Posted on February 25, 2014 in Firm News

Many American workers lose their lives each year to industrial hazards of their occupations. Understanding how to implement certain safety practices into everyday routines is essential for staying injury-free while on the job. Farming is one of the biggest industries in Illinois and may be one of the most dangerous as well.

There are many safety precautions to take into account when running a farm, especially when using farm equipment. Farmers have had various experiences while working in the field that have led to numerous injuries and even deaths. In fact, farm accidents claimed the lives of 570 people in 2011, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

The Illinois Farm Bureau’s program manager urges farmers to educate themselves on the proper use of each piece of equipment before using it. Prevention is key, especially in an industry that reports approximately seven times more work-related injuries than any other industry. Farmers warn others to be sure to tell another person when traveling on a tractor and always wear your seatbelt. Fires and unsecured items are just a few potential dangers farmers face while riding on tractors.

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 Posted on February 19, 2014 in Firm News

While some workers’ compensation cases are easily determined, based on facts presented to the court, other cases may be a little more difficult to substantiate. A clear cut answer may not always be available, leaving the courts to determine whether or not benefits should be awarded.

During one such case, the Division of Workers’ Compensation made a ruling in May, 2013 by awarding a Harrah’s Casino employee temporary and medical benefits. The presiding judge over the case ruled that under New Jersey’s workers’ compensation law, the employee was allowed workers’ compensation benefits because she was technically still on Harrah’s property when an accident took place.

The controversial incident occurred back on September 19, 2012, when the casino dealer’s SUV was hit by a car while leaving Harrah’s Casino. Questions were raised as to whether the employee would receive workers compensation benefits because she was halfway onto MGM Mirage Boulevard when the accident happened. Police reports documented the crash site information, noting that the employee’s SUV was partially on the driveway owned by Harrah’s at the time.

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 Posted on February 12, 2014 in Firm News

After numerous patient deaths and countless violations, the doors of Alden Village North facility in Illinois will remain open. Located on the North Side, the nursing facility is responsible for the care of severely disabled young adults, as well as children with developmental disabilities.

Most recently in 2011, department officials attempted to revoke the operating license of Alden Village North using examples of nursing home neglect and death that had occurred at the facility within the past three years. After reopening the case, the facility was cited for four more deaths where medical care was delayed or insufficient.

In 2010, death and neglect issues were brought to the attention of State officials, when a journal investigation uncovered a rash of incidents that had occurred at the facility. During a ten year period, between 2000 and 2010, fourteen patients died due to the facility’s unreasonable standard of care. One nine year old boy suffered from severe bowel obstruction and died of infection and shock after being left unattended in the facility for two days. Another patient died after a medication error resulted in the administration of too much medication.

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 Posted on February 06, 2014 in Articles

Many Illinois residents have heard the use of the term tort and likely know that it is a legal term. However, there can be confusion about exactly what a tort is. Simply put, a tort is an injury that any individual sustains that was caused by another party's actions or inaction.

Some tort situations can be minor and not really warrant any follow up. Other torts, however, can result in serious consequences to victims. Permanent injury or disability, loss of limbs and even wrongful death can all be outcomes of a tort.

Some key types of torts that may warrant legal action can include:

• Slip-and-fall accidents
• Medical errors or negligence
• Defective consumer product
• Defamation
• Assault and battery
• Construction site injuries

The Trial Lawyers Association of America reports that 13 percent of all awards for punitive damages are given in product liability suits and 10 percent in medical malpractice cases. The cases most frequently awarded damages are those involving motor vehicle accidents.

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 Posted on February 06, 2014 in Firm News

Many who work in farming in Sangamon County choose to do so because they enjoy the rural locations where most farms are located. Such areas may offer a needed respite from all of the noise one finds in an urban area. Plus, the picturesque backdrop against which they work offers a peace and tranquility that can't be found working in an office.

Yet by choosing to work in such rural locations, farmers and farm workers put themselves at risk of not receiving life-saving treatment in after farm accidents. Combine that with the unique challenges and dangers that farming presents from the types of work done and the special equipment used, and one has a potential recipe for disaster should an accident occur.

Both factors appear to have come into play in the recent death of a Red Bud man. Emergency responders were called out to the remote location, located over 35 miles outside of St. Louis, after the man reportedly fell into a grain bin full of corn. After a half-hour search through the corn, his body was finally found. Authorities are currently looking into what may have caused the accident.

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 Posted on January 31, 2014 in Firm News

The large semi-trucks and tractor trailers one sees driving through Springfield pose a great enough of a threat in their own. Yet often it's not a collision with one of these massive vehicles that one has to worry about in a truck accident; it's the aftermath of such an event. Often, these vehicles transport hazardous materials, chemicals, or combustibles such as gasoline, each of which has lethal potential should any be lost in a spill. Yet even the trucks themselves pose a risk from the large fuel tanks needed to power these large vehicles. Should one of these tanks rupture during an accident, those in the immediate vicinity could be in grave danger.

A recent truck accident in Springfield may serve as a reminder of just how dangerous even a seemingly harmless accident can be. While no one was injured when a semi jack-knifed near a local interstate junction, first responders arriving on the scene found that the truck's fuel tanks were leaking. Thus, the local fire department was called to stop and contain the leak, after which the semi itself was removed from the ditch where it had settled.

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 Posted on January 21, 2014 in Firm News

Icy road conditions are not uncommon in Sangamon County at this of the year. Drivers are encouraged to slow down so as to avoid losing control of their vehicles. Unfortunately, there usually always someone who's either running late, who gets distracted, or who just thinks he or she can drive fast that ignores these warnings and ends up in a car accident. Sadly, these drivers aren't the only ones at risk when these accidents happen. They also place any passengers traveling in their vehicles with them in danger.

A recent accident in Peoria serves as a stark reminder of this fact. A pickup truck loaded with passengers lost control on icy roads and collided with another vehicle, throwing three of the truck's occupants from the vehicle. Two of those ejected were rushed to a local hospital, while the third, a Carlinville teen, was pronounced dead at the scene. No other life-threatening injuries to the other accident victims were reported. It's believed that none of the truck's occupants were wearing seatbelts.

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 Posted on January 16, 2014 in Farm Accidents

While most in Springfield would probably agree that farming can be a dangerous profession, they'd probably also assume that such dangers are presented by complex farming equipment or in encounters with large farm animals such as cows, horses, or bulls. Yet one of the sad realities of farming is that even accidents or freak occurrences that may seem quite simple in nature can end up producing deadly results.

Such was the case with Pennsylvania who was recently killed while working on her farm. She reportedly suffered chest trauma after a hay bale fell on top of her. She died close to an hour after the accident occurred.

One may wonder how something as simple as a falling hay bale could have caused this to happen. While police are said to be investigating the case of the fall, a number of other factors play into the fatal outcomes that are seen in so many of these farm accidents. Because of their rural locations, farms aren't the easiest places to be reached by first responders in time to administer care that could save one's life after an accident. And although it wasn't reported in this case if the woman was alone when her accident happened, oftentimes farmers do work alone and don't have someone nearby to help in the event of an emergency.

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 Posted on January 15, 2014 in Firm News

Very few in Sangamon County ever anticipate losing the ability to care for themselves. Yet such is the state many find themselves in later in life or after a serious illness or injury. Surrendering one's care to another, particularly in a care center or nursing home setting, can be extremely difficult to deal with, and thus he or she deserves respect and comfort from caregivers in such a situation. Yet sadly, there are times when those entrusted to care for residents in such a setting lose patience with them or, worse yet, cruelly abuse them. Such elder abuse often goes unchecked due to the fact that victims fear the abusers or are simply unable to communicate what's happening to others.

Often, it takes the intervention of concerned family to catch caregivers in the act of nursing home abuse. Such was the case at an Arizona care center, where the son of an elderly resident hid a camera in the woman's room after he suspected that members of the staff were abusing her. HIs fears proved well-founded, as his camera caught footage of two different employees striking the woman, tossing her out of her wheelchair onto her bed or chair, and pulling off her clothing and throwing it at her. Both employees were arrested and charged with vulnerable adult abuse.

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 Posted on January 02, 2014 in Firm News

Too many in Sangamon County believe that if they're injured on the job, resolving any workers' compensation issues will be a breeze. What they often fail to realize is that workers compensation funds are like any other insurance company; they don't stay in business by paying out claims. Yet even with disputes over payouts, many private workers compensation funds find difficulties in paying out claims to the employees of clients that carry coverage through them.

More and more companies have recently chosen to go with new self insurance trust for their workers compensation coverage. These trusts market themselves to multiple companies as a way to reduce premium costs by pooling the resources of all of the companies that participate in the trust and paying out claims to the employees of those companies from those funds. Yet many of these self insurance trusts have failed to meet payment obligations across the country in recent years, often to the point of needing to turn to the Workers Compensation Boards in their respective states for assistance.

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