Category: Personal Injury Lawyer

It is highly likely we may suffer an injury due to defects or unsafe conditions found on a particular property, whether it be a workplace or personal property. A premises liability covers any such falls or injuries that are a direct result of someone else’s negligence. Usually, the property owner or the individual responsible for its maintenance is made liable when it comes to insurance or compensation claims. Considering that fact that every incident and negligence needs careful review before a claim is filed, it is a wise practice to seek support from a skilled personal injury attorney who specializes in processing premises liability claims.

What is the Property Owner’s Duty of Care?

The property owner has a duty of care for both the licensees and invitees. For a property owner, a licensee is anyone who is given permission to enter the property for their own purpose, while an invitee can be either a neighbor, business contact, friend, or family member having permission to enter. Although the property owner is not obligated to show care towards a trespasser, they are still required to ensure no harm is done due to owner’s negligence to anyone present on their property. No claims can be filled if the trespasser was a child.

Highlighting Dangerous Conditions

According to the Premises Liability Act, dangerous conditions involve negligence or known errors that cause injury. If an invitee or licensee gets injured, they will have to prove the owner of the property knew about its dangerous conditions, or failed to rectify issues, leading to a possible and present injury. Some examples of dangerous conditions include:

• Any premises with a loose or broken ceiling,
• A slippery, oily, or wet floor,
• Damaged steps,
• Poor electrical wiring, and absence of ventilation,
• Inadequate building security leading to an assault, theft, or death,
• Swimming pool related injuries to children and adults due to unsecured or unguarded premises,
• Spillover of chemicals and hazardous material during construction work or normal work process.
• Dirty or unpaved off-road riding facilities.

Expected Compensation

According to the Premises Liability Act, a premises liability claim can help in overcoming medical bills for treatment of injuries, as well as recovering lost wages or salary due to the absence of work. The insurance provider of the property owner usually covers the compensation amount owed to the licensee or invitees.

If you wish to find out more about premises liability and compensation claims in Illinois, schedule a free consultation by contacting the offices of Robert Edens at (847) 395-2200 to speak with an experienced personal injury lawyer.

When it comes to workplace compensation injuries, most refer to specific body parts where the injured employee is eligible to receive a statutorily scheduled monetary compensation. The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act, includes all injuries that could arise within the workplace – injuries that are related to the work an employee performs or other work-related injuries sustained outside of the workplace.

In Illinois, most employers are required to provide workers’ compensation insurance for all workers. Under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act, employers are liable to provide the following benefits to employees who suffer an injury on the job:

• Total disability benefits equating to the 2/3rdof the workers’ average gross weekly wage for the entire time the employee is incapacitated.
• Permanent total disability benefits if an employee loses a body part during work or while conducting a job outside the workplace premises.
• Rehabilitation expenses, including medical expenses
• Giving an injured employee light duty jobs

Most injuries covered by the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act are liable for compensation. However, there are certain injuries that are unusual, where an employee was rightly awarded a benefit’s compensation. These injuries are known as non-scheduled injuries. Here is a list of some of the injuries that could be covered under workers compensation.

Mental Stress that Leads to Physical Injury

If you find yourself under undue mental stress at work, and if that negative stimulus leads to a physical injury, you could be eligible for workers compensation. Talk to a competent workers compensation attorney to highlight your work-related injuries. A mental physical injury arises when a worker develops a heart problem due to workplace stress.

Injuries caused by Mental Stress

Over time, overworked and stressed workers can suffer from mental illness. These psychological illnesses are caused by the negative stimulus they receive. The stimulus can be harassment or bullying from co-workers or superior officers, unusual work-related tasks that are not a part of the job description and undue stress at work. Some mental health injuries could be covered under workers compensation if you have a skilled workers’ compensation attorney who represents all aspects of your injuries in court.

If you wish to find out more about workers’ compensation and unusual injuries in Illinois, schedule a free consultation, contact the offices of Robert Edens at (847) 395-2200 to speak with an experienced personal injury lawyer.

Many people think auto accidents occur on congested roads and busy highways. You will be surprised to know several auto accidents occur in parking lots. One of the main reasons for parking lot accidents is distraction. Fellow passengers’ behavior, cell phone use and any other electronic device usage are generally the leading causes behind distracted driving. Here are some tips to help you stay alert and avoid a parking lot accident.

Determine the Right of Way

The most effective method of avoiding a parking lot accident is to comprehend who has the right-of-way when driving in a parking lot. Most parking lots – especially indoors lots, have confined spaces, which allows minimal movement. With limited space to work with, it’s natural for a parking lot to get congested. To determine the right-of-way, consider the cars already moving through the thoroughfare as having the way of right, over the cars in the feeder lane. However, exiting the main thoroughfare automatically allocates the right-of-way to the vehicle coming across the feeder lane.

Be Watchful of Dimly Lit Parking Lots

Some indoors and outdoors parking lots have spots that are not well lit. If the driver is not careful, these dimly lit areas within a parking lot can result in accidents. While parking or backing up, be watchful of people, pets and other vehicles. Staying alert and looking around before backing up is key to ensure you and others around you are safe. Children are particularly susceptible to backover auto accidents in parking lots. Drivers have to be cautious by looking out for young children around their vehicle before backing away.

How to Make a Claim in a Parking Lot Auto Accident?

If you are a victim of a parking lot accident, you will need a practiced auto accident attorney to make a claim for compensation for your injuries. In Illinois, the person who violates the right-of-way in a parking lot accident is held liable for the crash. However, if the plaintiff is held partially responsible, under comparative negligence, which resulted in the auto accident, the plaintiff will be required to compensate the defendant.

Keeping the aforementioned tips in mind will help keep parking lots safe and help reduce the number of auto accidents caused by unnecessary distractions.

If you wish to find out more about auto accidents and personal injuries, schedule a free consultation, contact the offices of Robert Edens at (847) 395-2200 to speak with an experienced personal injury lawyer.

What is an E-Cigarette?

Electronic cigarettes popularly known as e-cigarettes or e-cigs are special devices which use a liquid containing propylene glycol and glycerin with nicotine and other different types of artificial flavors – like chocolate, vanilla, blue berry, mango and many others. A lithium-ion battery, which is used to heat up the coils and aerosolize the liquid, powers these devices. The heat turns the liquid into vapor, which users inhale and exhale.

How does an E-Cigarette Work?

Over time, e-cigarettes have become popular among the young and the old alike. People of all ages use electronic cigarettes – they consider them to be a safer and better alternative to a regular cigarette. The main power source of these devices is a battery that aerosolizes the chemically-based artificial flavors and a liquid.

Injuries Caused by E-Cigarette Explosion

The battery and the heated coils are susceptible to overheating and exploding. Some e-cigarettes and vaping products have caused serious burn injuries to consumers. If you have suffered from an e-cigarette injury, it is essential to consider speaking with a personal injury attorney to see if the product you used had a manufacturing defect. An e-cigarette explosion can result in severe injuries, like third-degree burns, lacerations and loss of vital body parts such as the eyes, nose, teeth or tongue.

Apart from burns caused by an explosion, e-cigarette consumers inhale and exhale dangerous additives – which are as harmful as nicotine. The particles and artificial flavors can lead to lung diseases and the organic compounds and other heavy metals can cause cancer.

People have experienced different types of explosions caused by removable lithium-ion batteries. These accidental fires and explosion are more common than usual during normal use. Explosions caused by people carrying spare batteries in their pockets are also more common, as they also come with an explosion hazard.

The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) drafted a law in 2016 where the agency extended its regulatory authority to all forms of Electronic Nicotine Delivery System or ENDS such as e-cigarettes and vaping products. Any electronic cigarette product released or replaced after Feb. 15, 2007, must submit a pre-market application to the FDA before release. The FDA will confirm its safety after a thorough inspection.

Ensuring the safety of you and others around you is essential while using an e-cigarette. When vaping or while attempting to replace the lithium-ion batteries, take all the necessary precautions.

If you wish to find out more about personal injuries and e-cigarette burn injuries in particular or schedule a free consultation, contact the offices of Robert Edens at (847) 395-2200 to speak with an experienced personal injury lawyer.

In the United States each year, burn injuries send more than 1.1 million people to the emergency room. Some of the most severe burn injuries require intensive care in a specialized hospital with a burn unit. Burn injuries are caused by an accident at home, at a workplace or any other location. If you believe the burn injuries you’ve sustained are caused by the negligence of another individual, you have the right to hold the other party liable for compensate for your expensive burn injury treatment. Speaking with a skilled personal injury attorney which specializes in burn injuries will go a long way in getting the compensation you deserve.

What to do if you are a Burn Injury Victim?

If you suffered from a burn injury caused by someone else’s negligence at the workplace or in an accident, the first thing to consider is to determine who is at fault? Insurance companies have a difficult time denying burn injury cases. Since burn injuries cannot occur anonymously, being burnt by hot surfaces, dangerous chemicals and hot oil injuries are instantly visible.

If you were injured at your workplace, an experienced personal injury attorney will determine if the company or a restaurant you work for had the necessary safety measures in place to ensure a safe workplace environment. The next thing to investigate is to determine if your injuries were caused by human error or negligence. To prove negligence, you will need evidence and an attorney to support your negligence claim.

Seek Immediate Medical Attention

After a burn injury, it’s essential to seek medical attention as soon as possible to prevent skin damage and infection. Minor burns might not require expensive medical treatment to heal. However, more severe burns could require multiple surgical procedures and intensive aftercare treatments, which could be expensive. Under the Worker’s Compensation Act Illinois, a burn injury victim who was injured at work must be compensated for their injuries and their follow up medical treatments.

With the right attorney by your side, a burn injury case is winnable. If you are successful in proving the negligence of the other party caused you severe emotional and physical trauma, you will be rewarded with full compensation.

If you wish to find out more about personal injuries and burn injuries in particular or schedule a free consultation, contact the offices of Robert Edens at (847) 395-2200 to speak with an experienced personal injury lawyer.

Traumatic brain injury in an auto accident is one of the major causes of death and other disabilities in the U.S. A traumatic brain injury is a serious health concern, which could prove fatal. According to a CDC report, head injuries in auto accidents were the leading cause of hospitalization among adults and adolescents aged 15 to 44 years.

Traumatic brain injuries are common injuries that result after a devastating car crash. However, proving a brain injury is not simple if you want to file for a personal injury lawsuit against the defendant. A skilled personal injury attorney will help you prove you’ve suffered a traumatic brain injury resulting in a car crash and hold the defendant liable for compensation.  Here are some useful tips to prove a traumatic brain injury in a court case:

Use the Latest Imaging Technology

The ordinary imaging technology present at the hospital ER might not be able to reveal the exact extent of your brain injury. An experienced traumatic brain injury attorney would suggest the client to opt for the latest imaging technology to get a clear picture of the damage.

Consult a specialist neurologist to interpret the brain damage for the court proceedings. Latest in MRI imaging will assist in proving your brain injury to the court to prove the defendant’s negligence.

Get an Expert Witness

The testimony of a medical expert witness, such as the doctors or the nursing staff who treated your injuries, will be essential in proving your injuries were the result of an auto accident, hence, clearing you of being at fault. You can also ask your friends, family and coworkers to give a before and after testimony as key witnesses. Your competent traumatic brain injury attorney will help conclude the before and after testimony in your favor.

Prove Fault of the Defendant through Forensic Investigation

Forensic investigative methods will play a vital role in proving the negligence of the defendant that led to the auto accident. Forensic investigations will include examining the damaged vehicle; measuring the impact of the other car and the injuries you or other passengers sustained as a result. You will need to rely on a skilled attorney to prove your traumatic brain injury along with the compelling evidence, modern imaging, and witness’ testimony.

If you wish to find out more about this topic or schedule a free consultation, contact the offices of Robert Edens at (847) 395-2200 to speak with an experienced personal injury lawyer.

Athletic and sporting activities are essential for maintaining a healthy mind and a strong body. Indulging in sports is a good way to get physical exercise – particularly for children and young adults who spend most of their time glued to the screens. Sports can help develop teamwork, leadership and social skills. Despite the many benefits of summer sports, there is a considerable risk of injury involved in all sports.

What Causes a Summer Sports Injury?

Sports injuries have resulted in different major and minor injuries over the years. Traumatic brain injury is one of the most common summer sports injuries. According to 2016 report, traumatic brain injuries and other sports injuries accounted for 70% of ER visits.

The causes of summer sports injury vary. In some cases, the injury is caused by wearing the wrong or faulty safety gear, not following the rules or guidelines or the playing field is not constructed according to the safety guidelines. If you feel your summer sports injury was caused by negligence, then you should discuss it with a leading skilled personal injury attorney.

Swimming Pool Injuries

Swimming pools in summers are the busiest because swimming is one of the most popular sporting activities for both children and adults. Swimming pool-based games are a popular. If the public or private swimming pool service provider failed to construct a pool facility according to the Swimming Facility Code in Illinois, it could result in injuries, and in n extreme cases, fatalities.

Slip and Fall Accidents

Slip and fall are common in contact sports such as ice hockey, lacrosse, rugby, basketball and many other sports. If you believe a summer sports injury was deliberate or the sports center that provided the field and the equipment practiced negligence, then you should speak to an experienced attorney today to discuss your slip and fall accident.

To establish negligence, the plaintiff and the attorney have to prove the injury was caused because the defendant failed to maintain the standard of care promised when the plaintiff was using the sports facility. Poorly maintained sports grounds and fields can lead to a serious slip and fall accident. The safety gear or providing the wrong sized shoes, helmets and gloves can also be the leading cause of negligence which may have led to your slip and fall injury.

If you wish to find out more about this topic or schedule a free consultation, contact the offices of Robert Edens at (847) 395-2200 to speak with an experienced personal injury lawyer.

A spinal cord injury refers to the damage to the bundle of nerves housed within the ‘backbone’ – spinal column, to be precise – that conveys messages between the brain and body. Consequently, it may result in partial or complete loss of motor control and sensation, which may render the victim paralyzed. Moreover, as the spinal cord is also responsible for a broad range of bodily functions including body temperature, bladder, and even breathing, an injury may result in severe health consequences.

What Causes Spinal Cord Injuries?

A spinal cord injury is caused mainly due to a traumatic injury or heavy blow to the spine of the victim. Per stats available on Spinalcord.com, the most predominant cause of a spinal cord injury is auto accidents, contributing roughly 47 percent of all cases, succeeded by slip and fall accidents, which account for around 21 percent of all cases. Other causes may include acts of violence and recreational sports activities. An individual may also suffer from a spinal cord injury due to the negligence of a medical practitioner during a risky surgical procedure.

How to Pursue a Spinal Cord Injury Claim?

Spinal cord injury claims can be classified into two categories. Firstly, there are cases where spinal cord injury is caused by the negligence of an individual or an entity; for example, an individual became a victim of a car accident or slip and fall accident on a wet floor. In such instances, the victim may seek a personal injury lawsuit against the defendant, however, the plaintiff must establish four points of negligence and demonstrate that the defendant is legally responsible or “at fault” to obtain compensation for their pain and sufferings.

Secondly, there are cases where spinal cord injury is caused by damaged or faulty products; for example, malfunctioning breaks, seatbelts, or airbags of the car, or perhaps defective design. In such instances, the victim must prove four elements of product liability and demonstrate that they used the faulty product (as it was intended) and those defects led to the injury. If the claim is successful, the victim may obtain rightful compensation from the company or business that designed, manufactured, and/or sold the defective product.

How Can A Lawyer Help?

If you have sustained a spinal cord injury and are seeking justice and fair financial compensation for your pain and sufferings, consider hiring an experienced personal injury lawyer to initiate a legal action against the negligent party.

A competent personal injury lawyer will attempt to obtain maximum compensation for your injuries during the settlement arrangement. This can be extremely beneficial for you as you do not have to go through the trial process and rather can focus on your recovery process.

Furthermore, if the case goes to trial, your personal injury lawyer will devise a solid case in your favor by demonstrating negligence of the defendant by establishing facts and elements pertaining to the case, ensuring that your legal rights remain protected and you are able to obtain rightful compensation for your pain and anguish.

If you wish to find out more about this topic or schedule a free consultation, contact the offices of Robert Edens at (847) 395-2200 to speak with an experienced personal injury lawyer.