Under the Illinois Vehicle Code, every motor vehicle liability policy issued in Illinois must cover drivers who have expressed or implied permission from the insured. Recently, in a question of first impression, the Illinois Appellate Court was asked whether this statutory requirement for omnibus coverage applies to a liability insurance…
In a recent ruling, a Cook County Circuit Court judge held that the substantive defense of tort immunity does not apply to common carriers because that would represent a procedural limitation on the assertion of a right. Ortiz-Rivera v. Northeast Regional Commuter Railroad Corp., d/b/a Metra, No. 07 M5 2363.…
On January 20, I joined the ranks of the millions of Americans who took the time to watch the swearing in of our 44th president, Chicago’s own Barack Obama. I gathered with fellow Chicagoans at the Union League Club of Chicago to commemorate the Inauguration. The gala brunch was sponsored…
The other day my wife and I were trying to remember what we had for dinner the night before at a local Chicago restaurant. According to a new study, our rich dessert might be to blame for this temporary memory loss. The new study showed that spikes in blood sugar…
An hour or so before the evening rush-hour an Amtrak train derailment caused a massive schedule backup at Chicago’s Union Station as all southbound tracks exiting the station were shut down. The derailment occurred after the wheels on two of the train’s cars derailed. Officials are still looking into what…
Federal scientists associated with the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA), have written to the Obama transition team of widespread managerial misconduct within the medical device review department. The letter alleged that “the scientific review process for medical devices at the FDA has been corrupted and distorted by current FDA…
A new study by researchers at the University of Chicago Medical Center has stated that at least 2.2 million U.S. adults take medicine in combinations that could trigger dangerous drug interactions. Some of the possible dangerous interactions include muscle breakdown, gastrointestinal bleeding, disruption in heart rhythm, and other serious problems.…
The Illinois Supreme Court recently reversed a prior ruling by the Illinois Appellate Court regarding employer immunity under the Workers’ Compensation Act (Daniel Ioerger, et al. v. Halverson Construction Company, Inc., No. 105912 (December 18, 2008).) In 1999, Midwest Foundation Corporation and Halverson Construction Company entered into a joint venture…
While much attention is given to cases where a physician commits medical malpractice, nurses also must meet a certain level of standard of care. Oftentimes in Illinois medical negligence a nurse’s obligations seem to be overlooked. For example, let’s say that a Chicago patient has known allergies to certain medications…
Imagine you had been taking the drug Tamoxifen in hopes of preventing a recurrence of your breast cancer. Then a new test comes out that suggests that because of your genetic makeup the drug is not doing you any good. This situation is not that uncommon for hundreds of thousands…