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Personal Injury Law

Chicago Injury Lawyer Blog

Published by Hurley McKenna & Mertz.

Post Frequency: 3.6/day

Last Entry: March 29, 2011 at 14:33:22

FDA cracks down on misleading food labeling

Posted on March 08, 2010
The Food and Drug Administration is ?cracking down on baby food manufacturers and other companies for misleading nutrition labeling on their products, the beginning of a larger effort to set stricter standards for the labels? (M. Jalonick, AP Washington, 3/5)...

Stroke study finds neck stents are safe and effective

Posted on February 28, 2010
As a products liability and medical malpractice attorney, I am intrigued by the new study regarding a new stroke prevention option. A recent study unleashes promising news finding that ?people with narrowed neck arteries that could lead to a stroke can be safely treated with less drastic option? than the current surgical procedure...

Tobacco Companies take landmark legal battle to the Supreme Court

Posted on February 22, 2010
This week, ?the nation's largest tobacco maker is asking the Supreme Court to throw out court rulings holding that the industry illegally concealed the dangers of cigarette smoking? (AP Washington, 2/19). Several other tobacco companies and the Obama administration, who is seeking billions from the tobacco industry, are expected to file separate appeals soon...

FDA aims to rein in radiation-based medical scans

Posted on February 22, 2010
As a personal injury attorney in Chicago, who has seen the effects of radiation gone bad, I fully support the FDA in their new initiative to rein in radiation overdoses. In response to a problem that has becoming increasingly apparent for decades, ?the Food and Drug Administration is working with doctors and medical manufacturers to reduce unnecessary radiation exposure from medical scans...

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FDA using computer program to track risky imports

Posted on February 14, 2010
New technology is allowing the Food and Drug Administration to utilize an automated system to sort through millions of foreign shipments and identify food and drugs that are most likely to be contaminated and dangerous to consumers (AP for Findlaw, 2/4)...

Wrongful Death of Children in Foster Care

Posted on February 07, 2010
At Hurley, McKenna, & Mertz, we are well aware of the trauma that accompanies wrongful death of children in foster care, as we have both experience and success with such cases. A recent article in the University of La Verne Law Review authored by Daniel Pollack and Gary L...

Its not just distracted driving that is dangerous; distracted walking injuries on the rise

Posted on January 31, 2010
Although drivers distracted by cell phone use has received a lot of notoriety lately, most people don?t consider the effect cell phones have on pedestrians. The boom of mobile devices that not only allow users to talk, but also to text and to surf the internet opened a new world to the new age multitasker...

Officials: Beware of dangerous holiday toy imports

Posted on January 10, 2010
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials are reminding parents this holiday season to beware of imported toys that may either be dangerous to children or in violation of copyright laws (12/24 Miami AP for FindLaw). Although customs officials intercept many dangerous and illegal products, some inevitably get on the market unnoticed and an influx of imported toys occurs for the holiday season...

50 million blinds recalled as strangulation hazard

Posted on December 17, 2009
The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a recall this week of ?more than 50 million Roman-style shares and roll-up blinds because of the risk children may be strangled by the cords? (12/17, AP for FindLaw). To date, The CPSC says five deaths and 16 near-strangulations have resulted from Roman shades, in addition to three deaths connected to roll-up blinds...

WHO: Smoking kills 5 million every year

Posted on December 17, 2009
The World Heath Organization said Wednesday, ?Tobacco use kills at least 5 million people every year, a figure that could rise if countries don't take stronger measures to combat smoking? (12/11, M.Cheng, AP London for FindLaw). This is a world-wide problem as a new WHO report on tobacco use and control, ?said nearly 95 percent of the global population is unprotected by laws banning smoking...

Mark Stephan's inspirational story

Posted on December 17, 2009
Mark Stephan, a client of Hurley McKenna & Mertz, fractured his neck when the wheel on his bicycle came off unexpectedly on a Chicago area roadway. Since then he has inspired our firm and the world with his relentless drive to teach himself to walk again...

Mark Stephan refuses to use a wheelchair to leave the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago after months of therapy for his fractured neck

Posted on December 11, 2009
If you have been following Hurley McKenna & Mertz client Mark Stephan's courageous fight to learn to walk again then you should look at this video of Mark leaving the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. Although his neck was broken in several places and his limbs were not responding, as soon as Mark was able to speak again after coming out of a coma he said he would walk out of the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago some day...

Going high-tech to track Alzheimer's patients

Posted on November 29, 2009
As a personal injury lawyer, I am thrilled to see this new wandering device for Alzheimer?s patients. One of the scariest issues surrounding the degenerative disease is the propensity to wander and become confused with their surroundings. Since, more than 5 million Americans are estimated to be living with Alzheimer's, the new technology has the potential to allow many family members to worry less about their elderly loved ones (AP for Findlaw, 11/17, Neergaard)...

Legislation should Target solving the problem of medical malpractice, not limiting the rights of the injured.

Posted on November 23, 2009
The several hundred page Healthcare Bill that the House recently passed considered, and ultimately did not include, a piece of right-wing consolation in the form of caps on damages in medical malpractice cases. As a medical malpractice lawyer, I feel strongly that the proposed solution does not address the root of the problem ? the hundreds of thousands of people who are adversely affected each year as a result of medical negligence...

Government Looks at Other Strollers after Maclaren Recall

Posted on November 23, 2009
Elisabeth Leamy reports for abcnews (11/10) about the controversy surrounding the aftermath of the Maclaren recall of umbrella strollers following reports of finger amputations, which lead the Consumer Product Safety Commission to review similar umbrella strollers manufactured by different companies...

Labor issues record $87 million fine to BP

Posted on November 08, 2009
Sam Hananel reports, ?The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is issuing a record $87 million fine against oil giant BP for failing to correct safety hazards after a 2005 explosion killed 15 people at its Texas City refinery? (AP for FindLaw, 11/1)...

PTSD Linked to higher post-surgery death rate

Posted on November 02, 2009
Important new research has linked posttraumatic stress disorder to ?implicated ills of the body?suggesting it may be associated with death after surgery? (CNN, E. Landau, 10/24). The study shows ?that veterans with PTSD were more likely to die within a year after surgery than those without the disease, regardless of how many years have passed since their service,? and is the first to study the mortality rates of PTSD patients after surgery...

Death Toll rises to three in Arizona Sweatbox case

Posted on October 26, 2009
Recently, the story surrounding three deaths and eighteen injuries caused by spending time in a ?sauna-like sweatbox? has lead to a homicide investigation of the October 8 ?Spiritual Warrior? program by self-help expert James Arthur Ray at the Angel Valley Retreat Center near Sedona, Arizona (CNN, 10/18)...

EPA to review health risk from popular weed killer

Posted on October 19, 2009
The Environmental Protection Agency said recently it is ?re-evaluating the health effects of a popular weed killer that has been found in drinking water supplies,? to determine if further restrictions are needed to combat health concerns (Dina Cappiello, AP for Find Law, 10/7)...

Target penalized for toys with lead paint

Posted on October 11, 2009
Natasha Metzler reports, ?Target has agreed to pay a $600,000 civil penalty for importing and selling a variety of toys with high levels of lead paint on the surface (AP for FindLaw, 10/1). The Consumer Product Safety Commission alleged, ?Target knowingly imported and sold the illegal toys between May 2006 and August 2007...

School nurse shortage hampers H1N1 response

Posted on September 28, 2009
When the swine flu emerged last spring, ?it was a school nurse in New York City...who helped identify and curtail the country's first major outbreak after she noticed large numbers of students complaining of high fevers and sore throats? (Terence Chea, AP for FindLaw, 9/25)...

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld San Francisco's ban on cigarette sales in any licensed pharmacy within the city limits.

Posted on September 27, 2009
Ray Theodore reports, ?In a brief, unpublished decision the three-judge panel unanimously found that the ban is permissible because it restricts the sale of cigarettes and not cigarette advertising? (Andrews Publications for FindLaw, 9/16). The court reject the argument that the product itself is an advertisement and found that the sale of cigarettes does not involve expressive conduct that would be protected by the first or fourteenth amendments...

FDA requires faster food safety reporting

Posted on September 21, 2009
As a personal injury lawyer, I am pleased to see the new rule governing food safety, which regulators say "will help the FDA prevent widespread illness from contaminated products and direct inspectors to plants that pose a greater safety concern.? The new rule aims to help federal regulators identify food contamination issues sooner, and requires food makers "to alert government officials of potentially contaminated products within 24 hours? (AP for FindLaw, 9/8)...

NHTSA proposed rule will not require automatically reversing windows

Posted on September 14, 2009
The American Association for Justice news brief recently included an article stating The National Highway Safety Administration said, ?it isn?t necessary to require that power windows operate in reverse to prevent the injury or deaths of children who could be accidentally caught in them? (AP, Manning, 8/28)...

Six companies recall blinds, shades after deaths

Posted on September 08, 2009
Jennifer Kerr reports, ?six companies are recalling millions of window blinds and shades, following the deaths of three children who got caught in cords that help the coverings move up and down? (AP, 8/26). The recalls were announced last week by the Consumer Product Safety Commission and involve some ?big-name companies, including Pottery Barn Kids, IKEA,? and some smaller retailers who sold their products at large retailers such as Target...

Heat Deaths put pressure on Football Tradition

Posted on August 28, 2009
Madison Park reports for CNN, ?before Friday night lights, there is summer suffering.? The football tradition of two-a-days in scorching August heat to get ready for the fall season has recently come under scrutiny. As the medical understanding of the risks of heat exertion expands, more teams are instituting water breaks and monitoring their athlete?s body temperatures...

Legislation would Aid Consumers in Holding Foreign Manufacturers Accountable for Dangerous Products

Posted on August 28, 2009
As a personal injury lawyer in Chicago, I am pleased with the recent legislative action to hold foreign manufacturers accountable for defective products. The hurdles that obstruct seeking justice in foreign countries are often insurmountable, but the recent legislation helps to make justice more attainable...

Study finds "BPA-free" bottles may contain traces of the chemical.

Posted on August 17, 2009
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (7/31, Rust) reports, "Canadian regulators have found that baby bottles marketed to parents as 'BPA free' may actually contain the chemical bisphenol A, as two of nine bottle brands tested by Health Canada, Canada's public health agency, showed 'high readings' while 'traces' were found in the others...

House passes food safety bill

Posted on August 17, 2009
The Washington Post (7/31, Layton) reports that by a 283-142 majority, the House passed the extensive food safety bill. The passing of the bill was perhaps expedited by the recent outbreak of salmonella in peanuts that has killed at least nine people...

Legislation Critical in Settling Arbitration Landscape

Posted on July 30, 2009
The American Arbitration Association released an announcement following the settlement between the Minnesota Attorney General and the National Arbitration Forum stating ?it would stop participating in debt collection forced arbitration proceedings until new guidelines are established? (AAJ, Axelrod and Lorenzi, 7/22) American Association for Justice Senior VP of Public Affairs, Linda Lipsen, said, ?it has become clear that Congress must step in to protect consumers against predatory forced arbitrations...

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