2010 September Archive

We trust in public transportation. We often take our safety on such transportation for granted, assuming that properly trained drivers are at the helm of the vehicles that take us from point A to point B. However, it is important to remember that, while on the road, all motorists are susceptible to the reckless actions of other drivers.

According to a recent SunTimes.com article, a Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) bus was recently rear-ended by another vehicle, injuring passengers on board both the bus and the smaller vehicle. A total of nine people were injured during the Illinois bus accident, which took place near 66th Street and Racine Avenue. While no injuries sustained during the crash were life threatening, the eight injured passengers from the bus, as well as the one injured passenger from the passenger vehicle, were all taken to local area hospitals for treatment.

The Englewood bus crash was caused by a 36-year-old motorist, who was cited for following the public transportation vehicle too closely. Reportedly, the bus was stopped at a traffic light at the time of the accident. There was no mention of whether or not the male motorist responsible for the crash was under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the crash.

Regardless of the magnitude of a Chicago bus accident, motorists and passengers are always susceptible to sustaining injury. In any accident, it is essential that those injured seek medical attention as soon as possible. Afterwards, it is highly advisable to seek out the assistance of an experienced Chicago personal injury attorney who will examine the circumstances surrounding your accident to determine whether or not negligent action played a role in causing your injuries.

If you’ve been injured in a public transportation accident in the Chicago area, please contact the Illinois traffic accident lawyers at The Bradley Law Firm. Our skilled Chicago bus accident attorneys will represent you in a court of law, and will hold negligent parties responsible for your injuries accountable for their actions. For more information, including a free consultation of your case, please call 800-360-5072 today.

Chicago car accidents involving a single vehicle can be devastating enough, but when multiple vehicles are factored into the situation, the severity of injuries and damage can be catastrophic. According to Chicago’s local ABC affiliate WLS-TV, a three-vehicle crash recently occurred on Interstate 80, leaving at least one motorist killed and multiple individuals involved injured. The accident was so severe that it closed lanes going in both directions on I-80, forcing all other traffic to be diverted.

With an investigation into the cause of the crash undoubtedly under way, authorities will attempt to determine as accurately as possible the exact cause of the accident, as well as whether or not negligent action may have played a determining factor. Illinois car accidents are often caused due to the negligence of either one or multiple motorists, and can even be caused by other, non-motorist factors. That is, if roads are unevenly paved, or construction materials are left on the side of the road in such a way that they can potentially represent a hazard for drivers, then the local municipality responsible for the hazard can also be held liable for an accident, and may be deemed financially responsible for injuries resulting from the crash.

Regardless of the circumstances of an accident, a thorough investigation needs to take place. If you’ve been injured in a Chicago car accident, the first thing you should do after seeking medical attention is to retain the services of an experienced Illinois personal injury attorney who will fight to ensure that your rights as an accident victim are not violated in a court of law.

At The Bradley Law Firm, our experienced Chicago auto accident attorneys will seek compensatory damages from negligent parties on your behalf. For more information about how a skilled Illinois car accident attorney can assist you, please contact us today at 800-360-5072. We offer free case consultations, and will discuss your legal options with you so that you understand your rights as a Chicago car accident victim.

Traffic accidents happen every day all across the country. While many of these accidents are relatively tame, with minimal property damage and no personal injuries sustained, there are still a large number of accidents that prove to be fatal. A recent myfoxchicago.com news report discusses an accident involving two vehicles, one of which was traveling the wrong way on I-294. Reportedly, the two vehicle, head-on collision involved a 23-year-old male motorist in one vehicle, and a 24-year-old motorist in the other. Both men died as a result of the fatal Illinois car accident, and police are awaiting an autopsy report for the 23-year-old wrong-way motorist.

According to the report, a witness speculated that the vehicle being driven by the 23-year-old was traveling at speeds of near 90 miles per hour. Police are still investigating the matter to determine whether or not alcohol may have affected his judgment. It is still unknown as to why he was traveling at such great speeds down the wrong side of the highway, although further investigation may provide some clues.

Motorists who choose to break traffic laws can be held liable for their actions in a court of law. A decision to drive recklessly, disregard traffic signage, and travel at excessive speeds may not only lead to a motorist injuring him or herself, but also other motorists on the road as well. Such reckless behavior is deemed negligence according to the state of Illinois.

If you’ve recently been injured in a Chicago car accident, it would be highly beneficial to contact an experienced Illinois personal injury lawyer today for more information about your rights as an injury victim. At The Bradley Law Firm, our Chicago car accident attorneys will examine the circumstances of your auto accident to determine whether or not negligence on the part of another motorist may have led to your injuries. For a free case consultation, please call our skilled Chicago personal injury attorneys today at 800-360-5072.

Holiday weekends are a wonderful time to spend with both family and friends. However, along with the merriment comes the increased likelihood that many drivers are going to choose to operate their vehicles while under the influence of alcohol. According to a myfoxchicago.com news report, the Chicago area unfortunately saw its share of fatalities and injuries over Labor Day weekend, with a total of six people being killed and more than two dozen people being injured in car accidents.

The reported injuries and fatalities took place from Saturday morning through Monday night, and occurred in both the city and the suburbs. The accidents involved motorcycles, SUVs, smaller passenger cars, bicycles, and even stolen vehicles. The causes of the accidents ranged from driver inattention to failing to yield at a stop sign to other erratic driving practices. Some injuries sustained were minor, while others resulted in death.

Some accidents involved single vehicles, while others involved multiple vehicles. Some incidents resulted in fiery crashes, while others involved vehicle rollovers. Regardless of the circumstances surrounding each one of these Chicago car crashes, it is likely that negligence of some kind contributed greatly to its occurrence. With the holiday season just around the corner, it is important to remember that safe driving practices not only make the driver exhibiting them safer, but all other motorists on the road as well.

If you’ve been injured in a Chicago car crash, the best course of action involves retaining the services of an experienced Illinois personal injury attorney. At The Bradley Law Firm, our skilled Chicago car accident attorneys will examine the details of your accident and will hold negligent parties accountable for their actions. For more information about your rights as a Chicago car accident victim, please call 800-360-5072. The Chicago personal injury attorneys at The Bradley Law Firm offer free consultations.

According to a greatfallstribune.com article, a 44-year-old man was killed while on-the-job at Rainbow Dam in Montana. Reportedly, the man was crushed after he got caught in between two large trucks traveling past each other. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) intends to conduct an investigation into the accident, and will undoubtedly look for any signs of negligence on the part of the building site owner, PPL Montana, or the 44-year-old man’s employer, Chicago-based Walsh Construction Co.

On-the-job injuries account for a large number of personal injuries each year across the country. There are currently 200 employees working at the Rainbow Dam site, all of whom are susceptible to sustaining injury if proper safety precautions have not been taken to ensure their well being. In Illinois, building owners and site foreman have a responsibility to provide their employees with not only proper training meant to help prevent injury, but also safe working conditions to help offset the chance of injury occurring in the first place.

In the state of Illinois, workers who are injured while on-the-job may be able to seek compensation for their injuries and recovery. In tragic cases like the one mentioned above, families of the wrongful death accident victim may be awarded compensatory damages on the deceased’s behalf. The personal injury attorneys at The Bradley Law Firm offer their condolences to the family and friends of the 44-year-old wrongful death victim.

For more information about workers compensation claims in Illinois, please call our Chicago workers’ compensation attorneys toll-free at 800-360-5072. Workers have rights, and those rights should never be compromised after an accident has taken place.

When we make a purchase at our local grocery store, we simply assume that the food we are buying is safe to consume. Unfortunately, food product recalls are issued on a fairly regular basis, and consumers are all too often unknowingly placed in harm’s way after purchasing recalled food items. According to a recent Food and Drug Administration (FDA) product recall, certain Quesaria Chipilo products – Oaxaca String Cheese, Queso Fresco, and Queso Fresco Hoja De Plátano – may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The products in question were distributed in New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia to both distributors and retail stores.

Symptoms associated with Listeria monocytogenes can include severe headache, stiffness, high fever, abdominal pain, and nausea. However, these symptoms are only typical in healthy adults and adolescents, while others, such as young children, the elderly, and any individual with a weak immune system may suffer from serious infection that could become fatal. Furthermore, infection caused by Listeria monocytogenes has also been known to cause pregnant women to miscarry or experience still birth.

Recalled items and other dangerous products in Chicago can cause serious personal injury to consumers. In the event that an individual does sustain injury as the result of a manufacturer’s negligence, the injured party may be able to hold the manufacturer accountable for failing to provide a safe product for consumption. Manufacturers have an obligation to create and market products that perform as promised, and do not pose an unavoidable risk to consumers when used properly.

At The Bradley Law Firm, our Chicago product liability attorneys represent victims who have been injured or have become ill due to dangerous food products and other manufactured items. For more information about your rights as an accident victim, please contact our Illinois personal injury lawyers toll-free at 800-360-5072. We offer free case consultations.

What do Prempro, Trasylol, and Avandia all have in common? If you said that they’re all drugs that are meant to help people, you’d be right. Unfortunately, if you said that they are all drugs whose side effects have proven more dangerous than helpful, then you’d also be correct. Sadly, dangerous drugs prescribed by physicians cause pain and personal injury to far too many people each and every year in Illinois. However, victims of Chicago dangerous drug injuries do have the right to hold negligent pharmaceutical companies accountable for their actions.

Prempro, a hormone replacement drug for women, has been linked to an increased risk of breast cancer, heart disease, blood clots, and ovarian cancer. Some women who used Prempro even suffered from strokes. Trasylol, a blood clotting drug used on patients undergoing heart surgery, has been linked to kidney failure and even death. In fact, some research has even shown that patients who are given Trasylol have a 64% greater chance of dying because of the drug than those who were given alternate blood-clotting medications. As far as Avandia is concerned, diabetic patients using the insulin-regulating drug have been documented as suffering from an increased likelihood of heart disease (64% more likely) and heart attacks (43% more likely). Despite a black box warning mandated by the FDA, Avandia is still prescribed to patients throughout the country, including those in Illinois.

The vast majority of people assume that the medications administered to them by medical professionals are safe. However, the side effects associated with a large number of prescription medications are often far more dangerous than the conditions the medications are prescribed to alleviate. In the event that an individual experiences significant side effects that the pharmaceutical company failed to warn consumers about, the injured individual may be entitled to compensatory damages associated with the detrimental side effects.

The Bradley Law Firm represents victims of dangerous drugs in Illinois. Our Chicago personal injury attorneys will examine the circumstances of the injuries you sustained, and will help determine whether or not a dangerous drug caused you harm. For more information about pharmaceutical litigation and dangerous drugs, contact the Chicago dangerous drug attorneys at The Bradley Law Firm today. Call 800-360-5072 for a free consultation of your Illinois dangerous drugs personal injury case.