Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer Blawg

December 23, 2009

New Risk Calculator Available For Bone Fractures To Women

Osteoporosis poses a serious health risk for women both in Chicago and nationwide. According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, one out of every two women will experience an osteoporosis-related incident during their lifetime, compared to one in every five men.

Osteoporosis is a condition characterized by thinning bones as people age. More fragile bones means that even low-trauma, seemingly minor falls can be debilitating and costly for those who suffer from osteoporosis. An estimated $17 billion is spent nationwide for treatment of fractures connected to fractures to those afflicted with osteoporosis.

Common treatment for osteoporosis involves placing the patient on medications that attempt to slow the disease’s progression. However, there is some question as to at what point patients should be started on medications. For example, should patients whose bones are being to weaken be placed on medications even if they are not yet osteoporotic? Or how about those who have no history of any episode or prior fractures due to osteoporosis, but has osteopenia, a state of lower bone density that may or may not lead to osteoporosis?
To help answer these questions, the World Health Organization (WHO) devised a controversial tool called FRAX, an online risk calculator to help doctors and patients analyze the likelihood of future osteoporotic fractures and determine whether drug therapy might prevent them.

December 21, 2009

Illinois Truck Accident Insurance Coverage Clarified By Illinois Supreme Court

by Robert Kreisman

The final chapter of a long debate regarding whether the Illinois Vehicle Code’s “omnibus coverage” applies to commercial truckers was recently decided upon by the Illinois Supreme Court. The Court’s held in Zurich American Inc. Co. v. Key Cartage, Inc., No. 107472 (Oct 29, 2009) that Illinois commercial vehicles are covered under the Illinois Commercial Transportation Law, a statute governing commercial vehicles, and not the Illinois Vehicle Code. Therefore the omnibus coverage clause under the Illinois Vehicle Code does not apply to commercial vehicle insurance.

The Illinois Supreme Courts decision overturned the Illinois Appellate Court’s previous decision in the Illinois trucking accident case which asserted that the Illinois Vehicle Code did in fact apply to commercial vehicles.

In Zurich, the issue at stake was whether Zurich, a company insuring a trucking company, or West Bend, an insurer covering the leased commercial vehicle, was responsible for providing coverage. The case facts were that Franklin Truck Group, insured by West Bend, had leased a vehicle to Rose Cartage Services, insured by Zurich. Rose Cartage loaned this vehicle out to an affiliated company, Key Cartage. One of Key Cartage’s drivers was operating this truck when he was involved in an Illinois truck accident that left one dead.

Zurich’s insurance policy had a reciprocal coverage provision that stated that they would only cover Rose Cartage employees and that they would not extend coverage to anyone using the truck with expressed or implied interest if that person did not also insure the vehicle’s owner. In response, West Bend contended that this reciprocal coverage clause violated the Illinois Vehicle Code that requires insurance companies to provide “omnibus coverage”, i.e. coverage to any driver that has the expressed or implied permission of the insured to use the vehicle.

December 16, 2009

Chicago Man Receives Verdict Against Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) for Psychological Injury

by Robert Kreisman

On July 11, 2006, a Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) subway train caught fire and derailed during the evening rush hour. After the Chicago Blue Line train derailed, passengers were forced to exit the subway train cars and make their way to the surface. Many CTA riders were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment of smoke inhalation and other injuries.

A verdict for one of the passengers was recently returned on the first of the cases stemming from this Chicago train accident to go to trial. The Chicago man claimed that he suffered from psychological injuries, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as a result of the Chicago train derailment near Clark and Lake Streets.

At trial, the plaintiff testified that he thought he was going to die given the amount of flames, heat, and smoke. Currently the plaintiff still rides the blue line train to his job as a docket clerk for a Chicago law firm. The jury wasconvinced of the seriousness of the plaintiff’s psychological injuries and returned a verdict of $135,000 against the CTA.

According to court documents, it appears that the focus of the Cook County train accident trial was on damages only as a summary judgment was already entered against the CTA regarding negligence claims related to the 2006 incident.

December 14, 2009

Kreisman Law Offices Thoughts On Mediation and Settlement Before Jury Trial

by Robert Kreisman

Whenever I take on a new Chicago or Illinois personal injury case, one of the first things I tell my clients is that we will need to prepare the case all the way through for a jury trial. The nature of Illinois personal injury cases and Illinois medical negligence demands that the plaintiff be mentally prepared to stick with their case right up until the verdict.

But as most Chicago lawyers know, most clients ask the question: “Will this case be settled before trial?” And while I still insist that my clients’ focus be on obtaining a positive verdict, mediation is becoming more and more of a viable option. In fact, some Cook County courts and judges are ordering mediation for more serious injury cases.

Mediation is often looked to as a favorable alternative to trial because it is less expensive and less time consuming than working a case up all the way through a jury verdict. Mediation can be a positive option for most, but not all, cases.

Typically, at the beginning of the mediation process, both plaintiffs and defendants agree on a private, unbiased mediator whose role is to bring both parties to a just and reasonable settlement agreement. This neutral mediator is selected and agreed upon by both parties via a signed document.

December 11, 2009

Cancer Patient Saved by 43 Hour Ex Vivo Resection Surgery

by Robert Kreisman

A 59 year-old man with a large tumor on his liver recently underwent a grueling 43 hour surgery to remove the tumor and give him a new lease on life. The lengthy surgery was performed by a team of physicians at New York Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University Medical Center.

This particular surgery is unique in that it was an ex vivo resection, which essentially involves removing the organs and operating on them outside the body. This type of procedure is done when tumors cannot be treated or removed in any other way. Once the tumor is removed, the organs are returned to the body and sewn back in.

Ex vivo resections are highly complicated and can require the work of dozens of surgeons and anesthesiologists, which is in turn reflected in the high cost of the procedure. However, according to one of the surgeons in the present case, Tomoaki Kato, MD, “If you don’t do it, the patient would have no chance to live.” Dr. Kato has been the lead surgeon in about 16 ex vivo operations and assisted in half a dozen others.

December 9, 2009

High Blood Pressure Could Be Better Controlled By Applying Teamwork Approach

by Robert Kreisman

High blood pressure is a fairly common complaint among Americans. A new study has shown that many Illinois and American patients with high blood pressure have a difficult time keeping their blood pressure under control. Generally, fewer than 40% of Americans with high blood pressure have their hypertension under control.

The Midwest study was conducted by researchers at the University of Iowa. The clinical trial involved over 400 patients with uncontrolled hypertension, i.e. high blood pressure, who were treated at six different clinics around the Midwestern state. While all of the clinics employed clinical pharmacists, only three of those clinics had the pharmacists teamed with physicians.

The outcome of the new study suggests that results can improve if the physician and pharmacist work together as a team to help lower blood pressure. After six months, 53.9% of the patients who were being cared for by a doctor/pharmacist team had gotten their blood pressure under control, compared to 29.9% of the patients of the regular care group.

December 7, 2009

Chicago Intersection Accident Settled Against Electric Company

by Robert Kreisman

A Chicago driver settled his Illinois personal injury case with an Illinois electric company after his van was struck by the defendant’s vehicle. The defendant had ran a red light at the Chicago intersection of W. Taylor St. and S. Clinton St., causing the Illinois trucking accident.

The operator of the van, the plaintiff, sustained cervical and lumbar spine damage that required multiple-level fusion surgery. The defendant who ran the red light at that intersection argued that the plaintiff’s injuries were due to a prior Illinois auto accident. However, this did not preclude his employer from settling the case and compensating the plaintiff for his injuries.

The electric company settled the case with the plaintiff for $2.1 million. However, according to the report of the settlement, there was a statutory lien on the case for $433,000. Because the plaintiff was working at the time he was entitled to and received Illinois workers’ compensation. The lien was waived, which was also reported in the settlement.

December 4, 2009

Chicago Holiday Activities and Events for 2009

by Robert Kreisman

Now that Thanksgiving is behind us, Chicagoans encounter the tell-tale signs that the holiday season is upon us. Downtown and neighborhood streets are decked out in bright lights, store windows are decorated in bright, cheery displays, and the train stations and street corners are peppered with bell ringers collecting money for the needy.

Chicago offers many activities to enjoy the holidays and the crisp winter weather. Here are some highlights of holiday activities to do in and around Chicago.

Head down to Millennium Park, where the ice-skating is free and open to the public. And if you happen to be there on a Friday evening around 6:00 p.m., stop by the Cloud Gate for some caroling near the Bean.

The old Marshal Fields building, now Macys, continues its tradition of decorating its windows according to a story or theme. This year the theme revolves around letters to Santa, a theme which the retailer continues within its store by offering a special mailbox for kids to mail their letters to Santa. Also inside the store is the several-story high Christmas tree, located in the store’s Walnut Room.

December 2, 2009

Cook County Medical Malpractice Verdict Decided in Favor of Parents for Delay in Treatment of Child with Heart Defect

by Robert Kreisman

A recent Cook County medical malpractice verdict of $22.3 million was awarded to the parents of a now ten year-old boy. A review of the case reveals that the damages included the loss of both legs as well as brain injuries that included cognitive and neurological abilities. These severe damages were allegedly the result of a delay in diagnosing and treating the boy’s congenital heart defect.

This case is an unfortunate example of the way that a series of seemingly minor delays and mistakes can lead to disastrous outcomes. The boy was born with a congenital heart defect and had a shunt placed just two days after his birth in an attempt to correct this defect. However, this proved inadequate and two weeks later the baby returned to the emergency room, at which time an echocardiogram suggested that the shunt was partially blocked.

At this point instead of immediately preceding with a surgery to correct the blocked shunt, the attending cardiologist ordered a cardiac catheterization. This procedure was ordered not to correct the baby’s defect, but according to plaintiff’s attorneys was done simply to confirm the diagnosis of the blocked shunt that had been made by another doctor. The plaintiff’s attorneys further alleged that the cardiac catheterization unnecessarily delayed the surgery and directly contributed to the Cook County medical negligence.

November 30, 2009

Diabetes on the Rise Could Lead to Higher Insurance Costs

by Robert Kreisman

It is predicted that the number of Americans with diabetes would nearly double over the next 25 years. At the same time, the cost of care would almost triple as patients live longer and develop more of the disease’s long-term complications.

A University of Chicago researcher, Dr. Elbert S. Huang, the lead author of a recent paper says that, “In 25 years, there is going to be this convergence of the population getting older but also many people having had diabetes for a long period of time, and that would lead to higher costs”.

The projections estimate that the population of diabetic individuals will rise to 44.1 million by the year 2034. At the present time there are approximately 23.7 million persons afflicted with diabetes with medical spending increasing to $336 billion from $113 billion.

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