Repetitive stress injuries happen quietly. You don’t fall, slip, or get crushed by machinery — instead, your body breaks down from lifting, bending, typing, kneeling, scanning, pulling, twisting, or standing for years. Many Illinois workers aren’t sure whether these injuries qualify as workers’ comp claims. The answer is: often, yes — but the insurance company…
Yes — in most Illinois workers’ compensation cases, you can choose your own doctor.If you are injured at work in Chicago, your employer or its insurance company may tell you that you must treat at a company clinic such as Concentra Medical Center. Under Illinois workers’ compensation law, injured workers generally have the right to…
Do Pedestrians Always Have the Right of Way? It’s a common saying: “Pedestrians always have the right of way.” And while it is true that motorists should always do everything they can to avoid hitting people on foot, there are certain times when Illinois law requires pedestrians to yield to oncoming traffic. In Chicago and…
No, Illinois is not a no-fault car accident state. Illinois follows an at-fault (tort) insurance system, meaning the driver who caused the crash is responsible for paying damages. To recover compensation, injured victims must typically prove the other driver’s negligence. Illinois also applies a modified comparative negligence rule (the 51% rule), which can reduce or…
When someone is assaulted, you might expect that they can file a lawsuit against their assailant for damages. Criminals can be frustratingly good at doing bad things, though, so catching an assailant is not always easy or possible. Yet an unidentified assailant does not mean that the assault victim is out of options for collecting…
If man’s best friend becomes your worst enemy and you suffer a dog bite or attack, what you do afterward will be crucial. Depending on the steps you take after a dog bite, your chances of recovering fair compensation later will increase or decrease, so you want to make certain you are doing the right…
Every defective product case is unique. Even when the same product hurts different people in similar ways, there will be some details to one case that will not be found in the other. Yet there are some essential elements to every product liability claim that must be present in order for the case to be…
The holiday season is the busiest time of year for many industries, including retail, warehousing, delivery, and manufacturing. As workloads increase and winter conditions create additional hazards, workers face a higher risk of injury on the job. Importantly, seasonal and holiday employees have the same rights to workers’ compensation benefits as full-time employees under the…
Sharing the Road with Commercial Trucks: Risks, Accidents, and Liability in Illinois Sharing the road with commercial trucks is part of everyday driving in Illinois. However, because of their size, weight, and limited maneuverability, trucks create risks that are very different from ordinary passenger vehicles. Many serious crashes occur when drivers underestimate how trucks operate…
Whiplash is one of the most common injuries after a rear-end car accident—even when vehicle damage looks minor. The sudden back-and-forth motion of the head and neck can strain muscles and ligaments, irritate nerves, and trigger headaches, dizziness, and chronic pain. Because symptoms often appear hours or days later, getting medical care and documenting your…
Across the United States, the summertime has always been the best months of the year to go on a road trip, visit relatives in other states, and just spend more time outside of your own town. Even during the coronavirus pandemic, people are still planning ways to escape their normal routines throughout July and August….
Construction work is consistently ranked among the most dangerous occupations in the United States, and Chicago construction workers face serious risks every day on job sites throughout the city and surrounding suburbs. Each year, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reports that construction accidents remain among the most frequent and severe workplace injuries nationwide….
June 2020 is National Safety Month, as coordinated by the National Safety Council (NSC). Each year, National Safety Month shares with the country several safety topics that need more attention. This year, the focus is put mostly on the workplace and how everyone can be safer and healthier at work. Pay Attention to Your Mental…
What Are Your Next Steps Following a Car Accident Resulting in Death? Losing a loved one in a fatal car accident is a truly harrowing experience that no one can imagine experiencing, yet it happens nearly 100 times a day across the country. To make the difficulty of trying to grieve and collect oneself after…
2020 is a year of big changes around the globe, including right here in Chicago. The city recently updated its traffic safety laws through a number of new measures. A few of the legal updates that you should know about are: School bus fines: Illegally passing a school bus can be fined anywhere between $300…
