Chicago Accident Lawyer Blog

January 3, 2012

Two Pit bulls Leave Chicago Jogger in Critical Condition

A horrible start to the New Year for a 62-year old Chicago jogger left in critical condition after being attacked by two pit bulls while jogging along the lakefront near Rainbow Bridge Park early Monday morning. According to the Chicago Tribune, the dogs bit the jogger all over his entire body, including his face, arms, and especially legs. An eye witness, Stanley Lee, overheard the joggers screams for help from his nearby apartment and attempted to stop the dogs. He hit them repeatedly with a baseball bat, but the dogs would not let go. Their jaws were locked in place. Luckily the police arrived soon after and shot both dogs.

Authorities have stated that the dogs’ owner has been ticketed for failing to restrain them and for not having city dog licenses. He could be facing fines of up to $2000 dollars. In addition, under the Illinois Animal Control Act, dog owners are strictly liable for injuries caused by their animals. The owner claims the dogs got loose when somebody left his gate open. The owner should have been responsible enough to ensure that this gate was closed considering such large dogs where being housed. While the dogs did have collars on, they did not have identification tags on the collars, or microchips embedded underneath their skin. The owner came forward as the owner of the dogs in good faith.

The dogs were both unneutered adult males, weighing in at over 70lbs each, pretty large considering the average pit bull weighs between 55-65 lbs. It should be noted that any dog can be dangerous, not just pit bulls. They tend to have a bad reputation, but in reality, any dog unproperly socialized can be dangerous.

December 13, 2011

Another Oxygen Mask Catches Fire During Surgery: Possible Negligence Suit

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

As reported by Fox News, last week Tommy Beams (Seattle, Washington) went into surgery to get a bump removed from his head. What he thought would be a short- routine procedure, has become a nightmare. During the procedure, his oxygen mask burst into flames while he was under anesthesia. Tommy believes the fire was ignited by a cauterizing tool used during surgery, but the hospital is still investigating the cause.

“It’s just surreal, to see skin melted off your face, and look in the mirror and see chunks of skin hanging from your face, it’s not a pretty sight,” exclaimed Tommy. He describes the feeling of being burned as extremely painful, and is brought to tears on a daily basis. The burns on his face should be healed in about a year according to doctors, but I believe the horrific events will haunt him for the rest of his life. One tends to always have second thoughts before going into surgery, but you never expect such an awful experience to happen to you.

The sad thing is, this was the second time an accident like this has occurred in a week. A similar situation happened to a 29 year old Florida woman who underwent surgery to get a cyst removed. Her oxygen mask burst into flames and she now has burns on her face and head. She is afraid to show herself to her kids. She doesn’t want them to see what has happened to their mommy. Who is at fault when such a terrible accident occurs? Clearly these hospitals will be liable, but what preventative measures are being done to ensure this doesn’t happen again?

November 29, 2011

Lake Shore Drive Crosswalk Open Again

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

The pedestrian crosswalk from Buckingham Fountain to the Chicago lakefront is open again after 6 years. The city removed the chains that blocked pedestrians from crossing Lake Shore Drive to reach Lake Michigan at Queen’s Landing. The crosswalk was originally installed in 1988 after a 13 year old girl was stuck and killed by a car attempting to cross Lake Shore Drive to reach Queen’s Landing. In 2005 the crosswalk was closed and chains were put along the sidewalk to speed traffic on Lake Shore Drive. People still crossed Lake Shore Drive at that location to reach the lake. Two young festival goers were seriously injured during Lollapalooza when they attempted to cross Lake Shore Drive at that location and we hit by a car.

Luann Hamilton, CDOT deputy commissioner stated in the Chicago Tribune:”Traffic flow is important. But pedestrian safety is No. 1 priority and we have to make sure this location is safe for all users.”

The move is part of Mayor Emanuel’s goal of making the city of Chicago safer for pedestrians and bicyclists. Chicago’s first protected bike lanes were opened this summer on Kinzie Street downtown.

November 13, 2011

Chicago Speed Camara Plan Passes Illinois House

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

A plan to use cameras to enforce speed limits around schools and parks in Chicago has passed the Illinois House and is on its way to Governor Quinn for signature. Chicago Mayor Emanuel stated: “I commend the Illinois House for their leadership in voting to protect our children around schools and parks” Under the plan, speeders going 6 mph to 10 mph over the speed limit would face $50 fines and those going 11 mph and over would face the full $100 ticket. The cameras would run in school zones from 6 a.m. to 8:30 am Monday through Thursday and 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Fridays. The cameras near city parks would still run one hour before opening until one hour after closing. Chicago Tribune analysis predicts that “safety zone” cameras would cover nearly half the city. Opponents argue that the cameras are more about generating revenue from tickets than they are about safety. Indeed, CDOT studies point to the possibility of the city generating over $150 million a year from tickets. In one study, two south side intersections on Western Ave. were monitored with speed cameras over a period of one month in 2008 and it was found that that 23% of drivers or 19,660 drivers were speeding 5 mph over the speed limit.

Supporters of the measure argue that the speed cameras will make the streets safer for pedestrians and bicyclists. Ron Burke, executive director of Active Transportation Alliance stated that his organization supports the measure adding that “automated speed enforcement will slow down cars, which makes our neighborhoods more walkable and bike-friendly”.

The personal injury law firm of Zneimer & Zneimer have handled many cases of inured pedestrians and injured bicyclists hit by speeders. The law could help to slow down motorists but will be very unpopular with anyone who gets a ticket.

November 13, 2011

Dollars for Doctors

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

It is not a secret that pharmaceutical companies use doctors and other medical professionals to promote certain drugs. The idea of a doctor receiving dollars from a drug company for prescribing its pills raises a lot of ethical questions, and one wonders whether in prescribing a certain pill, the doctor has the patient’s best interest in mind. The drug companies have long been rewarding doctors with fees for speaking engagements (promoting the drug), consulting fee, or research grants. However, until recently, what goods and dollars were exchanged was not public information.

According to ProPublica reporters Dan Nguyen, Charles Ornstein, and Tracy Weber, some of the drug companies have begun publicizing the details of payments they make to physicians, hospitals, in other health professionals for promoting their drugs. The payments are usually in the form of consulting fee, speaking engagement fees, or research fees. Most of the money goes to physicians, however, nurses and pharmacists also work with pharmaceutical companies. ProPublica has pulled the disclosures made by the pharmaceutical companies into a searchable database. Check if your doctor has received benefits from the drug companies.

Many patients suffer personal injuries from defective drugs. The list of recalled drugs by the FDA is rather long. A lot of the drugs on this list were recalled after many patients have suffered personal injuries.

November 2, 2011

Another Chicago Child Killed In Crosswalk

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

A 6 year old Chicago girl was killed on Saturday when she was hit in a crosswalk while attempting to cross Loomis with her 16 year old sister. Diamond Robinson died at a local hospital after the accident. The accident happened around 8:20 p.m.

The driver, Thomas Young who was headed south bound on Loomis Ave. in Chicago at the time was cited by police for failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk, driving too fast and driving without insurance.

Relatives say that Diamond Robinson who was a first-grader at Brownell Elementary School enjoyed school and received an award for perfect attendance.

October 16, 2011

Dangerous Dogs Breeds Cause Most Fatal Attacks

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

Pit bull terriers and rottweilers dog breeds account for 71% of fatal dog attacks according to a study conducted by DogsBite.org during a 6-year period from 2005 to 2010. Chicago dog bite attorneys, Zneimer & Zneimer have noted that the majority of the dog bite cases that they handle involve pit bulls. DogBites.org notes that pit bulls are especially dangerous because bit bulls will often not communicate their intention to attack prior to an attack to achieve a surprise attack. They also use a bite technique that is especially deadly which is to lock on to the victim with its powerful jaw and then shake the victim.

DogBites.org notes that one common scenario for fatal dog attacks is when a child is visiting in the home of a pit bull or rottweiler owner for the first time. The new situation of a visiting child in the house have shown to trigger attacks by dangerous breeds when the same dog has not shown any dangerous tendencies before the attack.

October 4, 2011

Dangerous conditions in child and adolescent psychiatric hospital

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

Chicago Tribune Deborah L. Shelton reported that experts from the University of Illinois at Chicago issued a scathing report about the dangerous conditions of pediatric and adolescent psychiatric hospital Hargrove. This report is eerily similar to the one released on March 30, 2009, slamming the conditions at Riveredge Hospital and other psychiatric facilities owned or run by Psychiatric Solutions, and to another report released in May 2011 documenting inadequate care in Lakeshore Hospital. Back in 2009 as well as in the current reports, the UIC experts reveal that the most vulnerable patient population, pediatric and adolescent psychiatric patient are subjected to sexual assaults, physical attacks, threats, and unacceptable conditions.

According to the current report between December 2010 and mid-June 2011, there were over 100 cases of children and adolescent psychiatric patients subjected to physical attacks, threatening behavior, and sexual assaults at Hartgrove. The report on psychiatric care in 2009 on Riveredge and Psychiatric Solutions identified a similar longstanding pattern of egregious quality failures, failure to protect patients from sexual abuse, failure to provide patient care in a safe environment, failure to ensure patients are adequately monitored, failure to ensure adequate staffing for patient care, failure to adequately train and supervise staff. The current report on Hartgrove paints a similarly unacceptable picture of vulnerable population placed at unacceptable risk. The reports also reveal that the hospitals are understaffed or are staffed with unqualified personnel. Most of the children in these facilities are there because they are danger to self or others and need specialized care. When the hospitals hire personnel with lack of qualifications the hospitals put the children and staff at risk. Our law firm represents victims of psychiatric and hospital negligence in cases involving sexual assaults or inadequate supervision in psychiatric facilities. Sexual assaults are usually a result of inadequate staffing, improper supervision, or failure to follow physician-ordered precautions and observation levels. Personal injuries that result from inadequate staffing are easily preventable. Keeping psychiatric patients safe should be a priority to any mental health hospital. Patient safety is a prerequisite of any therapeutic environment for a psychiatric patient. Failure to prevent assault and abuse of psychiatric patients represents gross negligence and should not be tolerated.

October 2, 2011

Elderly Pedestrians More At Risk

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

A study conducted by Transportation of America based in Washington D.C. from 2000 to 2009 found that although people 65 and older represent 13% of the population, they represented 22% of the pedestrian deaths. Cities like New York and Chicago are taking aim to make cities safer for elderly pedestrians to reduced pedestrian injuries and deaths. The Chicago personal injury attorneys of Zneimer and Zneimer note a high percentage of pedestrian injury clients are elderly and almost all of the crashes that caused the pedestrian injuries occurred in a cross walk.

As a response to studies showing that elderly pedestrians are at risk, cities like Chicago and New York are making changes. These changes include “countdown” signals at intersections, speed bumps, extended curbs and medians in the middle of wide intersections. One of the biggest changes advocated by Transportation for America are for walk signals to be made longer to allow enough time the elderly to cross. The assumption is that a pedestrian can cover 3.5 to 4 feet per second but the elderly typically can cover only 2.5 feet per second.

September 19, 2011

Yet Another Hit-And-Run Driver Kills Woman In Chicago

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

Two elderly women were run down in Chicago’s Jefferson Park Neighborhood on Sunday, killing one woman on her 82nd birthday. The second hit-and-run victim remains hospitalized at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge. The hit-and-run vehicle was described as a dark blue or black Ford-150 with a ladder in the rear.

The Chicago Department of Transportation reports that 41% of vehicle-pedestrian collisions that are fatal involve hit-and-run drivers in Chicago, which is twice the national average. Chicago averages two hit-and run collisions with pedestrians involving injury or death everyday. Even though there is a law on the books in Chicago requiring drivers to stop for pedestrians preparing to cross in the crosswalk, the law appears never to be enforced. Chicago personal injury attorney Peter Zneimer witnessed at least fifteen cars fail to stop at the crosswalk as he attempted to cross Belmont Avenue near Leavitt Street in Chicago on Sunday even though he happened to be standing next to a mother with a baby stroller who was also waiting for the cars to stop at the crosswalk. No car stopped. When a gap in traffic finally presented itself attorney Peter Zneimer and the mother with the stroller practically had to run to avoid the on coming traffic that did not appear to even slow down. This crosswalk is about 3 blocks from the Belmont police station. Until Chicago police start enforcing the crosswalk laws in Chicago and start obeying the crosswalk law themselves when they are driving, Chicago will remain one of the most dangerous cities in the country for pedestrians and will continue to have more pedestrian injuries than the national average.