Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

Chicago work injury attorney to file claim for injured employee

September 27, 2010 | By Dave Abels

An Illinois workers’ compensation attorney from Abels & Annes will be filing a claim on behalf of a woman that was injured on the job in Joliet, Illinois. The accident happened on July 14, 2010 as the claimant was employed as an independent living counselor for Trinity Services.

Our client, who is a 54-year-old Tinley Park resident, was doing a walk-through at a work location and lost her balance on some stairs. At that time she twisted her left foot and injured her left leg in the fall.

The worker was seen at Silver Cross Hospital in the emergency room. There, x-rays were taken, she was prescribed pain medication, her ankle was wrapped, and she was given crutches. She was also referred for an appointment with an orthopedic physician. Since the date of the accident she is been treating with a medical doctor.

Illinois bicycle injury lawyer reaches insurance policy limits settlement

September 26, 2010 | By Dave Abels

Chicago bike accident attorneys at Abels & Annes have resolved an injury claim for bicyclist that was injured back on January 30, 2010. The accident occurred at intersection of Lincoln Avenue and Carmen. Our client was riding a bicycle southbound on Lincoln when the defendant, who was northbound in a 1994 Ford escort, attempted to turn left onto Carmen and failed to yield.

The plaintiff was knocked off his bicycle into the street. He had a laceration on his left leg, right leg pain, and back and neck pain.

The Chicago Police Department investigated the accident. After talking to both the plaintiff and the defendant, the police officer issued the driver a traffic ticket for failing to yield while making a left turn.

CNN to air one-hour special “What the Pope Knew” – story to focus on church sex abuse

September 25, 2010 | By Dave Abels

CNN has announced that they will be airing a one-hour special titled ” What the Pope Knew” on September 25 and September 26 at 7 PM and 10 PM central standard time. It is being indicated that the story will focus on how Ratzinger used to be in charge of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith (CDF). The CDF was often in charge of investigating alleged sexual abuse of minors by priests. The story will look at how the Pope handled several sex abuse investigations.

One of the stories is about Terry Kohut, an alleged victim of Wisconsin priest sex abuse. When Kohut was a teenager, he was sexually abused by a headmaster/priest at the St. John’s School for the Deaf in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The abuse allegedly went on for years. He was not alone, and from 1950 to 1974 Father Lawrence C Murphy allegedly sexually abused and raped as many as 200 deaf children, this according to church and court documents. Kohut has now filed a sex abuse lawsuit directly against the Vatican and actually naming the Pope as a defendant.

The CNN story will go on to talk about how the abuse of father Murphy was brought to the attention of Ratzinger and the CDF years ago, but that a church trial against Murphy was stopped and he was allowed to remain at his position of priest. The Kohut lawsuit alleges that the Vatican’s “policy of secrecy” in abuse cases helped to hide priest sex abuse of children, which in turn helped father Murphy continue abusing children.

Illinois pedestrian accident seriously injures Berwyn resident – driver on cell phone blamed

September 25, 2010 | By Dave Abels

A 52-year-old man has been hurt in a Chicago area pedestrian accident after being hit by a driver who was on her cell phone, according to the Chicago Tribune. The pedestrian, David Paradiso of Berwyn, sustained a fractured leg, scalp injuries and a broken collarbone.

The accident happened on Monday around 7 PM at the intersection of Harlem Avenue and Longcommon Road, which is on the border of Berwyn and Riverside. The driver, also of Berwyn, was southbound on Harlem when she ran a red light at the intersection. Witnesses reportedly saw her on her cell phone.

As she went through the red light and struck an eastbound vehicle, and then hit the pedestrian. The investigating police officers charged the defendant with aggravated reckless driving, and she was released on $5000 bond on Wednesday.

Abogados de abuso de sexo de la iglesia de Illinois preparan hacer tercera demanda contra la Arquidiócesis de Chicago con respect a Daniel McCormack

September 25, 2010 | By Dave Abels

Abogados de abuso sexual en Abels & Annes, P.C. en colaboración con Hilfman & Martin, se están preparando para presenter una tercera demanda contra la Arquidiócesis de Chicago con respecto a el ex sacerdote Daniel McCormack. El caso de abuso será presentada ante la Corte de Circuito del Condado de Cook en la próxima semana. La Arquidiócesis de Chicago, el Obispo católico de Chicago y el cardinal Francis George serán nombrados los acusados.

La demanda sera presentada a nombre de John M. Doe para protejerla identidad de la victima. El demandante alega que mientras estuvo en y alrededor de la parroquia de St. Agatha y la rectoria de St. Agatha en Chicago de aproximadamente octavo-grado (2002-2003) por su menor o año mayor en colegio secundario (2005-2007), el estuvo tocado de manera impropia y sexualmente, frotado y abusado por McCormack en múltiples ocasiones.

Se alega que funcionarios de la iglesia fallaron de quitar a McCormack de sus deberes como sacerdote después de ganar información que tuvo una historia de reclamos contra él para el abuso sexual desde su tiempo en el seminario.

Illinois church sex abuse attorneys set to file 3rd lawsuit against the Chicago Archdiocese regarding Daniel McCormack

September 24, 2010 | By Dave Abels

Sexual abuse lawyers at Abels & Annes, working with co-counsel Hilfman & Martin, are preparing to file a third lawsuit against the Chicago Archdiocese in regards to former priest Daniel McCormack. The abuse case will be filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County within the next week. The Archdiocese of Chicago, the Catholic Bishop of Chicago and Cardinal Francis George will be named as defendants.

The lawsuit will be filed on behalf of John M. Doe to protect the victim’s identity. The plaintiff will allege that while he was in and around St. Agatha’s parish and St. Agatha’s rectory in Chicago from approximately eighth-grade (2002-2003) through his junior or senior year in high school (2005-2007), he was inappropriately and sexually touched, rubbed and abused by McCormack on multiple occasions.

It will allege that church officials failed to remove McCormack of his duties as priest after gaining information that he had a history of complaints against him for sexual abuse all the way back to his time in seminary.

Chicago motorcyclist killed in suburban crash with truck

September 23, 2010 | By Dave Abels

A 32-year-old man from Chicago lost his life on Tuesday when he was involved in an Illinois truck vs. motorcycle accident, according to the Chicago Daily Herald. The crash occurred in Elk Grove Township around 11:40 AM.

The truck was headed in a westerly direction on Higgins Road, just west of Landmeier, where it was in the left lane while turning right turn into a parking lot. The motorcycle rider was in the right lane and hit the side of the truck as it was turning into the lot.

The motorcyclist suffered severe head and chest injuries. He was rushed by ambulance to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge where there is a Level I trauma center. Physicians were initially able to revive him, but he passed away around 1:30 PM.

Illinois bike accident claims life of 55-year-old woman

September 22, 2010 | By Dave Abels

A female bicyclist was killed Monday morning in an Illinois car vs. bike accident that occurred in Gibson City, according to the News Gazette. The victim, Jeanne C. DeWall, was using her bicycle to deliver newspapers for the News-Gazette at the time of the crash.

The bike rider was moving eastbound on Illinois 9 when she was hit by an eastbound car that was being driven by a 73-year-old man from Paxton. The collision occurred around 6 AM in the area of Ford Country Road 905 East. She was pronounced dead at the scene a short time later.

The Illinois State Police responded to the accident. Their investigation reportedly showed that the driver did not see the bicyclist, and that he may have been affected by headlights from oncoming traffic.

Chicago work injury lawyers continue to take in new cases

September 21, 2010 | By Dave Abels

Illinois workers compensation lawyers at Abels & Annes have signed on to represent and injured hospice worker. The accident took place on July 9, 2010 when our client injured her shoulder and back while at work.

At the time of the accident, the claimant was giving the patient a bath. The patient started to fall out of bed and the worker reached out and caught him, injuring herself in the process.

Initially the claimant hoped her pain would resolve on its own and did not go to the emergency room. However, after her pain did not go away over the next three days her employer referred her to a physician at Concentra in downtown Chicago. The injured worker is also following up with her own orthopedic physician.

New crosswalk law aims to reduce serious and fatal Chicago pedestrian accidents

September 20, 2010 | By Dave Abels

Authorities are out in force on a high-profile campaign to ticket drivers for violating a new state law aimed at reducing the number of Chicago pedestrian accidents and serious and fatal crosswalk accidents elsewhere in the state.

The new law requires drivers to stop for pedestrians in all crosswalks, even those which do not have a stop sign or traffic signal, or face a fine of $50 to $500, the Chicago Breaking News Center reported. Our Chicago accident attorneys frequently report on the dangers of pedestrian accidents. As we reported in July on our Chicago Car Accident Lawyers Blog, more than 800 crashes a day occur in Chicago and authorities have made reducing pedestrian accidents a goal at both the state and national level. A total of 3,484 Chicago pedestrian accidents were reported in 2008, killing 52 and injuring 3,225, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation. Illinois pedestrian accidents resulted in 135 fatalities in 2008, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

In releasing accident statistics for 2009, the NHTSA made reducing pedestrian accidents a priority, along with a reduction in drunk driving accidents and motorcycle accidents.

Thousands of “Yield” signs at intersections throughout the Chicago area are being replaced with signs alerting the public to the rule charge. In August, 127 tickets were written as the city resumed its sting operations at crosswalks with a history of serious or fatal accidents.

Illinois’ law took effect this summer and is aimed at the thousands of motorists who routinely ignore pedestrians in crosswalks. Authorities say the problem is particularly acute in downtown Chicago, where authorities have spent several years conducting undercover operations that station plain-clothes police officers in crosswalks to catch motorists violating the law.

A number of pedestrians interviewed said cab drivers are among the most egregious violators. And the city has received more than $10 million in grants but done little or nothing to relieve the heavy traffic and congestion on the south side of Jackson Boulevard south of Union Station. A CDOT spokesman said improvements have no timetable but could begin in the next few years.
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