Recent Blog Posts
Common Mistakes Made By Employees Pursuing Workers’ Compensation Claim
When an employee is injured at work, in most cases, they are entitled to financial damages through their employer’s workers’ compensation insurance program. In Illinois, any injury resulting from the employee’s job can qualify for a workers’ compensation claim. However, it is the employee’s responsibility to file the claim correctly and provide sufficient evidence. Anyone pursuing a workers’ compensation claim, should be aware of the mistakes that employees often make that diminish the validity of their claim and ability to collect compensation.
Missteps That Can Derail Your Workers’ Compensation Claim
1.) You fail to seek medical attention after the accident.
Some work-related injuries can be incredibly harmful long-term, such as ladder falls and repetitive stress injuries. Seeing a doctor immediately after can help an employee address, diagnose, and treat their injuries. Additionally, visiting a healthcare facility after an accident will assist in adding validity to a workers’ compensation claim. It is important to see a doctor and follow their instructions. Failure to see a doctor after suffering an injury on the job may make the impression that the injury is not serious enough to qualify for a claim.
4 Common Types of Injuries Often Suffered From Accidents Involving Large Trucks
Even the most confident of drivers can feel a twinge of intimidation and vulnerability when passing a large semi-truck on the highway. Some drivers accelerate faster to lessen the amount of time spent next to the truck, while others may avoid passing them until absolutely necessary.
These instincts are not entirely unfounded. Accidents involving large trucks have proven to be incredibly devastating to occupants of passenger vehicles and often result in catastrophic injuries. This blog details some of the most common injuries seen in truck accidents and the long-term consequences the injured victims may suffer.
Back and Neck Injuries
Truck accidents often result in passengers experiencing moderate to severe pain in their back and neck. In some cases, the accident may only result in minor neck pain, however, in worse cases, a person may suffer dislocated discs and whiplash. Back and neck injuries can greatly impact a person’s ability to complete daily tasks, likely delaying the timeframe in which an individual can return to work.
How Can Construction Workers and Their Employers Work to Reduce Construction Accident Injuries?
Construction accidents continue to be one of the leading causes of workplace fatalities. There are many factors that contribute to the dangers of a construction worksite including heavy machinery, high heights, and insufficiently trained employees. Workers in this industry should understand the dangers they may face and what steps they can take in order to protect themselves against construction accidents.
Studies completed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have identified four leading causes of construction site injuries and fatalities. These causes, which are referred to as the “Fatal Four,” include falls, being struck by objects, electrocution, and caught-in/between.
Methods of Prevention for Construction Injuries
Falls include both falling from heights and slips and trips. Falling from heights is one of the most common causes of construction fatalities. Employers in the construction industry can make an effort to reduce the dangers of construction falls by implementing the following safety recommendations:
When Illinois Road Hazards Lead to Auto Accidents
Almost all motor vehicle accidents are a result of someone’s negligence. In most cases, it is the negligence of one of the drivers involved. However, that is not always the case. The state of Illinois is notorious for its poorly maintained and dangerous roadways. The hazards found on these roads put those occupying the road at risk of being involved in a collision, including drivers, passengers, and workers. If you or someone you love has sustained injuries due to an accident caused by road hazards, you may be interested in filing a personal injury claim and holding the appropriate parties responsible.
What Kind of Hazards Can Lead to Dangerous Road Conditions?
Vehicle accidents due to road conditions often result from common issues, some of which include:
- Construction equipment or materials
- Potholes
Who Is Responsible for Injuries Resulting from Medication Errors?
Prescription medications are fairly common in households throughout the country. It is in the nature of most people to trust their doctor’s opinions in terms of their health, including what medications they may need to take. Unfortunately, mistakes involving the prescription and administration of medications do happen and they can result in severe injuries for the patient. Pharmaceutical errors are often linked to medical malpractice and patients who have been harmed by such negligence should be able to hold negligent parties accountable.
How Do Medication Errors Happen?
Errors related to prescription medications are typically associated with human error in some form. While some issues may arise from lack of attentiveness, others may be a result of poor communication. Whatever the true root of the error is, administering and prescribing medication incorrectly can potentially lead to very serious consequences.
Who Is Responsible When Someone Is Injured by a Structural Collapse?
In the state of Illinois, entities in charge of maintaining a property are expected to uphold high standards to protect those who visit and occupy the structure. When structures like balconies or porches are not properly maintained, constructed, and inspected, innocent lives may be at risk of sustaining very serious injuries. If you or a loved one have been harmed due to a structural collapse, it is possible that your injuries are a result of negligence.
Causes and Injuries Related to Structural Collapses
Structural collapses are almost always preventable and often a result of negligence. Structural collapses are frequently caused by negligence in instances involving faulty construction, foundation defects, building code violations, preventable fires and explosions, inadequate building maintenance, poor design, and insufficient building inspections.
When liable parties fail to keep up with regular maintenance or fail to properly design and construct structures such as balconies and porches, victims can suffer severe industries. While the severity of such injuries often varies depending on the structure’s distance from the ground and the way in which the structure collapsed, there are common injuries that arise from such accidents. For example, commonly seen injuries that arise from a balcony collapse include:
Understanding Social Host Liability in Illinois
As young adults begin taking part in dangerous activities such as underage drinking, many parents may believe the safer route is to allow their minor teenager and their friends to drink at their homes. However, these parents, along with other parties who willingly provide alcohol to minors, should understand the persisting risks of underage drinking. In the event of serious injury or death, Illinois law allows for the adult who provided the alcohol or drugs to be held responsible.
Drug or Alcohol Impaired Minor Responsibility Act
In 2004, Illinois passed a law that placed significant responsibility onto individuals who supply alcohol and drugs to minors. Specifically, under the Drug or Alcohol Impaired Minor Responsibility Act, when an intoxicated individual under the age of 18 seriously harms another person or property or is harmed themselves as a result of the alcohol consumption, the adult who provided the minor with the drugs or alcohol may be held liable. In regard to this act, the adult is considered the social host.
Is Overmedication a Form of Nursing Home Abuse in Illinois?
Overmedication results when elderly patients take unneeded or excessive quantities of medication. When staff intentionally overmedicate their residents, it is considered elder abuse, whereas accidental overmedication may point to nursing home neglect. Nursing home staff may purposely overmedicate their residents to better control those who are more difficult and stubborn. If you believe your loved one may be a victim of overmedication at their nursing home, it is important to act quickly to avoid further injury and hold the proper parties accountable.
What Does Overmedication Look Like in Nursing Homes?
Lethargy, isolation, confusion, and excessive sleeping are just a few of the signs that someone may notice if their loved one is a victim of overmedication. Additionally, excessive quantities of medication can lead to depression, injury, and even death. When the overmedication is chronic, not only may the resident develop an addiction, but acute medical conditions may also.
Did Inadequate Maintenance Cause Your Injury?
Individuals occupy, patronize, and utilize public properties and facilities every day. They rarely stop to consider who maintains these properties and how that maintenance, or lack thereof, could possibly affect them. Holding property owners accountable for the condition of their property and how that condition may affect their guests is an aspect of premises liability. Guests and tenants who are injured by a property owner’s negligence should be aware of their rights and what damages they may be eligible to recover
Causes and Consequences of Inadequate Maintenance
When property owners neglect to put the time and effort into maintaining their site and its surroundings, guests of the property or business can sustain unnecessary injuries. Unfortunately, it is common for these maintenance issues to not be addressed until it is too late. This sort of premises liability can occur in numerous environments including the workplace, common areas such as shopping centers and apartment complexes, stores, roadways, and public transit.
Pursuing a Pharmaceutical Drug-Related Defect Liability Claim
We trust our doctors and pharmacists to provide us with safe medications that are meant to help us emotionally, psychologically, and/or physically. Unfortunately, these medications do not always meet this standard and instead can result in harmful side effects that could result in long-term consequences. Victims who suffer injuries from pharmaceutical drug defects can work with a product liability attorney to better understand the risks of consuming such drugs and who should be held responsible.
Causes and Consequences of Defective Drugs
The sale of over-the-counter and prescription medication in the United States is regulated by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA). However, FDA-approved drugs can still end up being defective, as evidenced by the thousands of drugs that have been recalled in recent years.
If consumption of a medication results in negative side effects, including severe side effects that outweigh the potential benefits of the medication, the drug is considered defective. There are multiple manners in which a pharmaceutical drug-related defect can transpire. A drug may result in dangerous and unexpected side effects if it was not adequately tested or if it was manufactured incorrectly. Additionally, drug defects also include drugs that are improperly or insufficiently labeled and fail to include necessary warnings.
