Chicago | Dinizulu Law Group, Ltd

What Is A Life Care Plan?

July 10, 2017/in Blog, Medical malpractice, Medical negligence, Personal injury claim, Personal injury law, Trucking accident injury law/by Yao Dinizulu

For the severely injured, a Life Care Plan is a detailed assessment of the severely injured victim’s needs. It should take into account:

Current and future medical needs: Things like cost of medication, specialized furniture, assisted living professionals, rehabilitation expenses should be included in the life care plan.

Transportation needs: Would the injured victim need to have special equipment for traveling? Recreational opportunities also need to be factored into a life care plan.

Construction modifications to the home: Specialized medical equipment may require changes to the layout of the home. Perhaps an elevator lift is needed. These very large expenses need to be looked at very thoroughly to create a proper life care plan.

In an injury lawsuit for a severely injured victim, the Life Care Plan is instrumental in building your case. It can show to the jury the extent of a victim’s injuries, and the long-term cost of living with such life-changing injuries. When a Life Care Plan is led by a personal injury lawyer who is well-experienced in litigation and trial, the recovery results could ensure that the injured victim is able to live with dignity and financially independence. Watch the video to learn more.

At the Dinizulu Law Group, Ltd., when our Chicago personal injury lawyers consult with a Life Care Planner, we collaborate with an entire team of medical and financial experts and ensure assessments by doctors, psychologists, counselors, and economists are all taken into account and factored into the Life Care Plan. We do this to ensure all of the injured victim’s needs are considered. This means including present and anticipated future needs into the life care plan. Is future medication included in the plan? Will the medication be supported across providers? The Life Care Plan needs to be a complete and comprehensive document.

Once created, the Life Care Plan is given to the jury so that the jury can fully understand you or your loved one’s needs and recognize your compensation claim as genuine. A skilled and well-experienced personal injury lawyer will help the life care planner get the testimony and documentation from the entire team of medical and financial experts that’s admissible in the court so that the jury may hear all parts of the life care plan.

Many personal injury lawyers don’t understand how important it is to be fully involved in the creation of the Life Care Plan, and as a result, your recovery suffers.

At the Dinizulu Law Group, Ltd., we pay close attention to the life care plan and present our clients’ complete needs in court. We have been thoroughly involved in many very complex life care plans and have advocated for our clients’ complete needs successfully. With over 60 years of combined experience, our Chicago personal injury attorneys are known for their expertise and tough litigation. Contact us by email or call us at 312-384-1920 to schedule a consultation with one of our personal injury trial attorneys practicing law throughout Illinois.

3 Facts to Know Before Your Loved One Enters a Nursing Home

June 26, 2017/in Blog, Elder abuse, nursing home neglect/by Yao Dinizulu

According to the Family Caregiver Alliance, more than 1,300,000 people receive care from nursing homes annually. This number is expected to rise because people over the age of 85 make up one of the fastest-growing populations. Unfortunately, the increasing demand for long-term care has coincided with a spike in the number of reports related to nursing home abuse and negligence.

Is My Loved One Ready to Move into a Nursing Home?

June 13, 2017/in Blog, Elder abuse/by Yao Dinizulu

Moving your aging loved one into a nursing home may be one of the most difficult decisions you ever have to make. At the end of the day, though, you need to consider your relative’s best interests, as well as the extent of care your family will realistically be able to provide as your loved one ages.

CDC Study Finds That Legionnaires’ Disease Is Alarmingly Common in U.S. Nursing Homes—Chicago Nursing Home Attorney Insights

June 12, 2017/in Blog, Elder abuse/by Yao Dinizulu

Legionnaires’ disease is a potentially fatal illness caused by the bacterium Legionella. These bacteria are often found in hot tubs, cooling towers, and air conditioning systems.

Volunteers Are Doing Their Part to Address Long-Term Care Complaints — Insights from a Nursing Home Neglect Lawyer in Chicago

May 26, 2017/in Blog, nursing home neglect/by Yao Dinizulu

The Chicago Tribune reports on a heartwarming program that aims to protect long-term care residents from neglect and abuse. The government-funded advocacy program is drumming up support all over the country because of its effectiveness and ingenious simplicity.

Could My Loved One Be Residing with a Sex Offender? Insights from a Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer in Chicago

May 26, 2017/in Blog, Elder abuse/by Yao Dinizulu

According to ThinkProgress.org, the median age of parolees was 51 years old as of 2010, and inmates over the age of 65 are the fastest-growing demographic of the U.S. prison population. Additionally, researchers have determined that inmates are more likely to experience health problems such as hypertension, arthritis, asthma, and hepatitis, and studies have indicated that for many prisoners, their physiological age is more than a decade older than their chronological age.

What To Do If You Were In A Truck Accident

May 19, 2017/in Blog, Personal injury law, Trucking accident injury law, Uncategorized/by Yao Dinizulu

Several parties can be held liable for a single truck accident. If you have been injured in a trucking accident, one of the first things you must do before bringing legal action against someone is ensure that you have identified all parties responsible for the accident. If you fail to sue the appropriate parties, then you may lose your right to bring an action against them forever. Although it may appear that the truck driver is ultimately responsible due to speeding or reckless driving, an experienced attorney will know to look at the truck and trailer’s owner, the company that the driver is working for and the manufacturer of the various truck parts, to name a few.

In addition, the accident could have been caused by someone improperly loading the cargo in the semi-truck. If a trailer is either overloaded or loaded in a way that throws the truck off balance, serious accidents are much more likely to occur and unfortunately, it is usually the other drivers on the road who see the most injuries.

Accidents in Illinois

Illinois is among a handful of states that account for more than half of all truck fatalities in the nation. There were nearly 600 fatalities involving large truck accidents in Illinois in the past five years alone.

In early August of last year, three people tragically lost their lives in a five-car pileup near Ottawa, Illinois. I-80 was closed for hours while crews worked to clear the scene. The wreck involved three tractor-trailers and two passenger vehicles. While one of the semi-truck drivers suffered fatal injuries, the other two people who died were riding in the smaller cars.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) collected data showing that from 1975 to 2014 over 200,000 people died in large truck accidents. Many more were injured.

Injuries from Truck Accidents

Injuries sustained in accidents involved with semi-trucks are often devastating. In this August accident, not only were victims subject to the crushing weight of the large trucks, but the trucks also caught fire. It is not uncommon to see individuals with burn injuries, spinal injuries, amputations and brain injuries when they have been involved in such accidents. For those of us fortunate enough not to have been affected by a serious truck accident injury, it is hard to grasp the true cost of these traumatic injuries.

Not only will you have immediate medical costs, but you will likely face costs associated with ongoing health needs and rehabilitation. Studies show that a mild head injury can cost a person $85,000 and a severe injury can cost a person $3 million over the course of their life. Additionally, if you are unable to work, you will lose your source of income.

Illinois Truck Accident Lawyers Are Key to a Successful Personal Injury Case

A skilled Chicago truck accident lawyer is vital to getting you every cent of compensation you deserve if you have been injured in a large truck accident. When you already have to deal with catastrophic injuries or worse, the insurance companies are more likely to lowball you in negotiations. At the Dinizulu Law Group, Ltd., our personal injury attorneys will not let that happen to you. Our personal injury law firm in Chicago has represented well over thousands of clients. With more than 20 years of experience, our truck accident attorneys know exactly how to help you and put your best case forward.

What Are the Symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease?

May 9, 2017/in Blog, nursing home neglect/by Yao Dinizulu

Alzheimer’s is a type of progressive dementia that typically develops gradually in older adults. It is the most common form of dementia, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. Although there is no cure for Alzheimer’s, there are treatments available that can improve the quality of life of those who have it.

19-Year-Old Dies Due To Trucker’s Negligence

April 28, 2017/in Blog, Car accident injury law, Trucking accident injury law/by Yao Dinizulu

Sometimes our loved ones suffer as a result of a truck driver’s carelessness. Sometimes the truck driver denies their fault, and when that happens, their negligence must be proven. The following example illustrates what must be done in these unfortunate situations. Watch the video to learn more.

I had a client who had lost a loved one to a truck driver’s carelessness. Jason was a 19-year-old who was traveling home when he was involved in a collision involving four other drivers. Minutes from his initial impact, Jason was hit by a semi-truck and died. The semi-truck driver denied any fault in the collision, and his employer backed him up.

We had to prove that the driving conditions were hazardous and that the driver’s statements were false.

To do this, we got statements from the other drivers involved. One of the statements said that upon entering the road his speed was the posted 70 mph, but he quickly dropped to 35 mph and even lower to 15 mph before the accident. Others corroborated that statement. The truck driver’s speed, according to the on-board recording system, was 63 mph right before the collision, and this was due in part to the use of cruise control.

We also received sworn statements from local law enforcement that stated the road conditions were deemed hazardous, and that there were many other accidents that night. There is a federal law that mandates speed, and it states that speeds must drop in hazardous conditions. The defendant’s safety policy stated that cruise control is not to be used during hazardous conditions.

The driver also falsified trip records. Public law states that drivers may only drive 70 hours in one week. The data recorded showed the driver completing trips that would need speeds of 86 to 128 mph. His vehicle’s top speed was 63 mph, which meant he was driving when he wasn’t supposed to be. Because the driver and his employers were at risk of future prosecution, they agreed to settle for 7 figures before even going to trial. Watch the video to learn more.

If you have questions about truck driving accidents, please contact our personal injury lawyers by email or call us at 1-312-384-1920 or 1-800-693-1LAW. Our experienced Chicago-based truck accident lawyers are here for you. You may also find more educational videos and media content about truck and auto accident injuries from the Dinizulu Law Group, Ltd. on our media page.

3 Questions to Ask When Evaluating a Nursing Home

April 24, 2017/in Blog, nursing home neglect/by Yao Dinizulu

The growth of the elderly population in the United States has coincided with an increase of reports related to nursing home abuse and neglect. As such, if you are looking for a long-term care facility for your aging loved one, it is critical that you conduct thorough research when comparing the options.