Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

Like any urban setting, Chicago has its share of crime and violence. In just the last month over 30,000 various crimes have been reported in the Chicago area according to Every Block Chicago. While these numbers might seem overwhelming and the violence inevitable, certain groups are working towards making Chicago a safer place.

Safe Youth Chicago is an organization focused on finding ways to make Chicago a safer place for the city's youth. Chicago personal injury attorney Robert Kreisman is a member of Safe Youth Chicago, a program affiliated with the Union League Club of Chicago's Public Affairs Committee. On May 24, 2010, the organization held a luncheon to raise awareness about Chicago youth violence and open up a forum on possible ways to reverse the violence.

United States Marshal Darry McPherson addressed the issue of youth violence and discussed his department's work with the superintendent of the Cook County Sheriff's Department Gang Intelligence Unit. In addition, the Chicago Police Department's Frank Diaz and Cook County Sheriff's Criminal Intelligence Unit's Franco Domma spoke about their personal experience dealing with Chicago youth. Their stories and knowledge provided invaluable insight into what is happening on Chicago's streets and demonstrated ways we as individuals can become more aware of the warning signs of violence.

Continue reading " Safe Youth Chicago Works Towards Decreasing Chicago Violence and Crime " »

Yesterday the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform launched a Congressional hearing regarding "Johnson & Johnson's Recall of Children's Tylenol and Other Pediatric Medicines" in order to further investigate McNeil Consumer Healthcare/Johnson & Johnson's recall of numerous children's medicines.

Since its April 10, 2010 voluntary recall, Johnson & Johnson has recalled around 136 million bottles of more than 40 different types of popular medicines. A complete list of all the recalled children's Tylenol products can be found at the company's website. The list of drugs recalled by McNeil include Infants’ Tylenol, Children’s Tylenol, and Children’s Benadryl, and Children’s Motrin.

The massive recall of children's Tylenol products was the result of manufacturing defects and poor quality control at McNeil's manufacturing plants that caused the medications to contain either too much of the active ingredients, inactive ingredients that failed to meet testing standards, or metal specks within the medications.

The House committee's investigation was set into motion by Chairman Towns and Darrell Issa (R-CA) earlier this month due to the large number of medicines included in the Tylenol recall. McNeil Consumer Healthcare could face a number of repercussions from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), including seizures of its current products, criminal penalties, and/or additional sanctions.

Continue reading " Recall of Children's Tylenol Subject of Congressional Hearing Entitled "Johnson & Johnson's Recall of Children's Tylenol and Other Pediatric Medicines" " »

Yet another weight loss drug has been accused of posing a safety risk due to its potential causing of liver damage or failure. Yesterday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) completed its safety review of the the weight loss drug Orlistat, which has been marketed under the names of Alli and Xenical, in connection with reports of severe liver injury. Alli is manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), while Xenical is manufactured by Hoffmann-La Roche (Roche).

These reports of potential liver damage due to a weight loss drug come on the heels of similar reports of liver injury associated with Hydroxycut, which led to a massive recall of the weight loss supplement.

After undergoing an investigation into the safety of Xenical and Alli, the FDA found that Alli and Xenical could in fact cause liver damage in rare cases and therefore has approved the weight loss drugs to stay on the market as long as their labels are changed to include warnings of potential liver damage.

Continue reading " Alli and Xenical (Orlistat) Could Cause Severe Liver Injury: FDA Warns of Dangers of Weight Loss Drug " »

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced what could amount to a nationwide recall of children's Tylenol and dozens of other over-the-counter medicines. The FDA conducted an inspection at a McNeil drug plant in Pennsylvania that has resulted in the recall of more than 40 varieties of liquid pediatric medicines Tylenol, Motrin, Benadryl and Zyrtec. These products may contain metal particles over the limit allowed to meet safety requirements.

Following the discovery that some of the Tylenol products from its plant could contain metal, McNeil initiated a voluntary recall of all products manufactured at that plant. According to McNeil, its April 2010 recall was a precautionary measure and was not based on "adverse medical events". The McNeil recall included not only Tylenol products, but also other popular children's medicines, such as children's Motrin, Zyrtec, and Benadryl products

Tylenol is one of the brands made by a unit of Johnson & Johnson. One of the major distributors of these pediatric liquid products is Perrigo, a company based in Michigan that supplies children medicines to big pharmacy companies like Walgreens and CVS. Perrigo has also received a warning from the FDA that it has committed serious manufacturing errors of its own. Tablets of ibuprofen reportedly contained metal shavings.

Also reported by the FDA are questions of safety and reliability of these products. Other deficiencies in the report included bacterial contamination of raw products, inadequate maintenance of equipment and the fact that no follow up was conducted to investigate 46 consumer complaints as to foreign materials and black or dark particles in the products. Some of the complaints are more than a year old.

Click here for the full list of all the recalled Tylenol products.

For additional information on the timeline of the Tylenol recall, see Parija Kavilanz's article at CNNMoney.com.

Continue reading " Children's Tylenol Recalled By FDA " »

Yesterday, General David H. Petraeus, the senior-most U.S. commander in Iraq, spoke to Illinois and Chicago residents at the Union League Club of Chicago. The question and answer luncheon was put together by the club's Public Affairs Committee and was attended by Chicago attorney Robert Kreisman.

A 1974 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, General Petraeus is went on to earn a MPA and Ph.D. degree in international relations from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. General Petraeus received his current appointment to the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) in October 2008 following his command of the Multi-National Forces in Iraq.

The General has received many awards during the course of his career and service, including two Defense Distinguished Medals, two Distinguished Service Medals, two Defense Superior Service Medals, four awards of the Legion of Merit, and the Bronze Star Medal for valor.

General Petraeus started the luncheon with a brief statement and then took an assortment of questions from the audience. The discussion focused on the ongoing efforts by the U.S. in Afghanistan, Iraq, and across General Petraeus's command. General Petraeus spoke as to his effort to foster cooperation with the U.S., respond to ongoing crises, and deter further aggression in an effort to promote stability and security in the Middle East. Of particular interest were all the General's comments and insight into the challenges and difficulties he faces on a daily basis.

Continue reading " Chicago Personal Injury Attorney Robert Kreisman Attends General David H. Petraeus Luncheon " »

Yesterday Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor presented a lecture on "Ethics, Civility, and Public Service" as part of the Paul H. Douglas Education Lecture series. The lecture was hosted by the Union League Club of Chicago and the University of Illinois. Chicago personal injury attorney Robert Kreisman was in attendance.

Justice O'Connor received the Paul H. Douglas Award for Ethics in Government in 2008. The Douglas Award was established by the University of Illinois in 1992 in honor of Paul H. Douglas, an Illinois lawmaker often called the “conscience of the Senate”. The annually presented award is given to a public servant who exemplifies ethical behavior in government.

At the end of Justice O'Connor's lecture she took questions and comments from the audience. One attendee asked her opinion regarding Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagen, who is a non-judge. Justice O'Connor responded that the Supreme Court requires diversity of background and that she therefore welcomes a jurist to the Supreme Court who has no prior experience sitting as a judge.

Justice O'Connor's judicial career began with her election to the Maricopa County Superior Court in 1975, where she served until being appointed to the Arizona Court of Appeals in 1979. In 1981 Justice O'Connor became the first female nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court when she was appointed by President Reagan in 1981 as a replacement for retiring Justice Potter Stewart.

Continue reading " Sandra Day O'Connor Lectures In Chicago On Ethics, Civility, and Public Service: Robert D. Kreisman Attends " »

Vulcan Materials Co. recently reached a $40 million settlement with the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) in the case of The People of the State of Illinois v. Vulcan Materials Co., No. 01 CH 15986. The Illinois property damage lawsuit was brought by IDOT against Vulcan Materials Co. regarding damage the company caused to a mile-long section of Joliet Road in McCook, Illinois, a southwest suburb of Chicago.

The section of the road at issue was closed in 1998 after IDOT experts found that the road was no longer safe for public use. According to the IDOT experts, the damage was caused by limestone mining by Vulcan along both sides of Joliet Road. The mining had caused the road to buckle, making it unusable.

Vulcan contended, and continues to contend despite the settlement, that the damage to the road was caused not by its mining, but by an earthquake. However, since the case ended with a settlement and not a jury trial, the issue of who or what caused the damage was not determined. A settlement does not require an admittance of guilt on behalf of either party, but just requires that both parties agree to bring an end to the lawsuit.

Continue reading " Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) Settles Case Involving Damage to Section of Joliet Road " »

An Illinois Appellate Court recently reversed the lower court's order dismissing an Illinois personal injury case in Oelze v. Score Sports Venture LLC, d/b/a Score Tennis and Fitness Center, No. 1-09-1476. While the lower court granted the defendant's motion for summary judgment based on its opinion that there was no evidence to support plaintiff's claims of willful and wanton misconduct on the part of the defendant, the Appellate Court found that there was a question of fact regarding whether the defendant had acted recklessly. And since there were material facts to consider regarding the defendant's actions, the trial court should not have summarily dismissed the case.

The Illinois personal injury case involves a plaintiff that was injured while playing at an indoor tennis club where she was a member. She became injured when she was caught her foot in a rope exercise ladder while running for a play. At the time the exercise ladder was being stored behind a curtain at the end of the tennis court. The plaintiff sustained a broken elbow and torn rotator cuff.

The plaintiff originally filed an Illinois personal injury lawsuit alleging negligence by the owner-operator of the Illinois tennis club. However, that case was dismissed after the defendant produced an agreement signed by the plaintiff upon her application for membership which included a provision stating that the plaintiff released the defendant “from any and all liability for any damage or injury” that might occur while using the defendant’s equipment and facility.

The trial court found that under the agreement the plaintiff had voluntarily waived any liability for fault on behalf of the defendant. The dismissal of the original Illinois personal injury claim is not at issue here. However, it should serve as a warning to anyone signing an agreement or release that these documents often include language releasing a party from liability regarding future injury or harm. Even many Illinois nursing homes are including mandatory arbitration clauses to prevent patients from filing lawsuits as a result of Illinois nursing home abuse.

Continue reading " Illinois Appellate Court Reverses Trial Court on Misconduct Personal Injury Claim Against Tennis Club " »

The Illinois Supreme Court is in the process of reviewing an Illinois wrongful death case involving a construction worker who fell to his death from a scaffold. The case of Ready v. United/Goedecke Services, Inc., No. 108910 had already been reviewed by the Illinois Supreme Court and remanded to the Appellate Court. However, Ready returned to the Illinois Supreme Court for review after the Illinois Appellate Court disregarded the higher court's mandate.

In Ready, the Illinois wrongful death claim was brought by the construction worker's widow against the owner of the plant where decedent was working, the general contractor for the construction job, and a scaffolding subcontractor. Prior to the 2003 Cook County trial both the plant owner and the general contractor settled with the decedent's widow regarding the Illinois construction site injury.

However, the scaffolding contractor elected to go to trial where a $14 million verdict was entered in favor of decedent's estate. The jury did find that the plaintiff-decedent contributed to his own fall, valuing his contributory-negligence for the construction site injury at 35%. Therefore, since the plaintiff-decedent was 35% responsible, the $14 million verdict was reduced by 35%, or $4.2 million. The verdict was further reduced by the value of the settlements already secured by plaintiff so that in the end the verdict was reduced by almost $8 million.

Continue reading " Scaffolding Death of Construction Worker Case Reviewed By Illinois Supreme Court For Sole Proximate Cause " »

In 2002, a mother and her teenage daughter were living in a rented home. One night, the high school junior returned home at 10:30 pm and noticed a faint order when she walked into the residence, but she didn’t identify it as natural gas because she didn’t know what natural gas smelled like.

On the following morning, the mother woke up about 6:30 am and smelled what she thought was natural gas. Her daughter recognized the odor as the same she had detected the night before but the smell had grown much stronger. The mother called 911, but the gas explosion occurred immediately after that call was made. The mother and daughter were severely injured.

The plaintiffs sued the owner and general manager of the duplex where they lived as well as the plumbing company that had installed the gas piping. It was alleged by the plaintiffs that the interior gas piping had been installed negligently and caused the explosion.

After the lawsuit had been filed, the plaintiffs added gas utility, Northern Illinois Gas as a defendant. The plaintiff settled with the building owner and general manager as well as the plumbing company. They proceeded against Northern Illinois Gas who they alleged was negligent in that the company failed to inspect its work and warn the plaintiffs.

Continue reading " Illinois Gas Company Held Not Responsible In Gas Explosion " »

A settlement was reached with the family of a 13 year-old quadriplegic boy whose injuries were sustained in a 2008 car crash in Skokie, Illinois. As a result, the boy is limited in his ability to communicate and is relying on a ventilator to breath. He is paralyzed from the neck down.

According to a lawsuit that was filed in 2009 against the driver of a sport utility vehicle that collided with a station wagon that was driven by the boy’s father, the boy was a passenger in the front seat when it was struck by the northbound SUV attempting to turn east onto Old Orchard Road from Skokie Boulevard. This crash took place in front of the Old Orchard Shopping Center, a usually congested traffic area.

During the discovery phase of the case, the parties disputed the speeds of the different vehicles, lanes in which they were travelling and the color of the traffic lights.

Continue reading " Cook County Judge Approves $5.6 Million Settlement for Thirteen Year Old Injured in Car Crash " »

A sixteen year-old high school student was injured in a head-on car crash suffering a broken right patella, fibula and tibia. Screws and rods were required to repair the right leg through the tibia. The student went through 2 years of medical treatment and physical therapy.

The driver of the defendant’s vehicle was employed by a real estate company when he crossed the center line colliding head-on with the high school student’s vehicle. The defendant admitted liability before the trial, but allowed the case to go the jury on damages. The jury awarded $1.28 million in damages to plaintiff based upon his medical bills, past and future, pain and suffering and loss of normal life.

It’s a widely known fact that teenagers are injured and killed at an alarmingly high rate on the nation’s highways and streets. Those numbers may suggest that teenagers are poor drivers, have slow reaction times or are using alcohol and/or drugs to obscure their senses and ability to drive safely. Those assumptions may be worth examining, but this sad case is representative of something else. An adult driver who became distracted by all of the devices we know are available today 24/7; radio, an old standard, now satellite radio, cell phones, Blackberries and street finders.

Continue reading " Illinois Jury Awards Injured High School Student After Head-On Crash " »