Personal Injury News & Developments
A nursing home located in Wicker Park, on the West Side of Chicago, has agreed to a settlement of $875,000 after nurses failed to follow doctors’ orders and a patient died. The elderly man who died was provided food that was not permitted in his diet program and was allowed to eat unsupervised, even though he was at high risk of choking. Antonio Mares died on November 9, 2012 when a nursing assistant was unable to properly perform the Heimlich maneuver while he was choking. His family has stated that this case is an example of what happens when there is no oversight over the standards of training for nursing center employees.
Physician’s Orders Reflected Patient’s Special Needs
Antonio Mares was prescribed a diet of mechanical-soft food by his doctor due to medical complications which increased his risk of choking. As he was at an elevated risk, he was also to only be fed while under the supervision of a nurse or nursing assistant. On November 9, 2012, both of these directives were ignored when a certified nursing assistant provided him with a tray of food that did not meet his dietary specifications and then proceeded to leave him to eat unsupervised.
Numerous studies have shown that a practice as simple as turning on your headlights whenever you are driving may reduce your chances of being in an accident. While car manufacturers are beginning to produce more vehicles with daytime running lights, this is not mandated by the government and most vehicles remain without them. Since it would take an incredibly long time to phase out all of the cars and trucks on the road today in order to replace them with vehicles that used daytime running lights, there is a debate running that the burden should instead be on drivers to run their lights at all times via the introduction of new laws.
Recent reports have indicated that many 
A Highland Park family is suing the nursing home responsible for caring for their mother after staff members failed to make any attempts to revive her after viewing her lifeless body. The incident seems to be the result of staff members wrongly reading her chart, which indicated that she did wish to be resuscitated in such a situation. Her family is filing a lawsuit because multiple staff members refused to respond or even to seek emergency medical attention for the woman, who died at the age of 52 years. Despite video evidence showing the negligent care, the nursing home asserts that it provides quality care and did nothing wrong.
Pedestrian fatality data is in for 2016 and it doesn’t look very good. The number of pedestrians killed in car accidents is rising much faster than the rate of motorist fatalities and the latest studies are attributing the rise in deaths to distracted driving. With the introduction of new mobile technologies both behind the wheel and handheld, more drivers than ever are being tempted to turn their attention from the road onto something else. Some may argue that the increased fatality rate is actually linked to lower gas prices and more cars on the road, but researchers believe the evidence points more solidly to distraction than all other factors.
Mercy Clinic Springfield Communities was ordered to provide almost $29 million in compensation to a patient because specialists failed to diagnose her condition. A jury determined that the woman’s rare condition could have been treated with only minor complications had Mercy Clinic taken more proactive measures to provide a 
Dogs are extremely popular pets, with nearly half of American households owning one or more of them. They are also the cause of many homeowners’ insurance claims, with dog bites representing nearly one in five claims filed each year. The rise in the number of 
Many medical experts will admit without hesitation that anticoagulants such as Coumadin and Warfarin are the most dangerous drugs in the country— especially in nursing homes where are often not administered properly and patients are not monitored for adverse events. These medications have been around since the 1940s and are instrumental in reducing the risk of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation and other conditions that could result in the formation of 
Farmers represent a small portion of our population, but feed the entire country and most of the world. Despite advances in agricultural technology, however, farming remains one of the most dangerous occupations. To exacerbate matters, the injury of a farmer often hurts his or her entire family, as entire families often work together and feel the pain when one of their loved ones is unable to contribute and must be cared for by the others. It is for this reason that they must be extremely mindful of safety and constantly devising safer ways of accomplishing their goals.
With spring upon us and summer approaching, more people are taking to the roads as the weather allows them to enjoy travel and the outdoors. This is also when construction crews are most active repairing the roads and preparing them for the abuse they will endure in the coming winter months. An accident on I-80 heading eastbound out of Davenport, IA has reminded us of how quickly things can turn south when negligent drivers do not slow down for construction workers. This particular accident has claimed the life of a construction worker who had dedicated more than ten years of his life to the trade.