
Recent Blog Posts
What Compensation Is Available for Severe Dog Bite Injuries?
We live in a society in which dogs are extremely popular pets and companions, and as such, the idea of a dog biting a person, let alone causing serious injury, may seem unlikely to many people. However, this makes it all the more shocking and devastating when a dog does become violent. Some dog bite victims suffer life-altering, and even life-threatening, injuries, and it is important to be aware of the options for recovering compensation to account for the financial and personal costs of these injuries.
Catastrophic Dog Bite Injuries
Many dog bite victims are fortunate to escape with minor bruises, cuts, or puncture wounds that fully heal with time. However, dogs are also capable of causing much more severe injuries, particularly if an attack is prolonged. Some catastrophic injuries that dog bite victims may suffer include:
Recovering Damages After a Fatal Truck Accident
Accidents between a large commercial truck and passenger cars can often result in catastrophic injuries. Worse, many of these crashes end in fatalities. Passenger vehicle occupants are the most likely victims of these fatalities. Truck drivers and their employers face much stricter standards since large commercial trucks pose a much bigger threat on the roads. When these standards are not met, it is more likely that tragedies will occur. If your loved one died in a truck crash, you may be interested in pursuing a wrongful death lawsuit.
Fatal Trucking Accidents in Illinois
Catastrophic injuries and fatalities are more common in truck accidents in part due to the great contrast in size and weight between the vehicles as well as the truck’s greater ground clearance. Trucking accidents can also involve dangerous cargo spills of hazardous chemicals or fuel.
Is Failure to Perform Tests Considered Medical Malpractice?
When you do not feel well it is common to seek medical attention. With their education and experience, we hold doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals to a higher standard. We believe that they can help to figure out the cause of our ailments. This often requires conducting various medical tests. But what happens when a doctor fails to order the necessary tests? It often results in serious and sometimes even fatal consequences. If you believe that your doctor failed to order you the proper test, you may have a claim for medical malpractice and should contact an attorney to learn more about your options.
A Delayed Diagnosis Can Result in Serious Consequences
When the proper tests are conducted and the results are discovered sooner rather than later, physicians can take the right steps to care for patients’ ailments. But when a doctor fails to order the proper tests, the health of the patient can often worsen, sometimes even making the normal course of treatment much more difficult or even impossible. As a result, the patient often suffers physically, mentally, and financially. Oftentimes, failure to receive the right medical tests can even result in death.
How Much is an Illinois Personal Injury Case Worth?
If you are suffering from the effects of an injury caused by someone else’s negligence, you may be overwhelmed by the mounting medical expenses and all of the other ways your injuries have changed your life for the worse. In the most difficult moments, the possibility of recovering financial compensation from the at-fault party may provide some consolation, but it is reasonable to wonder just how much you may receive. Though the value of a personal injury case varies substantially depending on the circumstances, you can start to get a better idea by considering some of these questions.
How Much Medical Treatment Do You Need?
Personal injury victims can pursue compensation for the full extent of their relevant medical expenses. The costs of treating soft tissue or surface injuries are typically lower than the costs of severe, catastrophic injuries that require surgery, rehabilitation, and multiple visits to the hospital and specialists over many months and years. A personal injury settlement or verdict can include compensation for both past and future medical bills.
Severe Injuries Are Common in Illinois Motorcycle Accidents
Compared to occupants of other motor vehicles, motorcyclists in Illinois have a much higher risk of being injured in a crash. In many cases, those injuries are severe and catastrophic. According to 2019 data from the Illinois Department of Transportation, around 75 percent of motorcycle crashes result in motorcyclist injuries. Of those who are injured, more than one-third suffer an incapacitating injury. Motorcyclists also make up a disproportionate amount of accident fatalities in Illinois. With these statistics in mind, injured motorcyclists and their families need to understand how to recover compensation for the extensive damages they may suffer.
Common Incapacitating Injuries For Motorcyclists
In a collision between a motorcycle and another vehicle, the motorcyclist often bears the full brunt of the impact because their vehicle offers so little protection. Motorcyclists are also often thrown from their bikes, after which they can suffer additional injuries from their impact with the road surface and other stationary objects on or near the road. Here are just some of the catastrophic injuries a motorcyclist can experience:
Economic and Non-Economic Damages in an Illinois Wrongful Death Case
Any time a person suffers catastrophic injuries, the personal and financial consequences are severe for both the injured person and their loved ones. When a person’s injuries ultimately prove to be fatal, surviving family members are confronted with the seemingly insurmountable challenge of recovering from their grief and loss. Certainly, grieving is a process that can continue for a lifetime, but if you have lost a loved one, you may have options for making the process more manageable, including pursuing compensation for their wrongful death.
Economic Damages for Wrongful Death
According to Illinois law, when a person loses their life due to the negligence of another, their claim for compensation does not die with them. The victim’s spouse, children, or other surviving family members have the right to file a wrongful death claim, through which they can recover economic damages suffered by both the victim and themselves.
Recovering Compensation for Catastrophic Fall Injuries in Illinois
Compared to something like a car accident, a fall may not seem likely to cause severe injuries. Certainly, many people are able to escape from a fall with no injuries or only minor scrapes, bruises, and sprains. However, there are times when fall injuries can have much more serious consequences, sometimes affecting a person for the rest of their life. If you or a loved one has suffered a catastrophic, life-altering injury in a fall, an experienced personal injury attorney may be able to help you recover substantial compensation.
Common Factors in Severe Fall Injuries
Depending on how a person lands, any fall could result in serious injuries. However, severe injuries tend to be more common in situations involving:
- Falls from heights - The greater the distance of the fall, the greater potential there is for a catastrophic injury. Serious injuries are common when a person falls down stairs, from an upper story of a building, or from a ladder or scaffolding on a work site.
Can I Collect Damages for Injuries Sustained in a Construction Site Accident?
Despite numerous laws and regulations designed to reduce accidents and injuries, construction sites are incredibly dangerous. Approximately one in five worker fatalities occurs in the construction industry. Equipment-related accidents, falling, electrocution, trench collapses, and struck-by accidents are just some of the common reasons for serious construction site injuries. If you were injured or a loved one was killed on a construction site, it is essential to understand your legal options. You may be entitled to financial compensation for medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, lost enjoyment of life, and other damages.
Bringing a Claim Against a Negligent Third Party
Some injured construction workers assume that workers’ compensation is the only avenue through which they may recover financial compensation because their injury occurred at work. However, this is not always the case. If the careless or dangerous actions of a third party caused or significantly contributed to your injuries, you may be able to bring a personal injury lawsuit directly against this party.
Common Injuries Suffered by Victims of Pedestrian Accidents
When car accidents occur, drivers and passengers may be injured, although they will have some protection from a vehicle’s safety systems, such as seat belts and airbags. Pedestrians have none of these forms of protection, and this means that they are likely to suffer multiple types of severe injuries if they are struck by a car, truck, or other vehicle. Victims of pedestrian accidents will want to be sure to fully document their injuries and the ways their lives have been affected, and by working with an experienced attorney, they can pursue compensation from a negligent driver who injured them.
Types of Pedestrian Accident Injuries
The injuries a pedestrian may experience will depend on the type of vehicle that struck them, the speed the vehicle was traveling, and other factors. In many cases, the initial impact will occur when a vehicle’s bumper strike’s a person’s lower leg. This will cause the person’s body to rotate, and their head and upper body may strike the vehicle’s hood or windshield. If the vehicle is traveling at a higher speed, the person may also somersault up onto the hood or roof of the vehicle, or they may fully pass over the vehicle and strike the ground behind it. When a person is struck by a larger vehicle, such as a truck or SUV, they may be thrown forward, causing them to strike the ground or placing them in the path of other vehicles, which could result in additional injuries.
Adrenaline Can Hide Injuries After a Car Accident
Originally published: February 06, 2018 -- Updated: May 28, 2021
Adrenaline is a hormone naturally produced by the body when we experience stress. The purpose of the hormone is to prepare us for fight or flight. Our heart rate quickens sending oxygenated blood to our muscles. We begin to sweat. Our alertness skyrockets. If you have ever been in a car crash, you have probably experienced this firsthand.
However, adrenaline does not only affect heart rate, breathing, and alertness. It also impacts how our body responds to pain. The hormone does not take our pain away, but it does distract us from painful sensations. Many car accident victims do not feel the full extent of their injuries for several hours or even several days. Once the adrenaline in the victim’s bloodstream settles to normal levels, the victim realizes the extent of the physical harm caused by the crash.