Uncategorized | Dinizulu Law Group, Ltd

Filing a Wrongful Death Lawsuit – Where Do I Start?

November 28, 2016/in Blog, Car accident injury law, nursing home neglect, Personal injury claim, Personal injury law, Trucking accident injury law, Uncategorized, Wrongful death action/by Yao Dinizulu

While no amount of money can bring back a loved one, wrongful death lawsuits are designed to compensate family members of those killed by negligence. Under the law you are entitled to both economic and non-economic damages . Economic damages are a dollar amount that’s decided based on the deceased’s income, funeral expenses, medical expenses etc. Non-economic damages address the pain and loss of companionship that family members will face as a result of the death.A professional and experienced wrongful death attorney understands that it’s important that you be compensated for both damages. Insurance companies and other responsible parties fight aggressively to refuse or limit your fair payment. To get the compensation you deserve, it’s important that a skillful wrongful death attorney is representing you.

Proving a Wrongful Death Claim

In building your claim, an experienced wrongful death lawyer will understand that there may be many more complexities regarding your case. People you might not have even thought about could be liable. For example, in a single car accident caused by a road in poor condition, the city who owns the road, the contractors responsible for maintaining it, or a number of other groups may be liable depending on the facts of the case.

Time Limits on Filing a Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Additionally, it’s very important to file a wrongful death case fairly quickly. Otherwise, your case may get barred by the statute of limitations. In Illinois, generally a wrongful death claim against a private entity or corporation must be filed within two years from the date of the accident, but there are exceptions to this time limit. Certain cases only have a one year limit for filing and some others have longer than two years. Please contact the Dinizulu Law Group, Ltd to learn which time limits apply in your case. Waiting too long can prevent you from filing the lawsuit at all.

Waiting any longer than necessary creates other problems too. The scene of an accident changes quickly after the road is opened to traffic again. The vehicles that may have been involved in the wreck will be repaired by the owners or possibly destroyed. Witnesses will become harder to locate, and records will be misplaced.

Time may not be on your side but the compassionate and experienced wrongful death attorneys at the Dinizulu Law Group, Ltd will work with you to determine the best way to handle your wrongful death claim. Contact us to set up a free consultation with one of our experienced wrongful death lawyers today.

How Can I Prove Nursing Home Abuse?

November 22, 2016/in Blog, nursing home neglect, Uncategorized/by Yao Dinizulu

The first time you check your elderly relative into a nursing home, you are bound to feel a little anxious. After all, this is an important person who has played a major role in your life – and your loved one deserves reliable care in a safe, comfortable environment.

What to Do When Car Accidents Are Serious Personal Injuries?

November 18, 2016/in Blog, Car accident injury law, Personal injury claim, Personal injury law, Trucking accident injury law, Uncategorized/by Yao Dinizulu

Truck accident

If you experience a serious car accident, chances are insurance companies will try to get you to sign on an injury settlement amount quickly. This is never a good idea. When injured, you may not be able to perceive the long-term effects of the accident and this is what insurance companies want. Accepting a short-term settlement amount quickly will only leave you paying unforeseen expenditures out of your own pocket. This is not something that most people are able to afford and it often leads to financial ruin. There also may be the matter of ongoing medical care which you or your loved one will need. This is often impossible to get without fair representation in the courts from an experienced personal injury lawyer.

Head and back injuries are some of the most serious injuries that can happen in a car accident. These are the type of cases that you must have representation from a good personal injury lawyer. You need a lawyer who is experienced in litigation and will be able to able to get you the compensation you deserve. When back injuries result in severe nerve damage or even paralysis, these conditions leave people with lifelong physical issues and enormous medical bills. The average yearly expenses of someone living with severe a spinal cord injury ranges between $230,000 to over $775,000. This can amount to millions of dollars across the average lifetime. These financial costs can be ruinous to both the victims and their families without monetary compensation. Insurance companies are not willing to give this level of money unless they are taken to court.

Trucking Accidents & Serious Personal Injuries

While we often wishfully think such serious injuries won’t happen to us, they can, especially when a large truck collides with a car. Serious injuries or death when trucks and cars collide are often in the car and not the cause of the accident. The Illinois Department of Transportation reports that while only about 6% of traffic crashes in Illinois involve large trucks, these wrecks represent a disproportionate number of traffic fatalities (nearly 13%).

Illinois Personal Injury Attorneys

If you or somebody you know has been involved in a car accident injury due to collision with a large truck or other commercial vehicle, it is important to seek help from an attorney who is familiar with the tactics used by truck and insurance companies and has the knowledge to anticipate the future needs and challenges that could be faced by you or your loved one. The experienced and compassionate personal injury lawyers at the Dinizulu Law Group will work with you to determine the best way to handle your personal injury claim. Contact us to set up a free consultation with one of our experienced car accident injury lawyers today.

6 Questions to Ask When Evaluating a Nursing Home

November 14, 2016/in Blog, nursing home neglect, Uncategorized/by Yao Dinizulu

Looking after an elderly parent or grandparent can be a full-time job. If you cannot provide for the medical needs of your loved one, then it may be time to consider the benefits of nursing homes.

What Should You Do If You Believe Someone Is the Victim of Elder Abuse?

November 14, 2016/in Blog, Elder abuse, Uncategorized/by Yao Dinizulu

By the time they reach the grand old age of 60, our parents and grandparents have earned the right to a peaceful retirement. They should be cared for in a safe, comfortable setting by professionals who understand their needs. Unfortunately, many long-term care facilities do not screen or train their employees well enough – and residents suffer the consequences.

Civil Rights Law & Your Privacy: When Biometrics Use Goes Too Far

November 10, 2016/in Blog, Civil rights law, Uncategorized/by Yao Dinizulu

In 2007, Illinois passed the Biometric Information Privacy Act. Biometrics, as you may already know, pertain to unique physical characteristics, such as fingerprints, iris scans, DNA and face geometry, that help identify an individual. Facial recognition technologies have made the collection of biometrics simpler, speedier, and easily accessible.

As a result, various companies can now use biometric identifiers to access one’s finances or other sensitive information. In the case of identity theft, you can change your social security number. Biometrics, on the other hand, are biologically unique to the individual; thus, once it is compromised, the affected person remains at a heightened risk for identity theft. Moreover, companies’ unauthorized use of people’s biometrics can potentially threaten basic aspects of our privacy and civil rights law. This concern spawned the following Act.

Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act

Per the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”) 2007 Ill. SB 2400, private companies may not obtain and/or possess a person’s biometrics unless the company:

Informs that individual, in writing, that biometric identifiers or information will be collected or stored;
Informs that individual, in writing, of the particular purpose and length of term for which such biometric identifiers or biometric information is being collected, stored and used;
Receives a written release from the individual for the collection of his or her biometric identifiers or information; and
Publicly publishes available written retention schedules as well as guidelines for permanently destroying biometric identifiers and biometric information.

Tech Giants Violate Biometric Information Privacy Act

Unfortunately, tech companies like Google are in violation of each of the above requirements. Google has created, gathered and stored, in connection with its “Google Photos” cloud-based software, millions of “face templates.” These face-templates are highly detailed geometric maps of the face, gathered from millions of Illinois residents. Thousands of these residents are not even enrolled in the Google Photos service. Google created these templates by using sophisticated facial recognition technology that extracts and analyzes data from photos taken on Google Droid devices and uploaded to the cloud-based Google Photos.

Violating BIPA, Google failed to properly inform individuals, in writing, that their biometric identifiers were being collected or stored on Google Photos. Nor did Google inform the affected individuals, in writing, of the particular purpose and length of term for which their biometric identifiers were being “collected, stored and used” as required by the above statute.

But it’s not only Google. Shutterfly is also in blatant violation of BIPA. Shutterfly, like Google, acted illegally in its collecting, storing and utilizing its users biometric information without first obtaining their informed written consent. Specifically, Shutterfly created, collected and stored millions of “face templates” from millions of individuals, many thousands of whom are non Shutterfly users living in Illinois.

Facebook, too, is in violation of BIPA. A recent lawsuit was filed in effort to stop Facebook’s collection, use, and storage of users’ and the Class’s sensitive biometric data. In short, Facebook launched a program in 2010 called Tag Suggestions. Said feature operates by scanning uploaded user photographs and then identifying faces that appear in those photographs. If Tag Suggestions recognizes and identifies one of the faces appearing in the photograph, Facebook will suggest that individual’s name or automatically tag them.

In violation of BIPA, Facebook conceals that Tag Suggestions uses proprietary facial recognition software to extract unique biometric identifiers to identify people’s faces. Facebook does not disclose its biometrics data collection to its users, nor does it even ask users to acknowledge, let alone consent to, these practices. Through these practices, Facebook not only disregards its users’ privacy rights; it also violates the BIPA.

Our Philosophy

Dinizulu Law Group, Ltd. is a practice of experienced civil rights lawyers and we support the protections guaranteed by BIPA. No company, no matter how big or small, has the right to bypass this statute. We hope similar laws will be enacted across other states to protect residents nationwide. Our civil rights law firm works to advance action for such consumer protection issues. Our civil rights attorneys have been recognized both locally and nationally for championing social and civil rights causes.

How Common Is Elder Abuse [DATA]?

November 2, 2016/in Blog, nursing home neglect, Uncategorized/by Yao Dinizulu

The growing elder population in the United States has sparked a higher demand for nursing homes. Unfortunately, this has inspired profit-minded entrepreneurs to open retirement homes without the credentials or ethical compass to offer reliable care.

Personal Injury Claim: Recovery Amount Grows with a Life Care Plan

November 1, 2016/in Blog, Personal injury claim, Personal injury law, Uncategorized/by Yao Dinizulu

life-care-plan-2 Have you heard of Life Care Planning? Some may think of it as designed to anticipate the needs of the elderly. We typically think of life care planning as a matter of wills and estates. In a personal injury action it outlines the specific losses over a long period of time.

What Goes into a Life Care Plan in a Serious Personal Injury Lawsuit?

Imagine that your family member is in an accident that results in a spinal injury and permanent paralysis. While we all like to think that something like that could never happen to us, it certainly can. According to a 2009 study, approximately 5.6 million people in the United States were suffering from paralysis. Spinal injuries account for almost 25% of mobility loss.

A Life Care Plan drafted by professionals will contain specific information relevant to the needs of the individual. This may include:

●Current and future medical needs, including medication, adaptive furniture, assisted living professionals, rehabilitation, etc.
● Transportation needs
● Recreational opportunities
● Construction modifications to the home to accommodate new equipment/needs

How are Life Care Plans Used by Personal Injury Lawyers?

In personal injury cases, life care plans are instrumental in building your case. They give the jury a lens into you or your loved one’s future needs and the validity of the compensation claim. Professional testimonials from medical doctors, psychologist and counselors and other professionals like economist are brought on to the team of experts, led by your attorney to provide a comprehensive understanding of the present and future needs of a seriously injured client for presentation at a jury trial.

At the Dinizulu Law Group, when we consult a life care planner, we ensure that all your anticipated needs will be taken into account. Our lawyers will make sure that the current and future medical needs are analyzed and supported across all providers. Unlike when Life Care Plans are established outside of litigation, the lawyers must help the Life Care Planner get admissible evidence from all of the team of experts to ensure that a judge will allow the jury to hear all parts of the Life Care Plan. The plan must include future medication, adaptive furniture, assisted living professionals, rehabilitation, transportation needs, recreational opportunities and construction modifications to the home to accommodate new realities like the need for wheel chair access, an elevator lift, and specialized bathing areas for the seriously injured.

We know if you or a loved one experiences a serious injury that you want the best personal injury lawyer on your case. We at Dinzulu Law Group, Ltd have extensive experience in personal injury lawsuits and presenting complicated and individualized Plans to the courts. If you have been injured, contact us today so that we can help you navigate the complex legal processes.

What Are the 7 Most Common Types of Elder Abuse?

October 21, 2016/in Blog, nursing home neglect, Uncategorized/by Yao Dinizulu

Nursing home residents and their loved ones expect long-term care facilities to provide reliable care in a safe, comfortable environment. Unfortunately, nursing home abuse and neglect are deplorably common.

Spinal Cord Injury: When You May Need a Personal Injury Lawyer

October 7, 2016/in Blog, Uncategorized/by Yao Dinizulu

Earlier this year, hockey player Matt Olsen of the Chicago Cougars was tragically injured during a home game. Olsen, only 20 years old, is now paralyzed from the shoulders down after hitting a rough patch of ice and landing against the boards in a way that caused permanent damage. He has undergone extensive rehabilitation at the Mayo Clinic and doctors believe he may regain some movement in his arms but not much more than that. Despite this limited outlook, Olsen has come a long way, regaining his ability to speak and eat during the several weeks he spent at a Chicago hospital.

The cost of a spinal cord injury is dependent on numerous factors. According to the Christopher Reeve Foundation, a 25 year old person suffering from paraplegia may expect lifetime expenses to reach $2,310,104 while someone diagnosed with a high tetraplegia injury (also known as quadriplegia) can expect to incur an additional $4,724,181 over the course of their lifetime. These numbers reflect the average healthcare costs and the cost of living but do not take into consideration the net effect of lost wages which average over $70 thousand dollars a year. Injuries resulting in lesser degrees of mobility loss still end up costing individuals many thousands of dollars. It goes without saying that a spinal injury resulting in paralysis is not only an emotionally and physically devastating event, but it is financially exhausting as well.

How Will Illinois Laws Help Me Recover Losses?

Sometimes, spinal cord injuries result from freak accidents that could not have been avoided, but more often than not they are the product of negligence, medical malpractice, or even nursing home abuse. Even in the case of Matt Olsen, a prudent personal injury law attorney would question whether the ice had been properly maintained.

Typically, negligence is the backbone of a lawsuit involving spinal cord injuries. To prove a negligence lawsuit, you must show that someone owed a duty to you and that he or she breached that duty. Additionally, you have to prove that the breach of this duty caused your harm and that harm resulted in damages. In Illinois, contributory negligence can be claimed as a defense, meaning that your actions somehow contributed to the incident, but a proper injury claim lawyer help you assert every possible fact to help you get what you deserve.

If you experience a spinal injury, you can recover both present and future medical expenses. Additionally, you can claim lost wages and pain and suffering. An expert team of negligence lawyers is required not only to help you determine what these costs may amount to, but also to justify the numbers to the court through tried and true tools and strategies.

Have You Been Injured Due to Someone’s Negligence?

The Dinizulu Law Group, Ltd has proudly helped our clients claim millions in settlements and verdicts. Our claim attorneys have experience in personal injury cases related to car and truck accidents, wrongful death, nursing home abuse and much more. If you have been paralyzed due to a spinal cord injury resulting from someone else’s wrongdoing or negligence, please contact us today. Pursuing legal action for a spinal injury is complex and requires the analysis of medical data and the facts surrounding the incident. We can help you navigate the complicated legal process to recoup losses owed to you.