A federal wrongful death lawsuit alleging that a community health center failed to properly treat a pregnant mother’s diabetes, resulting in the stillbirth of her son, has been settled for $575,000.

The mother, Ammee Price, filed the lawsuit individually and as special administrator for her deceased son, Christopher E. Price, Jr., pursuant to the Illinois Wrongful Death Act. The mother received treatment at a federally-funded, community-based health center that is a public health service agency of the United States. The United States was the defendant in the case, which was filed in accordance with the Federal Tort Claims Act.

The complaint alleged that the health center failed to appropriately counsel the plaintiff regarding the risks of hyperglycemia and pregnancy, failed to appropriately treat her diabetes, failed to order and provide Non-Stress Testing and biophysical profiles for the well-being of the fetus, failed to appreciate and respond to the mother’s poor glycemic control, and/or failed to schedule an earlier delivery date based on the mother’s poor glucose control, and that these failures resulted in her child’s stillbirth at 38 weeks gestation on August 23, 2009.

The lawsuit sought damages for the mother’s pecuniary loss, grief, sorrow, and mental anguish; loss of her son’s love, affection and society; and funeral and burial expenses.

The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois in East St. Louis, which approved the settlement.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago wrongful death lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

Posted in Personal Injury, Wrongful Death
Tags: Ammee Price, Federal Tort Claims Act, Illinois Wrongful Death Act, Non Stress Testing, United States, wrongful death | No Comments »

The company that owns the school bus involved in a recent fatal collision north of Chicago has been involved in a number of personal injury lawsuits. The accident has also focused attention on the dangerous intersection where the collision took place, and on the question of whether seat belts should be required for school buses.

The accident occurred April 5 in Lake County, when a school bus collided with a Jeep Cherokee and a Jeep Wrangler at an intersection near Wadsworth. The driver of the Jeep Wrangler was killed; none of the school children had serious injuries. There is a dispute as to whether the bus ran a red light. According to reports, the bus driver is 55 years of age and has been a licensed bus driver for 10 years, with a clean driving record.

According to a report by CBS 2, Durham School Services, the company that owns the bus involved in the accident, has been named as a defendant in three personal injury lawsuits in the past two years. A settlement was reached in one case and the other two are pending. Durham School Services said that safety is the company’s top priority and the company will cooperate fully with authorities investigating the accident.

Public attention has also been brought to the intersection where the accident occurred: the corner of Kilbourne Road and Route 173 near Wadsworth in suburban Lake County. According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, between 2004 and 2011, 53 accidents took place at the intersection, with a total of 24 people injured and one killed. It is described as a “high-severity crash” intersection. Traffic lights were installed just last year with the goal of improving safety.

Meanwhile, although the school children on board the bus escaped with only minor injuries, the accident has spurred renewed calls for mandatory seat belts on school buses. State Rep. Lou Lang, a Skokie Democrat, has pushed for new school buses to be equipped with shoulder and lap belts for students. Lang has been working for such legislation for 10 years, with little success.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), school buses are one of the safest transportation methods for school kids. The chance of a fatal crash for children is 60 times greater if they are driving themselves to school or riding with a friend, and riding with parents is still much more dangerous than riding a school bus. The sheer size of school buses allows the force of a crash to be dispersed, and occupants are protected by closely-spaced, heavily padded seats.

Bob Briskman is a Chicago vehicle accident attorney with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

Posted in News and Press, Personal Injury, Wrongful Death
Tags: CBS, Durham School Services, Jeep Wrangler, Lake County, Skokie Democrat, State Rep | No Comments »

A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against a Belleville doctor for allegedly prescribing an improper pain medication that caused a patient’s death.

The lawsuit was filed on February 1 in St. Clair County Circuit Court by Nanette Stein, daughter of Lena Williams and special administrator of her estate.

The complaint alleges that Williams received treatment in March of 2012 at the Southern Illinois Brain and Spine Center and was prescribed Fentanyl transdermal, a pain medication in patch form that is designed to deliver 50 micrograms of the drug per hour. According to the lawsuit, Williams suffered a heart attack and died two days after beginning the medication. Stein alleges that an excessive dose of Fentanyl caused the heart attack.

The complaint alleges negligence and wrongful death and seeks damages in excess of $300,000 for medical expenses and other costs.

According to a report by the Institute of Medicine, errors regarding medication are among the most common mistakes made by medical personnel, resulting in injuries to at least 1.5 million people annually. Medical errors on the whole are estimated to cause between 44,000 and 98,000 preventable fatalities per year in the United States, with 7,000 of these deaths resulting from medication errors.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago wrongful death attorney and Chicago wrongful death lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

Posted in Wrongful Death
Tags: Briskman Briskman Greenberg, chicago wrongful death attorney, chicago wrongful death lawyer, Lena Williams, personal injury attorney, personal injury lawyer, United States, wrongful death | No Comments »

The parents of a student at Northern Illinois University (NIU) who died during a fraternity initiation party have filed a wrongful death lawsuit blaming the fraternity and its members for his death. The lawsuit alleges that fraternity members made the new pledge drink dangerous amounts of alcohol and then took no action when he lost consciousness.

The morning after a November 1, 2012 initiation party, David Bogenberger’s body was found in the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity house. Bogenberger, a 19-year-old graduate of Palatine High School near Chicago, had a blood alcohol level nearly five times the legal limit.

The lawsuit also names 22 fraternity members as defendants, all of whom also face criminal charges. Five fraternity leaders have been charged with felony hazing.

Gary Bogenberger, David’s father, filed the lawsuit, alleging that leaders of the fraternity’s local chapter required new pledges to drink dangerous amounts of alcohol as a condition of membership.

The lawsuit claims that the Pi Kappa Alpha national organization failed to ensure that its chapters were properly warned about the dangers of excessive drinking and failed to make sure that the Eta Nu chapter was adhering to the fraternity’s policies on hazing.

The lawsuit was filed in Cook County Circuit Court and requests unspecified damages.

According to experts, there have been over 100 total recorded deaths due to hazing, and 82 percent of hazing deaths involve alcohol.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago wrongful death attorney and Chicago wrongful death lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

Posted in Wrongful Death
Tags: chicago wrongful death attorney, chicago wrongful death lawyer, Cook County Circuit Court, David Bogenberger, Eta Nu, Gary Bogenberger, Palatine High School, personal injury attorney, personal injury lawyer, Pi Kappa Alpha, wrongful death | No Comments »

Medical malpractice can result in many types of birth injuries, with one of the most common being complications from hyperbilirubinemia, otherwise known as jaundice. Jaundice is usually treated easily, but if it is not properly diagnosed and treated, it can lead to other birth injuries, such as brain damage or loss of hearing.

Jaundice is caused by too much bilirubin in the blood. When old blood cells are broken down, bilirubin is a waste product. In a healthy adult, bilirubin is eliminated by the liver and digestive system, but a newborn’s undeveloped liver is not always able to remove all the bilirubin from the blood, resulting in jaundice.

Individuals with jaundice often have a yellow color in the eyes and skin, and newborns should be checked for jaundice in the hospital every 8 to 12 hours after birth. Jaundice is usually treated with a special light that converts the structure of bilirubin in a way that makes it easier for the body to eliminate. A doctor’s failure to properly detect and treat jaundice can result in serious birth injuries and can be considered medical malpractice.

In 2009, the family of a baby girl who suffered from jaundice was awarded a $1.5 million settlement in a medical malpractice case. The baby had high bilirubin levels and received light therapy, but medical personnel did not provide follow-up testing until two days later, at the insistence of the mother. By that time, the bilirubin levels were three times above the acceptable level. The girl has speech problems and permanent hearing loss.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago birth injury lawyer and Chicago birth injury attorney with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

Posted in Medical Malpractice, News and Press, Wrongful Death
Tags: Briskman Briskman Greenberg, chicago birth injury, chicago birth injury attorney, chicago birth injury lawyer, Chicago injury lawyer, Chicago medical malpractice, Chicago medical malpractice attorney, Chicago medical malpractice attorneys | No Comments »

High-tech sensors are being used inside helmets to protect soldiers and professional athletes from work injuries such as traumatic brain injuries. The sensors measure the impact from blows to the head and check for consequences.

The U.S. government awarded a $17 million contract to BAE Supply for its Headborne Energy Analysis and Diagnostic Systems (HEADS), to measure data on head injuries. The credit-card size sensors are placed on the helmets that soldiers wear in combat to measure blast pressure, the duration of any impact, ambient temperature, the timing of single or multiple blasts, and linear and angular acceleration.

Brain injuries are one of the most serious injuries affecting soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the armed services can use the sensor technology to identify individuals who may need medical assistance for potential injuries. The data can also be used to make improvements in protective gear.

Similar sensors are being used in professional and amateur sports, to protect players from concussions. One sensor, the Shockwave, was developed by Illinois high school hockey coach Tim Johannes. The Shockwave can be calibrated to an individual player, testing for motor skill and balance. The clear sensor attaches to the back of a player’s helmet and turns red after a hard hit.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), there are approximately 1.7 million traumatic brain injuries each year.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago brain injury lawyer and brain injury attorney with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

Posted in Medical Malpractice, Personal Injury, Wrongful Death
Tags: brain injuries, brain injury in chicago, chicago brain injury, chicago brain injury attorney, chicago brain injury lawyer | No Comments »

A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed by the father of a man killed by an alleged drunk driver, claiming that the man who caused the death had been served alcohol at the Madison County Fairgrounds before the crash.

The lawsuit was filed in Madison County Circuit Court by William H. Dittmar, as representative of the estate of William E. Dittmar, naming as defendants the Helvetia Sharpshooters Society, Shaw’s Shack Inc. and Madison County.

The lawsuit claims that the deceased was a passenger in a car driven by Ryan Junker who, while allegedly under the influence of alcohol, crashed the vehicle in Highland, on Ellis Road, killing Dittmar.

The complaint alleges that the Helvetia Sharpshooters ran a booth at the Madison County Fair that served alcohol to Junker prior to the accident and that Junker also drank that day at Shaw’s Shack in Jamestown.

According to the complaint, the defendants violated Illinois’ Dram Shop Act and are responsible for Dittmar’s death. The lawsuit requests more than $100,000 in damages.

Illinois allows plaintiffs to recover under the Dram Shop Act if they are able to demonstrate that the defendant sold alcohol to a patron, that the sale was the proximate cause of the intoxication of the patron and that the intoxication was a cause of damages suffered by the plaintiff.

Bob Briskman is a wrongful death attorney and Chicago wrongful death lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

Posted in Personal Injury, Wrongful Death
Tags: chicago wrongful death attorney, chicago wrongful death lawyer, personal injury attorney, personal injury lawyer, wrongful death | No Comments »

Governor Pat Quinn signed a bill into law that will standardize attorney’s fees in medical malpractice cases. While the new law will allow attorneys to charge up to one-third of the plaintiff’s award, the fees are capped at that amount and attorneys are not permitted to petition the court for additional fees. The Illinois Trial Lawyers’ Association supported the bill.

The new law brings the rules regarding attorney’s fees in medical malpractice cases in line with those in other types of lawsuits. Under the previous law, plaintiffs’ attorneys in medical malpractice cases could seek only one-third of the first $150,000 of an award, one-quarter of the next $850,000 and one-fifth of any award over $1 million. However, attorneys could also petition the court for fees up to 50 percent of the award.

Under the new law, plaintiffs’ attorneys in medical malpractice cases may seek one-third of the total award, and may not seek additional fees. The law was passed by the state legislature for the most part along party lines, with Democratic lawmakers supporting the bill and Republicans opposing it. The law went into effect on January 18.

Governor Quinn’s office released a statement saying that the new law would provide certainty and consistency for both attorneys and the victims of medical malpractice, and that the awarding of additional compensation had been eliminated.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer and Chicago medical malpractice attorney with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

Posted in Medical Malpractice, Personal Injury, Wrongful Death
Tags: Chicago medical malpractice, Chicago medical malpractice attorney, Chicago medical malpractice attorneys, chicago medical malpractice lawyer, Chicago medical malpractice lawyers, Chicago personal injury attorney, Chicago personal injury lawyer, Illinois medical malpractice attorney, Illinois medical malpractice attorneys, Illinois medical malpractice lawyer, Illinois medical malpractice lawyers, medical malpractice attorney in Chicago, medical malpractice attorneys in Chicago | No Comments »

Toyota said that the company has settled the first lawsuit out of hundreds of wrongful death cases involving unintended acceleration.

The agreement was reached in a case filed by the family of Charlene Jones Lloyd and Paul Van Alfen. The two were killed when the Toyota Camry they were driving ran into a wall in 2010.

The Van Alfen lawsuit was supposed to be the first to go to trial and provide information to help resolve the hundreds of remaining cases. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

Toyota said that it may choose to settle certain cases and take others to trial to “defend our product.” The company said it sympathized with anyone involved in an accident in a Toyota vehicle, but that its system for electronically controlling the throttle had been evaluated by independent investigators and found to be safe.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Toyota has settled another case, filed by a retired police officer in Los Angeles under the California “lemon law.”

Last month, Toyota reached an agreement to settle hundreds of lawsuits with claims of economic losses, for more than $1 billion. Those lawsuits came about after Toyota recalled millions of vehicles.

Toyota previously settled a wrongful death case for $10 million before the consolidation of the current lawsuits took place. In that case, an officer with the California Highway Patrol and three family members lost their lives after their Lexus, a Toyota product, accelerated to 120 mph in suburban San Diego, striking a vehicle, rolling several times and catching fire. It was determined during an investigation that the accelerator was trapped by a floor mat of the incorrect size.

Bob Briskman is a car accident lawyer and Chicago auto accident attorney with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

Posted in Personal Injury, Wrongful Death
Tags: chicago car accident attorney, chicago car accident lawyer, Chicago injury lawyer, Chicago personal injury attorney, Chicago personal injury lawyer, chicago wrongful death attorney, chicago wrongful death lawyer | No Comments »

wrongful death lawsuit has been filed by the family of a man who died after surgery to repair a hernia.

Jiries Hattar underwent surgery on December 15, 2005 at Advocate Christ Medical Center and afterward experienced abdominal pain and vomiting, as well as other adverse symptoms. According to the lawsuit, a physician’s assistant failed to report those symptoms to a doctor in a timely manner, even after the symptoms became severe in the early morning hours after the operation.

The lawsuit was filed February 5, 2013 in Cook County Circuit Court. The hospital, Midwest Surgical Group, a surgeon and the physician’s assistant are named in the lawsuit.

According to the lawsuit, the hospital was not adequately staffed with medical personnel that were properly trained in post-operative care. The complaint also alleges that Hattar’s inflammation of the colon was not diagnosed quickly enough. This condition, which contributed to Hattar’s death, may have been the effect of antibiotics that he was taking prior to the surgery. The lawsuit claims that, given these conditions, the surgeon should have postponed the operation.

Hattar was a resident of Bridgeview, Illinois. He died on December 21, 2005, six days after the operation. He is survived by his wife and two children.

Robert Briskman is a Chicago car accident lawyer and Chicago car accident attorney with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

Posted in Wrongful Death
Tags: Chicago medical malpractice, Chicago medical malpractice attorney, Chicago medical malpractice attorneys, chicago medical malpractice lawyer, Chicago medical malpractice lawyers, Chicago personal injury attorney, Chicago personal injury lawyer, Illinois medical malpractice attorney | No Comments »