Posted on May 17, 2017 in Prescription Drugs

By Timothy Tomasik

If you or a loved one have been recently diagnosed with cancer, there is no doubt that you have a multitude of questions racing through your mind. What sort of treatment options are available? What are side effects of chemotherapy? How will my, or my family member’s body handle the drugs that they are prescribed after treatment? And of course, ultimately will the treatment be successful?

It is no secret that a cancer diagnosis can be one the most frightening and uncertain times for a family. Once diagnosed, patients typically consult with their doctor to determine what chemotherapy options are available to target and destroy cancer cells. Unfortunately, chemotherapy cannot tell the difference between a cancer cell and a healthy cell making temporary hair loss from a common side effect of treatment. While most patients grow their hair back after treatment ends, some chemotherapy drugs are making this loss permanent. Sadly, patients, (especially female breast cancer survivors), are beginning to experience permanent hair loss after using the chemotherapy drug Taxotere ®.

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 Posted on May 11, 2017 in Personal Injury

By Timothy Tomasik

“Can I borrow your car?” is a phrase nearly every car owner has been asked at one time or another. While handing over the keys to a friend in need may seem like the courteous thing to do, it is important to remember that you are trusting the other driver to operate your car safely.  Tragically, this all-too-common courtesy can have drastic and life altering consequences for the owner when the driver borrowing the car is not properly qualified to operate it.

In the automobile context, the law governing owner liability in this scenario is called “negligent entrustment.” Negligent entrustment involves the lending of one person’s car to another when the lender knew or should have known that the borrowing driver was not qualified to use the vehicle.  Under these circumstances, the law imposes a duty not just on the driver borrowing the keys, but also on the owner.  Essentially, when the owner knew or should have known that the driver was not qualified to operate the car, the owner will be liable for the negligent acts of the trustee (driver) resulting in harm to others. Typically, whether the owner “knew” the driver was unqualified hinges on whether the owner was aware of multiple prior traffic offenses or vehicular crashes.

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 Posted on November 14, 2016 in Product Liability

Consumers across the country have been put on high alert after several victims suffered second and third-degree burns from Power Pressure Cooker XL explosions. The tops of the appliances have been malfunctioning and injuring users. Those near the exploded pressure cookers are subjected to scalding steam and hot liquid expelling from the units.

The Power Pressure Cooker XL is manufactured by the TriStar Products, Inc. company, established in New Jersey, and were sold to big-box retailers such as Target, Wal-Mart, and Bed Bath & Beyond. The “as seen on TV” product disclaimer states that the lid of the pressure cooker cannot be removed until after internal pressure has dissipated and it is safe. However, consumers in the states of Georgia, Florida, Texas, and Pennsylvania have suffered wrongdoing.

The Power Pressure Cooker XL explosions have injured a number of people including a woman who received severe burns to her torso and injuries to children ranging from 9-months-old to 14-years-old. The hot liquids and pressure building up in these appliances have the capability to cause severe injuries and long-term health issues when the lids explode.

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 Posted on September 28, 2016 in Personal Injury

By Robert Geimer

Researchers from Michigan State University claim that riding a rollercoaster may help patients pass kidney stones.  According to an article in the current issue of the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, after learning that a number of patients described passing kidney stones after riding the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad rollercoaster at the Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Florida, researchers constructed an artificial human kidney - complete with kidney stones - and took it for a ride.  They found that in the front seat, a stone was passed in 4 of 24 trials; in the back of the roller coaster, a stone was passed in 23 of 36 trials.  The authors theorize that the motion of the roller coaster helps knock stones loose so they can be passed out of the kidney.  This is research that can safely be described as, ahem, thrilling.

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 Posted on September 21, 2016 in Personal Injury

By Robert Geimer

Devices used to heat and cool patients during heart surgeries have been found to spread Legionella bacteria, the source of so-called Legionnaire’s disease.  According to an article in the Seattle Times, these devices may be designed in a way that does not allow them to be properly cleaned.  If so, the problem would be similar to the one identified with the use of endoscopes that spread deadly CRE bacterial infections at hospitals around the country, including Lutheran General Hospital outside of Chicago. TKK is presently representing patients who were infected in that outbreak.  If you or a loved one have been notified of an infection associated with an operating room heating-cooling device, contact TKK right away for important information.

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 Posted on September 13, 2016 in Personal Injury

By Timothy Tomasik

According to the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care of Organizations (JCAHO), suicide ranks as the eleventh most frequent cause of death (third most frequent in young people) in the United States, with one person dying from suicide every 16.6 minutes.  Suicide of a care recipient while in a staffed, round-the-clock care setting has been the number one most frequently reported type of Sentinel Event since the inception of the Joint Commission Sentinel Event Policy of 1996.  Behavioral health hospitals and staff have a responsibility for the identification of individuals at risk for suicide, while under the care or following discharge from a health care organization.  Assessing a patient’s risk for suicide is the first critical step in protecting and planning the care of these at-risk individuals.  JCAHO 2007 Patient Safety Goals on Suicide

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 Posted on September 08, 2016 in Car Accidents

By Daniel Kotin

For half a century, roadway deaths caused by motor vehicle collisions were consistently dropping.  Many factors contributed to this good news.  Manufacturers have consistently improved the crashworthiness of their vehicles.  Use of 3-point seatbelt systems became the law and have now become the habitual practice of virtually all drivers and passengers.  And, perhaps most importantly, increased police and judicial intolerance of drunk driving as well as the tireless efforts of groups like MADD have created a societal shift whereby far fewer drivers dare operate vehicles while intoxicated.

As a result, data showed that fatal roadway crashes were in a near constant decline over the past 50 years.  But suddenly, this trend has reversed.

In 2015, fatal roadway crashes in the U.S. increased by 8%.  This is the largest annual increase since the 1960s.  According to the National Safety Council, roadway deaths for the first half of 2016 are up 9%.  (The data for Illinois in 2016 is even worse with deaths increasing by 12% over last year.)

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 Posted on June 29, 2016 in Bus Accidents

Public transit certainly has its benefits. Used by millions of Illinoisans each year, it gets people to and from work, school, and their daily appointments. Children, teenagers, and adults alike use it to see a movie, go shopping, or just spend some quality time with friends and family. But there is also a side of the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) that few take into account: our city’s mass transportation accident rates are highly concerning, and innocent victims are often severely injured in those crashes.

CTA Has One Accident Every 36 Hours

Late last year, an ABC7 investigative team took a look at the startling number of accidents involving CTA buses. Hundreds of incidents were uncovered; enough to place an average of about one CTA crash every 36 hours. In those accidents, hundreds of public transit passengers, pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicle drivers were injured or killed. Yet, during the investigation, CTA officials attempted to downplay their incident rates and responsibility. That unwillingness to admit any wrongdoing is exactly why so many victims struggle to receive fair and just compensation for their CTA accident.

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 Posted on June 22, 2016 in Aviation Litigation

While nearly every flight experiences some turbulence, the risk to passengers is generally low. This is because most instances of turbulence are small and short-lived. There are, however, circumstances in which passengers can and do become injured, either because of the turbulence itself or because of fallen luggage or other projectiles. In some of these instances, passengers may be due compensation.

Light Turbulence versus Moderate to Severe Turbulence

Turbulence is essentially a sudden but violent shift in airflow. Caused by a number of elements, including the wind, jet streams, thunderstorms, heat, or objects near the plane, such as a mountain range that causes a shift to the plane’s altitude or tilt. Because most experienced pilots know how to avoid these elements and situations and do their best to ensure the safety of their passengers, this shift or tilt is generally so slight that it feels more like tremor or shake while in flight. This is known as “light turbulence.”

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 Posted on June 16, 2016 in Aviation Litigation

By Timothy Tomasik

When a family places the care of a dependent loved one in the hands of an airline, they have a reasonable expectation of safety and security. Unfortunately, that expectation is not always met, and the loved one can suffer injury or wrongful death. When this happens, the family may be due compensation for their losses. It is important to note, however, that not all situations may constitute a settlement. Learn how to determine if you may have an airline negligence case and how to best pursue fair compensation.

Negligence by Airline Staff

When a dependent child or adult is placed in the care of an airline, the parent, guardian, or caretaker is typically charged an escort fee in addition to their regular ticket price. This fee creates a reasonable expectation that the airline will ensure the flying child or dependent adult reaches their correct gate and boards the correct plane and all connecting flights. Even if a fee was not charged, the reasonable expectation might still be present if staff was duly notified and warned about the condition or need for supervision of the child or dependent adult.

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