Personal Injury

February 5, 2013

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

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.

May 30, 2012

Dangerous dogs attack woman and police officer in the Southwest Side of Chicago

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

Two grey pit-bull terriers attacked a woman while she was returning home from the Laundromat in the Little Village neighborhood at about 3:40 pm. The dogs also attacked an Ogden District police officer that was responding to the emergency. The police officer shot one of the dogs.

The woman and the Chicago police officer were taken to Mount Sinai Hospital where both were treated for multiple bites. According to police sources, as the woman was trying to enter the back of her home, one of the two dogs bit her on her right hand several times and then lunged for her neck. When she lifted her wounded arm to protect her neck, the dog bit her in the underarm area.

A neighbor whose attention was caught by the woman´s screaming, threw a piece of meat at the dogs trying to distract them as the injured woman was lying on the ground, police said.

May 22, 2012

Worker dies in explosion, ten others injured

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

Arens Controls Company, L.L.C. boasts as a world leader in engineering and manufacturing precision operator interface control systems, and systems for commercial vehicles. Based on preliminary information, it appears that in its quest for technical leadership, the company neglected the safety of its own workers. Today one person died and ten others were injured when a chemical exploded in one of their warehouses. Seven workers and three police officers were taken to the hospital. According to hospital personnel, the victims were exposed to potassium hydroxide, a skin and respiratory irritant.

Tragedies like these are preventable if the company had followed proper safety precautions. Investigators from the Illinois State Fire Marshall’s office and OSHA have been called in and the results of the investigation may take many weeks.

Chicago personal injury attorneys Zneimer & Zneimer p.c. have represented victims of industrial accidents where often the cause is the company’s failure to follow industry safety guidelines. If you or a loved one has been inured in an accident, contact Chicago personal injury attorneys for a free personal injury consultation.

May 14, 2012

Defendant Did Not Give Aid Negligently Where He Failed to Give Any Aid

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

The plaintiff, Tina Miller, mother and special administrator of Kyle Christian sued several people for negligently aiding her son Kyle who died after a heroin overdose. The plaintiff claimed that the defendant voluntarily undertook the duty to help Kyle, but did so negligently, and as a result, Kyle Christian died.

Facts

Christian, and a couple of associates, Moors and Hecox, started using heroin in the spring of 2006. To finance their heroin habit, Christian, Moors, and Hecox were stealing copper out of new construction homes and from stores. On the day Kyle Christian died, the group went to Kyle’s garage where he had some copper and sold the copper to a scrap yard. With the money the group bought six bags of heroin and Kyle ingested two bags of heroin. At some point Moors and Hecox noticed that Kyle was pale, and that his breathing was abnormal. Hecox began giving Kyle CPR. The group then drove to the house of another associate, Brian Hoshaw, to ask Hoshaw to check on Kyle as Hoshaw had seen Kyle overdose before and had experience with overdosing. The tree soon left Hoshaw’s house and went to a restaurant, called Spring Garden.