The first case to recognize a cause of action in the United States is Burr vs Board of County Commissioners of Stark County in Ohio. In Burr, the adoption caseworker told the prospective adoptive parents that the child they sought to adopt had been born by an eighteen-year-old unwed mother and had no health problems. After the adoption, however, the child suffered mental and physical problems, including being classified as mentally retarded and diagnosed as having Huntington’s Disease.

The adoptive parents in Burr sued the adoption agency for medical expenses, claiming they would not have adopted the child had they been told the truth. The jury awarded the adoptive parents $125,000. The adoption agency appealed, arguing that any costs incurred in caring for the child were incidental expenses that all parents were obligated to incur for their children.

The Ohio Supreme Court in Burr disagreed, holding that the adoptive parents had proven fraud, which was: (a) a representation or, where there is a duty to disclose, concealment of a fact, (b) which is material to the transaction at hand, (c) made falsely, with knowledge of its falsity, or with such utter disregard and recklessness as to whether it is true or false that knowledge may be inferred, (d) with the intent of misleading another into relying upon it, (e) justifiable reliance upon the representation or concealment, and (f) a resulting injury proximately caused by the reliance.

If you or someone you know has been involved in a case of wrongful adoption or adoption negligence, please contact the Deratany Firm, to discuss your case with a Chicago wrongful adoption attorney today. Our firm has successfully represented numerous Plaintiffs in cases of wrongful adoption.

The group, Progress Center for Independent Living protested claiming that patients of the home were being denied proper treatment under the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act. The Chicago Tribune article reported that patients were not timely given their medications, sometimes not at all, were denied visitors, and walks on the nursing home grounds.

If your loved one is a resident of a nursing home, you may want to look out for the following warning signs of nursing home abuse or neglect:

• Unexplained bruises, cuts, sprains or fractures
• Bedsores/pressure sores
• Repeated falls
• Frozen joints
• Malnutrition or dehydration
• Personal hygiene problems
• A sudden change in mood or behavior
• Staff refusing or delaying visits or not allowing visitors to be alone with resident

For additional resources, visit the National Center for Elder Abuse, and contact an experienced nursing home abuse attorney in Chicago, Illinois today.

The eight-lane Interstate 35W bridge, a major Minneapolis artery, was in the midst of being repaired and had several lanes closed when it crumbled. The Minneapolis bridge collapse sent dozens of cars and possibly hundreds of people into the Mississippi River. The bridge collapse took place at 6:05 pm, during evening rush hour. Many of those on the bridge were heading to the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome for a Minnesota Twins baseball game.

Settlement averts a trial that could have exposed URS to punitive damages. The settlement came as a judge considered a motion from the victims to allow the jury to consider punitive damages in addition to compensatory damages to be paid by the firm, URS Corporation. The Minneapolis bridge was built in 1967, and had last been inspected by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MNDOT) in 2005. The Plaintiffs in this case may very well have been able to prove punitive damages. According to the US Department of Transportation’s Bridge Inventory database, that inspection found the bridge “structurally deficient”, and the report recommended that it be scheduled for replacement. The Minneapolis Interstate 35W Bridge received a score of 50 in the evaluation, which means that a bridge might need to be replaced. A 2001 report by the Minnesota University Center for Transportation Studies that evaluated the bridge’s trusses found evidence of many “poor fatigue details”.

If you have suffered personal injuries like those in the Minnesota bridge collapse or have lost a family member due to an accident or injury and wish to pursue a wrongful death claim, please contact the Deratany Firm immediately at (312) 857-7285 to discuss your potential claim with an experienced attorney.

A new Illinois law, in effect since January 2010 states, “A person may not operate a motor vehicle on a roadway while using an electronic communication device to compose, send, or read an electronic message.” In terms of cell phone use, Illinois is one of six states that permit local governments to enact their own laws regarding using cell phones. Chicago is one of the cities that have chosen to enact hands free legislation making driving while using a cell phone illegal.

A study by Virginia Tech Driving Institute revealed that those who resort to texting while driving are 23 time more likely to meet with an accident.

If you or someone you know was injured in a car accident due to another drivers cell phone use, texting, distracted, or inattentive driving, please contact the Deratany Firm today to speak with an experienced car accident attorney.

For two days, Halperin was in a coma and no one knew who she was, or where to find her family. Now, Halperin is back in Atlanta, thanking the people who helped her.

Halperin’s head injury was so severe she was airlifted by helicopter to Atlanta Medical Center, even though it was only five miles away.

Within an hour, she was in the operating room, for her first of six surgeries.

This week, Halperin flew back to Atlanta, Georgia to meet the medical staffers who treated her and try to fill in the blanks of the months she can’t remember.

Halperin knows critical care nurse Vivian Abel and her coworkers at Atlanta Medical Center helped save her life.

“I don’t remember any of that. And I know it happened, obviously. But it’s good to see this place and not really meet the people, but to me it’s meeting the people,” said Halperin.

Documented on home video, the 24-year-old has spent the last 11 months trying to rebuild her life after a devastating brain injury… Continue reading this article HERE

If you have legal questions regarding a brain injury case, contact our experienced Chicago Brain Injury Law Firm for a free consultation – we are here to help!

However, the company did not admit to any liability for the anoxic brain injury Steven Butler, 49, suffered after being shocked.

Over objections by the company’s attorneys, Judge Jeff Almquist declined Thursday to seal the court documents that divulge the dollar value of the agreement.

Almquist said there’s “therapeutic value” in leaving the court’s business open to the public, even though those involved in the case signed a confidentiality agreement that forbids them from discussing the settlement.

“The agreement seems to be the best that can be accomplished,” Almquist said.

Butler was drunk and off his psychiatric medication in October 2006 when he refused to get off a bus and a Watsonville police officer used a Taser X-26 electronic control device to subdue him. After being stunned, Butler went into cardiac arrest and stopped breathing. It took medical personnel 18 minutes to resuscitate him and, as a result, Butler suffered a debilitating brain injury.

Butler has brain damage and no short-term memory; he also lost mobility and his motor skills decreased. He needs around-the-clock care and can’t be left alone, according to court documents… Continue the article HERE

The Chicago Brain Injury Lawyers have won millions for clients across Illinois.

Suit was brought on behalf of the family of Terrell K. Simmons, deceased, claiming that the Dram shop act allows a person to recover against a private company when its employee kills another person in a car accident after a night of drinking with co-workers. Terrell K. Simmons, was killed in a car accident by Tracy Kim, an intoxicated Korean airlines employee. The family of Mr. Simmons alleged that the airline was liable because Kim was driving and she was acting within the scope of her employment. The family alleged that alcohol was served at a company sponsored dinner.

The trial court initially granted summary judgment in favor of the airline. However, yesterday, the 1^st Appellate Court of Illinois, in Alfreda Hicks, etc. v. Korean Airlines Company, reversed a Cook County Judge’s ruling and held that a material question of fact existed as to whether or not the intoxicated driver was acting within the scope of employment when the car accident occurred.

If you or a loved one has suffered injuries as a result of another person’s intoxication or has been in a car accident caused by a drunk driver, please contacted an experienced attorney at The Deratany Firm to discuss this matter today. We offer free consultations and we are here to help.

Illinois law requires that a personal injury lawsuit be filed within two years from the date of an accident. However, when making a claim against a governmental entity, like the CTA, the Statute of Limitations or time within which to bring a lawsuit is shortened to just one year.

The skilled attorneys at The Deratany Firm are experienced in handling personal injury claims against the CTA and if you’ve been injured in a bus or train accident, it’s very important you call us right away before the shortened time bar runs out. Contact our office at (312) 857-7285 or email me directly at ira@lawinjury.com.

Mr. Solis was a lifetime non-smoker and was left with 25 percent lung capacity. If not given a lung transplant, any minor illness such as the flu or a cold could kill Mr. Solis. Mr. Solis worked for a Downers Grove company where he was exposed to fumes and dust from artificial butter flavoring. Mr. Solis filed suit against many companies that supplied chemicals to the Downers Grove facility.

Mr. Solis worked for the BASF Corporation, a company that supplied diacetyl to the Downers Grove popcorn facility. The company declined to settle and at trial, a jury awarded Mr. Solis, father of three, 30.4 million dollars. The jury broke down the award and awarded 7 million dollars for each of the following factors: loss of normal life, pain and suffering; emotional distress, and shortened life expectancy. The jury gave Mr. Solis more than 2.3 million dollars for medical expense and 1.3 million dollars for lost earnings.

People affected by the toxicity of this chemical have developed shortness of breath, hardening of the lung tissue, and other serious respiratory symptoms. The damage caused by diacetyl cannot be reversed by eliminating the exposure. The most serious cases of popcorn lung are life threatening and require individuals to undergo a lung transplant.

If you believe you or a family member have suffered an injury or illness from working in a popcorn factory, please call The Deratany Firm at (312) 857-7285 to further discuss your claim. We have won millions for clients across Illinois, Florida and the US.

The Legges’ personal injury lawsuit charged the doctor with medical malpractice and wrongful death. An Ohio jury found the physician who performed the surgeries to be responsible for the twin boys’ deaths and ordered the doctor to pay the family $2 million in compensation. The twins’ grieving parents, Shannon and Jenny Legge, told reporters for the Columbus Dispatch that no amount of money will bring their boys back. “All we have in our heads, in our hearts is the pain of that night,” the boy’s father said. “We can’t get over the pain, so we can’t remember being happy.”

The staff of The Deratany Firm sends our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the Legge family and we wish them the best during this time of loss.

If you or someone you know has legal questions regarding a Chicago medical malpractice lawsuit, contact our office for a free consultation. Speak to a lawyer today to learn about your rights.