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Institutional Child Sexual Abuse Continues Despite High-Profile Cases

Although many people are quick to believe that recent, well-publicized cases of child sexual abuse in schools and religious communities across the nation have reduced the amount of abuse that goes on in these kinds of institutions, the truth is that sexual abuse is still a risk. More people are now aware of the issue in light of major cases covered in the media, such as the allegations against the Catholic Church, but this new awareness has not stopped children from being sexually abused by adult authority figures in schools, afterschool activities, and community groups. In fact, the response to this greater awareness may make it even more difficult to report and pursue cases of potential sexual abuse.

Institutional Policies on Child Sexual Abuse Create Bigger Problems

While highly publicized cases of child sex abuse have not stopped abuse from happening, they have meant that institutions that work with children are being more careful about putting policies in place that protect their image if allegations do come up. It hasn’t been unusual in the past for suspected abusers to be moved to another facility or for claims of child sexual abuse to be quietly settled with families away from the public eye. While many families do hope to avoid publicity when sexual abuse is involved, these kinds of actions can:

Hide abuse from public sight
Open the potential for other children to be abused
Help abusers avoid accountability for devastating abuse

Additionally, even employees of these institutions who try to report suspected abuse may be deterred from taking their complaints further or making the issue public. Companies and organizations may make it difficult for adults to report suspected sexual abuse of a child to the appropriate authorities, especially when there is very little evidence against the abuser.

Getting Help If Your Child Has Been Abused by an Adult Authority Figure

Whether the potential abuser is a teacher, coach, pastor, or employee of a childcare facility, parents can take legal action to hold sexual abusers responsible for emotionally and physically hurting a child. For more information about your family’s rights after allegations of sex abuse, or to make contact with an experienced attorney who can answer your questions confidentially, call our Chicago office today at 312-332-1400 or use the Live Chat button on this page.

Patients Often Suffer Medical Mistakes Without Apology or Acknowledgement From Doctors

When patients are affected by a medical mistake, they rarely hear the words “I’m sorry”—and they might not hear about it at all. National Public Radio (NPR) recently published an article addressing the issues surrounding the non-disclosure of medical errors and the pressing question of why doctors and hospitals have only rarely taken responsibility for mistakes in the past.

Medical Mistakes Are More Common Than You Might Think

Medical mistakes are very common, and NPR cites a 2013 study from the Journal of Patient Safety, saying that an estimated 210,000 hospital patients die every year due to medical errors—and that number doesn’t include the many other patients who are harmed outside of the hospital, left with non-life-threatening injuries, or make a full recovery.

The reality is that human error is always a possibility in medical care. But why are so many mistakes hidden from patients and their families, and why do so many families end up paying for errors they weren’t responsible for? Unfortunately, there has been a long-time policy of silence about mistakes in the medical community, but new changes in the patient-care industry may be forcing medical providers and facilities to reconsider how these kinds of incidents are handled.

What Should Happen After a Medical Mistake

In a perfect world, care providers who make medical mistakes would take responsibility for their errors and reach out to patients in order to:

Disclose. Even when errors are known, patients may not be informed. The first step toward taking responsibility for a medical mistake is letting a patient know what happened and why.
Apologize. Although an apology can’t change what happened, patients deserve a sincere apology when the provider they’ve trusted with their health makes a mistake.
Compensate. While negligent doctors and hospitals should foot the bill after a mistake and sometimes do, the Journal of Patient Safety published data that showed at least 30 percent of patients hurt by medical mistakes end up paying some or all of the costs of the error.

In practice, however, doctors are often hesitant to take responsibility for mistakes and oversights, and the problem may not be as easy to address as it should be.

Why Doctors May Be Hesitant to Admit Medical Mistakes

Why are medical professionals so hesitant to admit their mistakes? Many doctors and care providers fail to address mistakes because:

They are afraid of humiliation and loss of reputation.
They fear malpractice claims from patients.
They simply don’t know how to react because they’ve never been trained for the event.
They are following hospital or risk-management policies at work.

In many cases, these roadblocks to transparency could be opened with the right training and policies in place, but it has so long been an industry practice to hide errors that hospitals and doctors are hesitant to start looking at the problem. However, with the urging of advocates around the nation, change may be close on the horizon for many care providers.

How Disclosure Policies Help

As more medical schools begin to address the issue of medical mistakes and more medical facilities and hospitals adopt disclosure policies, patients may see a major change in how they are treated after an error. Additionally, other care providers and medical support staff—such as nurses, medical assistants, dentists, pharmacists, and more—are also now more likely to receive training about how to handle mistakes ethically and with the patient in mind.

Beyond the ethical concerns, there is some evidence that training and formal disclosure policies actually help reduce malpractice claims after errors, could actually build patient-doctor relationships, and don’t have a dramatic effect on whether or not a patient pursues legal action.

However, despite the ways patient care is changing, some medical providers and facilities still attempt to conceal medical mistakes as a matter of policy—and when they do, patients can get help uncovering the truth.

If you or your loved ones have been hurt because a doctor, pharmacist, dentist, nurse, or other care provider made a mistake, you deserve an apology and some acknowledgement of the error. For more information about your rights in these difficult situations, or to take advantage of a free case review, don’t hesitate to contact our office by using the live-chat service on this page.

Cooking Accident Sends Four Macy’s Employees to the Hospital With Burns

When most people imagine a gas explosion or flash fire at a workplace, they probably think about dangerous professions like construction, oil & gas work, or electrical work. However, tragic accidents can happen at almost any workplace, and they are often most dangerous when they aren’t an expected risk of the job. A recent cooking fire at a Chicago Macy’s store is an example of how a sudden fire can cause serious injuries for unsuspecting workers in any industry, as four workers were hurt during the seemingly safe activity of enjoying an employee breakfast.

Macy’s Cited by Fire Department After Aerosol Can Explodes and Causes Fire

The incident took place at Macy’s State Street location just before 10:00 a.m. on Friday, November 21, while employees of the store were gathered for a pancake breakfast before the store opened. A flash fire broke out when a can of aerosol butane exploded during the event. Although the fire quickly put itself out, four employees suffered burns in the short blaze and were transported to the hospital. At least one of those four employees suffered severe burns to the face, while the other three reported more minor burn injuries. Thankfully, no customers were present in the store at the time of the accident because the store had not yet officially opened for the day.

According to reports of the incident, the aerosol can that started the fire ruptured because it had overheated during the cooking event, and Macy’s received a citation for improper handling and storage of butane.

What Are the Rights of Employees Who Are Hurt by a Fire or Explosion in the Workplace?

Although a lot depends on the details of each individual case of injury, most workers generally have the right to recover compensation for on-the-job injuries under workers’ compensation programs. Injured employees may also have the right to take legal action against a negligent company other than the employer if it contributed to the injuries, such as the manufacturer of a dangerous product or defective equipment. However, the complexity of the laws involved can make the legal process following an injury confusing, especially for workers who get hurt in unusual accidents. Because their rights to compensation may hinge on unclear questions, a thorough investigation of each accident and a strong understanding of injured workers’ rights are vital for the individuals and families who suffer when something goes wrong in a workplace.

For more information as this story develops, connect with Lane Brown on Facebook.

An Experienced Truck Accident Attorney Knows What to Look for After a Crash

After a serious wreck involving an 18-wheeler or large truck, victims may need to turn to an experienced personal injury attorney for help preserving evidence and avoiding insurance-industry tricks. Although it may be possible to settle a serious injury claim against a trucker or trucking company without legal help, it can be extremely difficult to secure the maximum recovery for your family without a trained eye on your side. This is why it is so important to get an attorney involved with your truck-accident case as soon as possible after you’ve been hurt.

Experienced Attorneys Know What to Look for While Victims Focus on Recovery After a Truck Accident

While it may be obvious that you need to take photographs of the damage to your car and get copies of your medical records, there is usually more evidence involved in successfully resolving a claim against a commercial driver or trucking company. While victims may overlook this information, or even be unaware that it exists, an attorney knows what to look for when it comes to less obvious information and evidence, such as:

Important evidence from the scene of the accident. Although you may have been transported to the hospital immediately, the witnesses and evidence at the scene of the truck wreck can be key to proving your case later on. If you or a family member reaches out for help, an attorney can be present at the scene to collect evidence on your behalf.
Driver logbooks and documentation from the trucking company. Some documentation kept by the trucking company, such as logbooks and loading records, can help pinpoint factors that contributed to the wreck and establish fault or negligence by the truck driver or company.
Accident reconstruction and expert opinions. Sometimes, it becomes necessary to bring in experts to offer opinions on your medical recovery, what caused the accident, trucking-industry standards, economic losses, and other specialized topics. An experienced injury attorney will have the resources and knowledge to work effectively with these experts to prove a victim’s claim.
Other potentially responsible parties. While it’s easy to put the blame on the truck driver, many truck accidents are the fault of manufacturers, loaders, maintenance workers, and others. An experienced attorney can quickly review your case and identify the parties who may be held responsible for what happened.

For more information about protecting your rights after a truck accident in Illinois, don’t hesitate to reach out to our compassionate Chicago legal team by phone today. We have helped victims across the state hold negligent trucking companies and reckless drivers responsible for life-altering injuries and fatal accidents, and we hope that we can help your family get the answers you need and understand how to take action.

Pedestrians Are Still at Risk for Car Accidents as the Weather Turns Cold

In Chicago, we often talk about spring and summer as dangerous times for car-pedestrian accidents because the pleasant weather draws so many people outside, but those risks don’t go away when the weather starts to turn cold. As sleet and snow move in and holiday celebrations get under way, those who choose to walk need to be alert to possible dangers from the vehicles that surround them.

Why Winter Is Still Risky for Pedestrians on Chicago’s Sidewalks and Roadways

Although summer may bring pedestrians out for a casual stroll or a healthier way to work in the morning, winter presents danger of its own. During the period from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day, heavy holiday travel and bad weather can mean that both drivers and pedestrians are risk for accidents due to:

More drunk drivers on the road. Some drivers who wouldn’t normally drive under the influence use holiday parties and vacation time at work to make an exception—and vulnerable pedestrians can pay the price for drivers’ reckless decisions.
Slippery or difficult conditions. Slippery roads can make it hard for drivers to stop in time for pedestrians in a crosswalk or at an intersection, and slippery or snow-packed roads and sidewalks can make it hard for pedestrians to navigate through traffic.
Limited visibility. The gray and hazy days of winter in Chicago limits visibility for drivers and people on foot, meaning that everyone should be extra alert and prepared to allow for the extra time needed to arrive safely.
Busy shopping centers. As people rush to complete holiday shopping or simply fight the crowds to pick up a few necessities, parking lots and intersections near major shopping centers can become extremely busy—and extremely dangerous.
Distractions on the road. Distracted driving can be a problem any time of year, and even something as innocent as enjoying the lights and holidays displays or taking a call from a long-distance loved one while you’re behind the wheel can take your eyes and mind off the road long enough to cause an accident.

If you or a family member is hurt in an accident as a pedestrian, you could face a challenge in holding the driver’s insurance company responsible for the injuries. Be prepared to protect your rights and get help with our free guide, The 8 Steps to Follow After Your Illinois Car Accident, which explains more about what you need to know—and what you need to do—to successfully pursue a claim for accident injuries. For more information, simply contact our Chicago legal team by phone at 312-332-1400, or use the Live Chat on this page to tell us more about your concerns now.

Four Choices That Help Teens and Young Adults Reduce the Risk of Sexual Assault in College

Teens meet a lot of new challenges as they head off to college, and one of those challenges is the very real risk of sexual assault or abuse. In fact, it has been estimated that a shocking one in five college-age students experience some form of sexual assault before they graduate. To help increase awareness of the issue of sexual assault on campuses, BestColleges.com has created an in-depth guide for students that includes some important tips for prevention—and we’d like to share a few of these tips with you here.

Reducing the Risk of Sexual Assault and Abuse With Smart Choices About Safety

Reducing the risk of sexual assault or unwanted sexual contact on campuses is a complex issue, and everyone can take part in preventing the danger. Although it isn’t always possible to control the actions of others, students can take steps to avoid incidents of sexual abuse or assault by making smart choices about their safety. Here are four choices students can make to protect themselves:

Trust your instincts. If you have a “bad feeling” about a person, or if a situation is making you uncomfortable, don’t ignore your feelings. Your “gut instinct” can often tip you off that a social situation—sexual or otherwise—might be dangerous.
Use the “buddy system.” When you go out, try to go out with friends you can trust to stick with you and make sure you get back safely. If you do go out alone, make sure someone you trust knows where you are, and make it a point to walk in well-lit and populated areas.
Don’t underestimate the effects of alcohol. Alcohol is involved in numerous reports of sexual assaults and rapes on and off campuses across the nation. If you choose to drink, make sure you drink responsibly, understand your limits, and imbibe with friends you trust.
Don’t leave your drink unattended. Although some people may be tempted to pass it off as an “urban legend,” the threat of someone slipping something in your drink is very real—so never leave your drink unattended and avoid drinking from open punch bowls and similar communal alcohol sources.
Don’t remain silent. If you do become the victim of rape, sexual assault, or sexual abuse, you don’t have to keep it secret. You can reach out to your doctor, your parents, local and online support groups, and campus health centers for support and information. Sexual assault is not your fault, and you can speak up to get the help that you need and deserve.

Do you have other tips for staying safe on campus or raising awareness of sexual assault against teens and students? Share them with our team and our readers by leaving a comment below, or join in the discussion today by connecting with Lane Brown on Facebook.