Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer Blawg

May 9, 2011

Chicago UPS Workers Pushed Too Far: Demand Reduced Workloads for Health and Safety

Given the state of today’s economy, it has become commonplace to hear about companies trying to cut corners, to stretch every dollar, and maximize their workers’ responsibilities. However, UPS workers are raising questions about what cost these continual raised expectations have on workplace safety and employee health.

Like many companies across America, UPS employees are under pressure to increase productivity; however, at the same time UPS is pushing employees to reduce workplace injuries and workers’ compensation claims. These two goals seem contradictory, a point that is being made by both UPS employees and union officials who affirm that the longer hours and increased expectations has in fact resulted in more workplace injuries.

The local Chicago union is making a point to emphasize that their request to reduce employee workloads does not come from a desire to shirk their duties; rather, many UPS employees are committed to the company and applaud it as a good place to work. Take for example 45 year-old Joe Korziuk – he’s worked for UPS for over 20 years, performing a wide range of jobs, including driving tractor trailers, delivering packages, and even washing trucks. However, even this model employee has suffered work injuries, sustaining a concussion after a heavy box fell on him, and is experiencing the wear and tear of twenty years on the job in the form of knee and back pain.

May 6, 2011

Should Illinois Jurors Be Allowed to Question Trial Witnesses? Illinois Supreme Court Rules Committee Considers New Proposal

by Robert Kreisman

Illinois lawyers and judges are considering expanding juror’s roles in the trial process. Currently jurors take a fairly passive part in the trial process itself as they sit and listen to each side present his or her case. It is only when it is time to weigh the evidence and come to a decision that jurors are allowed to actively participate. However, the Illinois Supreme Court Rules Committee is considering a proposal that would increase the role of jurors in the trial process itself.

On May 20, 2011, the Rules Committee is holding a hearing in Chicago, Illinois, to consider the proposal that jurors be allowed to submit written questions for the various witnesses. The jury’s questions would not be given directly to the witnesses, but would be filtered through the judge and trial attorneys. The judge would read each written question to the lawyers in a closed session, giving the attorneys an opportunity to object.

The trial judge would then take these objections into consideration while ruling on whether or not to allow each question to be read to the intended witness. If the judge decides to allow the juror’s question, he also has the option to either read it as written, or to modify it as he sees fit. Once the judge has made his decision, then either the judge or one of the lawyers would be responsible for reading the question to the witness during the trial, with both the plaintiff and defense attorneys being given the opportunity to ask the witness follow-up questions.

May 4, 2011

Loose Gravel on Roadway Results in Illinois Motorcycle Accident – 1.73 Million Settlement Reached

by Robert Kreisman

As we near road construction season in Chicago, as motorists it is important to be on the lookout for changes in road conditions near construction sites. However, the summertime is not the only time Chicago motorists need to be concerned with poor road conditions. Sometimes bad road conditions result not from regular wear and tear, but rather from low quality road repairs. The personal injury case below is an example of these types of accidents.

The Illinois motorcycle accident occurred when plaintiff was attempting to stop his motorcycle while driving along 163rd Street in Homer Glen, Illinois. However, at the time, he was driving in the same area where the City of Homer Glen had contracted a storm sewer installation in August of 2005. As part of the storm sewer installation, the subcontractor, Dalton Brothers, had cut a four foot trench near the intersection of 163rd Street and Cedar Road. Instead of repaving this trench, Dalton Brothers simply filled it up with loose gravel.

However, by the time the plaintiff was driving his motorcycle over this same area, that gravel had worn away, leaving a six to eight inch depression in the road. Because the roadwork was finished, there were no signs to signal to motorists the dangerous road conditions; the plaintiff had no obvious warning that what he was about to drive over was gravel, not pavement. Needless to say, the plaintiff’s motorcycle skidded as he attempted to stop on the loose gravel.

May 2, 2011

Cook County Multi-Vehicle Rear-End Accident Results in 8.4 Million Jury Verdict – Nofal v. Cardinal Transport, Inc.

by Robert Kreisman

It is one of the first things you learn in driver’s ed and is repeated over and over again to new drivers: always keep your eyes on the road. However, this advice is useful not only for new drivers, but for experienced drivers, too. Take for instance the case of Benton Chapman, a 44 year-old truck driver who took his eyes off the road to adjust his radio and caused a multiple car accident on an Illinois expressway, Estate of Lafi Nofal, M.D., deceased, et al. v. Benton Chapman, Cardinal Transport, et al., 06 L 2263.

Immediately prior to the Illinois car crash, Chapman was driving a tractor-trailer truck along Illinois Interstate 55. Traffic was flowing at a reasonable speed and Mr. Chapman looked away from the road for a minute to adjust his XM Satellite radio. However, when he looked back to the roadway, Chapman discovered that the flow of traffic had slowed significantly and that he was driving way too fast.

Unfortunately, Chapman didn’t even have enough time to brake before crashing into the car immediately in front of him. Dorothy Walsh, that car’s driver, was killed as a result of the rear-end collision. However, Chapman’s truck did not stop there, but continued in its path, striking another vehicle driven by Magdi Hussein, a bobtail trailer, and three other vehicles. The severity of the Cook County highway accident caused the Stevenson Expressway to be closed for five hours.

April 29, 2011

City of Chicago Not Liable for City Resident’s Faulty Staircase – Hess v. City of Chicago

by Robert Kreisman

An Illinois appellate court found that the City of Chicago was immune from liability regarding a city resident’s fall on a dangerous back staircase. While the plaintiff filed a claim against the building owner, she also filed a personal injury claim against the City of Chicago. However, the trial court granted the City’s motion for summary judgment, a decision which the plaintiff sought to reverse in its appeal. Hess v. Flores, et al., 1-08-1653.

The Chicago personal injury lawsuit arose after the plaintiff, Rebecca Hess, fell from the 2nd floor, rear staircase of the apartment building where she lived. At the time of her fall a piece of the staircase’s handrail was missing; in its place was yellow caution tape. According to City documents, the rear staircase at 2050-2052 W. Summerdale Avenue, Chicago had been in disrepair for several years and constituted a dangerous condition.

In the two years prior to Ms. Hess’s accident, the rear staircase had been subjected to multiple City inspections. The conclusion of each inspection was that the staircase represented a “dangerous and hazardous condition.” Not only had the City cited the owner on multiple occasions over the years, but eventually began judicial proceedings to help correct the apartment’s building code violations. In fact, it was because of the City’s involvement that the plaintiff filed a claim against the City of Chicago even though they were not directly responsible for Ms. Hess’s injury.

April 28, 2011

Toyota Voluntarily Recalls 2011 Tundra Pick-Up Trucks Due to Defective Driveshafts

by Robert Kreisman

This past Tuesday the Toyota Motor Company made an announcement that it would be recalling over 50,000 of its Tundra pick-up trucks. The voluntary recall came after the auto manufacturer discovered that this model’s driveshaft slip yokes were not properly casted and assembled.

The driveshaft slip yoke is cast out of molten metal, meaning that a mold is first made which the melted metal is then poured into. However, because of flaws in the casting process, the casted yokes have been found to have a tendency to crack or break under normal wear and tear. This product defect could either be the result of a design defect or a flaw in the manufacturing process.

This product defect could be dangerous to truck drivers because the driveshaft slip yoke is responsible for connecting the truck’s driveshaft to its transmission. Therefore, if the yoke were to fail, then the engine’s power would not be transferred to its wheels and the driver could lose control of the truck. For example, if the front driveshaft of a Toyota Tundra were to break, then the truck could be in danger of turning over.

April 27, 2011

Blagojevich Retrial Underway: Ex-Governor Faces Twenty Federal Charges

by Robert Kreisman

Jury selection has begun on the retrial of Rod Blagojevich, the former Governor of Illinois. Late last summer Blagojevich faced his first federal trial for claims of racketeering and widespread corruption in his office. Perhaps most famously, Blagojevich was accused of trying to sell Barack Obama’s Senate seat to the highest bidder. However, after a lengthy and expensive trial, Blagojevich was found guilty of only one charge – lying to the FBI. The jury was hung, or unable to agree, on any of the remaining counts.

Because the jurors in the original Blagojevich trial were unable to agree upon the remaining counts, the case was declared a mistrial. This means that the federal government could choose to retry Blagojevich on all the other counts, an option it chose to exercise.

If found guilty of the remaining federal charges Blagojevich faces a lengthy prison sentence. While he already was convicted on one felony count last summer, which carries a maximum sentence of five years, the judge elected not to complete Blagojevich’s sentencing until the remaining counts have been tried. This means that although Blagojevich was found guilty over seven months ago that he has not served any of his jail time.

April 25, 2011

Infant Deaths Caused by Crib Bumpers – Safety Agency Needs Stricter Investigation Standards

by Robert Kreisman

Crib bumper pads have been the topic of debate for several years. While some claim that they are perfectly safe and harmless, others claim that crib bumper pads put infants at risk for suffocating in their cribs. A recent report that the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has not taken adequate steps to investigate crib bumper pads calls into question the product’s safety.

Over the years, the CPSC has investigated allegations of babies’ dying as a result of suffocating in their crib bumpers. However, it now seems that at least 17 of those cases were not fully investigated by the CPSC. While the agency did look into the infant deaths, it determined that in at least 12 of the 17 cases it was difficult to clearly implicate the crib bumper pads in the infants’ deaths. The CPSC instead suggested that the deaths were caused not by the defective bumper pad design, but instead were the result of infants suffocating from pillows or blankets that were also in the cribs.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has taken a much firmer stance than the CPSC, going so far as to urge parents not to use crib bumper pads because of the risk of suffocation. These claims have been supported in autopsy reports conducted by medical examiners and coroners, who have affirmed that bumper pads were involved in the infant suffocations. In light of all this evidence, the CPSC must now decide whether it is safe for parents to continue using this crib product.

April 22, 2011

Illinois Appellate Court Affirms Car Crash Verdict Despite Judge’s Error – Oglesby v. Berg

by Robert Kreisman

An Illinois Appellate Court denied defendant’s motion for a new trial in the Illinois auto accident lawsuit of Estate of Rosemary Oglesby et al. v. William Berg, et al., No. 1-09-0639. The defense’s appeal involved claims that the trial court had acted incorrectly when it refused to send one of the plaintiff’s medical bills to the jury during its review of the case. The jury ended up ruling in favor of the plaintiff, an outcome that the defense argued could have been different had the jury seen that medical bill.

The personal injury lawsuit involved an Illinois auto accident between the plaintiff, 60 year-old Rosemary Oglesby, and defendant William Berg, who was driving a park district van at the time of the car crash. Two days after the car accident, Oglesby presented to one of her regular physicians; Ms. Oglesby was seeing many different doctors at the time for her ongoing battle with cancer. The exhibit at issue was a billing statement from that specific doctor, which included the visit shortly after the car accident, along with twelve additional visits over the years.

The exhibit had been produced by the plaintiff, which is typical considering it was her medical bill and was likely being used to support the plaintiff’s claim for reimbursement of past medical bills. However, it was the defense that requested that this particular exhibit be presented to the jury room while it deliberated its decision in the Illinois personal injury trial. The trial judge denied the defendants’ request and the exhibit was not formally presented to the jury after the closing arguments.

April 20, 2011

Product Defect Case Not Barred by Assumption of Risk Issue – Stollings v. Ryobi Technologies

by Robert Kreisman

An Illinois court denied defendant’s motion for summary judgment in Brandon Stollings v. Ryobi Technologies, 2011 WL 211008 (N.D. Ill.). The court disagreed with the defendant manufacturer that the Illinois product defect claim did not satisfy the requirements for strict liability or negligence claims and allowed the product defect case to continue.

Stollings involved claims that the Ryobi Technologies manufactured a table saw that was unreasonably dangerous due to several design defects. The Illinois product liability lawsuit was filed after the plaintiff, Brandon Stollings, lost two fingers while he was maneuvering the table saw. Stollings was cutting a piece of wood when it was kicked back at him by the blade, causing his fingers to push forward into the rotating blade. Stollings’s product liability lawsuit claimed that Ryobi Technologies’s table saw was unreasonable dangerous because its anti-kickback device was attached to the saw’s blade guard instead of being an independent system, it lacked flesh-detection technology, and sawdust tended to accumulate in the blade guards and obstruct the view of the operators.

However, the defense filed a motion for summary judgment to dismiss both Stollings’s strict product liability counts and his negligence counts, citing evidence that Stollings had removed the blade guard prior to operating the table saw and that the plaintiff admitted to never reading the safety manual. The defense argued that if the plaintiff failed to utilize the safety features it had included then he was over 50% liable for his own injuries.

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