The Atlantic of May 7 contains an article titled "Have Insurance Companies Forgotten the Meaning of Insurance?" The article gives a historical overview of the insurance concept and the insurance industry as it has evolved over history, with a particular focus on one company, Libery Mutual.
An excerpt:
Continue reading "An Article On The Evolution Of Insurance Companies" »
The family of one of the firefighters who died in a building collapse last year filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the buildings owners.
The building collapse claimed the lives of firefighters Corey Ankum and Edward Stringer last December. The firefighters had responded to a fire in an abandoned building on East 75th Street. The building's roof sudden and unexpected collapse proved deadly.
Stringer's daughter, Jennifer, 23, said "My dad, Edward Stringer, lost his life because of a negligent owner. Neither my father nor his comrade would have died that day if this building had been properly secured or better yet, torn down."
In the lawsuit, it noted the building was in foreclosure and was cited for 14 code violations by the city. Among the violations was the owners' failure to maintain the roof in sound condition and repair.
The hope among Stringer and her attorney is that this lawsuit will encourage a change of policy at both the city and state level. The idea is that tougher penalties on owners who let their properties fall into disrepair will discourage such disrepair, which is a hazard to firefighters who respond to fires in such buildings.
Named in the lawsuit are Chuck and Richard Dai, who also own Sam Moy Laundry on East 75th Street. Chuck Dai commented briefly, saying the situation is unfortunate and that his heart is hurting for the families.
Additional details and possible updates can be found in the October 19 ABC Chicago story titled "Firefighter Edward Stringer family to sue after deadly collapse on East 75th Street."
A personal injury lawsuit has been filed in response to an accident that occurred in a health club.
Olga Chernyavskaya claims that while she was exercising on September 26, 2009, at a Bally's Total Fitness Club at 6821 W. Dempster Street in Morton Grove, Illinois, she was injured by a leg curl machine.
She claims in the lawsuit that the leg curl machine failed to stop when she stopped exercising, and it struck her in the face and shoulder.
The lawsuit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court, claims Bally and Magnum Fitness Systems negligently failed to maintain and inspect the exercise machines, provide adequate safeguards, or a safety lock.
The lawsuit seeks more than $100,000 in damages and court costs.
Both parties, Bally and Magnum Fitness, could not be reached for comment.
Additional details and possible updates can be found in the September 22 Chicago Sun-Times story titled "Suit: Leg machine injures woman's face and shoulder."
According to a story in today's Chicago Sun-Times, titled "Man who lost leg in pothole crash may get $300k" a man who lost his leg after a car crash caused by a pothole may get a $300,000 settlement from the City of Chicago.
Zuriel Padilla was driving home on February 10, 2008 when the 1998 Chevrolet Camaro he was driving hit a pothole near Archer and Kedzie in the Southwest Side's Brighton Park neighborhood.
The impact was severe enough to cause his car to jump the curb and crash into a fire hydrant. Padilla's leg was severely injured from the accident and had to be amputated the following day.
Padilla filed a personal injury lawsuit blaming the city, saying the city either created the pothole due to city crews working in the area, or the city knew about the pothole because of work being done in the area and failed to fill the pothole.
The $300,000 settlement must still pass the full City Council.
Elman Law Group LLC would like to highlight the HBO Documentary titled "Hot Coffee."
Below is the YouTube trailer for this documentary:
Is Justice Being Served?
Texas Governor Rick Perry will sign the "loser pays" bill Wednesday. The measure, which will go into effect Sept. 1, will levy fees on unsuccessful plaintiffs and allowing meritless suits to be dismissed early in the process.
According to a July 27 CBS Local story on the subject, titled "Perry Signs 'Loser Pays' Bill Into Law" :
Perry made the measure a top priority for the Legislature, saying Texas needs to crack down on junk lawsuits.Some plaintiffs who sue and lose will be required to pay the court costs and attorney fees of those they are suing.
Trial lawyer groups and the AFL-CIO opposed the measure, arguing it would give corporations the upper hand in lawsuits and prevent individuals with legitimate claims from filing suit.
JERRY A. LATHEROW is the president of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association (ITLA), P.O. Box 5000, Springfield, IL 62705, 800-252-8501. The Illinois Trial Lawyers Association is a statewide organization whose members specialize in representing injured consumers and workers. The objectives of ITLA are to secure and protect the rights of those injured in their persons or civil rights and defend trial by jury and the adversarial system of justice.
SOURCE Illinois Trial Lawyers Association:
We've all heard of the McDonald's coffee case - the one where the elderly woman spilled coffee in her lap and sued McDonald's for millions and won. This case happened nearly 20 years ago, but it's still the butt of jokes and used as an example of how Americans supposedly take advantage of our legal system. It is the very case that tort reformers across the country refer to when making their case for civil justice "reform."A new documentary, Hot Coffee, reviews this infamous case and investigates why special interest groups - such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, funded behind the scenes by big tobacco, oil, insurance, pharmaceutical companies, and other such interests - want to undermine our civil justice system and restrict the legal rights of all Americans to exercise their constitutional guaranteed right to trial by jury and to receive fair and reasonable compensation for when they have been wronged. Hot Coffee premiers on HBO Monday, June 27 at 8 PM CDT.
I strongly encourage everyone to take the time to watch this documentary, especially the citizens of Illinois. Our state and its everyday citizens' are continuously attacked by corporate front groups, such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce - not to be confused with your local Chamber of Commerce who supports local businesses. These attacks are an effort at so-called civil justice "reform." The U.S. Chamber, among other front groups funded by big tobacco and their sole-minded profit friends, attacks various judiciaries in Illinois giving certain counties false labels, such as "judicial hellhole." They throw around buzz words such as "jackpot justice" and "frivolous lawsuits." Their goal? To get citizens of Illinois to believe our justice system is being manipulated for profit. When in fact it is being manipulated for profit, by the powerful behind-the-scenes groups that fund the U.S. Chamber.
These front groups even go to the extent to hire marketing firms to taint jury pools before trials, just like they did in Madison County where a large corporation has been accused of contaminating drinking water for thousands of people. Fairness? These groups don't want fairness and they will continue to fight to increase their profits and excessive executive salaries, all at a cost to you and your family. Their goal is to strip you and me of our constitutional rights to fair and reasonable compensation when we are injured by corporate recklessness.
The film will also examine the impact of corporate America on our judicial elections and how millions of dollars are spent to elect judges who are sympathetic to business interests.
Please be sure to watch Hot Coffee on HBO. The documentary will be airing throughout June and July on HBO, check local listings for times. It will surely be an eye opening experience that will shed light on corporate America's attempt to modify the American jury trial system and prevent you and your family from getting fair compensation if you are one of their victims.
You can find out more by visiting http://hotcoffeethemovie.com or go to their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/hotcoffeethemovie.
If you ever are in need of an Illinois Personal Injury attorney, choosing the right attorney can be a key determinant as to the outcome of your case.
Here are some questions you may wish to ask a Personal Injury attorney before hiring them to represent you:
Continue reading "Questions To Ask Before Hiring An Illinois Personal Injury Lawyer" »
According to a May 28 Chicago Sun-Times article titled "Man who lost leg in construction zone crash wins $7 million from city", a man has been awarded $7 million by a Cook County jury.
Don Martinelli, a 61-year-old man, lost his leg in a major crash while working at a city of Chicago construction site.
The accident happened when he was an Ameritech employee in 2002, marking underground phone cable locations near a road construction zone at Milwaukee & Leavitt in Bucktown. A motorist struck him, leaving him pinned him against his work truck - which lead to the amputation of his leg from above the knee.
Martinelli's attorney said the motorist was driving southbound on Milwaukee but followed traffic into a northbound lane to drive around a piece of construction equipment. He had to veer back in to the southbound lanes to avoid a head-on collision with another vehicle. At that point the motorist's cigarettes fell, and upon trying to pick them up, his car struck Martinelli, the attorney said.
But the attorney said the city should have ensured the area was not dangerous.
"They're responsible for making sure the construction zone is safe," he said. "You're supposed to have a flagger so you don't have a head-on collision."
But the city crews who had just started the street work had gone "for a long lunch on a Friday afternoon," the attorney said.
Martinelli, now retired and living in the Northwest suburbs, first won a $20,000 insurance settlement from the motorist. But his negligence case against the city was pending for years.
After a two-week trial and three hours of deliberation, the jury came back Friday with a $6.952 million award.
Jennifer Hoyle, a city of Chicago law department spokesperson, said via a statement: "The City is disappointed with the verdict and we will be reviewing all of our options, including an appeal. What happened to Mr. Martinelli was extremely unfortunate, but his injuries were not caused by the City but occurred when he was struck by a driver whose attention was diverted when he leaned over to pick up his cigarettes."
After Martinelli retired, he went from being the go-to handyman for friends and family to someone who has to rely on others to get many of those jobs done.
"He's lost a lot of his independence," the attorney said.
Martinelli couldn't be reached for comment, but his attorney says his client counts his blessings.
"He was in grade school at Our Lady of Angels during the fire and survived that," the attorney said of the 1958 fire at the West Side grade school Our Lady of the Angels. The blaze killed 95 people -- 92 of them children.
According to the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) City Summary Crash Report, in 2009 (the most current year of statistics) there were 817 construction zone crashes in the City of Chicago.
The Illinois Rules of the Road p. 21 the following precautions should be followed in Construction Zones:
Construction Zones
When approaching or entering a highway construction or maintenance area, Illinois
law requires motorists to slow down, discontinue wireless/cell phone use, yield to
any authorized vehicles or workers in the area, change to a lane away from the
workers when possible, and proceed with caution.
