blog | Lane Brown, LLC

After a 7-year court case in Illinois, a Will County judge has entered an order which allows the release of over 7,000 internal documents from the Diocese of Joliet to the public . The plaintiff in the case was abused as an 8-year-old boy during the sacrament of first confession. Bishop Daniel Conlon, bishop of the Joliet Diocese, acknowledged the child abuse although the priest continues to deny the allegations. The documents show that every bishop serving in the Diocese of Joliet from the 1950’s through the 1990’s knew that priests were sexually abusing children.

Victims of Child Sex Abuse by Priests Have Rights. Let Our Chicago Law Firm Help You.

If you or a loved one has suffered sexual abuse by a member of the clergy or other authority, you may be able to take action. Our team of attorneys has experience handling cases of this nature and recognize the importance of confidentiality. Contact our Chicago child sex abuse lawyers at Lane Brown, LLC, by calling toll free 1-312-332-1400 for a free and private consultation to discuss your legal options.

Almost everyone experiences a slip and fall accident at some point. We all have clumsy moments, tripping over something or falling down when we are not paying attention to where we are walking. Most of the time, we escape with a minor bump or scrape and a bruised ego. However, when it comes to senior citizens, a Chicago slip and fall accident may prove devastating and costly. Following are the costs associated with a slip and fall accident for a senior citizen:

Financial Costs – Medical costs can pile up for an elderly individual, injured in a Chicago slip and fall accident. Doctor visits, hospital bills, ongoing rehabilitation costs, and medication can become very expensive.
Medical Consequences – Slip and fall accidents can cause serious injuries. Hip fractures are the most common and are often accompanied by medical complications like blood clots, infection, and pneumonia. Other serious injuries that may result from a slip and fall accident are broken bones, traumatic brain injury, and internal organ damage.
Loss of Independence – After a Chicago slip and fall injury, many seniors are no longer able to live independently. Some may require the services of a home health aide to provide medical care and help them perform daily activities. Others may need to move to an assisted-living facility or nursing home. This loss of independence can have a significant emotional and psychological impact on an elderly individual.

If you or a loved one suffered a slip and fall injury due to the carelessness or negligence of another party, a Chicago premises liability attorney at Lane Brown, LLC can help. Our skilled and compassionate attorneys will take the time to understand your case, answer your questions, and help you to understand your legal options. Give us a call today at 312-332-1400 to schedule your free case review. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

One Boston hospital recently made headlines by doing something almost completely unheard of in the medical community. The hospital began publishing a monthly employee newsletter, openly discussing medical errors made by staff members and telling the stories of these cases from the patient’s perspective.

The goal of the newsletter is to help employees understand the significant impact these medical errors have on patients and the hospital, and to encourage discussion among the staff about possible solutions to the problems. In addition, the hospital administration wants to prevent mistakes from being repeated.

This type of openness is extremely rare in healthcare, for many reasons. Primarily though, employees and their employers fear the consequences of publically reporting medical errors. However, this silence is costly in the following ways:

Two-way communication between staff members and administration may be lacking. While medical mistakes may be reported, employees rarely learn about changes they can make to prevent the error from recurring.
Statistics are not personal. When medical staff learns about actual patient experiences, medical mistakes become more real.
When hospital staff members do not report medical errors because they fear punishment, needed changes to hospital policies, procedures, and patient care do not happen.

If you, or someone you love, were the victim of a medical error and suffered severe injuries as a result, you may be entitled to a cash settlement. Only an experienced Chicago medical malpractice attorney, like those at Lane Brown can help determine if you were a victim of medical negligence. Call our office today at 312-332-1400 to schedule your free consultation. We are standing by to help.

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Teenage car crashes are the number one killer of youth across America. Too often, teen drivers cause serious accidents due to inexperience with complex driving situations. Graduated driver’s license laws are in place in many areas of the country to help reduce these risks and to provide teen drivers with the driving experience they need to become safe, responsible drivers.

Most states have enacted graduated driver’s license laws, but specifics vary across the states. Illinois’ graduated driver’s license laws break down driving privileges for teens into three phases in order to allow them to learn safe driving skills under the supervision of responsible adult drivers. Following is a general description of Illinois’ three-phase graduated driving laws:

Driving Permit Phase (age 15)

Teenage drivers must have a driver’s permit for at least nine months prior to obtaining a driver’s license at age 16.
Teenage drivers must complete a specified number of driving hours with an adult or parent over the age of 21 who has a valid driver’s license.
Teenage drivers with a permit cannot legally drive without a parent or other adult driver over the age of 21 in the front seat.
Teenage drivers with a permit are restricted from nighttime driving.
Teenage drivers with a permit may not use a cell phone except in an emergency.

Initial License Phase (age 16-17)

Parent or legal guardian must certify that the teen met all of the driving requirements during the permit phase.
Teen must have completed an approved driver’s education course.
Teenage drivers are restricted from nighttime driving.
For the first 12 months, teenage drivers may not carry more than one passenger under the age of 20. This restriction does not apply to siblings, stepsiblings, or children of the driver.
Teenage drivers may not use a cell phone except in an emergency.

Full Licensing Phase (ages 18-20)

Age related restrictions are dropped, except for the statewide cell phone laws for drivers under the age of 19.

Parents and teenage drivers should know about the following laws:

Parents have complete access to their teenager’s driving records.
Any teenager caught violating alcohol laws will automatically lose their license for a specified amount of time, based on the circumstances. In addition, they could face additional fines and legal consequences.
Teenagers convicted of street racing could have their driver’s license revoked. In addition, authorities may legally impound the car for up to five days.

Graduated driving laws help keep the roads safer for everyone by gradually introducing driving responsibilities to teenage drivers. If you have been injured in a motor vehicle accident due to the negligence or carelessness of another driver, a Chicago car accident lawyer at Lane Brown can help. We will take the time to review your case, answer your questions, and help you to understand your legal options. Contact us at 312-332-1400 to set up a free appointment.

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According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), approximately 2.3 million U.S. construction workers work on scaffolding every day. Of those workers, nearly 4500 are injured on scaffolding every year. In order to reduce the number of construction workers who are severely injured on scaffolding, OSHA has compiled the following scaffolding safety recommendations:

Scaffolding should be solidly constructed, rigid, and able to support its’ own weight, plus four times the maximum intended load limit, without settling or displacement.
Unstable objects including barrels, boxes, and bricks should not be used to support the scaffolds or planks.
Scaffolding should be set up, dismantled, and moved under the direct supervision of a competent and trained individual.
Scaffolding should include guardrails, mid-rails, and toe-boards.
Scaffolding should be inspected regularly—repairs should be made as quickly as possible.
Rigging on suspension scaffolds should be inspected at the start of every work shift to ensure structural integrity.
Rope used in suspension scaffolding should be protected from heat sources.
Scaffolds should be kept at least ten feet away from power lines.

If you were injured in a Chicago construction site accident, an experienced Chicago personal injury attorney at Lane Brown can help. Whether you are having trouble obtaining the workers’ compensation benefits you are due or wonder if a third party might be liable for your injuries, we are here for you. Our skilled attorneys will review your case, answer your questions, and help you to understand your legal options. Contact us today at 312-332-1400 to schedule your free consultation. We will fight for the compensation you deserve.

The AP (4/11, Kageyama) reports, “Toyota, Honda and Nissan are recalling more than 2 million vehicles globally for an identical problem with air bags on the passenger side whose inflator may burst, sending plastic pieces flying.” The AP notes that “the recall for air bags made by Japan’s Takata Corp. affects other automakers including non-Japanese manufacturers, and may be as many as 3 million vehicles, Takata spokesman Akiko Watanabe said Thursday.” The AP notes that “a worker forgot to turn on the switch for a system weeding out defective products and parts were improperly stored, which exposed them to humidity, according to Honda spokeswoman Akemi Ando.”
CNN Money (4/11, Riley, Wakatsuki) also reports that “Honda said it was aware of one crash in which a passenger front airbag casing had ruptured after being deployed with too much pressure” but is not aware of any injuries or deaths resulting from the defect. Meanwhile, “Toyota said it had reports of five airbag malfunctions, but no injuries.”

Accidents involving cars, trucks, and motorcycles can result in serious personal injuries to drivers, passengers and pedestrians. The Chicago law firm of Lane Brown, LLC practices in personal-injury lawsuits resulting from vehicle accidents. If you, your family or other loved one has been injured, please contact Lane Brown, LLC. We can help.