Chicago Accident Law Blog

In a Chicago wrongful death action that asserted claims for underinsured motorist benefits, the Illinois Supreme Court interpreted whether the "per person" limits of liability or the "per occurrence" limits of liability applied to family members derivative claims. The Illinois Wrongful Death Act, 740 ILCS 180/2 states: "...every such action shall be for the exclusive benefit of the surviving spouse and next of kin of such deceased person..." Illinois courts have defined "next of kin" as those blood relatives of the decedent who are in existence at the time of the decedent's death who would take the decedent's property if the decedent had died intestate. Provena v. St. Therese Medical Center, 334 Ill. App. 3d 581, 778 N.E. 2d 298 (2002).

Continue reading "Illinois Wrongful Death Coverage Limited by Supreme Court" »

A Chicago product liability suit that I tried recently resulted in $1.8 million verdict to a 40 year old Chicago man whose leg was crushed on an assembly line. Many interesting legal issues arose including who should be placed on the jury verdict form regarding apportioning fault among defendants, third party defendants, and plaintiff (see previous post regarding this issue). In 2002 plaintiff was working on an assembly line that produced laminated boards for use as countertops and cabinets. At the end of the laminating line there was a scissors lift table which received the completed boards and which was operated by a foot switch.

While guiding boards onto the scissors lift plaintiff accidentally stepped on the foot switch causing the table to lower while his foot was underneath. The boards and table weighed over 1,500 lbs. and crushed his right leg. Plaintiff sustained fracture of tibial plateau, bimalleolar fracture of ankle requiring six surgeries and ultimately fusion of his knee. Plaintiff, a former drug user, complicated his medical condition by injecting Oxycontin into his right arm in an unsuccessful attempt to relieve pain, thus leading to osteomyelitis in his right leg.

Continue reading "Chicago Man's Crushed Leg Brings $1.8 Million in Product Liability Action " »

An Illinois wrongful death verdict arising out of a construction accident where a scaffold collapsed was reversed by the appellate court in Chicago. The Court did rule that the defendants had waived any right to challenge the award of $14,230,000. The issue as framed by the Appellate Court:

Is a defendant who settles with the plaintiff prior to trial still a "defendant sued by the plaintiff" within the meaning of section 2-1117 of the Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/2-1117)? If we answer this question in the affirmative, then all defendants sued by the plaintiff, including those who settled prior to trial, may be included on the jury verdict form so that the fact finder can assign each defendant their degree of fault, if any. If we answer this question in the negative, then only those defendants who remain when the case is submitted to the fact finder may be included on the verdict form.

Ready v. United, 367 Ill. App. 3d 272, 854 N.E. 758, 2006 WL 2434935 (2006).

Continue reading "Chicago Appellate Court Puts Settling Defendants on Verdict Form" »

One Chicago medical malpractice case that did not involve either doctors or nurses was resolved too late to benefit the victim. In 1999 a Chicago area woman went to her gynecologist for her annual pap smear. Because she had been previously diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease she was at a higher risk of developing cervical cancer, and therefore her doctor recommended annual pap smears. The pap smear was sent to a large national lab to be read. The results were communicated to the gynecologist as a normal pap smear. Approximately ten months later the patient contacted her gynecologist because she was having unusual discharges and she came in for an appointment. Upon physical examination the physician made a visual diagnosis of cervical cancer which was later confirmed by a biopsy.

Continue reading "Chicago Pap Smear Medical Malpractice" »

A libel action in suburban Chicago led to a $7 million award for Illinois Chief Justice Robert R. Thomas. A Kane County jury returned the verdict against the Kane County Chronicle and a former columnist on November 14, 2006. Justice Thomas, a former Chicago Bear and Notre Dame kicker, alleged that the columnist and the Chronicle defamed him by printing that he traded his vote in an attorney disciplinary case in exchange for a political favor to enable a candidate he favored to be elevated to the bench. Attorneys representing the defendants indicated that they will likely appeal, and that one of the issues they will raise will be that the jury should have been told that the columnist was a opinion columnist not a news reporter. The trial judge, Cook County Circuit Judge Donald J. O'Brien Jr., ruled

that there is no separate First Amendment privilege for statements of opinion and that a false assertion of fact can be libelous even though couched in terms of an opinion.

The basis of the ruling was a U.S. Supreme Court decision Milkovich v. Loraine Journal Co., 497 U.S. 1 (1990).

Continue reading "Illinois Chief Justice's Libel Case Leads to $7 Million Jury Award " »

An Illinois internet prescription malpractice suit named two physicians, one from New Jersey and one from Pennsylvania for prescribing Xanax and Ultram to an Illinois resident based solely on an online questionnaire. In May 2004 a 31 year old Illinois man received 60 2mg tablets of Xanax and 90 50mg tablets of Ultram based upon the internet application. The prescriptions were filled by internet pharmacies located in Florida. The plaintiff testified that he recalls taking one tablet of the Xanax and one tablet of the Ultram, and the next thing that he recalls is waking up in a hospital three weeks later.

Continue reading "Chicago Internet Prescription Malpractice" »

An Illinois medical malpractice case I recently handled where an anesthetic was injected into the victim's spinal cord ended successfully for a Chicago area woman. A 44 year old Chicago area woman became a victim of medical malpractice when she went into a surgical center for repair of a torn rotator cuff. Prior to the surgery the anesthesiologist injected the patient with an anesthetic to reduce post operative pain. The anesthetic was injected into the patient's spinal cord, instead of proximate to the brachial plexus nerve. As a result of the anesthetic entering the patient's spinal cord, the patient suffered partial paralysis of her arms and legs as well as numbness over large areas of her trunk.

Continue reading "Illinois Medical Malpractice-Spinal Cord Injection" »