Recent Blog Posts
8 Tips for Avoiding Distracted Driving Car Accidents
Distracted driving is risky and dangerous. It is one of the leading causes of car accidents in the United States; in 2015, distracted driving led to crashes that claimed the lives of 3,477 people and caused 391,000 injuries.
Distracted driving involves any activity that causes a driver to take their attention off the road. Eating, drinking, and talking to passengers are activities that often distract drivers, and cell phone use is one of the primary causes of distracted driving. In fact, about 660,000 drivers utilize their cell phones while driving during daylight hours every day in the U.S.
Here are some tips on how you can avoid distracted driving:
- Anything that diverts your attention from driving is considered a distraction. Focus solely on driving, and watch for pedestrians and cyclists. While driving, your eyes should be on the road in front of you, and you should be checking your rearview and side mirrors regularly.
Types of Illinois Workers’ Compensation Benefits
Workplace injuries can be devastating to your life and your finances, impacting not only your health and well-being, but your ability to earn an income and provide for your family. For employees who are injured while on the job, workers’ compensation benefits allow them to obtain financial relief due to the situation and/or injury. There are three types of workers’ comp benefits:
- Disability benefits: These benefits replace the wages an injured employee loses due to their inability to work. The injury the employee has must be work-related. Disabilities fall into four groups:
- Permanent Total Disability (PTD): If an employee has this type of disability, that means they are unable to earn income in the future from the type of job he or she held when they received the injury. Employees with a permanent disability are eligible to receive lifetime disability payments.
Recognizing the Signs of Nursing Home Neglect or Abuse
You should always take your time when viewing potential nursing homes for your loved one. Observing the general emotional state of the patients and the physical condition of the facility is imperative in ensuring you choose a nursing home that will take care of your loved one well. However, when your family member is living in a nursing facility, it can be sometimes difficult to ascertain whether abuse or neglect have occurred and resulted in your loved one suffering from an illness or ailment. The following are some general signs of abuse or neglect that you should look out for in a nursing home:
- Observe the physical conditions of the facility. If the nursing home you are visiting is consistently dirty and smells foul, consider looking for a new facility.
- Look for signs of any pain your loved one is experiencing. Bruises could occur because of abuse or a fall which happened due to insufficient supervision.
6 Tips for the Proper Use of a Child Safety Seat
Here is a sobering statistic: the leading cause of death in U.S. children ages three to 14 is car accidents. In 2014, 121,350 children aged 12 and younger were injured in a car accident, and in 2015, more than 663 children died in a motor vehicle accident.
Studies have shown that consistent use of a car seat for young children can help prevent severe injury in the event of a car accident. However, a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that in a single year, more than 618,000 children aged 12 and under rode in a car without the use of a car seat, booster seat, or a seatbelt.
The proper use of a car seat (also called a child safety seat) is essential in preventing children from being severely injured during a car accident. Here are six tips that outline how to properly use a child safety seat:
The Dangers of Leaving the Hospital Too Soon
If you have ever been hospitalized for any reason, you probably know the feeling of homesickness that often develops quickly. Even a short hospital stay forces many to wonder how soon they can escape the antiseptic smell, checks by doctors and nurses and at all hours, and the often questionable food. In most cases, a patient must remain in the hospital under he or she is well enough to go home to a relatively non-controlled environment with no—or limited—professional supervision. Unfortunately, however, cost-cutting efforts and other factors have been blamed for the uptick in cases where patients are discharged from the hospital too soon. Early hospital discharge can put lives in danger and open the door to possible medical malpractice claims.
Creating a Plan
Deciding when to send a patient home can be challenging, but the doctor and the patient must work together in developing a discharge plan. The patient knows his or her body and, generally, has a good idea of his or her own limitations. The doctor will better know what symptoms need to be monitored as well as certain conditions that could develop once the patient leaves the hospital. If both the doctor and patient are comfortable with the decision to discharge and the patient fully understands the recommended course of follow-up treatment, it is probably fine for the patient to go home.
Illinois Court Rejects Workers’ Comp Claim for Lunchtime Fall
When you suffer an injury in the course of performing your job, you are usually eligible to collect benefits under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation System. Workers’ comp benefits typically cover medical costs, lost wages, and other expenses that you may have incurred as the result of your injury. But, getting hurt at work is not necessarily the same as getting hurt in course of performing your job, as an Illinois appeals court recently determined.
Injured During Lunch
The case arose out of a 2012 injury sustained by a woman who worked at a DuPage County high school. The woman fell as she was leaving the building to go home for lunch, slipping on wet pavement on a handicap ramp. According to court documents, the woman stumbled, struggled to regain her balance, then fell forward “face first onto the pavement.” She was subsequently diagnosed with a broken nose, post-concussive syndrome, and injuries to her shoulder and hip.
Appeals Court Allows Defective Products Suit Against Bicycle Manufacturer to Continue
When a person is injured due to the failure or poor performance of a defective product, he or she may usually seek compensation from a number of parties. In many cases, the maker of the product may be held liable, along with distributors, retailers, and other entities involved with the production, preparation, and sale of the product in question. Determining which party is truly at fault can be challenging, of course, but doing so is necessary for obtaining the damages the injured person needs to put his or her life back together.
Some of the difficulties were recently highlighted in a case that is currently pending in Illinois. In this case, a Taiwanese bicycle manufacturer petitioned to be removed as a defendant due to a lack of personal jurisdiction by Illinois courts.
A Line of Defendants
The Anatomy of a Chemical Burn
In workplaces across the country, employees utilize a wide variety of chemicals and other substances in the course of doing their jobs. While some chemicals are relatively safe, others present serious dangers, including the possibility of chemical burns. If you have suffered a chemical burn on the job, it is important to seek treatment right away and to know your rights regarding workers’ compensation.
Hazardous Chemicals
A chemical that can cause serious burns is typically a strong acid or base. Some of these substances can be found in the average home, such as drain cleaners, chlorine bleach, and ammonia. In an industrial setting, however, there are countless types of chemicals that may be used for a wide variety of applications, including many highly concentrated acids and alkaline solutions.
When a hazardous chemical comes into contact with a person’s skin, the chemical may begin to eat away at the skin at the point of contact. The severity of the burn will depend on a number of factors including the type and concentration of the chemical and the length of the contact with the skin. A “superficial injury” is one that causes damage to the top layer of skin. A “partial thickness” or “dermal injury” is an injury to the second layer of skin, known as the dermis. The most severe type of such burns is known as a “full thickness injury,” and results in damage to the top layer of skin, the second layer of skin, and subcutaneous tissue.
Study Suggests Traumatic Brain Injury and PTSD May Be Linked
Each year, approximately 1.7 million Americans are diagnosed with some type of traumatic brain injury, or TBI. A sudden blow to the head typically causes such injuries. It is a little more difficult to pin down the number of people who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as many are never diagnosed or seek treatment. Experts estimate that somewhere around 8 percent of American adults—or more than 24 million—are afflicted with PTSD.
Those who develop PTSD are often the victims of rape or assault or soldiers who have witnessed intense combat situations. A recent study, however, suggests that TBI victims may also be more likely to develop PTSD than the average person. Such a link could have an effect on accident cases that involve head and brain injuries.
Examining the Relationship
For many years, scientists have suspected that a link may exist between traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder. In one study, researchers examined combat veterans who had been in close proximity to an explosion during their deployments. Subjects who suffered a TBI in the line of duty were found to be two times more likely to develop PTSD than those did not suffer a TBI. The team could not explain why, however.
Understanding Comparative Fault
When an auto accident occurs, it is important to determine who was at fault. The determination of fault is typically relied upon to establish which party is responsible for covering the resulting damages. In some cases, fault is fairly clear. For example, a driver who crashes into another vehicle that is stopped a red light is probably at fault. In other cases, fault is more difficult to determine, as both drivers may have played a role in causing the accident. If more than one party is at least partly to blame for an accident in Illinois, liability for any damages or injuries sustained may also be shared.
Pure Contributory Negligence
There are three basic types of comparative fault models in use throughout the United States. Each addresses how damages may be affected when a personal injury plaintiff shares in the responsibility for causing the incident in which he or she was injured. The first is called “pure contributory negligence” and is only used by four states and the District of Columbia. The pure contributory negligence rule provides that an injured party may not receive any compensation whatsoever if he or she shares any responsibility for the accident. The defendant could be 99 percent at fault, but if the injured party is held responsible for the remaining portion, no damages can be awarded.
