In November, the nation’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued nearly $200,000 in proposed penalties to Chicago-based American Masonry Inc. for allegedly exposing employees to lead dust. Seven purported violations were uncovered when an OSHA investigator inspected a commercial building site in the City of Chicago. According to OSHA…
Due to a reported $9.6 million budget shortfall, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation recently laid off 18 of the organization’s 26 medical investigators and regulatory staff. According to department officials, the move will have a dramatic effect on medical licensing and physician disciplinary matters throughout Illinois. Organization…
Last year, 48 pedestrians and eight bicyclists were reportedly killed by motorists in Chicago. According to the Chicago Police Department, the number of pedestrians killed in 2012 was the highest in four years. Additionally, the number of fatal bicycle wrecks in Chicago allegedly rose by 38 percent between 2001 and…
Many people do not realize that insurance companies often utilize claims software when evaluating a potential accident settlement. Claims agents at a number of insurance companies reportedly use a software program called Colossus to assess bodily-injury payments. Motor vehicle insurers like Allstate claim the software program allows injured customers to…
A study recently published in the journal Surgery claims that at least 4,000 preventable surgical mistakes occur in the United States every year. Such mistakes are generally referred to as “never events” because they are the sort of hospital or physician errors that should never occur. Examples of preventable mistakes…
A 57-year-old tractor-trailer driver died recently after he was unexpectedly pinned between the door of his truck and a post in Bensenville. The man was reportedly performing a pre-work safety check on the semi he was assigned to drive while in a loading area at Vitran Express when he became…
A woman recently filed a personal injury lawsuit against a Bedford Park go-kart racing facility in Cook County Circuit Court. In her complaint, the woman alleges that she was injured as a result of a defective safety belt at Chicago Race Factory on May 2nd. According to the woman, employees…
Data compiled by the Illinois Department of Transportation states traffic fatalities throughout the state declined in the second half of 2012. According to Illinois Transportation Secretary Ann Schneider, an electronic highway message board and social media campaign aimed at alerting drivers to the number of crash deaths helped raise public…
Japanese car manufacturer Toyota Motors recently agreed to a $1.1 billion settlement in connection with alleged acceleration issues that reportedly posed a safety hazard to those driving or riding in certain vehicles built by the company. If the pending class-action settlement is approved, it would include approximately 16 million Toyota,…
An Army National Guard veteran filed a lawsuit against the management company that runs McCormick Place and others after he almost lost a foot as a result of an alleged forklift accident. The 30-year-old veteran claims he was working in McCormick Place following a large machine trade show when he…