Is the City of Chicago liable for every accident that occurs when a pedestrian trips and falls on a public sidewalk? Of course not. But under certain circumstances, the City can be held liable. The Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, considered just such a scenario in Waters v. City of Chicago, (No. 1–10–0759). In […]

With spring not far away, thousands of residents’ thoughts turn to moving to another apartment or home. According to the Encyclopedia of Chicago, in the late 19th century, as many as one third of all families in Chicago moved annually. If you are considering a move this year, here are a few things to think […]

Congress created the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to prevent workers from being killed or seriously harmed at work by requiring employers to sustain proper and safe workplaces free of danger for their employees. The Act created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (known as OSHA) to set and enforce protective workplace safety […]

While recent political discussions over fingerprinting as identification for public assistance programs have been in the headlines, there is one fingerprinting program that is universally welcome, that of fingerprinting children. Law enforcement, schools, religious institutions and community groups around the country have joined forces to fingerprint children as a means of identifying them should they […]

Sometimes, car accidents occur when a police officer is responding to a call and in many cases, depending on the facts of the case, laws exist which provide immunity–for police officers and their employers–from liability in personal injury lawsuits. In determining whether immunity applies, the courts must first decide if officer was “was engaged in […]

An important Illinois workers’ compensation decision was handed down by the Appellate Court of Illinois, Third District, at the end of 2011. At issue in Will County Forest Preserve District v. Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, No. 3–11–0077WC, was whether a claimant’s shoulder injury qualified as a scheduled loss to the arm or a person-as-a-whole award. […]

You may find it surprising to learn that car accidents are the leading cause of death for United States teenagers. And, sadly, according to the results of a new study conducted by the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), the number of teen deaths caused by automobile accidents increased in the first half of 2011. This […]

Oftentimes, physicians are employed by more than one medical institution. This can make it difficult establish liability for negligent treatment in medical malpractice cases, since it is sometimes difficult to prove which hospitals employed a physician for the purposes of the negligent conduct at issue. This was the very issue presented in Turner v. U.S., […]

Congress is currently considering legislation that would provide monetary grants to states mandating random safety checkpoints for motorcycles. Georgia and New York already have similar programs in place and the grants under consideration would encourage other states to implement similar laws. According to this Los Angeles Time article, the impetus behind the passage of this […]

Car accidents are a fact of life. If we escape with just a few scrapes and dents to a fender and no injuries, most of us consider ourselves lucky. But, even if you and your loved ones emerge from the accident unscathed, what about your child’s car seat? Is it still safe to use after […]