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CHICAGO, IL – In Illinois, many tenants suffer from an injury due to their landlord’s negligence. This is a complex area of law that requires professional guidance to understand a tenant’s right to sue for personal injury on a rental property.

Landlord and tenant laws are based on old customs and are lightly regulated. This results in situations where landlords can neglect their properties and tenants with few, if any, consequences. Though most landlord negligence results in less-than-ideal living situations, some neglect can result in severe injuries like broken bones and concussions or even a fatality.

When can you sue your landlord for injury in Illinois?

Courts hold that tenants can make a personal injury claim against a landlord in the following situations:

• Under certain circumstances when a defective and dangerous condition exists;
• When the landlord acts carelessly and the careless act causes injury; and
• When a law, including the Chicago Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance (RLTO), imposes a specific responsibility on the landlord and gives a tenant the right to sue if the landlord fails to comply with the responsibility.

No Illinois statute governs personal injury claims against a landlord meaning lawsuits against a landlord for personal injury are based entirely on common law. The general rule regarding landlord liability for injury is based on negligence. For a landlord to be liable for negligence, the following conditions must be met:

• The landlord must have a duty of care to the injured party;
• The landlord must have breached that duty; and
• The breach of the duty must have caused, in a reasonably foreseeable manner, harm to the injured party.

These are the standard elements of a negligence claim for personal injury; however, things can take a turn when it comes to analyzing whether the landlord has a legal obligation to protect tenants and/or their guests.

There are exceptions to these rules that landlords have no liability for personal injury caused by defective conditions. It’s important you speak to an experienced personal injury attorney in Chicago, Illinois who can advise you on the responsibilities of a landlord in the leased premises.

Landlords are responsible for personal injuries when they take action and act negligently

The general rule where a tenant is injured due to a dangerous and defective condition on the rental premises is known as premises liability. This type of claim exists when a landlord fails to maintain the property in a reasonably safe condition.

Landlords are liable for injuries if they act carelessly or negligently, and their careless acts cause foreseeable harm to other people, including tenants. This type of negligence claim is warranted when a landlord mounts a mailbox but only inserts the mounting halfway resulting in it collapsing, injuring the tenant. The landlord is responsible for the injury since inserting the bolts halfway is not reasonable and the harm was foreseeable which breaches their duty of care.

Landlord liability for personal injuries under the Chicago RLTO

The RLTO applies to almost all residential properties located within the Chicago city limits. There are exceptions to its application, but the only common one is that the RLTO doesn’t apply to units in owner-occupied buildings of six units or less.

The RLTO is useful in establishing an exception to the general Illinois rule that landlords do not have a duty to maintain their property in defective and dangerous conditions. The RLTO imposes duties to maintain on a landlord and those duties are imposed to ensure tenant safety.

The RLTO also contains a private right of action meaning tenants can sue their landlord for personal injuries under the RLTO itself. The RLTO imposes duties on a landlord, including a duty to maintain the premises of the Chicago Municipal Code.

The RLTO gives tenants a private right of action and states that if a tenant’s lawsuit is successful, they will be entitled to an award of reasonable attorney’s fees under the Chicago Municipal Code. Therefore, a Chicago tenant can sue a landlord for injuries under common law and RLTO. An RLTO claim allows tenants to recover their injuries, as well as receive an award of reasonable attorney fees.

Contact a Chicago, Illinois personal injury lawyer today!

Though the general Illinois rule holding landlords responsible for injuries due to defective and dangerous conditions is restrictive, the exception allows a tenant to sue in various cases where injuries are caused by a failure to maintain.

If you have suffered personal injury in Chicago, Illinois, it is important to seek legal counsel as soon as possible. You may only have a limited amount of time to pursue a lawsuit for injuries under Illinois’ statute of limitations laws. Fill out this form or call (312) 384-1920 today for guidance on your rights, insurance filing requirements and legal options toward damage compensation.

CHICAGO, IL – There are often construction projects and renovations taking place in Illinois which can lead to hazardous conditions for workers, resulting in construction accidents. Construction accidents can include scaffolding falls, falling objects and debris, equipment malfunction, forklift accidents, toxic exposure and much more.

If you are injured on a construction site, you should contact an experienced Illinois construction accident lawyer for assistance. Continue to read this week’s blog to learn why.

Holding at-fault parties accountable

Owners and contractors must protect the health and safety of workers on their construction sites. If you are injured while working at a construction site, you may be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. These payments include reimbursement for medical expenses, partial lost wages, permanent disability and death benefits.

Many construction site accidents are typically caused by third-party negligence. If you are injured by a third party, you may be able to recover compensation beyond your workers’ compensation payments by filing a personal injury claim.

To recover compensation in a personal injury claim, you must prove that someone else’s negligence caused the construction accident. It is also possible that more than one party is responsible for your injuries.

If you file a personal injury lawsuit against a third party, you may be able to recover the following compensation:

• Current and future medical bills
• Rehabilitation expenses
• Physical therapy costs
• At-home care expenses
• Medical devices and equipment costs
• All of your lost income
• The loss of future earning capacity
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional trauma
• Disfigurement
• Scarring

Expenses accumulate quickly following a construction accident. It is important to get the compensation you need to cover the costs of your injuries. A qualified Illinois construction accident attorney can determine who is liable for your damages. Holding all at-fault parties accountable will help you get the compensation you deserve.

Negotiating with insurance providers

You will likely deal with insurance adjusters after sustaining an injury in a construction accident. Negotiation is a critical part of having a successful claim. However, negotiating can be frustrating as the insurance company will want to pay you the least amount of money possible. A skilled construction accident attorney will negotiate to get you appropriately compensated for your damages.

The following are injuries that can be sustained during construction accidents:

• Crushing injuries
• Brain injuries
• Amputations
• Spinal cord damage
• Paralysis
• Head injuries
• Neck injuries
• Broken bones
• Burn injuries
• Wrongful death

You can sustain life-altering injuries in a construction accident. The medical costs and recovery expenses can also leave you feeling overwhelmed. Hiring a skilled Illinois construction accident lawyer can help you get fair compensation and get your life back on track.

Resolving your Illinois construction accident claim

Slow claims processing can be frustrating when your medical expenses are adding up. Construction accident lawyers are experienced with the claims process. This will help your case move as quickly as possible. Some of the most commonly required documents and information in construction site accident cases include:

• Medical records, including doctor’s notes, medical bills and invoices
• Witness statements
• Photographs and videos of the accident
• An account of miscellaneous accident-related expenses
• An official description of the victim’s job function
• Confirmation of the victim’s average weekly wages

It can be time-consuming to coordinate information and evidence on your own. An experienced construction accident lawyer can help you navigate the process of coordinating information and evidence promptly. If you are injured, contact a seasoned Illinois construction accident attorney for a free consultation.

Accident law firm in Chicago, Illinois

If you’ve been injured in an accident in Chicago, Illinois and need legal help, contact our Chicago construction accident lawyers at the Dinizulu Law Group to schedule a free consultation today by filling out this form or calling (312) 384-1920.

CHICAGO, IL – Medical malpractice occurs in various ways. The more you know about the different types of negligence committed by doctors, nurses and other medical professionals, the better you can understand what happened to you or your loved one. In this article, we discuss the different types of medical malpractice claims and break down the types of claims.

Missed or Delayed Diagnoses

If a diagnosis is missed or delayed, it prevents you from receiving the treatment you need and your condition can quickly worsen. Diagnostic errors can occur when you are not diagnosed with a medical condition despite having signs and symptoms with the condition, you are diagnosed with a condition you don’t have or you are diagnosed after the condition has reached an incurable stage.

Heart attacks and strokes are the most common misdiagnosed medical conditions. Doctors, nurses, lab technicians and others can be held responsible if you or a loved one is harmed by the failure to properly diagnose your medical condition.

Medication Errors

Medication can be used to stabilize or improve a patient’s condition. Serious harm results from mistakes that are made when prescribing and administering medication. More than 1.5 million people suffer harm annually from medication errors.

Other medication errors involve miscommunication, mislabeling, prescribing medication for “off-label” uses and failing to monitor patients.

Pregnancy Malpractice Lawsuits

Medical mistakes are preventable but can occur during the planning, pregnancy and labor/delivery stages which can lead to a child suffering a disability, including cerebral palsy, and in some cases, may cause a tragic loss of life.

A woman trusts her obstetrician to closely monitor her pregnancy, order proper tests and prescribe safe medications. When an obstetrician is negligent, it can lead to the failure to identify an ectopic pregnancy, gestational diabetes, birth defects or cause other harm.

Medical mistakes can also be made during labor and delivery by doctors, nurses or midwives, which may lead to devastating birth injuries. These errors may cause a child to suffer from physical trauma or deprive a child of oxygen which can lead to brain damage. In many cases, the error comes from a failure to respond in a timely manner.

When a child is born, the hospital must continue to closely monitor the child’s condition. The hospital should take proper action if breathing difficulties, heart problems, jaundice or other medical issues arise.

Anesthesia Errors

Anesthesia errors occur when doctors, nurses, anesthesiologists and other medical professionals fail to properly check equipment and monitor a patient’s vital signs and level of consciousness during surgery. If a device malfunctions or anesthesia is negligently administered during an operation, a patient can suffer a stroke or heart attack, brain damage, psychological harm or death.

Mistakes can also be made when administering spinal and epidural anesthesia, leading to complications such as spinal infections, nerve damage, seizures and allergic reactions.

Surgical Errors

There are various surgical errors that can occur that lead to injured patients, including:

• Failing to properly administer general or regional anesthesia.
• Failing to properly prepare a patient for surgery by monitoring their vital signs, diet and medication.
• Puncturing or performing an organ with a surgical tool.
• Failing to monitor a patient after surgery and respond in a timely manner to blood clots, infections, illness and heart problems.

Hospital Infections

Hospital-acquired infections can lead to serious and potentially deadly illnesses, such as sepsis. In many cases, patients suffer infections when the negligence of doctors, nurses and hospital staff allows harmful germs and bacteria, including MRSA to spread to patients.

Hospital infections can be caused by the failure to:

• Wash hands
• Clean and disinfect sinks
• Clean and sterilize surgical instruments
• Use double-gloving during surgery
• Follow special handling and disposal precautions for items like scalpels, needles, lab waste and blood

Because they are at a high risk of infections, patients must be carefully monitored while hospitalized. Often, a patient’s harm results from the failure of medical professionals to diagnose and treat an infection in a timely manner.

Emergency Room Errors

Diagnostic errors are a leading type of emergency room error which is especially a problem when a patient goes to the ER with a dangerous condition such as a stroke or heart attack. The condition may be misdiagnosed as a less serious condition such as a headache or heartburn. Many ER errors can be traced to overcrowding, understaffing and poor training. Emergency room malpractice may include:

• Failing to order appropriate tests
• Failing to get a description of a patient’s symptoms
• Misreading tests
• Failing to follow proper procedures when administering medication
• Allowing unsanitary conditions to exist
• Miscommunication during “hand-offs”

Radiology Errors

Radiologists play a critical role in the diagnosis of a patient’s condition by conducting and interpreting X-rays and tests, including MRIs and CT scans. As a result, a patient may fail to get timely treatment when radiology errors occur, such as:

• Failure to perform the test correctly
• Failure to perform follow-up tests
• Use of detective equipment
• Misinterpretation of test results
• Miscommunication of test results

Radiology errors carry severe consequences like pregnancy complications, progression of cancer or worsening of a traumatic brain injury.

Dental Malpractice

Dentists have a duty to follow the accepted standard of care when providing services to their patients like other medical professionals. When dentists fail to follow this standard, a patient is harmed as a result and a patient may have a claim based on negligence.

Examples of dental malpractice include:

• A missed or delayed diagnosis of mouth or gum disease
• Failing to adequately supervise dental assistants
• Failing to properly administer general or regional anesthesia
• Performing an unnecessary procedure like a root canal
• Extracting the wrong tooth
• Using unsterilized equipment

Patients who are victims of dental malpractice can suffer harm such as infections, broken teeth, chronic pain or the progression of a disease.

Failure to Monitor

The failure to monitor can lead to the failure to timely and effectively treat a patient’s medical condition. It can occur in situations such as:

• During a mother’s pregnancy or during labor and delivery
• After a patient is administered medication
• When anesthesia is administered during surgery
• While a patient is being hospitalized after surgery

The failure to monitor may result in a medical professional missing signs of complications such as breathing or heart problems, allergic reactions, infections, blood clots and internal bleeding.

Contacting a Medical Malpractice Lawyer in Chicago, Illinois

It’s necessary to have an experienced medical malpractice and personal injury attorney who has experience protecting your rights while defending your health and medical treatment. If you or a family member has been injured due to neglect, misdiagnosis, malpractice or birth injury, contact our Illinois personal injury attorneys for free consultation to learn how we can protect you, your health and your family. Call (312) 384-1920 or simply fill out this form and we’ll contact you. Don’t wait – get started today.

CHICAGO, IL – Semi-trucks account for one in seven vehicles on the urban interstate highway in Illinois, according to the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning. In 2020, there were more than 9,200 crashes in Illinois that involved a tractor-trailer or semi-truck with 105 of those crashes resulting in at least one fatality.

Driving in the winter is already difficult and now is the time to review the best practices for staying safe while driving near these commercial trucks on Illinois roadways.

1. Make sure that there is plenty of space between your car and a semi-truck

   Commercial trucks are dangerous compared to smaller vehicles because they have a more difficult time seeing passenger vehicles. Trucks have large blind spots and it can be easier to overlook other drivers while in traffic. Additionally, a bright glare while the sun is out can cause visibility issues that lead to crashes. Make sure to give semi-truck drivers more space by avoiding driving directly next to their trucks. You should always maintain a safe following distance of at least four seconds.

2. Be cautious when merging

   A semi-truck takes much longer to speed up or slow down compared to an average vehicle. This means it will also take them longer to respond to changing traffic conditions. You should give a semi-truck twice as much space between the rear of their vehicle and the front of the truck compared to how you would merge with standard traffic.

3. Pay extra attention at intersections

   To reduce your risk of a crash with a commercial truck at an intersection, be cautious when approaching so you don’t put yourself at risk of getting clipped. Additionally, you should take an extra second before proceeding through an intersection to see what bigger vehicles across the intersection may do.

Risk Factors in Semi-Truck Crashes

There are various factors that can contribute to a serious truck crash, and the circumstances surrounding each one can be unique. However, common risk factors play a role in many of these crashes. By recognizing and addressing them, company owners and managers can help reduce the risk of serious crashes.

Serious risk factors include inexperience, driver turnover, risk-taking behaviors, speed, following distance, distraction, fatigue and vehicle design.

Injuries from Semi-Truck Accidents

Injuries stemming from an accident with a semi-truck are often catastrophic, such as:

• Traumatic brain injuries
• Whiplash
• Spinal injuries
• Internal injuries

Injured from a Commercial Vehicle Crash? Contact the Personal Injury Lawyers at the Dinizulu Law Group

These debilitating injuries prevent victims from working, caring for their families or even leaving home. The personal injury and truck accident attorneys at the Dinizulu Law Group bring years of experience to the table, fighting for the justice and compensation victims and their families deserve. Contact our attorneys today so you don’t go without help when you need it most. Simply fill out this form and we’ll contact you or call (312) 384-1920 for a free consultation today to discuss your situation with our team and learn more about our services.

CHICAGO, IL – Wrongful death is a situation where an individual’s demise results from the actions or negligence of another party. The legal concept recognizes that certain deaths are not merely accidents, but are directly attributed to the wrongful conduct of someone else.

Wrongful death actions resulting in death can take on various forms, including negligence, recklessness or intentional harm. Negligence refers to the failure to exercise a reasonable level of care ultimately leading to harm.

Surviving family members or beneficiaries, such as children, spouses or other dependants may have the legal right to pursue a wrongful death claim. These claims hold the responsible party accountable for their actions and seek compensation for the damages incurred as a result of the loss. Damages may include economic losses, including funeral expenses, medical bills and the loss of financial support that the deceased would have provided. Non-economic damages may also be pursued in Illinois which encompass the emotional pain and suffering, loss of companionship and the overall impact on the quality of life for the survivors.

Wrongful death laws can vary across jurisdictions and the specifics of each case depend on the circumstances surrounding the death and applicable legal standards. You should always seek legal advice from an experienced lawyer who specializes in wrongful death cases to navigate these complex matters.

Common Causes of Wrongful Death

Common causes of wrongful death in Illinois may include:

• Medical malpractice which can include mistakes during surgery, misdiagnosis or prescribing the incorrect medications. You must prove that a healthcare professional breached the standard of care and the breach directly led to the patient’s death.
• Car accidents caused by reckless driving, distracted driving or drunk driving. You must establish negligence, demonstrate the at-fault driver’s duty of care and prove a direct connection between their actions and the fatal outcome.
• Workplace incidents caused by equipment failure, inadequate safety measures or a lack of training. You must demonstrate that the employer or a third party was negligent in providing a safe work environment and their negligence resulted in the employee’s death.
• Defective products, such as design flaws, manufacturing defects or failure to warn about potential dangers. You must show that the product was unreasonably dangerous, the product was being used as intended and the defect caused the death.
• Criminal acts like assaults, intentional harm or homicide. You must establish that the criminal act directly led to the death and identify any third-party liability, such as inadequate security or negligence.
• Unsafe premises, including slip and fall accidents or inadequate safety measures. You must demonstrate that the property owner or manager was negligent in maintaining a safe environment and the negligence resulted in the fatal incident.

Complexities Involved in a Wrongful Death Case

Wrongful death cases are complex and involve a combination of legal intricacies, emotional challenges and the necessity for thorough investigations to establish liability. The following complexities may be involved:

• Legal Complexities
  • Wrongful death cases require the plaintiff to prove that the defendant’s actions directly caused the death which may require substantial evidence.
  • Each jurisdiction has a statute of limitations within which a wrongful death lawsuit must be filed to the court. You must pay special attention to these legal deadlines or you’ll waive your right.
  • Cases may involve multiple defendants and determining the degree of liability for each party adds complexity.
• Emotional Challenges
  • The emotional toll on the surviving family members can be intense and balancing the pursuit of justice with the grieving process can be a lot.
  • Participating in legal proceedings can be emotionally draining for the family to relive the circumstances revolving around their loved ones tragic passing.
• Investigative Demands
  • Establishing liability in a wrongful death case often requires a comprehensive investigation by collecting witness statements, analyzing medical records, consulting experts and reconstructing events leading to the death.
  • Expert testimony may be critical in providing specialized knowledge, including medical experts, accident reconstruction specialists or professionals in the relevant field.
• Insurance and Financial Complexities
  • Determining available insurance coverage for compensation adds another layer of complexities due to insurance policies, exclusions and limits having an influence of the amount of financial recovery possible.
  • Assessing the economic and non-economic damages like the financial loss to the family and intangible emotional suffering requires a careful valuation process.
• Negotiation and Settlement Challenges
  • The process of negotiating a settlement can be intricate because you have to balance the family’s needs with the legal considerations and potential counter-arguments from the defense.
  • Wrongful death cases can attract media and public attention and the privacy of the grieving family can become a challenge.

Consult the Experts for a Better Understanding

At the Dinizulu Law Group, we understand the profound impact of wrongful death and we’re here to help you as trusted advocates in Chicago, Illinois. Our experienced team is committed to guiding you through the process of filing a wrongful death claim while offering both legal expertise and compassionate support for you and your family.

Take the first step towards healing and justice. Contact our law firm today and let us stand by your side throughout the process. Fill out this form or call us today at (312) 384-1920 for a free case evaluation.