Sooner State last October, effectively could make homeowners pay more of the cost of their roof repairs. Allstate said last week it plans to roll out the new product to additional states through 2014. Speaking to investors last week, Allstate Chief Executive Tom Wilson said House & Home could help the company reach its target of a 13 percent return on equity by 2014. Allstate’s ROE was 4 percent at year end.
An Allstate spokesman confirmed Tuesday that House & Home marks the first time that the company has used a potential policyholder’s driving records and auto-claims history when giving quotes on home coverage.
via Allstate using driving records to set homeowners’ rates in Oklahoma – chicagotribune.com.
Wrongful Death – A Series of Mistakes Cause Girl’s Death
February 22, 2012
If not for a series of “mistakes” made by the four paramedics who treated Starks on that fateful day, attorney Brian Murphy argued that the girl would be alive today.
The first mistake was that the child was “intubated through the esophagus that leads to the stomach, instead of through the trachea that leads to her lungs,” Murphy said.
The second mistake involved ignoring a “standing medical order” issued by the Fire Department. According to Murphy, it states that, if a patient’s condition worsens, paramedics are to look into the patient’s mouth to “visually observe where the breathing tube was placed.”If the paramedics had done that, Murphy said, “They would have seen the tube was in the esophagus and not in her trachea and they would have removed it and properly placed it.”
The third mistake involved the “fender-bender” that delayed Starks’ transport to the hospital.Instead of proceeding to Trinity Hospital after determining that the driver of the other vehicle was not injured, the paramedics chose to follow, what Murphy called a “ridiculous general order” that states that, if you’re in an accident involving property damage, you remain on the scene.
via Paramedics’ alleged mistakes in girl’s death likely to cost taxpayers .
Dog bite Injuries – Denver TV Anchor’s Is Bitten In The Face During Interview
February 16, 2012
Approximately 800,000 dog bite attacks occur each year in the United States that require medical treatment. Children account for many of these dog bite victims. Each year, thousands of children are either killed or seriously injured by dog bites injuries. Dog bites can cause serious and disfiguring injuries that may have life changing and life long effects on a person. The effects are catastrophic all the way around: the victim will have to live with the effects of his injuries and the dog, more often than not, will have to be put down.
The story below is just an all too familiar story about an all too trusting individual who simply fails to assess the real dangers of getting too close to an animal with which she is unfamiliar.
A veteran Denver television anchor was injured Wednesday after she was bitten in the face by a dog while doing a live broadcast about a dog rescued by a firefighter. Kyle Dyer was interviewing Michael Robinson — the owner of an 85-pound Argentine mastiff that fell into a lake on Tuesday while chasing a coyote in the city’s Lakewood area — and firefighter Tyler Sugaski, who put on a wetsuit and rescued the dog, when the attack occurred. According to KUSA-TV, firefighters, paramedics and animal control officials were called to the station after the attack.
The station posted a statement on its Facebook page that Dyer was “getting medical attention due to the injury” and the station was waiting to find out the extent of her injuries before issuing further information. A station spokeswoman was not available for comment. The station showed video of Dyer petting the dog, but cut off the video before the attack and said they would not show it. A station spokeswoman did not return a call seeking comment. Julie Lonborg, spokeswoman for Denver Health hospital, said in a statement that Dyer was in fair condition and being evaluated by a trauma team. The hospital said she was awake and visiting with family. KUSA-TV said she may go home as soon as tonight.
Megan Hughes, spokeswoman for the Denver Environmental Health department, said no decision has been made on what will happen to the dog.
via Dog bites Denver TV anchor’s face during interview – CBS News.
Wrongful Death – Mother: Cop, Not Ex-Boyfriend, Deserves Prison Time
February 1, 2012
At what point negligence becomes willful and wanton disregard for a person’s safety?
This is the question that the alleged facts of the case below raises for me. The alleged facts are generally that the boyfriend was drink and calls on his girl to drive hum home. She has a suspended driver’s license and has no babysitter on call. So she puts the baby in the safety seat, as she should, and get the drunk boyfriend. On their way home, they are stopped by a police officer. Upon realizing that the girl friend’s license is suspended, he arrests her, and gives the keys to the car and the baby in the back seat to the drunk boy friend to go home. On their way home, the drunk boy friend crashes the car killing the baby.
Police officers have immunity from the negligent acts they commit while in the performance of their duties. However, police officers are still responsible for willful and wanton acts they commit that causes harm to others. That is, while a police officer may not be held responsible for running into a bystander while chasing a bad guy, he can be held liable if he runs into the bystander on purpose or the chase he has entered into is so dangerous and so unreasonable that it becomes tantamount to a willful and wanton act.
In the case below, the police officer allegedly gives the keys to a drunk person allowing him to drive the vehicle along with the baby in the backseat. Is this an act of negligence that is tantamount to a wilful and wanton disregard for the safety of others, namely the baby in the backseat? I suppose if the case does not settle, twelve jurors will be able to tell us the answer.
“This police officer might have prevented this offense, but he did not cause it,” stated Burmilla.
However, LaFond’s attorney, Mark Horowitz, countered that Officer Felicetti bears all of the responsibility.
“He controlled the situation. He’s the one that pulled her over. He could have ‘A’ told Kathie to drive the child home. He could have given her a ticket roadside. He could have said go home, don’t let me catch you out again,” he said.
via Mother: Cop, Not Ex-Boyfriend, Deserves Prison Time | NBC Chicago.
