Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim is facing intense criticism after he supported his former assistant coach, Bernie Fine, by publically attacking two men who claimed they were sexually abused by Fine when they were children. Initially, Boehiem accused the two men of lying about being sexually molested and suggested they were making up their accusations for money. After a third man came forward saying Fine of sexual abused him as a child, Boeheim changed his tune. Rather than continue attacking the alleged victims, Boeheim issued a written statement apologizing for his remarks and called for a full investigation. Some are demanding Boeheim resign or be fired, as occurred with Penn State Coach Paterno following the sex abuse scandal involving his former assistant coach. However, even assuming Fine is guilty of sexual molestation, should Boeheim be punished like Paterno?

In the Penn State sex abuse scandal, Coach Paterno was reportedly told his former assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky, sexually abused a little boy in the football team's shower. Rather than immediately report the matter to police, Paterno reported the matter to Penn State's Athletic Director and did nothing further. As result of Paterno's failure to do more, Sandusky was allegedly allowed to continue sexually abusing more children for years to follow.

Continue reading "Should Boeheim Be Fired For Asst's Alleged Sexual Abuse Like Paterno" »

In March 2012, Pennsylvania will become the 35th state to prohibit texting while driving. People who violate the law will be subject to a $50 fine. In contrast, the fine for drunk driving in Pennsylvania is $300. Among those states to ban texting while driving, the fines for drunk driving are all considerably stiffer than those for texting while driving. As a personal injury lawyer, I never understood this reasoning. After all, texting while driving is often far more dangerous than drunk driving.

In 2009, Car Driver magazine's editor, Eddie Alterman, did an experiment comparing the dangers of drunk driving to the dangers of texting while driving. While at a dessert airstrip, the experiment measured reaction times using a light mounted on a windshield for a driver who is intoxicated compared to when the same driver is texting while driving. When the light illuminates on the windshield, the driver is required to hit the brakes. While legally intoxicated, the driver's stopping distance from 70 MPH was reduced by 4 feet compared to when he was sober. While texting and driving, the same driver's stopping distance was reduced by 70 feet compared to when he was sober.

Texting while driving, reading an email while driving, and other distractions while driving are incredibly dangerous. In each situation, the driver's eyes are focused down at their cell phone. With a drunk driver, they are at least looking at the road. If a driver suddenly slams on their brakes, the driver who is looking down at their cell phone has no chance.

The fundamental danger behind texting while driving is that it distracts the driver from focusing on the road. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, over 15% of fatal auto accidents are caused by distracted driving. The number of injuries in auto accidents from distracted driving is 20%.

Continue reading "Is Texting While Driving More Dangerous Than Drunk Driving?" »

The holidays are a wonderful way to spend time with friends and family. As the holiday season approaches, it is important to remember that we must all celebrate responsibly when it comes to drinking and driving. As a personal injury lawyer who has prosecuted drunk driving cases, I am all too familiar with the risks associated with drinking and driving.

Auto accidents are a leading cause of wrongful death and serious injury in the US. The addition of alcohol increases these risks exponentially. Almost one-third of all traffic-related deaths in the US involve at least one person impaired by alcohol. In fact, one person is injured in an alcohol-related accident every minute.

Many believe drunk driving will never impact their lives. However, one in three people will be involved in an alcohol-related crash at one point in their life. For those lucky enough to avoid being a direct victim, nearly everyone will have a friend or family member who will be injured or killed in an alcohol-related accident.

Refusing to get behind the wheel while intoxicated dramatically reduces the risk of getting into an auto accident. However, even responsible people can, of course, still become a victim of drunk driving. There are many people who regularly drink and drive. In fact, a drunk driver will drive intoxicated about 80 times before their first arrest. Perhaps equally alarming, 50 to 75 percent of convicted drunk drivers continue driving on a suspended license.

Continue reading "Drunk Driving Around The Holidays: Don't Become A Statistic" »

On November 19, 2009, an infant under four months allegedly died from suffocation in a baby sling. The Illinois family hired a Chicago personal injury lawyer who filed suit against the manufacturer, Eddie Bauer, and others. According to the suit, the baby sling was defective because it failed to provide a safety mechanism to prevent infant suffocation and failed to adequately warn about these dangers. The suit alleges the baby sling forced the baby's chin to her chest causing "positional asphyxia" or oxygen deprivation from breathing difficulty.

The lawsuit filed by the Illinois family is a type of product liability, wrongful death case. A product liability lawsuit is a type of personal injury case. In a product liability lawsuits, there are several theories from which a party may recover, including strict liability, negligence, and breach of warranty of merchantability. However, the primary argument for any product liability case is that the product is unreasonably dangerous. On occasion, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (or CPSC) investigates reports that a product has caused serious injury or death.

A baby sling is a popular product that allows parents or caregivers to literally wear their infants as they go about their busy lives. In March 2010, the CPSC issued a warning regarding the dangers of baby slings. The warning was issued after at least three babies died in baby slings in 2009 alone.

Continue reading "Chicago Product Liability Suit Filed: Infant Suffocates In Baby Sling " »

Penn State football coach Joe Paterno has been among the most universally respected coaches in college football--that is, until the recent sex abuse engulfed his reputation. Paterno's former defensive coordinator, Jerry Sandusky, is accused of sexually assaulting at least eight young boys over the last fifteen years, including one as young as ten years old. Two current Penn State officials, Athletic Director Timothy Curely and Senior Vice President of Finance Gary Schulz, have been indicted on charges of perjury and failing to report the sexual abuse to police as required by Pennsylvania law. In short, it appears these two official covered up the story. If true, they undoubtedly decided it was more important to protect the university's reputation than the safety of future children who were subsequently sexually assaulted by Sandusky.

As a Chicago personal injury lawyer and father of two young children, I was both shocked and disgusted when I heard this story. There is no question that Sandusky and others who covered up his sexual abuse of children should go to jail if the allegations are true. For his part, Sandusky is accused of sexually assaulting at least eight young boys, most or all of whom he met through a charity he founded to help troubled youth. According to the grand jury indictment, Sandusky's involvement provided him "access to hundreds of boys, many of whom were vulnerable due to their social situations." As more evidence comes to light, it appears Coach Joe Paterno knew that Sandusky, in 2002, reportedly sexually assaulted a young boy in a Penn State locker room shower, but Paterno did not report the matter to the police.

Sandusky served as defensive coordinator under Paterno from 1976 to 1999. After retiring in 1999 as a coach, Sandusky was allowed to maintain his presence at Penn State with an office in and free run of the football complex. In 2002, a graduate student allegedly witnessed Sandusky performing anal sex a little boy that appeared to be about ten years old while in a Penn State football shower. The graduate student then reported the incident to Paterno. Paterno did not alert the local police; instead, Paterno reported the matter to Penn State Athletic Director, Timothy Curely. According to Paterno, he fulfilled his obligation to report the matter to Curley. In a statement, Paterno said "[i]t was obvious that the witness was distraught over what he saw, but he at no time revealed to me the very specific actions contained in the grand jury report. Regardless, it was clear that the witness saw something inappropriate involving Mr. Sandusky. As coach Sandusky was retired from our coaching staff at that time, I referred the matter to university administrators." In response, University administrators prohibited Sandusky from bringing young children onto the campus. Most importantly, no one reported the matter to the police. Sandusky was then allowed to sexually abuse other children--just not on the Penn State campus.

Continue reading "Should Coach Paterno Resign Amid Penn State Sex Abuse Scandal?" »

Over a decade ago, the major four tobacco companies in the US entered into a major settlement agreement with 46 states. The settlement required Phillip Morris, RJ Reynolds, Brown & Williamson, and Lorriad to pay $206 billion dollars to these states over a 25-year period. As a Chicago personal injury lawyer, I was always curious to see how Big Tobacco would be doing a decade later. As it turns out, they are doing just fine.

According to the Centers Disease Control ("CDC"), adverse health effects from cigarette smoking cause an estimated 443,000 deaths in the US or nearly one in five deaths in the US. More deaths are caused by tobacco use than by all deaths from HIV, illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor vehicle accidents, suicides, and murders combined. Ninety percent of all chronic lung diseases are caused by smoking. Ninety percent of lung cancer deaths in men and eighty percent of lung cancer deaths in women are also caused by smoking.

In 1998, the largest US tobacco companies entered into a Master Settlement Agreement ("MSA") with all US states except four (who previously settled with US tobacco companies). The 46 states that signed the MSA sought recovery for massive healthcare expenses incurred by states from tobacco use. In exchange for $206 billion and limitations on marketing practices, the tobacco companies received blanket protection from private personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits for harm caused by tobacco use. Many experts believe shielding these companies from individual lawsuits saved the tobacco industry far more than what they agreed to pay out to the states under the MSA.

Continue reading "How Is Big Tobacco Doing Decade After Major Settlement? " »

Car accidents and other motor vehicle accidents are a leading cause of personal injury and wrongful death in the US. When motor vehicle accidents involve large vehicles such as a bus or truck, the risk of serious injury or death only increases. According to a recent report by the National Transportation Safety Board (or NTSB), the rate of fatal bus accidents is seven times higher for curbside buses than other bus operators. As a Chicago personal injury lawyer, this report reveals a serious danger among curbside bus operators that must be corrected.

There are 360 million bus passengers every year. Most bus operators pick up passengers at traditional, designated bus stops. In contrast, curbside bus operators pick up passengers from street corners, parking lots, and in front of retail stores.
Curbside bus operators have become increasingly popular based, in part, on their cheap fares. However, as with many things in life, cheaper is not always better--particularly when it comes to safety. More than half of curbside bus operator companies have been in business for ten years or less. Most curbside bus companies have 10 buses or less in their fleet. Thus, curbside bus companies are usually less experienced compared to traditional bus operators. According to the NTSB report, new bus companies were more likely to have higher accident rates and roadside inspection violations. Most alarming, the rate of fatal accidents for curbside bus accidents is seven times higher compared to conventional bus operators.

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