Personal Injury Law

Honda recalling new Civics due to fuel leakage

Posted on March 22, 2011
Honda Motor Co. is ?recalling new models of the Honda Civic to prevent fuel from leaking from the car's fuel tank.? (Washington AP, 3/17). The recall targets approximately 18,000 2011 Model year. Honda says the issue surrounds ?a plastic case that covers a valve in the fuel pump module could break or crack...

VW to recall minivans for stalling problem

Posted on March 15, 2011
Volkswagen is ?recalling 12,600 minivans because the ignition key could move while driving and cause the engine to shut off.? (Detroit AP, 3/10). The recalls, which are scheduled to begin in April, follow a similar Chrysler recall, the company that makes the vans for Volkswagen...

Chrysler recalling vehicles over engine stall

Posted on March 04, 2011
Chrysler is recalling ?about 250,000 vehicles to fix potential engine stalling.? (Washington, AP, 3/3). The auto manufacturer says the recall affects 2010 Dodge Grand Caravans, Chrysler Town & Country Minivans, and 2010 Dodge Journey Crossovers. The recall is in response to reports that ?the ignition key could move while driving and cause the engine to shut off...

Ford to recall F-150 pickups over air bags

Posted on March 01, 2011
Ford Motor Co. says it ?will recall nearly 150,000 F-150 pickup trucks to fix air bags that could deploy without warning.? (K. Thomas, AP, 2/23). The recall follows concerns raised by the government about the air bag issue. Ford calls the risk of air bags deploying ?relatively low,? and said the recall affects trucks from the 2005-2006 model years...

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GM recalling Cadillac CTS over vehicle handling

Posted on February 22, 2011
General Motors says it is recalling ?more than 50,000 Cadillac CTS vehicles worldwide to fix a loose joint that could cause a rear wheel to become unstable, making it hard for drivers to steer.? (Washington AP, 2/17). Of those vehicles recalled, the majority are located in the United States...

Nearly 800,000 Dorel Child-Safety Seats Are Recalled

Posted on February 14, 2011
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, almost 800,000 child seats are ?being recalled because their harnesses may not hold the child securely.? (C. Jensen, NY Times Wheels, 2/14). As a Chicago personal injury attorney, I encourage parents to act swiftly to ensure their children?s safety...

TSA to test new body scanning system

Posted on February 08, 2011
The Transportation Security Administration ?is testing a new, more modest body scanning system at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas.? (Las Vegas AP, 2/1). The new scanning system is an attempt at compromise for those passengers who take issue with the current scanners complainings that the full-body scans are overly intrusive...

Toyota recalls nearly 1.7 million vehicles

Posted on February 01, 2011
Toyota is recalling ?nearly 1.7 million vehicles around the world for various defects that may cause fuel leakage - the latest in quality control woes for the Japanese automaker.? (Y Kageyama, AP Business, 1/25). Unfortunately for Toyota, this is yet another problem that the manufacturer must face...

Side air bags to be improved to protect motorists

Posted on February 01, 2011
New cars and trucks will ?have larger and stronger side air bags to prevent motorists from being tossed out of their vehicles in rollover crashes.? (K Thomas, AP, 1/31). The Transportation Department says the new requirements aim to protect motorists in rollovers as more than 8,000 people were killed in rollovers in 2009...

Chrysler recalls trucks and SUVs

Posted on January 17, 2011
Chrysler recently recalled ?nearly 150,000 trucks and SUVs to address several problems, including steering, air bag issues and the potential for trucks to stall.? (Washington AP, 12/30). In order to address these issues, ?Chrysler is conducting three separate recalls to fix the problems...

A Record Year for Heatstroke Deaths

Posted on January 09, 2011
As a Chicago personal injury attorney, I am saddened by this story, and hopeful that the dim statistics will change in the future. Despite ?repeated efforts to alert parents and caretakers about the dangers of leaving children and infants in automobiles on even moderately warm days,? heat stroke deaths continue in distressingly large numbers...

CDC: Seat belt use reaches 85 percent

Posted on January 05, 2011
Recently, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention released encouraging statistics regarding seatbelt usage. As a Chicago area personal injury lawyer, I am thrilled by the news that seatbelts are used by ?nearly six in seven U.S. adults.? (Atlanta AP, 1/14)...

GM recalls almost 100,000 vehicles due to 2 issues

Posted on December 28, 2010
General Motors Co. is recalling nearly 100,000 vehicles ?to fix two problems that could cause the rear axle to lock and the passenger-side airbag not to work.? (NY AP, 12/23). The airbag recall affects 2005 to 2007 model year Cadillac CTS. The axle recall affects the 2011 model year versions of the Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Avalanche 1500, GMC Sierra 1500, and Silverado 1500...

Honda recalls 1.35 million Fit subcompacts

Posted on December 21, 2010
Honda Motor Co. says it is ?recalling 1.35 million Fit subcompact cars globally to fix defective wiring in the headlights.? (Tokyo AP, 12/16). The recall will affect just shy of 150,000 cars in the United States, as well as over 700,000 cars in Japan...

JetBlue flight has close call on Boston Runway

Posted on December 12, 2010
As a personal injury lawyer in Chicago, I am thankful that the air traffic controller acted quickly in this near miss in Boston, but hopeful that similar close calls will be avoided in the future. Thankfully, a ?quick-thinking air traffic controller at Boston's Logan International Airport urgently told a JetBlue flight to "hold" just before it entered a runway where another plane was about to take off...

Gov't offers new rules for rear visibility in cars

Posted on December 06, 2010
The government is proposing new rules aimed at ?improving rear visibility standards for cars.? (K. Thomas, AP Washington, 12/3). These new regulations may make rear view cameras more common in future vehicles to address concerns about children being inadvertently struck by drivers backing up...

N.H.T.S.A. Opens Audit of Rental Car Repairs

Posted on November 29, 2010
As a Chicago lawyer with auto accident and products liability experience, I am appalled that rental car agencies failed to fix recalled vehicles in a timely manner. I am hopeful that this will never happen again, and the rental car companies will be held responsible for their carelessness...

Toyota seeks to dismiss acceleration lawsuits

Posted on November 20, 2010
A federal judge in California ?will consider a motion by Toyota Motor Corp. to dismiss lawsuits that claim there are sudden acceleration defects in its cars.? (AP Santa Anna, California, 11/19). This hearing is in the wake of a fatal crash in Utah, likely due to a faulty Toyota Camry...

Feds say all motorcycle riders should wear helmets, and Illinois is one of three states with no requirement

Posted on November 20, 2010
Federal safety officials ?want states to require all motorcycle riders to wear helmets, citing a surge in deaths since the late 1990s.? (J.Lowy, Washington AP, 11/16). The National Transportation Safety Board says that while overall traffic fatalities have decline, motorcycle deaths have increased over the last decade...

Hole found in plane that took off from Miami

Posted on November 08, 2010
This wee, a ?1-foot-by-2-foot hole was found in the fuselage of a commercial airliner that suddenly lost cabin pressure shortly after taking off from Miami.? (AP Miami, 10/29). As a personal injury attorney in Chicago, I am hopeful that this situation will be studied quickly to avoid possible future incidents of greater magnitude...

Nissan recalls 2 million vehicles worldwide

Posted on November 01, 2010
Nissan is recalling ?2.14 million vehicles in the U.S., Japan, Europe and Asia, including the popular March and Mycra subcompacts, for an ignition problem that may stall the engine - its third-largest recall ever.? (Tokyo AP, 10/28). Although, according to Nissan, no accidents caused by the defect have been reported, Nissan has decided to address the problem before unnecessary accidents occur...

Chrysler to recall 26,000 vehicles for fluid leak

Posted on October 24, 2010
Chrysler is recalling ?about 26,000 cars and pickup trucks because power steering fluid can leak onto a hot engine and cause a fire.? (Detroit AP, 10/20). The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the recall includes both 2010 models of the Chrysler 300 and Chrysler Sebring, the Dodge Avenger, Dodge Challenger and Dodge Journey, as well as the 2011 Dodge Ram pickup trucks...

GM recalls 300,000 Impalas because of Seatbelt Issue

Posted on October 19, 2010
General Motors announced last week that it is ?recalling more than 300,000 Chevrolet Impala sedans because the seat belts may fail to restrain people in the front seats during a crash.? (AP Detroit, 10/15). The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the issue with the seatbelts is the front seat belt webbing, which may not be secured adequately to the lap belt anchor on the side of the seat nearest to the doors...

Tesla Recalling 439 Roadsters for Fire Hazard

Posted on October 08, 2010
Tesla Motors announced recently that it is ?recalling 439 of its electric sports cars because of a possible fire hazard involving the 12-volt electrical system.? (10/6, NY Times Wheels, C Jensen). However, the automaker has told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that the defect does not effect the ?electric drive main power system? that moves the vehicle...

NTSB cites fatigue in fatal Oklahoma crash

Posted on October 03, 2010
As a personal injury lawyer in Chicago, I feel strongly that driving while exhausted is never the solution. Fatigued drivers cause many accidents annually, and most drivers do not think they are too tired to drive. Please be safe and smart when deciding whether you are or are not capable of driving safely...

Hyundai Recalls 139,500 of Its 2011 Sonatas for Steering Defect

Posted on September 27, 2010
Hyundai is recalling ?about 139,500 of its new 2011 Sonatas because of a steering defect that could cause the driver to lose control of the vehicle, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.? (C. Jensen, NY Times Wheels, 9/26)...

School Buses Recalled by Thomas Built Buses

Posted on September 20, 2010
For the second time this month, ?Thomas Built Buses is recalling school buses for a safety problem.? (C. Jensen, NY Times Wheels, 9/17). The latest recall suggests that the company apparently waited several months before officially disclosing the safety problems to the National Highways Traffic Safety Administration...

Commuter train kills 2, injures 1 in Calif.

Posted on September 13, 2010
In an extremely sad and gruesome accident, a Southern California based Metrolink commuter train ?struck and killed two people who may have been sleeping on the tracks and injured a third in Orange County on Thursday, authorities said.? (G. Flaccus, AP, 9/10)...

New Phenomenon of Billing Crash Victims

Posted on September 07, 2010
As a personal injury lawyer in Chicago with car and truck accident experience, I am disturbed by the following story, especially in light of the lack of transparency. I further believe that victims of negligence should not be forced to pay for emergency response, especially when the responders are not needed or called by the victim...

US steps up scrutiny into stalling Corolla cars

Posted on August 30, 2010
The U.S. government has ?beefed up its investigation into Toyota's Corolla and Matrix vehicles because of a possible engine defect that might can cause them to stall.? (Y. Kageyama, AP Business, 8/24). The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it was ?raising its preliminary evaluation to a more serious scrutiny called an engineering analysis to look into the problems that could cause the engine to stall, not start or to shift gear harshly...

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