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Recent Blog Posts
Nursing Home Patients Without Proper Feeding Protocols Can Choke and Die
While elderly or disabled residents of nursing homes are more likely to suffer risks of aging and decreased mental faculties, not all of these risks are inevitable. One common but avoidable danger to nursing home residents is choking on food and drinks. Nursing home residents should not be choking on their food and drinks; nursing homes are responsible for assessing whether a resident is at risk of choking and providing a diet and administrative method that allows that person to eat and drink safely. If you have a family member in an Illinois nursing home who has choked and died, the nursing home may have been negligent in caring for your loved one.
Choking is a Leading Cause of Death in Nursing Homes
Dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing, is a condition that affects a significant number of elderly adults. Victims of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease are more likely to suffer from dysphagia, as are patients who have had a stroke and patients who are old enough that they are suffering from muscle degeneration.
Hours of Service Violations in a Truck Accident Injury Claim
Being sleepy is typically a mere annoyance. However, when someone is operating a massive commercial truck, sleepiness can be deadly. Multiple studies show that drowsy driving is extremely dangerous. Fatigued drivers are less attentive and less capable of making sound decisions. They are slower to react to obstacles or hazards. Driving after being awake for 18 hours or longer has the same effect on driving ability as having a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.05 percent. If a driver has not slept in 24 hours, this is equivalent to having a BAC of 0.10 percent – twice the legal limit for commercial drivers.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) limits the number of hours that a commercial driver may drive without taking a break to rest. However, some truck drivers violate these Hours of Service rules in order to complete their routes faster.
Semi-Truck Drivers Are Not Supposed to Drive Beyond the Limit
Compensation for Victims of Malpractice in Fertility Cases
The recent Netflix documentary Our Father is bringing new attention to an extreme case of reproductive malpractice. The show highlights the history of an Indianapolis-area fertility doctor who impregnated unsuspecting women with his own sperm over the course of several decades. Many of the women were expecting to be impregnated by anonymous sperm donors, but others were expecting the offspring to be with their own husbands. To date, 94 children have been identified. So far, he has only been found guilty on a few counts of obstruction of justice and has escaped criminal prosecution for his actions. Individual lawsuits from some of the affected mothers and children, now middle-aged adults, have been more successful in collecting damages.
Examples of Reproductive Negligence and Malpractice
While this is an extreme example of malpractice, related cases of embryo mistransportation are not unknown. This can include implanting a woman undergoing fertilization treatments with the wrong sperm or eggs. This can lead to a woman unknowingly being impregnated with another couple’s child, having a child with an unknown party, or having a child born with a birth disorder or birth defect that should not have occurred.
What Types of Compensation Can a Family Seek After a Wrongful Death Accident?
The loss of a loved one in an accident is always painfully difficult for surviving family members. Beyond the emotional grieving, it can be difficult to move forward when financial issues are impacting everyday life. The loss of income, hospital bills, funeral costs, and other expenses all contribute to the need for financial compensation. While more difficult to adequately quantify, compensation for the emotional impact of the loss can also be sought. Working with an experienced wrongful death attorney can help you recover the compensation that you deserve.
Potential Types of Wrongful Death Compensation
While wrongful death cases can be complicated, our law firm will learn the details of your case and pursue all potential damages. In wrongful death cases, you may be able to seek compensation for a wide range of losses. The first general category covers damages directly caused by the accident, including:
Bus Accidents Involving Injuries are Common in Illinois
The last few months have brought accidents that resulted in injuries and even death for both CTA and Pace buses. While bus drivers are trained and expected to operate safely, accidents involving buses and other vehicles can still occur. If you have been injured in an accident involving a bus, either as a passenger or when you were in another vehicle, you may be able to seek compensation for your injuries as well as for lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages.
Causes of Bus Accidents and Compensation Available
Accidents involving transit buses as well as school buses tend to grab the headlines, but many other types of buses are also on the road, including charter buses, shuttle buses, and intercity buses like Greyhound or Megabus. There can be many causes of bus accidents. While causes generally overlap with factors in other motor vehicle crashes, there are a few factors that disproportionately impact buses.
Types of Elder Abuse and Signs to Look For
When you move your loved one to a nursing home, rehabilitation center, or other elder care facility, you are expecting them to receive the physical, emotional, and mental support that they need if they cannot live on their own. You put your trust in the staff that they will keep them safe and well looked after. Unfortunately, the diminished physical or mental state that led to their move in the first place makes them vulnerable to various types of abuse. It is good to know the common types of nursing home abuse and neglect and what some of the signs that you can look for.
Keeping Our Elderly Loved Ones Safe
Elder abuse can come in many forms, each of which can be physically, emotionally, and mentally harmful. Common types of elder abuse include:
Neglect – This includes failing to provide residents with their basic daily needs, including food, water, medical care, clean clothing, and other basic hygienic needs.
Know the Injury Risk from Ladders, Scaffolding
When working on a construction site, ladders and scaffolding are an unavoidable presence. While they allow construction workers, painters, roofers, and countless other workers to perform their jobs, they can also present a danger if not erected or maintained properly. Thousands of injuries every year are caused by falls, collapses, or other related accidents.
Common Causes of Scaffolding or Ladder Injuries
Workers who regularly use ladders or scaffolding know the risks they take when using them as part of their job. However, there are some circumstances beyond their control that can cause injuries and even death. Here are some of the most common causes of scaffold or ladder accidents:
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Wet or slippery walkways causing slips and falls
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Missing guardrails leading to falls
New Illinois Law Addresses Nursing Home Funding
On May 31, Governor Pritzker signed a new bill into law that will reform nursing homes around the state and tie their funding to performance measures and staffing levels. It also provides funding for increased pay for nursing home staff. The bill is partly a response to chronic staffing shortages in nursing homes that were only made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic, while also trying to better address the care of residents in nursing homes.
More Funding for Nursing Homes, Nurses
The reforms in the bill provide for increased funding tied to staffing levels, new pay for certified nursing assistants, and connects funding to improved quality of care. The legislation adopts the federal Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM) which helps nursing homes to better shape their care to reflect the needs of residents, prevents fraudulent billing, and promotes full disclosure of nursing home ownership. The disclosure portion is tied to a trend of private equity funds buying nursing homes and being linked to lower-quality care.
Motor Vehicle Fatalities Up Nationwide and in Illinois in 2021
According to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) report, early estimates of motor vehicle traffic fatalities for 2021 show an increase in the number of people killed in traffic crashes. In Illinois, fatalities were also higher than in 2020. Nationwide, the rate of fatalities among drivers remained high after spiking during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns.
Summary of Fatal Traffic Crash Data
The statistical projection produced by NHTSA shows that almost 43,000 people are estimated to have died in 2021 in traffic crashes nationwide. This number is up 10.5 percent from 2020 and would be the highest total number of fatalities since 2005. Each region of the country showed higher total numbers of fatalities, and only five states recorded fewer fatalities. The total number of fatalities in Illinois in 2021 is estimated to be 1,357, a 13.7% rise over the total of 1,194 in 2020.
Dangers of Swimming Pools in Illinois
With the end of the school year and the arrival of warmer weather, local pools will soon begin filling up with water and swimmers. Whether at a park, a hotel, or in a backyard, a pool can be a fun place to enjoy, but it also has risks that can result in a personal injury. If you are the owner of a pool or are just looking to have a fun time, it is beneficial to know the hazards present at a pool and the responsibilities homeowners have to keep their pool safe.
Safety Tips and Responsibilities for Pool Owners and Swimmers
Many pool owners know the risks and responsibilities of owning and maintaining a pool and the premises liability that comes with it. To prevent any unintentional injuries or even tragedies, it is best to be prepared and keep your family and friends safe. Here are some of the top risks for personal injuries for pool users.
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