Illinois Injury Law Blog

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signed a measure into law this week that requires fraternity and sorority houses to install automatic fire sprinkler systems. The law will also require housing units to have backup power supplies for all smoke detectors.

“Fire safety starts at home. These important new laws help ensure that the smoke detectors where you live don’t fail when you need them the most, and help make our college students safer,” said Governor Quinn. “These laws will help prevent potentially tragic situations like we saw last year at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.”

In fact, at least three fires have occurred at fraternity or sorority houses in Illinois in recent years. The law gives the homes until 2019 to comply. Our Chicago injury lawyers think that is an absurd time frame. Frankly, these homes should have sprinklers before the start of fall semester. Anything else is gross negligence on the part of both the property owner and the university.

Fires in apartment houses, hotels, dorms or other group-living environments are very, very serious because of the risk posed to multiple tenants. When basic safety features like sprinkler systems and smoke alarms are not present, a property owner can and should be held responsible for the serious injury or death that results. Just as an Illinois premise liability lawsuit would seek to hold a business or property owner reliable for other acts of negligence that result in serious or fatal injuries to customers, occupants or invited guests.

Other types of Chicago premise liability claims may include:

Slip and fall cases

Faulty handrails or stairwells

Cracked or broken pavement or sidewalks

Dark or uneven walkways

Negligent security

Assault on business or landlord property

Swimming pool accidents

Dog attacks

Elevator and escalator accidents

Collapsing porches or railings

A person who suffers serious injuries as a result of a property owner's or landlord's negligence, deserves to be compensated. And a Chicago accident attorney can help ensure that the problem is corrected and that future residents or guests are protected from suffering similar injury.

Continue reading "Sprinklers in fraternity houses need now -- not in 10 years; Illinois premise liability claims should hold landlords responsible" »

The Consumer Products Safety Commission estimates that 200 people a day will be seriously injured by fireworks over the Fourth of July holiday and the National Fire Protection Association reports that fireworks were responsible for 22,500 fires in 2008.

Those figures include 1,400 structure fires and 500 vehicle fires. Our Illinois accident attorneys also remind parents that children are the most frequent victims of fireworks accidents, accounting for about half of all injuries each year.

The National Fire Protection Association provides the following safety tips:

*Leave fireworks to the professionals and do not use consumer fireworks.

*Attend a public display and keep away from fireworks storage or launching areas.

*Never allow children to handle fireworks.

The CPSC reports that 8,000 people were treated at the emergency room for fireworks injuries last year. About two-thirds of those cases occurred in the month surrounding the Fourth of July holiday.

Fireworks injuries included:

1,200 firecracker injuries

1,000 sparkler injuries

300 injuries from bottle rockets

More than half of all injuries were burns. Other injuries included objects in the eyes and cuts and bruising. Thirty percent of injuries occurred to the hands, while 27 percent of victims suffered eye injuries and 15 percent had head, face or ear injuries.

In many cases, victims were injured by malfunctioning fireworks, which could result in an Illinois product liability claim. Malfunctioning fireworks were responsible for 78 percent of all injuries.

22 percent resulted from early ignition
22 percent from errant flight path
17 percent from tipover
13 percent from smoke or debris

Guests of commercial fireworks shows can also be injured by falling debris or as a result of a number of other causes. Those injured during a fireworks show in Illinois may also be entitled to collect damages for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering and other compensation as allowed by law.

Continue reading "Illinois fireworks injuries can result from consumer mishaps or professional shows" »

Personal injury claims can arise in any facet of everyday life, claims are not solely limited to auto vs. auto accidents, work related injuries, and slip and fall accidents. Many times people feel that being a spectator at an event offers a level of safety that realistically just isn't there. Over the past few years many instances have arisen where spectators and paying customers were injured while watching a live event, whether that be at auto races, air shows, and monster truck rally's.

Just last week in Illinois serious injuries resulted when a truck accident at a monster truck rally resulted in nine people being injured, two seriously injured. Fortunately this accident did not result in any death. During the show, one of the trucks was crushing cars and on his fourth pass over the cars, the driver apparently lost control and careened into the crowd of onlookers.

With Chicago playing host to the annual air show in August, the potential for injury and disaster is always in the air. While the event has gone on for years without incident the massive crowds and death defying stunts create a recipe for serious potential injury. Joliet hosts many races at the Chicagoland Speedway and has never had an incident where a crash resulted in spectator injury but the potential is always existent. Our office has represented clients in a wide range of injury claims including the tragic and unexpected. If you want to be sure your rights are protected following a tragedy, be sure to consult a lawyer whenever an injury occurs.