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How Can an Irregular Heartbeat Affect Treatment Following a Car Accident?
It is very important for all of us to stay healthy. This can include eating healthy food, exercising regularly, and generally taking care of our bodies. Unfortunately, there are situations where we have medical issues that cannot go away, no matter how hard we try to stay healthy. Some of these medical conditions can greatly increase the likelihood of a car accident, including diabetes, epilepsy, and irregular heartbeat. These medical conditions can also increase the likelihood of more serious injuries, deaths, longer hospital stays, and more costly hospital payments.
How Is an Irregular Heartbeat Linked to Car Accident Injuries and Deaths?
An irregular heartbeat, also known as atrial fibrillation, is a common heart rhythm disorder. Research has indicated that having an irregular heartbeat can greatly affect the likelihood of dying if involved in a car accident.
Common Causes of Slip and Fall Accidents in Retail Stores
A fall in a retail store or restaurant can come at any time. What should have been a quick grocery shopping trip can turn into a painful accident that requires extensive medical care and time off work.
While such an incident happens in the blink of an eye, getting you the compensation you deserve can take much longer. At our firm, we strive to get our clients compensation as quickly as possible while still protecting all of their rights.
There are numerous hazards that could cause a slip in fall in a retail store or restaurant. When business owners fail to take proper care to provide a safe environment for customers, they risk the health of everyone. It is important to hire an attorney to keep these businesses accountable.
In our legal practice, we see many hazards, again and again, that cause slip and fall accidents. These include:
- Uneven surfaces. A business owner has an obligation to provide a business that has reasonably even surfaces. There may be small variations in the surface, but there are safety standards in place that set how large the variation can be. Larger variations in surface height must be marked. Floors and flooring materials contribute directly to more than two million fall injuries each year.
Injured in an Illinois Truck Accident?
Semi-trucks are a danger on the road. Their large size means that they can cause significant damage to much smaller cars and trucks. Accidents involving semi-trucks are likely to be serious. If you are not at fault in a truck accident, you should not be responsible for costly medical bills and damage to property.
Tractor-Trailer Accidents by the Numbers
Unfortunately, semi-truck accidents are all too common in Illinois. According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, there were 19,945 accidents involving tractor-trailers in 2014, the most recent year data is available.
Of those nearly 20,000 accidents, 111 involved fatalities and 3,198 caused injuries. Also in 2014, there were 44,495 people involved in an accident with a semi-truck. Of that total, 120 died and 4,450 sustained non-fatal injuries, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation.
Orland Park Leads South Suburbs in 2017 DUI Arrests: Survey
As reported by Lorraine Swanson of The Patch on July 2, 2018, the Village of Orland Park had the most DUI arrests of any southwest suburb in Cook County.
Orland Park landed in the top 20 of Illinois municipalities and led the south suburbs in for DUI arrests in 2017. Orland Park officers logged 216 arrests of buzzed drivers, according to the Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists' annual DUI arrest survey.
AAIM is an Illinois-only citizen activist group founded in 1982 by victims of drunk driving based in Schaumburg. The group promotes prevention, victim advocacy and legislation for tougher drunk driving laws and is a recognized expert in this area.
The south suburban police departments in the Patch network that responded to the 2017 AAIM survey ranked as followed:
- #12 Orland Park, 216 (184 arrests in 2016; ranked 16)
- #19 Oak Lawn, 162 (223 arrests in 2016; ranked #11)
Car Accidents Can Leave Pedestrian Victims with Serious Injuries
Being injured as a pedestrian in a collision with an automobile can be extremely serious. These pedestrian accidents are also common. It is estimated that a pedestrian is injured every eight minutes in the United States. Pedestrian accidents can also be deadly. In fact, the United States averages to one crash-related pedestrian death every 1.6 hours.
How Pedestrians Are Injured
No two accidents are alike, and that is one reason why an attorney will be helpful in making your best arguments to an insurance adjuster or a judge and jury. However, most pedestrian-car accidents follow a similar injury pattern.
First, the car’s front bumper strikes the pedestrian’s lower leg area. Then, with the legs moving in the same direction as the vehicle’s travel, the upper body hits the car hood or windshield.
Thus, there are typically three points where the pedestrian is hit:
- Between the lower leg and bumper;
Hit and Run Deaths Are at an All-Time High
Fatalities from hit and run accidents have never been higher in this country, according to a 2018 study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.
According to the study, 2,049 people died in hit and run accidents in 2016. This figure is an astonishing 62 percent increase from 2009. AAA reports that 2016 is the year with the most fatalities since 1975 when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began collecting numbers on fatal motor vehicle collisions.
The study found that the states with the highest rates of fatal hit and runs were New Mexico, Louisiana, and Florida. The states with the lowest rates were Maine, Minnesota, and New Hampshire.
What Is a Hit and Run Crash?
A hit and run collision occurs when at least one person leaves the accident without offering appropriate information or help to the other parties. Failing to report the accident can also be considered a hit and run.
Beyond Bite Wounds: How a Dog Attack Can Injure Victims
While most people think of a dog bite as the resulting injury of such an attack, there are other injuries that may be sustained during the dog attack. These injuries can be more threatening than a flesh wound and should not be overlooked by a victim, medical provider, or attorney.
Disease from Dog Bites
A dog’s mouth can have many types of bacteria in it. There are over 60 types that have been found. It is no wonder that 18 percent of dog bites become infected.
Dog bite victims can contract these diseases:
- Rabies. If you do not know the shot record of the dog that attacked you, rabies is one of your top concerns. Rabies affects the brain and is almost always fatal once symptoms appear.
- Capnocytophaga. This type of bacteria does not make dogs or cats sick. Many people will also not become sick from this bacteria. However, the bacteria are dangerous to those with weakened immune systems.
Illinois Passes New Children's Car Seat Law
Illinois recently passed a law mandating that child passengers under two years old must ride in car seats that face the back of the vehicle. The bill was signed into law on August 3, 2018.
The law states that children under two years old may sit facing forward in car seats if they are at least 40 pounds or 40 inches tall. A first offense is punishable by a $75 fine, and a second offense is punishable by $200.
This requirement had long been the recommendation made by experts, however, the law previously only required rear-facing car seats up to a year old. Prior to 2011, the Academy of Pediatrics recommended rear-facing car seats until the child was a year old or 20 pounds.
The new recommendation and subsequent law came about after studies showed that death rates were 75 percent lower when car seats were positioned rear-facing until two years of age.
Common Vehicle Collision Injuries in Children
When Is a Store Responsible for Your Slip and Fall?
In our firm’s 10 years of representing clients, one misconception that comes up regularly is that if you fall on someone else’s property, you have a viable lawsuit against them. This is not the law in Illinois, and slip and fall accidents can be much more difficult to prove.
The Deciding Factor on If You Can Recover Damages
Often the fact that determines if you have a case is if you can prove if the condition that caused your fall was known or should have been known to the property owner/occupier. In some cases, you can prove that the property owner knew about the dangerous condition and did not fix it. For example, you may be able to get video surveillance footage of a store employee mopping and not putting out warning signs.
More common, however, is that you can prove that a reasonable property owner should have been aware of the dangerous condition. For example, you may be able to secure the testimony of another customer who can testify to the fact that the dangerous condition had been present for weeks before your fall.
Why Soft Tissue Injuries Should Be Taken Seriously after Car Accidents
If you have been in a car accident, you run the risk of getting soft tissue injuries. These injuries are common and can be debilitating for significant periods of time. If you were not at fault, or not fully at fault, in the car accident, you should be fairly compensated for your injuries.
Types of Soft Tissue Injuries
This class of injury involves damage to the soft tissue of the body such as muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Soft tissue injuries can leave one immobile and in pain for weeks and months. These injuries can also require extensive physical therapy in order for you to be fully rehabilitated.
Types of soft tissue injuries that can be sustained in an auto accident include:
- Whiplash. This is the most common soft tissue injury caused by car accidents. Whiplash occurs when a car strikes another and the force causes a victim’s head and neck to violently move backward and forwards. Symptoms of whiplash include stiffness of the neck, sharp neck pain, back problems and even cognitive issues, such as problems with memory and concentration.
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9631 W. 153rd St., Suite 32,
Orland Park, IL 60462
Phone
708-966-2408
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9631 W. 153rd St., Suite 32, Orland Park, IL 60462
708-966-2408
