312-236-6324
Recent Blog Posts
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
While truck drivers should take care to drive safely at all times, they will need to take additional measures to ensure that they can operate their vehicles correctly and avoid collisions during the winter. These measures include:
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.
What Role Does Cooling Play in Infant Brain Injuries?
Even though thousands of children are born every day, labor and delivery can be risky, and children can suffer birth injuries due to negligence by doctors, nurses, or other hospital staff. Brain injuries are some of the most serious types of birth injuries, and they can lead to cerebral palsy, cognitive impairments, loss of vision or hearing, and other permanent disabilities. In many cases, brain injuries are caused by a lack of oxygen during labor and delivery, and cooling is one form of treatment that can be effective in preventing further brain damage.
How Is Cooling Used to Treat Birth Injuries?
There are a variety of issues that can occur during birth that may cut off the supply of oxygen to an infant. These include placental abruption, umbilical cord prolapse, uterine rupture, or any other conditions that affect the flow of blood and oxygen throughout the child’s body. Asphyxia during birth can cause a condition known as hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). In these cases, a lack of oxygen to the brain can cause brain cells to die, and when blood flow resumes, toxins released by dead cells can cause additional brain damage, leading to a chain reaction that can cause extensive brain injuries or death.
The Importance of Electronic Fetal Monitoring in Preventing Birth Injuries
During the process of labor and delivery, a child’s condition should be monitored closely, and medical personnel should respond quickly to any issues that could lead to birth injuries. Electronic fetal monitoring is often used to view and record an infant’s heart rate during labor, and doctors and nurses are trained to recognize the signs of fetal distress. If personnel do not properly interpret fetal heart rate tracings, or if they do not respond correctly to issues that could threaten the health of the child, this may be considered medical malpractice.
Category II vs. Category III Fetal Heart Rate Tracings
When electronic fetal monitoring is used, fetal heart rate (FHR) tracings will typically fall into one of three categories. Category I tracings are considered normal, and they are usually a sign that labor can proceed without risks or complications. Category II or III tracings, however, may indicate that a child is experiencing distress, and action may need to be taken to protect the child’s safety or ensure that delivery can be completed while minimizing the risk of injury.
Can I Receive Compensation if I Am Injured While Working on a Boat?
Workers in the United States are usually eligible to receive certain benefits if they are injured while on the job. Workers’ compensation will typically cover a person’s medical treatment and the loss of income they have experienced due to a workplace injury, and an employee will be eligible for these benefits no matter who was responsible for the injury. However, injury cases can become more complicated for those who work on boats. A different set of laws, known as maritime law or admiralty law, apply in cases involving offshore injuries, and workers who have been injured will want to be sure to work with an attorney who understands the unique legal issues involved in their case.
Receiving Compensation for Maritime Injuries
Even though maritime law usually applies to vessels that operate away from the shores of the United States, there are a large number of people in the Chicago area and throughout the state of Illinois who may be affected by these laws. In addition to shipping on Lake Michigan and throughout the Great Lakes, commercial vessels also regularly operate on the Chicago River, the Des Plaines River, and the Mississippi River, and anyone injured while working on these boats will want to understand their legal options.
Can I Make a Business Interruption Insurance Claim Due to COVID-19?
Businesses throughout Illinois and across the United States have been forced to close due to the coronavirus outbreak. Some businesses have been able to receive aid through federal or state programs, while others have come up with creative ways to maintain cash flow during this difficult time, but nearly everyone is struggling to address the negative effects that COVID-19 has had on the economy.
Because of the unexpected closures that have been mandated by stay-at-home orders and other government-imposed requirements, many business owners are looking to determine whether they can be reimbursed for their losses under their business interruption insurance policies. Unfortunately, many insurers have been denying these types of claims. When addressing these denials, businesses will want to work with an attorney who is experienced in litigation involving insurance companies.
What Are My Legal Options After Contracting COVID-19 at Work?
The coronavirus pandemic has affected nearly every aspect of our lives. Stay-at-home orders have required many people to minimize contact with others in order to avoid becoming infected or spreading the disease. However, many workers at “essential businesses” have been required to risk exposure, and doctors and nurses, as well as employees at grocery stores, restaurants, and other important areas of the economy, have bravely placed themselves in harm’s way to ensure that others receive the care and services they need. Even when precautions are taken to minimize the risk of infection for these workers, some have contracted COVID-19, and they and their families are likely wondering about whether they will be able to receive workers’ compensation or if they have other legal options to address the harm they have experienced.
Recent Lawsuits Demonstrate the Difficulties Faced by Workers
Many employees of essential businesses are concerned about the possibility that they may be exposed to the coronavirus, become ill, or pass the infection to family members. In some cases, workers have experienced significant harm or died after contracting COVID-19. On April 6, 2020, the estate of a man who worked at a Walmart Supercenter in Cook County filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Walmart after the man died from complications related to COVID-19. The lawsuit alleges that Walmart acted negligently in a variety of ways, including failing to properly disinfect the store, provide employees with personal protective equipment, follow social distancing guidelines, or evaluate and respond to employees who showed symptoms of infection.
111 West Washington Street, Suite 1200
Chicago, IL 60602
312-236-6324
312-236-6426
Contact Our Firm
The use of the Internet or this form for communication with the firm or any individual member of the firm does not establish an attorney-client relationship. Confidential or time-sensitive information should not be sent through this form.
I have read and understand the Disclaimer and Privacy Policy.
