What to Look For in a Retirement Home

When you or a loved one are looking for a retirement residence, there are many things to consider. From staff to certifications, it is important to know what the retirement home has and does so that you know you or your loved one will receive the highest quality care.

It is important to ask whether or not the residence accepts medicare or medicaid, as some nursing homes can cost $4,000 per month, or more. The federal government has strict regulations, so finding a home that follows these will guarantee you have the basics covered. Accreditation by the state will give you more guarantees that the home you pick has high quality care.

It is recommended that you interview the home and its administrators. Ask the staff to resident ratio, and how it changes during the day, night, weekend, or during a holiday. Ask what type of certifications the staff has, and pay attention to how they interact with and respond to residents. Security is also important, especially to makes sure those who have certain diseases, like Alzheimer’s, do not get lost.

Knowing how rooms are assigned and arranged will give you an idea of safety. If the person looking for a home has special needs, check into how the home will handle those needs. Overall, look for a place that you feel comfortable and safe.

Lastly, check the results of the inspection reports. Get a recent copy of the inspections, as they occur on an annual basis.

Unfortunately, nursing home abuse and negligence does happen. If you or a loved one have been mistreated in a nursing home, contact a lawyer familiar with elderly personal injury law in the Illinois area.

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Teenager Killed by Stray Bullet

Sadly, stray bullets in Chicago are a frequent occurrence. With 506 homicides in the city in 2012, up significantly from 433 in 2011, it’s no wonder that some innocent people get caught in the fire, according to CNN News. Nineteen-year-old Kevin Ambrose is one of the most recent victims, having been shot walking home just after 11pm on a weeknight, according to the Chicago Tribune. He was hit as “someone fired shots from a light-colored sedan” in Bronzeville, and though he “managed to run through a vacant lot before collapsing in an alley,” he died at Stroger Hospital just after the incident. Ambrose’s mother, Ebony Ambrose, told the Tribune that police told her “whatever happened to my son, he wasn’t a bad kid,” and that he wasn’t the intended target of the shooting. 

And yet despite incidents like this, according to an NPR News report, the murder rate in Chicago is actually on the decline. In March, according to NPR, “16 people were murdered in Chicago compared to 52 in the same month last year,” a 69 percent reduction. Police superintendent Garry McCarthy told NPR that the “March murder rate is actually the lowest it’s been for that month since 1959,” and while police weren’t necessarily declaring victory, “this is certainly progress.” The progress should be treated in context, however—CBS Local News reports that while “2013’s 70 first-quarter homicides was a major improvement over 2012’s 120,” the numbers aren’t an improvement over those for 2009, 2010, or 2011.

Community organizer Veronica Morris-Moore told CNN that addressing gun violence through gun control isn’t necessarily the only option. “What we need to do is address the root of the problem,” she told CNN, “the economic violence on a lot of these kids who don’t have jobs or an education or even something to eat.”

If you or someone you know has been injured in crossfire, you may be eligible for compensation. Don’t go through it alone. Contact a dedicated Chicago personal injury attorney today.

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Three Workers Injured on the Job in Cary

Three people were injured in a fire on March 6 at a paint manufacturing warehouse in northwest suburban Cary, according to a recent story in the Chicago Tribune. Police and firefighters arrived to the scene after reports of explosions and a fire. The firefighters extinguished the fire promptly. However, three workers were injured and had to be taken to local hospitals to be treated. Their injuries were not life-threatening, according to police.

Part of the warehouse was destroyed in the two explosions. The front of the building blew off and a small opening was created in the back. A hazardous materials team and a foam-dispensing unit were dispatched to the warehouse. Jim Hursh, an owner of a crane rental business near the warehouse, said “there was … major smoke coming out of the building.” After the second explosion, he saw a man with burns on his face.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration will investigate the cause of the accident. Fire officials will also investigate what caused the explosions and the fire at the warehouse, police said.

If you or a family member has been injured at work, you are entitled to workers’ compensation. According to Illinois law, employers must compensate, for example, the payment of any medical expenses related to the injury, lost wages for the time the employee cannot work, and any long-term effects of an injury sustained at work.

It is in your best interests to contact a dedicated workers’ compensation lawyer as soon as possible after the injury. Don’t go through it alone. Contact a skilled workers’ comp attorney in Lake County, Illinois today.

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Adults Text More than Teens While Driving

A new study by AT&T has revealed a shocking result. Adults text and drive more than teenagers do. The telecommunications company survey 1000 adults and almost half (49 percent) admitted they were guilty of texting while driving. When teenagers were asked that question, 43 percent admitted doing it.

Almost all of those adults who admitted to texting and driving acknowledged that it was wrong and dangerous. And despite heavy and extensive national campaign against texting and driving and how dangerous it is, sixty percent of those adults said three years ago, they never texted while they were behind the wheel. Reasons that adults gave for ignoring the dangers of texting and driving ranged from it had become a habit, it enabled them to be more productive and let people feel as if they were “staying connected”.

Thirty-nine states and the District of Columbia ban texting while driving for all drivers. Five states prohibit the practice for new drivers. A spokesperson for the National Safety Council, stressing the seriousness of the results of this survey, pointed out there are 10 million teenage drivers on the road, but about 180 million adult drivers on the road.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), each day, an average of nine people are killed and more than 1,060 injured in crashes caused by distracted driving. Researchers at Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that sending or receiving a text takes a driver’s eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds — about as long as it takes to drive the length of a football field at 55 mph. And even more disturbing, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) research has concluded that texting while driving is six times more dangerous than driving drunk.

If you have been injured in a car accident caused by a distracted driver, you should contact an experienced Illinois personal injury attorney to find out what compensation you may be entitled to for pain and loss.

Romeoville woman charged with DUI in fatal crash

According to a recent article in the Chicago Tribune, a Romeoville woman admitted she had indeed been drinking when she fatally struck a man who was standing on the shoulder of Mannheim Road after running out of gas.

The woman is Sheryl Perry, 21. Perry was charged with aggravated DUI involving a death, a felony, and also ticketed for failure to avoid a pedestrian, driving an uninsured vehicle, and illegal transport of alcohol. Up until now, Perry has had no criminal background whatsoever.

The victim of the crash was Mr. Marek Bajson, 49. Bajson was on his way to meet a friend before a ski trip to Colorado. During his trip, however, Bajson’s vehicle ran out of gas and he was forced to pull to the shoulder of North Mannheim Road, which is just east of O’Hare International Airport.

According to Bajson’s longtime friend Zbigniew Banas, “He’d called his friend and was waiting for him to bring some gas.”

Bajson died at the scene of the accident after Perry attempted to pass a slower-moving vehicle by swerving into the shoulder, striking both Bajson and his care. He was propelled more than 30 feet by the impact of Perry’s vehicle.

A friend of Perry had been following her at the time and witnessed the incident. Perry’s windshield shattered and she stopped at the scene. At the time, she smelled strongly of alcohol but, according to an arrest report, she refused to take a breath test at the scene of the crash.

Bajson is a native of Poland, who came to Chicago with his girlfriend, Grazyna Auguscik, almost 20 years ago. Those who new Bajson described him as seeming much younger than his age, that he loved outdoor activities, and that he could discuss artsy movies for hours on end.

A friend of the couple’s, Anna Sobor, said, “He was the personification of living in the moment, always upbeat, smiling, looking at the bright side of things.”

Auguscik, a famous jazz singer, was performing at a series of concerts in Warsaw when she learned of her companion’s death, according to Banas. She will return to Chicago next week in order to complete funeral arrangements.

Car accidents like this can change lives forever. If you or someone you know has been injured in an accident in which the driver of the other vehicle was indeed under the influence of alcohol, you may be entitled to compensation. Contact an experienced Illinois personal injury attorney immediately to represent your case.

Diabetes Drug Actos Increases Bladder Cancer Risk

A number of studies have shown that people who use the diabetes drug Actos (pioglitazone) have an increased risk of developing bladder cancer.

A longitudinal cohort study by Kaiser Permanente Northern California was started in 2002 by the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to assess whether treatment with pioglitazone increases the risk of bladder cancer. The study included almost 200,000 patients in the Kaiser Permanente diabetes registry. A five-year interim analysis suggested that patients who took Actos for more than one year had an increased risk of bladder cancer. It was more likely for men to develop bladder cancer than for women. FDA announced in June, 2011, that “information about this risk would be added to the Warnings and Precautions section of the label for pioglitazone-containing medicines.”

Another study was conducted by the French Medicines Agency in 2006. The findings of the study were parallel to those of the Kaiser Permanente study. It concluded that patients taking Actos are at a higher risk of developing bladder cancer.

Actos remains on the market despite the FDA’s label and insert requirements. Several lawsuits have already been filed against Takeda Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturer of the drug, and many more lawsuits are likely to follow. Actos is the most often prescribed drug in the world for type 2 diabetes. In 2010, it was the 10^th-most prescribed drug in the U.S., which resulted in very high profits for Takeda. The company may face over 10,000 Actos bladder cancer lawsuits.

If you or a family member is suffering because of Actos or a different drug, you should immediately consult with a capable personal injury lawyer. Please contact a knowledgeable defective products attorney in Illinois at once.

Woman Killed in Crash Near Chicago

A motorist crashed into a tree in April in the Medical Village neighborhood on the Near West Side, killing a woman and injuring himself and a four-year-old boy, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The driver had not yet been charged and was listed in very critical condition, but charges were pending providing that the driver recovers from his injuries. According to the Sun-Times, “the wreck happened at 1:50a.m. when the car struck a tree… the vehicle was a white car that came to rest against a Rush Hospital parking structure.” The woman was 25-year-old, and the driver is 23. It’s unclear if the child was theirs, but the child was taken in stable condition to the University of Chicago Corner Children’s Hospital, according to the Sun-Times. Officers from the Major Accident Investigations Unit are looking into possible causes for the deadly crash.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau Statistical Abstract, there were 10,800,000 total motor vehicle accidents in 2009. A whopping 11,600,000 of these were caused by a collision with a fixed object, such as a tree like the one in the Chicago-area accident. The fatality rate in Illinois motor vehicle accidents declined considerably from 1990 to 2009, however—from 1.9 to 0.9 in just 10 years.

If he survives, the driver of the vehicle could face charges of vehicular manslaughter, depending on what evidence turns up in investigation. Involuntary manslaughter (or reckless homicide) is classified as a class 3 felony in Illinois, according to FindLaw. A plausible defense for a charge such as this is that the death was accidental—which could very well be the case in a circumstance like this one.

If you or someone you know has been involved in an injurious accident, you may be eligible for compensation. Don’t go through it alone. Contact a dedicated Illinois personal injury attorney today.

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11-Year-Old Boy Survives After Being Hit By Metra Train

An 11-year-old boy was crossing the train tracks in Barrington, Illinois when he was struck by a Metra train heading into Ogilvie Transportation Center in Chicago.

The boy, a fifth grader at Hough Elementary School was either coming from or going to the Celtic Festival at Cook Street Plaza when he was struck by the Union Pacific Northwest train. According to this article in the Chicago Sun-Times, the boy was waiting for one train to pass at approximately 6:05 p.m. on Friday, March 15, 2013. However, once the first train passed, he didn’t see the second train approaching and started across the tracks.

Jeff Arnett, the chief communications officer for the Barrington 220 school district said it wasn’t clear at the time of the accident if the boy was alone when crossing the tracks just north of Lake Cook Road. He also mentioned to the Chicago Sun-Times that “Few people survive a train accident. He is extremely fortunate and the family is grateful for the outpouring of support since last night.”

The boy was out of critical condition on the next Saturday, but he still faces a long recovery, according to Arnett. Many witnesses to the accident rushed to the scene to tried and help the boy before paramedics arrived. One man grabbed towels from a salon across the street from the Barrington Train Station in order to stop the bleeding.

The Chicago Tribune reported here that after the accident, 10 trains traveling to Chicago, Crystal Lake, and Harvard were delayed up to 90 minutes. No reports were given on the extent of his injuries, or when the boy is expected to be released from the hospital.

Personal injuries can have lasting effects in your life. If you or a family member been the victim of an accident and sustained a personal injury, an experienced attorney can make all the difference in your case. Contact our law firm today to speak with a Lake County lawyer and set up your free initial consultation.

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Senior Driver Crashes into Apple Store Leaving One Person Injured

An elderly man lost control of a vehicle and crashed into the Lincoln Park Apple store on January 13 in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, according to the Chicago Tribune

Witnesses to the driving accident described a surreal scene: a Lincoln Town Car drove through the store’s front doors and stopped about four or five feet inside the store, near display cases holding Apple accessories. Shards of broken glass covered the ground near the crash. Shirley Susman was across the street at the time of the accident. “I heard the screech of brakes, and I turned around and looked across the street and I saw the car — it was heading directly to the Apple Store,” she said. Several people were inside the store. When they saw the car coming, they ran and managed to get out of the car’s way, and fortunately only one person was hurt in the crash.

Accidents can happen at the strangest of places. It is impossible to be prepared for everything, and sometimes you just end up being at the wrong place at the wrong time. If you have become injured due to the negligence of others, you may be entitled to compensation. It is important to consult with an experienced lawyer in order to ensure you receive the compensation due to you. Contact a seasoned personal injury attorney in the Chicago metro area today.

More Defendants may be Added to Wrongful Death Suit

So far, there have been 22 fraternity members named in the wrongful death lawsuit of David Bogenberger late last year. According to the Bureau County Republican, there may be even more names added to the list of defendants.

Bogenberger was a 19 year old student that attended Northern Illinois University located in DeKalb. He was pledging to be a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. There was a “parent’s night” party being held for the 19 pledges at the frat house. Sorority members attended the party and acted as the “mothers”. The party was unsanctioned by the university. There was plenty of alcohol consumption that night. According to law enforcement, Bogenberger was found dead the following day at the fraternity house. Several party goers claimed that they passed out or were very ill as a result of drinking too much alcohol at the party. The lawsuit claims that members of the fraternity laid him on a couch or bed after he passed out from alcohol consumption as opposed to seeking medical attention for him.

The lawsuit has named the national fraternal organization, the university’s chapter of the organization as well as several attendees in the six figure lawsuit. It is speculated that the sorority members that were in attendance may be added to the suit as well as other attendees. The national fraternity did respond by stating that they are not accepting responsibility because they do have very strict rules when it comes to the abuse of alcohol as well as hazing.

If your family has experienced an avoidable loss because of the lack of good judgement exercised by others, you need to contact a caring and experienced Illinois personal injury attorney about the options that you have. There are many options that may be available to you.