Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer Blawg

January 21, 2009

Illinois Tort Immunity Act Does Not Apply to Metra or Other Common Carries in Train Accidents

In a recent ruling, a Cook County Circuit Court judge held that the substantive defense of tort immunity does not apply to common carriers because that would represent a procedural limitation on the assertion of a right. Ortiz-Rivera v. Northeast Regional Commuter Railroad Corp., d/b/a Metra, No. 07 M5 2363.

The ruling by Judge Brosnahan is consistent with an Illinois Supreme Court ruling issued in April 2008 in Smith v. Waukegan Park District, 2008 WL 174664. In that case, the high court unanimously held that local governments are not immune from lawsuits alleging retaliatory discharge for the filing of a workers’ compensation claim.

Ortiz-Rivera involves a December 2006 incident involving a Cook County resident who was a passenger on a Metra southwest line train departing from Chicago’s Union Station. In moving from car to car, the plaintiff, after releasing the door, it closed quickly and hit her fingers resulting in a broken left small finger. On the date in question that train, along with several others, had been delayed due to a snow storm.

January 20, 2009

Chicago Lawyer Robert Kreisman Attends Chicago Inauguration Day Celebration

by Robert Kreisman

On January 20, I joined the ranks of the millions of Americans who took the time to watch the swearing in of our 44th president, Chicago’s own Barack Obama. I gathered with fellow Chicagoans at the Union League Club of Chicago to commemorate the Inauguration.

The gala brunch was sponsored by the Union League’s Public Affairs Committee. As I entered I was handed a small American flag and button to kick off the festivities. In addition to the buffet brunch, several televisions were provided so that everyone could get a prime view of the main event. The atmosphere was electric when the time came for the swearing-in and the inauguration speech by President Obama.

As the festivities wound down and we watched the departure of President Bush the sense was that we were on the brink of a new era. I know that all who attended were thrilled to have witnessed this historic transfer of power in this traditional and democratic fashion. It will be exciting to see what the next four years bring.

January 19, 2009

Elevated Blood Sugar Linked To A Poor Memory

by Robert Kreisman

The other day my wife and I were trying to remember what we had for dinner the night before at a local Chicago restaurant. According to a new study, our rich dessert might be to blame for this temporary memory loss.

The new study showed that spikes in blood sugar affect the dentate gyrus, which is the area of the brain that helps form memories. Researchers found that effects can be seen even when levels of blood sugar or glucose are only moderately elevated. This study could be provide a reason for declining cognitive abilities because glucose regulation worsens with advanced aging.

According to Dr. Scott A. Small, the lead investigator on the study, “If we conclude this is underlying normal age-related cognitive decline, then it affects all of us.” Typically the body’s ability to adjust glucose begins to decline by the third or fourth decade of life. However, the degree of decline can be improved with physical exercise, which tends to improve glucose regulation. According to Dr. Scott physical exercise can then be seen as a behavioral recommendation.

January 15, 2009

Amtrak Train Derailment at Chicago’s Union Station Causes Long Delays

by Robert Kreisman

An hour or so before the evening rush-hour an Amtrak train derailment caused a massive schedule backup at Chicago’s Union Station as all southbound tracks exiting the station were shut down. The derailment occurred after the wheels on two of the train’s cars derailed. Officials are still looking into what caused the derailment.

Officials expected that the delays would continue into the Thursday morning rush-hour as they continued to work on clearing the damage caused by the derailment. For those of us who rely on public transportation every day, whether Amtrak, Metra, or the CTA, we take for granted that our trains and buses will operate smoothly and safely. Yet this is not always the case.

Whether through the fault of the train operators, faulty equipment, or just poor weather conditions, there are numerous ways that public transportation can take a negative turn. Fortunately, in yesterday’s derailment of the 116 passengers on Amtrak’s Southwest Chief, only one reported “not feeling well” following the derailment.

January 13, 2009

Obama Transition Team Receives Complaints of “Corruption at the FDA”

by Robert Kreisman

Federal scientists associated with the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA), have written to the Obama transition team of widespread managerial misconduct within the medical device review department. The letter alleged that “the scientific review process for medical devices at the FDA has been corrupted and distorted by current FDA managers.”
The letter came from the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, which is responsible from reviewing medical devices ranging from stents and breast implants to MRIs and other imaging machinery. The letter alleges that the agency managers employed intimidation to thwart scientific debate, the result being that some medical devices were approved despite questions as to their effectiveness. Furthermore, the letter states that scientists were forced to “accept clinical and technical data that [was] not scientifically valid.”
The authors of the letter expressed concern with the lowered standards and the effects that an ineffective review process would have on consumers. Approval by the FDA carries a certain level of integrity and instills a certain level of trust in medical professionals and their patients. However, if that process has been corrupted or compromised then that trust is unwarranted.

January 12, 2009

Illinois Reports That Dangerous Drug Interaction Could Affect Older Adults

by Robert Kreisman

A new study by researchers at the University of Chicago Medical Center has stated that at least 2.2 million U.S. adults take medicine in combinations that could trigger dangerous drug interactions. Some of the possible dangerous interactions include muscle breakdown, gastrointestinal bleeding, disruption in heart rhythm, and other serious problems.

Perhaps even more alarming is that at least half of these dangerous interactions involve the use of over-the-counter medications, such as aspirin or dietary supplements. According to the study, one in 25 older adults are at risk for serious drug interactions, the study has found. And for men ages 75 and 85, the risk is as high as 1 and 10.

However, the risk might be even higher because the research focused on major interactions among the 20 most common drugs and dietary supplements. “The public has an awareness that two prescription medications used together might be dangerous,” said the study author, Dr. Stacy Tessler Lindau. Lindau is the assistant professor of geriatric medicines, obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Chicago Medical.

The dangerous drug interactions cited in the study were more a byproduct of individuals unknowingly mixing medications rather than the result of pharmaceutical prescription errors by medical providers.

January 9, 2009

Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act Exclusive-Remedy Provision Denied By Illinois Supreme Court As Applies To Employer’s Co-Venturer

by Robert Kreisman

The Illinois Supreme Court recently reversed a prior ruling by the Illinois Appellate Court regarding employer immunity under the Workers’ Compensation Act (Daniel Ioerger, et al. v. Halverson Construction Company, Inc., No. 105912 (December 18, 2008).) In 1999, Midwest Foundation Corporation and Halverson Construction Company entered into a joint venture for an Illinois Department of Transportation project to repair a bridge over the Illinois River.

The profits, losses and liabilities resulting from the project were to be shared 60-40 between the two companies, with Midwest getting the larger share. As part of this agreement, Midwest was responsible for providing the labor and covering the workers’ compensation insurance.

During the project, four of Midwest’s iron workers were working from a platform suspended over the Illinois River. While they were working the platform collapsed, which caused them to fall into the river. Three of the iron workers were injured and one died.

The three injured workers and the estate of the deceased worker received workers’ compensation benefits through Midwest’s workers’ compensation insurance. But the four parties also filed an Illinois construction site accident lawsuit against Halverson, the joint venture, and various other defendants. The plaintiffs sought to recover damages for their injuries and the one worker’s death.

January 6, 2009

When Do Nurses Have a Duty To Intervene Under Illinois Law?

by Robert Kreisman

While much attention is given to cases where a physician commits medical malpractice, nurses also must meet a certain level of standard of care. Oftentimes in Illinois medical negligence a nurse’s obligations seem to be overlooked.

For example, let’s say that a Chicago patient has known allergies to certain medications which his or her physician has prescribed. The nurse has a duty to be aware of these allergies and inform the physician. If the nurse does not inform the attending physician that the patient should not be receiving these medications then he or she is acting below the standard of nursing care. This is just one example of how a nurse can fail to perform his or her duties.

Good communication is the cornerstone of any relationship, and the physician-nurse relationship is no exception. Nurses have an obligation to question a doctor’s treatment if it is inconsistent with customary medical practices.

For Illinois medical malpractice cases, both Illinois and Chicago courts have upheld this duty of nurses to go over a physician’s orders in instances where a failure to intervene could ultimately result in the patient suffering dire consequences. Or if the nurse perceives that a physician is insensitive to a patient’s condition, or is not making appropriate decisions regarding the patient’s condition, then he or she must intervene. One way to intervene is by initiating the chain of command to exert the pressure necessary to change the course of treatment.

January 5, 2009

Prescription Medication Helps Only About Half of Those Who Take Them

by Robert Kreisman

Imagine you had been taking the drug Tamoxifen in hopes of preventing a recurrence of your breast cancer. Then a new test comes out that suggests that because of your genetic makeup the drug is not doing you any good. This situation is not that uncommon for hundreds of thousands of women in this country, including Illinois, who have been taking Tamoxifen.

However, not only those taking Tamoxifen need to worry. Experts say that regardless of the disease, most drugs work for only about half the people who take them. Not only is much of the nation’s approximate $300 billion annual drug spending wasted, but patients are being exposed unnecessarily to risky side effects.

Many policy experts are calling for more studies to compare the effectiveness of different treatments. There is much hope riding on the promise of “personalized medicine” in which genetic screening and other tests give doctors more evidence for tailored prescriptions. Personalized medicine would go beyond the norm by determining which drug or drugs are best suited for which patient, rather than continuing to treat everyone the same in hopes of benefiting the fortunate few.

December 31, 2008

Is New Year’s Eve The Most Dangerous Time of the Year to Be On the Road? What About for Pedestrians?

by Robert Kreisman

New Year’s Eve is a time to celebrate the coming of 2009. Restaurants and bars in Chicago and nationwide are lively as many celebrate the holiday and the arrival of the new year with drinks and merriment. It is easy to imagine that New Year’s Eve is a risky time for drivers and pedestrians in Illinois and the rest of the states.

Holidays in general are the most hazardous times for drivers due to sharp increases in traveling and drunken driving. And when it comes to New Year’s Eve, research offers sobering statistics.

From 1986 to 2002, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has researched accident data in the United States, New Year’s Day ranks fourth in terms of most accident-related fatalities on a given day. Coming in at first and second are the 4th and 3rd of July, followed by December 23rd. Based on these statistics New Year’s Eve and Day are not the riskiest days of the year to be out celebrating.

Yet a closer examination of the statistics reveals something peculiar. While it might not be the deadliest day for those in vehicles, it is the deadliest day of the year for pedestrians. According to the IIHS study, New Year’s edged out Halloween as the having the highest incidences of pedestrian deaths. On New Year’s a large majority of these deaths can be attributed to the increase in drinking and celebrating. Half of the deaths involved alcohol impairment and 58% of the pedestrians who were killed had a high blood-alcohol concentration.

So this year when you are out celebrating the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009, please remember to be safe and responsible. Happy New Year from the staff at Kreisman Law Offices.

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