Personal Injury

August 19, 2013

Putting Arms Around Dog to Restrain Him Is Not Sufficient for Provocation says the Illinois Appellate Court

In Wells v. Cooper, 2013 IL App (5th) 120074-U, 2013 WL 1197789 (Ill.App. 5 Dist.) Trina Wells sued her brother and sister-in-law for dog bite injuries from their dog, Tank.

In November 2008, Trina Wells visited her brother and sister-in-law. Her relatives owned a lab-husky mix named Tank. After Trina Wells arrived at her relatives’ home, she played with Tank. At one point the dog ran out of the front door, but her sister-in-law went outside and brought the dog back. The dog wanted to play in the yard. Tank escaped again. As Trina Wells and her sister-in-law were talking, they saw Tank roll out underneath a truck and appeared to have been hit. They noticed that Tank was moving slower than he normally did but they could not see any broken bones or blood. As they approached Tank, he was trying to go to the street again, and Trina Wells put her arms around Tank to stop him from running away. He collapsed on her hands and as she was trying to get her hands, Tank bit her into her left thumb, and then died.

The plaintiff filed a complaint against the her brother and sister-in-law, Matthew Cooper and Amy Cooper, for injuries she suffered when the dog bit her. A jury awarded her $140,000, and her brother and sister-in-law appealed.

May 20, 2013

Elmhurst Auto Crash Kills Elderly Pedestrian

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

The Injury Attorneys of Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C. take note of the dangers associated with traveling as a pedestrian on busy Chicago roadways, as was demonstrated once again in a horrific auto crash occurring on May 11, 2013, which killed an elderly woman and injured another. The 85 year old victim was crossing the street near the intersection of York and Van Buren in the City of Elmhurt with her grandson a few steps behind her, when both pedestrians were struck by an oncoming vehicle.

Bystander Mark Vorel explained the vehicle’s impact with the elderly victim: “Her body went up and her head hit the windshield and the car threw her, Immediately, I grabbed my phone and called 911.” Both victims were transported to the hospital, where tragically the elderly victim died a short time thereafter. The victim’s grandson is reported to have escaped with only minor injuries. DuPage County Accident Reconstruction Task Force (DuCART) remained at the accident scene for several hours while performing their investigation, and…

The Injury Attorneys of Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C. take note of the dangers associated with traveling as a pedestrian on busy Chicago roadways, as was demonstrated once again in a horrific auto crash occurring on May 11, 2013, which killed an elderly woman and injured another. The 85 year old victim was crossing the street near the intersection of York and Van Buren in the City of Elmhurt with her grandson a few steps behind her, when both pedestrians were struck by an oncoming vehicle.

February 11, 2013

Car Accident Sends Three People to Area Hospitals

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

The Chicago car accident lawyers of Zneimer & Zneimer became aware that three people were injured early Saturday in an accident that involved a car and two taxicabs at a busy intersection in the Lincoln Park neighborhood.

The accident occurred two hours after midnight when a Ford Crown Victoria taxicab, which was going southbound on Halsted Avenue, intending to make a left turn onto Fullerton Avenue. As it was making the left turn, a Subaru that as westbound on Fullerton Avenue hit the taxicab, veering it off and striking a Toyota Camry taxicab, which was behind the Ford and was waiting to make a left rurn as well. .

The Ford taxicab had two passengers, a 23-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman, who were taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago with non-life threatening injuries. The Subaru driver, a 22-year-old man, was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical in a sable condition. The driver of the Ford taxicab was cited for failure to yield while making a left turn.

February 5, 2013

The City of Chicago is Liable to the Estate of a Domestic Violence Victim

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

Our Chicago personal injury lawyers report that the City of Chicago is liable for the wrongful death of a victim of domestic violence for failure to arrest the assailant despite several 911 calls, the Illinois Appellate Court decided on January 17, 2013.

Henry Fenton was murdered by his girlfriend’s son, Rovale Brim, following a violent argument between Fenton, his girlfriend, and her son. The facts recited by the appellate court reveal that on March 4, 2002, Fenton called 911 at 1:37 am, alerting the emergency operator that his girlfriend’s son was arguing in loud and boisterous fashion and was violent. The operator dispatched police officers who were confronted with an “angry, drunken, and boisterous Rovale” who was yelling at his mother, and was making violent movements with a bottle in his hands. The officers separated the individuals, and escorted Rovale to his basement bedroom where he lived. They did not arrest Rovale at this time.

Fenton dialed the emergency 911 line for a second time at 2:30 am, and when the officers arrived at the home, they saw a similar situation as was developing earlier. At that time Rovale’s mother asked that he be removed from the residence. The officers allowed drunken Rovale to leave the residence, and wait outside in a zero degree temperature, for a girlfriend to pick him up. The officers left, while Rovale was waiting outside about a block from the home of his mother and Fenton.

February 4, 2013

Medical Condition A Contributing Factor In Chicagoland Bus Crash

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

Chicago bus accident attorneys read in the

January 9, 2013

TV And Furniture Tip-Over Deaths On The Rise

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

The Chicago product liability attorneys of Zneimer & Zneimer p.c. reviewed a report from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) stating that 349 individuals (84 percent being children younger than 9 years old) were killed by toppling TV’s or furniture between 2000 and 2001. The year 2011 had a record 41 deaths caused by toppling TVs or furniture. The CPSC is urging that TVs and furniture be anchored to stabilized to prevent tip-overs.

CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum urged: “We know that low-cost anchoring devices are effective in preventing tip-over incidents…I urge parents to anchor their TVs, furniture and appliances and protect their children. It takes just a few minutes to do and it can save lives.”

It is estimated that43,000 people are injured in tip over accidents with 59% percent of these injuries are to children under the age of 18. TVs seem to be particularly deadly, accounting for 62% of the deaths. In 57 percent of the death cases the victim was hit on the head by the falling object.

October 18, 2012

Court rejects arbitration clause in wrongful death case against nursing home

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

The decedent, Joyce Gott suffered a nursing home injury and subsequently died. She was admitted to Odin Healthcare Center, a nursing home in Odin, Ill., in 2005 and again in 2006. Joyce had signed an arbitration contract with the nursing home, which provided that for any amount in controversy of at least $200,000, “they shall submit to binding arbitration all disputes against each other and their representatives, affiliates, governing bodies, agents and employees arising out of or in any way related or connected to the Admission Agreement and all matters related thereto including matters involving the Resident’s stay and care provided at the Facility, including but not limited to any disputes concerning alleged personal injury to the Resident caused by improper or inadequate care including allegations of medical malpractice; any disputes concerning whether any statutory provisions relating to the Resident’s rights under Illinois law were violated; any disputes relating to the payment or non-payment for the Resident’s care and stay at the Facility; and any other dispute under state or Federal law based on contract, tort, statute (including any deceptive trade practices and consumer protection statutes), warranty or any alleged breach, default, negligence, wantonness, fraud, misrepresentation or suppression of fact or inducement.”

After Joyce’s death, Sue Carter, acting as the special administrator for the estate, filed a two-count complaint, alleging a survival action under the Nursing Home Care Act and wrongful death under the Wrongful Death Act. Deciding whether the arbitration clause is enforceable, The Illinois Supreme Court in Carter v. SSC Odin Operating Co., No. 113204 (Sept. 20, 2012) ruled that the arbitration clause is only enforceable with respect to the survival action, but not to the wrongful death action. As the estate administrator was not a party to the arbitration agreement and since the wrongful death action accrues only when the nursing home resident dies and is for the benefit of the resident’s heirs, the estate administrator cannot be compelled to arbitrate the wrongful death action.

The nursing home has argued that the Federal Arbitration Act preempts the lawsuit and that the estate administrator must arbitrate both, the survival action and the wrongful death action.

September 25, 2012

Taxis Involved In 1 Out Of 4 Pedestrian Crashes In Chicago Loop

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

Chicago pedestrian injury lawyers, Zneimer & Zneimer noted an article in the Chicago Sun-Times that reports that according to Chicago Department of Transportation, more than 3,100 pedestrians were injured in downtown Chicago since 2005. Of those, more than 400 of those or about 13 percent suffered serious injuries or fatal injuries. Strikingly, one out of every four pedestrian crashes involved a taxi cab.

According to the same article, so far this year, there have been 31 pedestrian fatalities in Chicago.

The same article also noted that in the highest crash areas in downtown Chicago, more than half of the pedestrians were hit while walking in a crosswalk with the signal. In the central business areas of Chicago nearly 28% of the crashes involved taxi drivers.

July 21, 2012

Correctional Officer killed in a Car Accident While Going to Work in Chicago

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

Nikkii Bostic-Jones, 38, was struck while crossing California Avenue near 29th Street just before 11 p.m. Wednesday. According to police sources, she was hit by a navy blue van with stolen license plates and knocked into the path of a sheriff’s squad car, which pinned her underneath it.

After the occurrence, police issued an alert for the van, described as a navy blue full-size conversion van, possibly with blue and white stripes. The alert said the van may have damage to the headlights, front end, and right side.

Late Thursday afternoon, police found a van matching the description and took a 55-year-old man into custody. The man, who has a history of traffic violations, lives near the jail, a source said.

July 4, 2012

Falling From an Abandoned Building Causes the Death of a Teenager on Chicago’s North Side

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

A 16-year-old teen that apparently entered the long-vacant Ravenswood Hospital building through a window this Monday morning, and fell from the second floor onto the concrete ground floor.

The teenager, later identified as Jose Morales, of the Northwest Side, was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center with severe internal injuries and died at 1 p.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

A neighbor near to the derelict building, Rachel Spooner, said she had seen an increasing groups of teenagers sneak into the building to hang out several times over the last six months, and she said she had made a call to the city in December and subsequently the owners of the building were cited due to code violation, but the situation still continued.