Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

As Illinois bicycle crash lawyers at Abels & Annes informed you last week, we recently filed a lawsuit against a negligent motorist who struck a teenager riding his bike.

Since that time Abels & Annes, working with co-counsel, have filed two additional bike accident lawsuits. In one case, a bicyclist was injured on September 5, 2010 when he was doored by a taxicab passenger.

The colliison took place on Diversey Street in Chicago in the westbound lanes. The taxi driver failed to pull over to the side of the road and stopped in the middle of the street. Without warning, the passenger then swung his door open to exit into traffic. Our client crashed into the cab door and fell off his bike onto the pavement.

Immediately after the collision, the bicycle rider started to experience pain and discomfort in his right knee, right thigh, left hand third finger, and his left shoulder. He was transported by ambulance to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center.

When he arrived at the ER a history was taken, he was examined and diagnostic tests were performed. Physical examination showed bruising to the left upper arm area, and obvious deformity to the middle finger, and significant right knee swelling. X-rays taken revealed a comminuted fracture of the middle phalanx of the middle finger of the left hand and right knee effusion.

The plaintiff was given pain medication, his finger was splinted and he was given a brace to immobilize his knee and crutches to ambulate. ER physicians referred him to a hand specialist for further care.

Our client saw an orthopedic specialist several days after the accident. The physician determined that surgery was necessary and performed a closed reduction, K-wire fixation of the left middle finger. Temporary pins were inserted into his finger and removed about a month later.

The client's doctor later prescribed a course of occupational therapy to complete healing of the finger, and he continued to follow-up with the physician.

The bicyclist also had further treatment for his knee and shoulder with an orthopedic surgeon in north suburban Evanston. The physician prescribed additional physical therapy, anti-inflammatory medication and recommended continued use of his knee splint and crutches, to be weaned off slowly.

Due to the accident, our client incurred just under $35,000 in medical bills, plus $760 damage to his bicycle.

A lawsuit was filed because when we started to attempt to negotiate a bodily injury settlement on behalf of our client, we had two insurance companies pointing fingers at each other. The insurance company for the taxi driver was blaming the passenger for the accident, while the passenger (who has his own auto insurance policy) was blaming the taxi driver.

Due to this issue, our client agreed to proceed with a lawsuit to maximize his financial recovery against both defendants.

In another bike accident case, our client was injured when a driver of a 1994 Chrysler Concorde failed to yield while pulling out of an alley. The plaintiff was riding his bicycle in a northbound lane of traffic on Central Park in Chicago, just south of Harrison Street, when he was struck by the vehicle.

The Chicago Police Department responded to the scene of the accident. After an investigation, they placed the defendant at fault.

The bike rider was treated shortly after the accident at West Suburban Hospital in Oak Park. He sustained back, neck and left ankle injuries in the accident.

Continue reading "As summer ends, Chicago bike accident attorneys file two more lawsuits" »

Chicago sexual abuse attorneys continue to follow the recent lawsuits being filed on the East Coast. CNN is reporting that a third lawsuit has been filed this month against the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and other archdiocese officials.

There is been several new lawsuits since February when a grand jury report was released and charges were brought soon after against 4 priests and a schoolteacher. Since then the alleged victims of sex abuse have filed the lawsuits because the report claims the archdiocese withheld the identity of known predator priests.

In a lawsuit filed last Wednesday, allegations claim that Rev. John Kline, who was assigned to St. Francis Xavier Parish and who was a teacher at a Roman Catholic high school, sexually abused the plaintiff sometime between 1968 and 1969 while on a family vacation. The victim, who is now 49 years old, is saying he repressed the memories of the sexual contact until around three years ago. The alleged abuser retired from church duties in 1981 has since passed away, according to the plaintiff's attorney, Marci Hamilton.

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia has not commented on the new lawsuit.

Click here to read the story as reported by the Canadian Press.

Illinois premises liability attorneys at Abels & Annes have resolved a Cook County personal injury lawsuit for $72,500.

The case arises out of a trip and fall that occurred back on October 9, 2008 at an indoor soccer facility in Chicago. Our client was playing soccer when he tripped and fell over a ridge/bump in the playing surface that was similar to bunched up carpeting approximately 2 inches in height.

The lawsuit alleged that the playing surface should have been flat even and that precautions should have been taken to ensure the surface remained good condition, such as reasonable inspections and repair. Further there were no signs or other warnings posted to notify players of the condition.

Immediately after the Chicago trip and fall accident, the plaintiff developed left ankle pain. Other soccer players took our client to Northwestern Memorial Hospital for treatment. X-rays at the ER revealed our client sustained a fractured ankle. Due to the severity of the fracture, our client had to undergo surgery to repair the ankle.

If you've been injured in a Chicago trip and fall accident or an Illinois slip and fall incident, contact the premises liability attorneys at Abels & Annes for free consultation. Call 312-924-7575 to speak directly to a Chicago personal injury lawyer now.

Chicago injury lawyers from Abels & Annes, working with co-counsel from the Elman law group, have filed a lawsuit stemming from an accident that occurred in Waukegan, Illinois in February, 2010. The collision took place in a parking lot on Pioneer Street just after 6 PM in the evening. We represent two passengers that were injured in the accident.

The plaintiffs were sitting in a parked Pontiac Bonneville in the lot. At that time the defendant, who was driving a Toyota Solara, quickly backed out of another spot and struck the vehicle our clients were sitting in.

The Waukegan Police Department responded to the scene of the accident. At that time the defendant admitted that when he was backing out he failed to judge the distance correctly and struck the other vehicle.

The complaint at law was filed in the Circuit Court of Lake County and alleges in part that the defendant was negligent in failing to decrease speed, driving too fast for conditions, failing to keep a proper lookout, and failing to take evasive action when collision was imminent. As a result of the crash both of the plaintiffs were injured.

One of our clients sustained neck and left shoulder injuries, and back pain. She was seen shortly after the accident at the Vista Medical Center West emergency room. she also went through follow-up care with an orthopedic physician in Waukegan.

The other plaintiff sustained low back and neck injuries. He was also seen in the emergency room and underwent further treatment with a local physician. The client was prescribed course of physical therapy which he underwent for around a month.

If you have been injured in an Illinois car accident, call the Chicago personal injury lawyers at Abels & Annes for a free consultation. Call 312-924-7575 to speak directly to an accident lawyer.

As our Illinois auto accident attorneys previously reported, a teenager from the southwest side was killed in a collision with an Evergreen Park police vehicle back on October 5, 2010. Now the Chicago accident attorney representing the victim's family has responded publicly to a sheriff's report and a toxicology report obtained by the Southtown Star.

In a article published on Friday, the Southtown reported that the teenager killed in the accident had trace amounts of THC (the main ingredient in marijuana) in his system and that a Sheriff's reconstruction report found the teenage driver had failed to yield to an unmarked police car, causing the police car to strike the driver side of the teenager's vehicle.

The plaintiff's personal injury attorney points out in the article that the Sheriff's report was not critical at all of the officer's conduct when the police vehicle was traveling 90 mph just 2.2 seconds before the crash. The police car was only able to reduce its speed down to 59 mph before impact. Further, the attorney states that the Sheriff's report makes no mention of emergency lights or sirens because the police officer did not have them activated at the time of the accident.

The police vehicle was traveling 90 mph at the intersection of 95th St. and Central Park Avenue to pull over a vehicle for speeding.

The Cook County Sheriff's Department also released a toxicology report stating that there was enough THC in the teen driver's system "to have him be considered impaired" at the time of the collision. The report was prepared by a doctor from the St. Louis University Toxicology Laboratory.

Attorney Paul Salzetti is representing the family of the victim in the wrongful death lawsuit. The case was filed on October 15, 2010 in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Law Division, case number 2010-L-011830. The law firm of Querry and Harrow is representing the defendant police officer and the Village of Evergreen Park.

A Chicago church sexual abuse attorney has filed a lawsuit on behalf of a woman against the Chicago Archdiocese stemming from an alleged intimate relationship that involved a priest in 2008, according to WGN news. The plaintiff is claiming that the priest was her hospice grief counselor when her mother was dying and that he seduced her during a vulnerable period of time in her life.

The woman, who was married at the time, states that the affair began shortly after her terminally ill mother was admitted to the Rainbow Hospice in November of 2008. The sexual relationship continued for several months after the death of the woman's mother.

The lawsuit was filed recently in the Circuit Court of Cook County and alleges that the priest manipulated and sexually exploited her during a very vulnerable time in her life. The plaintiff is not directly named in the lawsuit (as her attorneys are likely protecting her confidentiality. When our law firm files a sex abuse lawsuit, we name the plaintiff as John Doe or Jane Doe).

It is further alleged that the plaintiff's husband notified the archdiocese of the relationship in December, 2008, and church officials took no action. A spokesperson for the archdiocese has confirmed the priest's employment but declined further comment. Rainbow Hospice of Chicago also confirmed that the priest was employed there and that the hospice discharged him after the sexual allegations were made.

The Illinois sex abuse lawyer that filed the suit was not named in the news story.

Illinois injury lawyers at Abels & Annes have filed a lawsuit on behalf of a local resident that was injured in a dog attack. The suit was filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County.

At issue is an injury that occurred back on July 24, 2009. The plaintiff was taking out the trash outside his residence in an alley. At that time he heard growling and turned to see a very large dog chasing after him. To avoid serious injury our client was forced to jump over a nearby fence and upon landing he suffered a serious fracture to his arm and dislocated his elbow.

The defendant dog owner was a nearby neighbor. The yard is fenced where the dog is kept, however the fence was in disrepair, the rear gate was often left open, and the dog was often let out into the yard without being chained. It was known in the neighborhood that the animal would often get loose and many complaints have been made to police in the past.

Under the Illinois Animal Control Act, the dog owner is responsible for all injuries caused by the animal. The plaintiff is alleging that the defendant failed to adequately restrain, chain, fence and/or control his dog, and that said negligence caused severe injuries to our client.

Immediately after the accident an ambulance was called. The plaintiff was taken to the emergency room at Metro South Medical Center. There he was diagnosed with a dislocated elbow and a fractured ulna. It was determined that an open reduction internal fixation surgery would be necessary to repair the fracture. Surgery was performed the same day.

Due to the accident, our client incurred over $37,000 in medical bills.

If you have been injured in a Chicago area animal attack, contact the Illinois premises liability attorneys at our firm for a free consultation.

Chicago injury lawyers at Abels & Annes, working in conjunction with the Elman Law Group, have filed a negligence lawsuit in the Circuit Court of Cook County. The case stems from a Chicago car crash that occurred back on January 29, 2010.

The plaintiffs (a driver and two passengers) were driving westbound in a 1995 Chevrolet on 47th St. at the intersection with Knox Avenue. At that time the defendant was driving a Best Buy truck eastbound on 47th St. and turned left to head North on Knox. In doing so the defendant failed to yield to oncoming traffic. The two vehicles collided when the at fault driver attempted the left turn.

The Chicago Police Department responded to the scene of the accident. After investigating, the defendant was ticketed for failing to yield.

The lawsuit on file alleges that the defendant was negligent in failing to yield the right-of-way, failing to reduce speed, driving too fast for conditions, and failing to take proper evasive action to avoid a collision.

All three of our clients were injured in the accident. One plaintiff was a passenger sustained injuries to his right ankle and foot. He was seen shortly after the accident at St. Anthony Hospital in Chicago.

He also went to follow-up treatment with an orthopedic physician in Chicago. An MRI ordered by the doctor showed the client had sustained right ankle joint effusion, fluid collection and a possible stress fracture.

The driver and other passenger were also seen at a Chicago area emergency room and also went through follow-up treatment with a medical doctor.

Feel free to contact a Chicago accident lawyer at our office if you've been hurt in an Illinois car crash. The consultation is free, and there is no attorney's fee unless a recovery is made. Call 312-924-7575.

Chicago car accident attorneys at Abels & Annes have filed a personal injury lawsuit in Cook County on behalf of an injured pedestrian. The automobile vs. pedestrian collision which took place on June 18, 2009.

The defendant was driving his truck northbound on Monticello approaching Leland in Chicago, Illinois. He stopped at a stop sign for northbound Monticello at Leland. The pedestrian was walking eastbound across Monticello in the marked pedestrian crosswalk and when he had crossed almost the entire street the defendant suddenly accelerated and struck our client. The plaintiff was fully within the marked crosswalk when he was hit. The force of the impact threw our client to the pavement.

The driver was issued traffic tickets by the Chicago Police Department for failing to yield the right of way to a pedestrian in a crosswalk and for failing to exercise due care to avoid colliding with a pedestrian.

Following the collision our client had an immediate onset of back pain, neck pain and shoulder pain. He was transported from the scene of the collision by ambulance to Swedish Covenant Hospital.

Over the next couple of days the pedestrian's condition worsened and his back pain started radiating into his right leg. Due to his increasing pain and discomfort he sought follow up treatment with a physician. He was prescribed pain medication and therapy was recommended.

After several months of treatment the client was not experiencing significant relief of his injuries. A lumber MRI revealed herniated/bulging disks at L3-4 and L4-5 which pressed against the L4 and L5 nerve roots and a herniated/bulging disk at L5-S1. Due to the nature and extent of his problems, the doctor referred him to a pain specialist.

Continue reading "Chicago Injury Lawyers file pedestrian accident lawsuit" »