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Babies are born every day in hospitals throughout the United States, but while childbirth is a common procedure, it is one that requires extreme care on the part of medical professionals. Newborn babies are especially vulnerable to injuries and infections, and if mistakes are made by doctors or nurses during labor and delivery, both mothers and children can experience serious injuries. If your family has been affected by a birth injury, an experienced attorney can help you determine whether medical malpractice occurred and work with you to recover compensation.

A trust is a legal agreement created by the owner of assets or property that designates an individual (a trustee) to manage the assets and distribute them to the beneficiaries named in the trust. Assets can be distributed either during the life of the person who creates the trust (known as the grantor) or after their death. In many cases, a grantor chooses to pass their assets to relatives or close friends; however, some may also wish to support a cause they believe in by naming a charity as a beneficiary. In these cases, charitable trusts can be used, and they typically fall into one of two categories: charitable lead trusts and charitable remainder trusts.

As the weather warms up during the spring, more and more people will begin to travel using motorcycles. Unfortunately, the increased number of motorcycles on Illinois’ roads means that more motorcycle accidents are likely to occur. May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, and during this time, drivers are encouraged to share the road safely with motorcycles.

Unfortunately, many drivers fail to protect the safety of motorcyclists. Negligence by drivers of cars or trucks can be incredibly dangerous for cyclists, and collisions between motorcycles and other vehicles are likely to lead to serious or fatal injuries. While motorcyclists can take steps to protect their own safety by wearing a helmet and driving as safely as possible, they are often injured through no fault of their own. Some common forms of driver negligence that can result in severe motorcycle accident injuries include:

- Failure to notice motorcycles - Due to the small size of motorcycles, drivers often do not see them, and this can lead them to collide with a motorcycle when changing lanes or making turns. Drivers should always check their mirrors and blind spots and keep a close eye on all vehicles around them, and failure to do so is considered negligence.

- Failure to respect right of way - A significant percentage of motorcycle accidents take place at intersections, and they often occur because drivers do not follow the traffic laws regarding right of way. In some cases, drivers may not realize the speed at which a motorcycle is traveling, or their view of a motorcycle may be obstructed by obstacles or other vehicles. Regardless of the reason, dangerous collisions can occur when a driver illegally pulls out or turns in front of a motorcycle.

- Distracted driving - When a driver takes their eyes off the road, their hands off the steering wheel, or their attention away from driving, they greatly increase the chances of an accident. Some common distractions include using a cell phone to make calls or send texts, adjusting the radio or environmental controls, attending to children in the car, and eating or drinking. These activities can be especially dangerous when driving around motorcycles, since a momentary lapse in attention can cause a driver to be completely unaware of a nearby motorcycle.

- Drunk driving - When a driver is intoxicated by alcohol or drugs, their vision, coordination, judgment, and reflexes are all negatively affected. This can cause them to be unable to react in time to avoid colliding with a motorcycle.

Contact a Buffalo Grove Personal Injury Lawyer

If you have been injured in a motorcycle collision, it is likely that a negligent driver was at fault. At Drost, Gilbert, Andrew & Apicella, LLC, our Inverness motorcycle accident attorneys can help you pursue compensation from those who were responsible for your injuries, and we will fight to ensure that you receive the financial resources you need. To arrange a free consultation, contact us today by calling 847-934-6000.

About the Author: Attorney Ken Apicella is a founding partner of DGAA focusing in the areas of personal injury, employment, insurance coverage disputes, and civil litigation. Ken earned his J.D. from DePaul University College of Law in 1999. He has been named a SuperLawyers Rising Star and a Forty Illinois Attorneys Under Forty to Watch. Ken has written and lectured for the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education and regularly serves as a moderator at Northwest Suburban Bar Association's Continuing Legal Education seminars.

Sources:
https://www.trafficsafetymarketing.gov/get-materials/motorcycle-safety
https://www.nhtsa.gov/road-safety/motorcycle-safety

As parents, we go to extraordinary lengths to keep our children safe, and we expect others to do so as well. The manufacturers of children’s products should take care to ensure that these items are safe for children and parents to use, and there are a multitude of laws in regulations in place that are meant to keep dangerous products from entering the market. Unfortunately, some companies fail to follow these regulations, or they commit oversights when rushing a product to market, and as a result, defective or dangerous products are sold to consumers.

Since children are especially vulnerable to harm, they can suffer serious injuries because of defective toys, clothes, baby care products, child safety products, and much more. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) regulates most children’s products in the United States, and when dangerous products are discovered, the CPSC may require the company to recall the product.

Some recent recalls of children’s products include:

- Rocking infant sleepers - Two manufacturers have recalled all models of their infant rocking sleeper beds. Multiple babies died of suffocation after rolling onto their stomachs because they were not properly restrained while in these sleepers.
- Child bed canopies - A light-up canopy for children’s beds was recalled because the lights could overheat and cause the canopy to catch on fire, leading to serious burn injuries.
- Wooden toys - Multiple types of toys made of wood were recalled, because they contained small parts that could come loose and present a choking hazard for children.
- Clothing - Clothing manufacturers have recalled children’s sleepwear and bathrobes because they did not meet standards for flammability, causing the risk of serious burn injuries for children. Other types of clothing, such as jackets, snowsuits, and shoes, were recalled because of choking hazards from zippers or other components that could become detached.
- Bed rails - One company recalled portable rails for children’s beds because they could cause entrapment and suffocation for children.
- High chairs - One manufacturer recalled convertible high chairs because the legs could become detached, causing fall injuries that could result in brain injuries, broken bones, or dislocated joints for children.
- Baby carriers - A child carrier was recalled because of a defective clip that could cause dangerous fall injuries for babies.
- Bath seats - A support seat to use while bathing infants was recalled because it did not meet the standards for stability. The seats presented a drowning hazard because they could tip over, or a child could slip out of the supports.
- Playground equipment - Some playground parts have been recalled because gaps in railings or handholds are too large, presenting a risk of entrapment and strangulation for children.

Contact a Rolling Meadows Product Liability Lawyer

If your child has been injured while using a defective or dangerous product, the attorneys at Drost, Gilbert, Andrew & Apicella, LLC can help you understand your options for pursuing compensation from a negligent product manufacturer. We will fully investigate the circumstances of the injury and determine whether can recover damages because the product had a design defect or manufacturing defect or because the proper instructions or warnings were not provided. To schedule a free consultation, contact our Barrington personal injury attorneys at 847-934-6000.

About the Author: Attorney Ken Apicella is a founding partner of DGAA focusing in the areas of personal injury, employment, insurance coverage disputes, and civil litigation. Ken earned his J.D. from DePaul University College of Law in 1999. He has been named a SuperLawyers Rising Star and a Forty Illinois Attorneys Under Forty to Watch. Ken has written and lectured for the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education and regularly serves as a moderator at Northwest Suburban Bar Association's Continuing Legal Education seminars.

Sources:
https://www.fatherly.com/gear/product-recalls-what-parents-should-know/
https://www.safekids.org/product-recalls
https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls

A power of attorney is one of the most basic, and yet most important, legal protections that every adult should have. A power of attorney (POA) is a legal document that gives another person the authority to act in your place when you cannot be physically present yourself or if you become incapacitated. There are two types of POA, for property and for healthcare. A power of attorney for property authorizes a designated person to handle your financial affairs, while a power of attorney for healthcare empowers your named representative to make medical decisions on your behalf. 

When Is the Right Time to Create a Power of Attorney?

Imagine that you are struck tomorrow by a catastrophic accident or sudden incapacitating illness. If you are married, your spouse should have access to your financial resources to pay for your medical care and the right to make medical decisions on your behalf. But consider what would happen if you are not married or if your spouse is incapacitated at the same time you are. Do you think your immediate family members would agree on who should take charge of your financial affairs and make medical decisions for you? Having a POA in place will head off disputes that could cause long-term rifts in a family.

Young adults often assume that their parents will be able to step in and handle everything in such an event. However, once you turn 18, your parents do not necessarily have the legal authority to access your medical records and bank accounts and to make healthcare and financial decisions on your behalf. 

Similarly, adults with aging parents may assume they can step in at any time and take over their parents’ affairs. However, why leave it to chance? Do you really want siblings fighting over who is going to take charge? Instead, encourage your aging relatives to sign powers of attorney while they are still competent to make that choice. The POA can be a first step toward creating a comprehensive will and estate plan.

What Does a Power of Attorney for Property Do?

You can create a very limited power of attorney document for a specific situation, such as authorizing your lawyer to handle a real estate closing for you when you cannot be present in person. More commonly, the purpose is much broader. A power of attorney document will specify a list of decisions that your designated representative can make on your behalf, such as selling your home; trading stocks, bonds, and other investments; collecting Social Security and other retirement benefits on your behalf; paying bills from your checking account; managing a trust account; and filing your tax returns.

What Does a Power of Attorney for Healthcare Do?

When you prepare a POA for healthcare, you can specify the powers that your designated representative will have and when those powers will take effect. The medical topics covered in a healthcare POA may include:

When a drunk driver seriously injures another person, the injured person can sue the drunk driver for compensation under Illinois’ personal injury laws. If the at-fault driver became intoxicated in a bar, the injured person may also sue the owner of that bar under state liquor liability laws, also known as dram shop laws. 

What Are Dram Shop Laws?

When a bar serves enough liquor to a patron to cause their intoxication, dram shop laws make the bar owner strictly liable to any person injured by the intoxicated patron. 

What Is the Illinois Liquor Liability Law?

Illinois is one of 38 U.S. states with dram shop laws. The Illinois Liquor Control Act (235 ILCS 5/6-21) states that anyone who is injured in Illinois by an intoxicated person can sue the establishment responsible for that person’s intoxication. That is, the injured person can sue the bar that sold or gave alcoholic beverages to the intoxicated person. 
 
The intoxicated person himself, however, cannot sue the liquor-serving establishment for injuries to himself or his own property, nor can their family make a claim for the loss of the intoxicated person’s support or society.

The Liquor Control Act also specifies limits on the amount of damages that an injured person can claim. These limits are updated annually based on inflation. For incidents occurring on or after January 20, 2019, the maximum compensation is $70,091.09 per person injured. The injured person’s immediate family can also claim loss of support or loss of society up to a maximum of $85,666.89. Each establishment holding a liquor sales license is required to have liquor liability insurance of at least $225,849.07.

What Do You Have to Prove to Win a Liquor Liability Case?

If you have been injured in a car crash caused by a drunk driver, you will need to prove three key points in order to obtain compensation under Illinois’ liquor liability laws:

How many people do you think are injured or killed in car and truck crashes in the U.S. every year? In 2017, motor vehicle collisions injured over 2.7 million people and killed more than 37,000. 

The number of people killed in collisions involving large commercial trucks or semi-trailers rose 16% from 2016 to 2017, and the number of people injured rose 9%. In addition, the total number of large trucks involved in crashes rose 4% in 2017, while the total number of every other type of vehicle, from cars to motorcycles, declined.

When Illinois residents buy and sell homes, their real estate agents and lawyers generally use a standard form for the sales agreement, the 13-page multi-board residential real estate contract. The latest version, 7.0, should be used for all transactions initiated after March 1, 2019. It contains several important changes that make the contract easier to use than the 6.1e version that has been in use since 2015. 

Significant Changes in Real Estate Contract 7.0 versus 6.1e

The changes to the contract are mainly intended to help reduce errors and misunderstandings amongst all parties involved in a real estate sale. The most important changes that buyers, sellers, and real estate agents should be aware of are:

- Inspection contingency: Subparagraph (a) of the inspection paragraph has been rewritten to prevent buyers from demanding minor repairs. It now specifically states that minor repairs “shall not be a basis for the buyer to cancel” the contract. In addition, the seller can now terminate the contract and return the buyer’s earnest money if the buyer asks for repairs or credits unrelated to the major components of the property. 

- Financing contingency: The old Mortgage Contingency paragraph has been replaced by a Financing paragraph with a choice of three options: mortgage contingency, cash transaction with no mortgage, or cash transaction with mortgage allowed. The deadline for the buyer to serve notice that they did not get the specified mortgage is now fixed at either 45 days after acceptance or five business days before closing, whichever is earlier.

- Property tax representations: Two new seller representations have been added to the contract to better inform buyers about a home’s future property taxes. First, sellers must indicate if there are any home improvements that have not yet been assessed for property tax purposes, such as an addition or a new garage. Second, sellers must indicate if there have been any property improvements eligible for a home improvement tax exemption. 

- Attorney review: The language of this paragraph has been clarified so that any proposed change to the sales contract that references subparagraph (d) will be deemed a “proposal;” any other change will be deemed a counteroffer. A buyer or seller can void the contract due to disagreement over a counteroffer but not over a proposal. 

- Seller credits at closing: The paragraph stating whether the seller will pay the buyer’s closing costs has been moved from page 10 to page 1, so it is located near the purchase price.

- Fixtures and personal property included: Four more items were added to the list: hardscape, wall-mounted brackets for TV/AV equipment, water softener, and wine/beverage refrigerator.

- Foreign seller disclosure: If the seller is a nonresident alien or foreign corporation, this fact must be disclosed for federal tax reasons. 

Consult a Palatine Real Estate Lawyer

When someone suffers a severe injury due to medical malpractice in Illinois, that person may claim two types of compensation from the medical professional or institution who committed the malpractice: 

Does Illinois Limit the Dollar Amount of Damages for Medical Malpractice?

The question of comparative negligence--sometimes referred to as contributory fault--often arises in an Illinois personal injury lawsuit. If you are seriously injured as the result of another party’s negligence and awarded damages of $100,000, you would expect to receive $100,000. However, under Illinois’ modified comparative negligence law (735 ILCS 5/2-1116), the total amount of compensation you receive will be reduced by the percentage of fault attributed to you, up to 50 percent. For example, if you are awarded $100,000 but found to be 25% at fault for the events which caused your injuries, your award will be reduced to $75,000. If you are assigned more than 50 percent of the blame, you are barred from receiving any compensation.

How Comparative Fault Is Determined Under Illinois Law

Fault is determined based on the evidence and the law. For example, if you are properly stopped at a red light and are rear-ended by a speeding driver, you did not do anything wrong. The driver behind you failed to obey the speed limit and to slow or stop to avoid a collision, so they would be assigned 100 percent of the fault. 

If, however, you were in the process of changing lanes when you collided with a speeding driver, each of you might be assigned part of the fault. You had a duty to make sure the lane was clear before moving into it. The other driver had a duty to obey the speed limit and to slow down to avoid a collision if possible. 

When fault must be apportioned, your attorney will thoroughly study the events leading to your injury. This effort may include reviewing physical evidence, interviewing witnesses, studying police reports, gathering medical records, and consulting with experts. Most commonly, your lawyer and the defendant’s lawyer will discuss the evidence and come to an agreement about the amount of damages and the division of fault. If no agreement can be reached through negotiation, you will have to go to court.

In a court trial, your attorney will argue that the defendant’s negligence was the primary or sole cause of the events that led to your injuries. Under Illinois law (735 ILCS 5/2-613(d)), the burden is on the defendant to show how your own negligence contributed to your injuries and to argue what percent of the fault should be assigned to you. The jury--or, in the case of a bench trial, the judge--will then decide how the fault should be apportioned.

Consult an Experienced Palatine Personal Injury Lawyer

If you have been severely injured in a car accident or other incident resulting from another person or company’s carelessness, consult a knowledgeable Schaumburg civil litigation attorney for advice. Call the law offices of Drost, Gilbert, Andrew & Apicella, LLC at 847-934-6000. There is no fee for your initial consultation.

About the Author: Attorney Ken Apicella is a founding partner of DGAA focusing in the areas of personal injury, employment, insurance coverage disputes, and civil litigation. Ken earned his J.D. from DePaul University College of Law in 1999. He has been named a SuperLawyers Rising Star and a Forty Illinois Attorneys Under Forty to Watch. Ken has written and lectured for the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education and regularly serves as a moderator at Northwest Suburban Bar Association's Continuing Legal Education seminars.

Sources:
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext.asp?DocName=073500050K2-1116
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/documents/073500050k2-613.htm
http://www.illinoiscourts.gov/circuitcourt/civiljuryinstructions/10.00.pdf