Articles Posted in Wrongful Death

Published on:

By

In Illinois there is a stautue of limitations on medical malpractice claims which generally prohibits filing of a lawsuit two years from the date of malpractice or two years after the malpractice is discoverd. The statute of repose sets an outside tail date for filing such claims after four years have elapsed from the time of the initial malpractice. There are certain exceptions to this general statute of limitiations. At Goldberg & Goldberg we are proud of our work to help protect the rights of brain injured children. As an example of such work we are proud to say that due to our tireless efforts to fight for and protect brain injured children, including those suffering from cerebral palsy, the Illinois Supreme Court extended the statute of limitations for minors suffering from a brain injury indefinitely.

In Bruso v. Alexian Brothers Hospital, 178 Ill. 2d 445, 453 (1997), the Illinois Supreme Court, in an opinion authored by Justice Michael Bilandic held, that a minor who is under another legal disability, such as a brain injury, shall have the statute of limitations tolled on his claim until said legal disability is lifted. As a result, brain injured persons are protected from the statute of limitations until such a time as their disability no longer exists. This is a significant victory for consumers in Chicago, and throughout Illinois.

Published on:

By

It has been widely reported that more then 98,000 people die as a result of preventable medical malpractice each year. More people die each month in the United States from medical errors then were killed in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

Medical Malpractice has become a vogue issue again as lawmakers talk of limiting the rights of patients who have been injured by negligent doctors and hospitals. The problem with the American health care system isnt medical malpractice lawsuits, its the medical erros themselves. According to a major report from tort reform advocates, if congress eliminated medical malpractice claims it would hardly make a dent in the overall cost of health care in America. Tort reform is not the answer to out of control health care costs.

Published on:

By

Chicago is home to over 70,000 licensed attorneys. Finding a lawyer that is right for you can be a daunting task. The internet and the television airwaves are flooded with advertisements for lawyers that promise big settlements and no fees unless you win. The question you need to ask yourself and the lawyer that you interview is are you qualified, by the nature of your prior experience, to handle my case and see it through to the bitter end.

Medical Malpractice is a very expensive and specialized area of practice. Lawyers who handle medical malpractice litigation typically spend hundreds of thousands of dollars and countless man hours prosecuting a succesful claim. The skills necessary to be a succesful practicioner are not learned overnight. At Goldberg & Goldberg we have been in the medical malpractice business for more then forty years. The least experienced member of our firm has been handling medical cases for fifteen years. We work up and try all of our cases ourselves. We can, and routinely do, take appellate matters before the state supreme court. We have represented litigants in all manner of litigation in more then twenty different states.

supreme court.jpg

When you interview a lawyer that you have become acquainted with over the internet or through a television advertisement ask him if he handles his cases himself or refers them out to a more experienced lawyer. Ask how many medical malpractice jury trials he has taken to verdict as a first chair lawyer. Ask him or her about past results and ask to see jury verdict reports to document his experience. At Goldberg & Goldberg we have had hundreds of verdicts and settlements in excess of $1 million. We have the largest personal injury verdict in Illinois history. Our track record speaks for itself. We would be happy to show you examples of some of our results in court.

Published on:

By

Victim’s of medical malpractice at Chicago area hospitals should not expect an apology from those doctors or the hospital that is at fault for their injury. It has long been the custom and practice of Chicago area physicians to never dare to apologize or admit any mistakes, no matter how devastating.

Not so at the University of Michigan. Doctors there say that admitting their mistakes upfront and offering fair financial compensation saves time, money and hurt feelings. According to a 2009 article in the Journal Of Health And Life Sciences law, the effectiveness of taking responsibility of medical mistakes goes beyond common decency. According to the article, malpractice claims against a health system with a policy of offering early apologies and settlements fell from 121 in 2001 to 61 in 2006, while the backlog of open claims went from 262 in 2001 to 106 in 2006 and 83 in 2007. Between 2001 and 2007, the average time to process a claim fell from about 20 months to about eight months, costs per claim were halved and insurance reserves dropped by two-thirds.

There is evidence that this approach is catching on in the Chicago area. Apparently the University of Illinois is considering adopting an apologize and settler early approach to adjusting malpractice claims. This type of forward thinking makes sense from both a financial and humanitarian perspective.

Published on:

By

A 35 year old Chicago man was killed and 4 others were seriously injured early Sunday morning in a car accident in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood. The 5 vehicle crash occured at 3:30 am at the intersection of 31st Street and California.

One of the vehicles involved in the crash fled the scene and its occupants are wanted for questioning by the Chicago Police. The crash is currently under investigation by the Major Accident Investigation Unit of the CPD.

Published on:

By

The second federal lawsuit against the Marion, Illinois Veteran’s Hospital has settled in the wake of substandard care at the hospital which resulted in the Hospital suspending surgical procedures for the past two years. Surgeries at the hospital were halted after the Veteran’s Administration found that patients had died at the facility due to substandard care and treatment. The terms of the settlement are undisclosed.

The VA has been critical of the marion facility, finding its prior administration to be dysfunctional and inefficient. The Veteran’s Administration has been under harsh criticism for the operation of its hospitals which has been highlighted by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Published on:

By

In the July issue of The Journal Of Obstetrics And Gynecology the American College of Obstetrics & Gynecology (“ACOG”) is rolling out its revised practice guideline for Fetal Heart Monitoring. According to the New York Times, the college hopes the new guidelines will do away with inconsistent interpretations and cause a reduction in the rate of caesarean sections, which is as high as 40% in cities like Chicago, New York and Philadelphia.

More then 85% of the more than four million babies born in the United States are subjected to continuous fetal heart monitoring. The force behind the revised ACOG guidelines, Dr. George Macones, a Washington University OB/GYN, believes that continuous fetal heart monitoring became the standard of care before studies could be done to show that the benefits of monitoring outweigh the risk of caesarian section. The college believes that fetal heart monitoring has caused a rise in caesarian section and forcep deliveries, is used by lawyers to bolster meritless malpractice claims and has not reduced the incidence of Cerebral Palsy and/or fetal death.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PwGRDnXwow

Continue reading →
Published on:

By

Darlene McCue of Bristol, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, was killed on Sunday when her bicycle was hit by a Yorkville man who was driving a pickup truck. Her daughter, age 25, was also injured in the accident and remains in fair condition at Rush-Copley Hospital. The pickup truck was driving east on Kennedy Road when it struck the two cyclists who were travelling in the same direction.

Police cited the truck driver for improper lane usage. Early investigations do not show any sign of alcohol or drug involvement. Bicycle accidents and injuries are often tragic. Following basic safety guidelines will help to prevent a bicycle tragedy.

Here are some tips to help you remain safe when riding your bicycle:

Continue reading →
Published on:

By

A Chicago man was critically injured and another chicago man was killed when they were sucked under a Metra Train on Chicago’s Southside yesterday. The accident occured yesterday in an area between the Metra tracks near the 7500 block of south exchange avenue in the city’s South Shore neighborhood.

The electric train was travelling at 8 miles per hour, according to a spokesman for Metra, when the men were sucked under the train and dragged along the tracks.

Published on:

By

Lawyers at Goldberg & Goldberg settled a psychiatric malpractice case this week that was filed against Dr. Dixon Spivy and St. Joseph’s Hospital in Chicago. The case involved a young pregnant mother of two who was released from St. Joseph’s Hospital after a suicide attempt. She continued to suffer from major depression and killed herself and her unborn fetus shortly thereafter. The case was pending in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois.

The defendant’s alleged that the plaintiff, who took more then twenty melatonin sleeping pills, had not actually tried to kill herself and was merely trying to go to sleep. They also claimed that the plaintiff was not a risk of harm to herself or her unborn fetus. Dr. Spivy admitted that he only spet fifteen minutes evaluating the plaintiff in the hospital before declaring that she was only suffering from a mood disorder.

The case settled for an undisclosed sum of money.

Contact Information
33 N Dearborn St,
#1930
Chicago, IL 60602
Phone: 312-368-0255 Fax: 312-368-0368 Toll Free: 877-368-0233

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Please do not include any confidential or sensitive information in a contact form, text message, or voicemail. The contact form sends information by non-encrypted email, which is not secure. Submitting a contact form, sending a text message, making a phone call, or leaving a voicemail does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Copyright © 2024, Law Offices of Goldberg & Goldberg
JUSTIA Law Firm Blog Design