Recent Blog Posts
5 Ways Negligent Drivers Can Cause Bicycle Accidents
Chicago is a great city for bicyclists, and it provides many people with the opportunity to use bikes to travel to and from work or for personal purposes. However, the city also sees quite a bit of heavy traffic, especially during busy times of the day. Even though many of the city’s streets have bike lanes and other features meant to protect bicyclists, collisions between bicycles and motor vehicles still occur. In many cases, bicycle accidents take place because drivers act negligently and fail to operate their vehicles safely, and injured bicycles will want to understand how they can pursue financial compensation from a negligent driver.
Bike Accidents Caused by Driver Negligence
Drivers are required to treat bicycles the same as other vehicles. When drivers fail to respect bicyclists’ rights to share the road, they are more likely to strike a bicycle or cause collisions that can seriously injure others. Some forms of driver negligence that are likely to lead to bicycle accidents include:
Building Code Violations Could Lead to Serious Injuries
Recently, people throughout the United States were horrified by the collapse of a 12-story condo building in Miami, Florida. The 40-year-old building had shown signs of deterioration due to the salty climate and regular storms in the area, but its owners had not taken action to perform repairs or address the risks of a collapse. The rubble of the building is still being searched for survivors, but at least 54 people have been confirmed dead, and it is likely that the death toll will be over 100.
This disaster demonstrates the importance of following building codes and ensuring that a structure is safe for its occupants. Unfortunately, far too many building owners, including many in the Chicago area, fail to regularly inspect their buildings and perform repairs to ensure that they are in compliance with safety regulations. When people are injured because of the negligence of a building’s owner, they may be able to pursue a premises liability lawsuit and recover compensation for their injuries and damages.
Why Driver Fatigue Is Increasingly Likely to Lead to Truck Accidents
Currently, the trucking industry in the United States is experiencing a critical shortage of truck drivers. Industry experts have reported that companies have been struggling to recruit new drivers for the past several years, and the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted their ability to provide drivers with the proper training. At the same time, the need to ship cargo has increased since there has been a surge in e-commerce during the pandemic.
These factors have combined to create a situation where fewer drivers are available to meet the increasing demand for shipping, which has made it more likely that drivers will be spending more time on the road. Because of this, truck drivers are more likely to push themselves beyond their limits, increasing the chances that they will be fatigued or drowsy while behind the wheel. This can lead to dangerous truck accidents, and in these cases, victims will need to work with an attorney to determine how they can hold a negligent truck driver and trucking company accountable for their injuries and damages.
How Can Meconium Aspiration Syndrome Affect a Newborn Infant?
There are multiple ways that birth injuries can cause harm to both children and mothers. While some injuries are unavoidable, others occur due to medical malpractice. Meconium aspiration syndrome is one issue that can cause serious injuries to children, and if it is not addressed correctly, it can lead to ongoing health concerns or permanent disabilities. Parents of children who have been harmed by meconium aspiration will need to work with an attorney to determine how they can recover financial compensation for the harm done to their child and their family.
Effects of Meconium Aspiration Syndrome
The first stool that a child passes after being born consists of meconium, a thick, tar-like substance. In some cases, a child may pass meconium before being born, and it may become mixed in with the amniotic fluid in the mother’s uterus. This may occur because the child experiences fetal distress due to the use of Pitocin to induce labor, prolonged labor, or difficulty passing through the birth canal.
Signs of Nursing Home Abuse That Families Should Be Aware of
For many elderly people, nursing homes provide the best solution to ensure that they will receive the medical care and assistance they need. When placing a loved one in a nursing home, a family should have the assurance that the person’s needs will be met and that they will be safe from harm. Unfortunately, some nursing homes do not live up to these expectations, and patients may suffer serious physical and emotional injuries because of abuse by staff members or other residents. Families who are concerned about the possibility of nursing home abuse will want to understand the signs that may indicate that their loved one has been the victim of these types of harmful behavior.
Signs of Physical, Verbal, or Sexual Abuse
Physical abuse of nursing home residents can take many forms. Staff members may strike or shove a resident they believe is uncooperative or difficult or even restrain a resident to a bed or chair. Signs that a person has suffered physical abuse include serious injuries such as broken bones or brain trauma, as well as unexplained bruises, cuts, or scratches. Rope marks on a person’s wrists or ankles may indicate that they have been improperly restrained, or bedsores or hygiene issues may show that they have been confined to a bed or chair or restricted from moving about freely.
Surgical Errors May Involve Surgery at the Wrong Level of the Spine
Patients who undergo surgery expect surgeons and other medical professionals who are involved in the procedure to take the proper care to protect their health and safety. Unfortunately, mistakes can occur during a surgical procedure that may cause a person to suffer additional harm on top of their existing medical conditions. In some cases, surgeons may perform procedures on the wrong part of a patient’s body. This is especially common in spinal procedures where surgery is performed at the wrong level of the spine. In these cases, patients may be able to hold a medical provider responsible for their negligence through a medical malpractice lawsuit.
How Can Wrong-Level Spinal Surgery Errors Occur?
Studies have found that as many as half of all neurosurgeons have performed surgeries at the wrong level of the spine at some point in their careers. While it may seem unthinkable that a medical professional would accidentally operate on the wrong part of the body, these types of mistakes are more common in spinal surgeries. Wrong-level surgeries most often occur due to issues with intraoperative imaging or confusion about counting techniques used to identify the vertebrae where surgery should occur.
Who Is Liable if I Am Injured by Medical Malpractice After a Car Accident?
Many personal injury cases are relatively straightforward. When a person or organization is directly responsible for someone else’s injuries, they may be held liable for the damages the victim has suffered. For example, a driver who is at fault in a car accident may be held responsible for the damages experienced by those who were injured in the crash, including the costs of medical treatment, the income they lost, the damage to their vehicle or other property, and their pain and suffering. However, additional factors can sometimes complicate these types of cases. What if a person was injured in a car accident, and when receiving treatment, they suffered further injuries due to medical malpractice? In these cases, victims will want to work with an attorney who can help them determine who was liable and hold those parties responsible for all of their damages.
What Are the Most Common Causes of Motorcycle Accidents?
As warmer weather arrives in Illinois during the spring and summer, many motorcyclists are looking to hit the road. After spending most of the last year indoors due to the COVID-19 pandemic, cyclists will be glad to be back on the open road. However, many other drivers will also be spending more time on the road, which may increase the likelihood of dangerous motorcycle accidents. Cyclists who are injured in a collision will want to understand who was at fault and determine how they can pursue financial compensation for their injuries and damages.
Driver Negligence Leading to Motorcycle Accidents
Motorcyclists are much more likely to be injured in a collision than people in passenger vehicles. While cars and trucks include seat belts, airbags, and other safety systems, motorcycles do not offer this type of protection, and a cyclist can suffer serious bodily harm or wrongful death in an impact with another vehicle. Most of the time, motorcycle accidents are caused by driver negligence, and this negligence may include:
What Steps Should Truck Drivers Take to Prevent Winter Truck Accidents?
The winter is one of the most dangerous times of the year to be on the road. Winter weather can lead to snow and ice on the roadway, as well as reduced visibility, increasing the risk that drivers will lose control of their vehicles. Even in clear weather, low temperatures can lead to safety issues, such as “black ice” that may not be noticeable until it causes a vehicle to lose traction. These safety concerns can affect commercial trucks even more than other vehicles, since due to the large size and weight of tractor-trailer trucks, they require more time and distance to come to a stop, and winter weather conditions can cause a truck driver to lose control of their vehicle. To prevent truck accidents, drivers should be sure to follow the proper safety procedures during the winter.
Commercial Truck Safety in the Winter
How Can Testing Errors Lead to a Breast Cancer Misdiagnosis?
Breast cancer is the type of cancer that most commonly affects women. Fortunately, when breast cancer is detected in time, a person can receive the proper treatment, and there is a 91% survival rate within five years after breast cancer is diagnosed. However, if breast cancer is not diagnosed properly, a patient may not be able to receive treatment to prevent the spread of cancer, and they can suffer serious harm as a result. Failure to diagnose breast cancer may occur because doctors failed to order the proper tests or because test results were not interpreted correctly. In these cases, patients will want to work with a medical malpractice attorney to determine their options.
Diagnostic Mammograms and Targeted Breast Ultrasounds
Imaging tests are the methods that are most commonly used to detect breast cancer. Women routinely receive screening mammograms, which are used to look for signs of breast cancer in patients who do not have any symptoms. A diagnostic mammogram may be ordered based on the results of a screening mammogram or because a patient has experienced other symptoms indicating breast cancer, such as lumps or pain in the breast, changes in breast size or shape, or discharge from the nipple.