Illinois Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

Effective Jan 1, 2009, more than 100 new state laws will go into effect including long awaited ethics and contracting reforms, better tracking for offenders who have violated domestic violence orders of protection and stronger legislation for targeting intoxicated drivers.

According to State Senator Tim Bivens (R-Dixon), the most important piece of legislation approved is the "Pay to Play" bill 824, which bans state contractors from contributing to campaigns for statewide office holders who may be responsible for awarding contracts.
Contracts over $50,000 or more are subject to the ban.

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Roger Walburg, 52, pleased guilty to three counts of reckless homicide 28 years after being involved in a car-train accident that left three people dead.

In June 1980, Walburg, was driving a car which was carrying three acquaintances when he went he went around lowered gates at a railroad crossing in Villa Park, IL. The car he was driving was struck by an oncoming commuter train.

Walburg was scene running and stumbling from the accident scene. He was treated at Elmhurst Memorial Hospital for injuries consistent with being in a car crash.

Walburg fled the state and settled in Oklahoma where he was living under the alias, Jason Bowling.

Former Villa Park police detective, Norman Hall, continued to investigate the accident over the past 28 years and had enough evidence to have an arrest warrant issued in September 2008.

Walburg will be sentenced in January where he faces up to 4 years in prison. The sentencing includes a maximum of 3 years for the reckless homicides and 1 year for violating his original bond. The judge legally must use 1980 sentencing guidelines which were less harsh than today's guidelines for similar crimes.

Today a reckless homicide charge which involved more than one victim would mean a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.

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Four of Illinois' High Court justices have been asked to withdraw from hearing an appeal involving the high profile law firm of Corboy & Demetrio.

The family of a Georgia woman who was killed in an auto accident in 1995, is suing Corboy & Demetrio alleging they mishandled a lawsuit brought on behalf of the women's two children.

The motion states that Chief Justice Thomas Fitzgerald, Justices Anne Burke, Charles Greeman and Robert Thomas, were all recipients of donations from some members of the Corboy as well as two of their experts in the car crash case.

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The Illinois State Supreme Court will decide on a ruling by a trial judge in 2007 which invalidated the state's caps on non-economic jury awards to $500,000 for physicians and $1million for hospitals.

The Supreme Court justices heard oral arguments on November 13 in a consitutional challenge of the 2005 law.

According to the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, the "one-size-fits-all" cap is unfair to patients who suffered from injury due to the malpractice of a doctor or a hospital.

Limits in medical malpractice cases and personal injury cases were thrown out in 1997 and 1976.

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The estate of Janice DiCosolo, 38, was awarded more than $16.5 million Monday by a Cook County jury. DiCosolo was using a prescribed pain patch which lead to her death on Feb. 15, 2004.

Alza Corp. and Janssen Pharmaceuticals, manufactured and distributed the patch.

According to her attorney, F. John Cushing, DiCosolo's physician prescribed the patch. DiCosolo was suffering from regional pain syndrome. The patch was supposed to release the medication gradually over a period of three days. Instead, the patch delivered a lethal dose of fentanyl into DiCosolo's system at a rate of 16 times higher than it should have.

Fentanyl is a powerful opiate which is often used in prescribed pain medications.

According to a news realease, Alza Corp and Janssen recalled the patch a day after DiCosolo's death.

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A CTA bus was rear-ended this morning at the intersection of Roosevelt Road and Blue Island Avenue, injuring 20 people. Another car reportedly careened off the road to avoid the crash and drove into a fence.

Passengers were taken to area hospitals with non-life threatening injuries. Also injured in the accident were the driver of the two other vehicles. The driver of the car that rear-ended the bus was reported to be in serious condition.

According to CTA spokesperson, Katelyn Thrall, the bus was stopped at the intersection. At the time of the collision, there were 30 passengers on the bus. The driver was also injured.

Police do not know why the driver crashed into the back of the bus.

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The leading cause of death for Americans under the age of 44 used to be disease. Thanks to modern medicine, that's no longer the case. The leading cause of deaths in Americans under 44 years of age: accidents. And it's accidental poisonings that have increased the most.

Since 2003, more people have died from accidental poisoning (except for those killed in motor vehicle accidents) than any other form of unintentional death. More Americans between the ages of 35-60 are killed from accidental poisoning than from motor vehicle accidents. The gap narrows every year. In Massachusetts, the leading cause of unintentional deaths in 2005 was accidental poisoning.

The Center for Disease Control sites prescription drugs as the leading cause of accidental poisoning. "The combined evidence seems to indicated that the increase in poisoning mortality is primarily among adults (20-64) of both sexes, and is mainly attributable to abuse of opioid analgesics," says the CDC report.

As alarming as the poisoning epidemic is, falls, suffocation, drowning and car accidents are all on the list of the leading causes of accidental deaths.

Forbes.com and the National Safety Council, ranked US cities by per-capita rates of accidental death for the 10 leading causes of unintentional death in 2004. With 2004 being the most recent date available. the rates for accidental deaths does not change substantially from year to year. However, deaths from accidental poisonings have increased so much that Forbes.com used a limited amount of data available from 2006 rather than using the 2004 which was dated.

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On May 8, 2006, Alinda Rust filed a lawsuit in Madison County Circuit Court, against VIP Manor In Wood River, Illinois alleging medical malpractice in the care of her mother, Viola Baehler. According to the lawsuit, Baehler suffered from dehydration, malnutrition and sepsis. Baehler was aresident at VIP Manor from May 12, 2004 up until her death on Sept 20, 2004.

Madison County's rule on mandatory mediation in medical malpractice cases was instrumental in the two sides reacing a settlement and avoiding a lengthy trial. The Illinois Supreme Court approved the rule in June of 2007 and the rule was implemented in September 2007. Madison County was the first in Illinois counties, to make mediation mandatory in medical malpractice cases.

The rule is unique in that it allows for the parties to choose between a judge or lawyer to act as mediators in the their case. The rule also sets restrictions on motions to dismiss involving certificates of merit.

On February 7, Madison County Chief Judge Ann Callis assigned the case to Associate Judge Ralph Mendelsohn to mediate.

If the two sides were unable to reach a compromise during the mediation, a jury trial would have started October 14. The terms of the settlement were sealed and and disclosed.

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Josh Villa, 29, was in a coma for more than a year as a result of a traumatic brain injury. Doctors felt that nothing more could be done to awaken him. As a last resort, doctors enrolled Mr. Villa in a six week study in which an electromagnetic coil was used to stimulate his brain tissue. The coil was held over the front of his head.

In the beginning there was very liitle change in Mr. Villa's condition. After undergoing 15 sessions, he began to show improvement. The coil, was used to exite brains cells in the right pre-frontal dorsolateral cortex. This part of the brain is strongly connected to the brain stem. The brain stem sends out uplses to the rest of the brain that tell it to pay attention.

Mr. Villa, for now, is being care for at his home. He is speaking simple words. Hs mother, Laurie McAndrews of Rockford, Illinos who has been taking care of him, says "You started talking to him and he would turn his head and look at you. That was huge."

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An 18 year old west suburban teenager was allowed to operate commuter trains carrying passengers and boasted about it on MySpace. The incidents occurred numerous times and the teen posted picture images of himself operating the train on Flickr, an image and video hosting site. Someone contacted Metra after seeing the images on MySpace.

Three Metra engineers have been suspended for allegedly allowing the teen to enter the cab of the locomotive. An investigative hearing is set for early next month. Officials would not comment on what action would be taken if the engineers were found guilty.

Judy Pardonnet said that Metra is taking the allegations very seriously. “We have met with union officials and told them that we expect them to respond appropriately if these allegations are substantiated.

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On Tuesday, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced a recall of 1.6 million cribs made by Delta Enterprise. The recall covered the Delta drop-side cribs sold in the US between 1995 to 2007.

The cribs resulted in the deaths of two 8 month old infants. The drop side detached from the frame creating a gap. The children fell through the gap, got stuck and suffocated.

The CPSC, recognizing that the current system of voluntary setting safety standards, has not been successful, is now pushing to establish tougher standards for the manufacturing of the cribs and other children’s products.

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A civil lawsuit was filed last month in Cook County against the county seeking damages for the family of Nicholas Grossi, 25, of Addision, who committed suicide in the Cook County jail. Grossi who had a little more than a week left in the facility, tied his bed sheet to the top bunk and tied the other end around his neck, then sat on the floor, obstructing his airway and taking his own life.

Grossi's family says that Grossi suffered from clinical depression, and was taking Xanax prior to his arrest. Grossi who was serving a two week sentence on drug charges, was not allowed by Cook County jail officials to take his medications. Grossi's family contacted officials on Dec. 31, 2007 telling them that Grossi needed his medication. Grossi was found dead less than 24 hours later

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