Rising Temperatures - A Reminder to be Cautious
21-Jun-2011 While temperatures are rising, signaling the arrival of summer, our Chicago personal injury attorneys remind you to be vigilant to avoid accidents that rise with the number on the thermometer.
Child Abuse or Neglect
Many parents do not realize the hazards of leaving children in vehicles in extreme temperatures, and that it can be considered child abuse or neglect in certain instances. Children have already died this year from being left in hot cars. In fact, yesterday three daycare workers were charged with cruelty to children, involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct after they left a two year old inside a van following a field trip. According to the local Fox Network, "Police say the girl, Jasmine Green, died Monday after being left in the van for hours." By the time the daycare workers realized the little girl was missing, it was too late.
Chicago personal injury lawyers know that this situation is, sadly, not uncommon during the summer months. "A car’s temperature can reach 125 degrees within a few minutes, even with the windows partially open. And a child’s body temperature rises more than three times faster than an adult’s, making them especially susceptible to dehydration, heat stroke and death," according to the Charlotte Observer.
The Observer reports that "on average, 38 children a year die from heat-related causes after being left alone in cars, according to the child accident prevention group Safe Kids USA. Last year, 49 children died of heat-related causes after being left unattended in cars. About half the deaths were children younger than 2, according to Safe Kids."
Our Chicago personal injury attorneys recommend making the following things part of your routine to avoid inadvertently leaving your child in the car unattended:
- Put your purse or briefcase in the back seat of the car. If you always have to look in the backseat to retrieve it, you will never forget your child is with you.
- Ask your child's care provider to call if your child does not show up at school. Many child fatalities could be avoided if daycare centers called parents to inquire about children's unexplained absences; sometimes parents forget to drop their kids off and accidentally leave them in their cars when they go to work.
- When your children are old enough, teach them never to play in or around vehicles. Many children sneak into their parents cars and get trapped; the parents do not know the children are in the car.
- Always lock your vehicle to avoid the above situation.

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VERDICTS &
SETTELMENTS
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$1,225,000 settlement for a speedway patron who got hit by a baseball-sized rock kicked up by a race car. The rock hit her so hard, she needed an emergency tracheostomy and brain surgery.
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$6,000,000 settlement for our client, a 4 month old baby whose doctors had failed to diagnose a brain infection that left her with permanent brain damage and cerebral palsy.
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$11,800,000.00 in a product liability settlement for a father of five who tragically died when his tire treads failed, causing his vehicle to roll over.
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We obtained a $5 million settlement for a woman whose son died when his physician failed to diagnose a tumor.
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A woman recovered $2.25 million in a medical malpractice case, in which the woman's obstetrician/gynecologist failed to spot her cancer on a pap smear, causing our client to have to undergo multiple, surgeries.
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A $2 million verdict was obtained for a woman whose Ob/Gyn failed to refer her to a gynecologist to treat what turned out to be a malignant uterine sarcoma.
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We obtained a $1.7 million settlement in a nursing home neglect case in which a 72 year-old man suffered radiator burns so severe that he had to have his legs amputated.
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We obtained a $1.4 million award in a slip and fall case involving a 13 year-old boy who developed severe hip trouble after falling down the stairs of his high-rise.
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A $1.25 million settlement in favor of our client, an 18 year-old boy who lost most of his vision after being assaulted by a security guard.
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We obtained a $1.15 million settlement for our client, a little girl who suffered severed burns as a direct result of fire code ordinance violations.
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A union painter whose legs got crushed by a forklift recovered $1 million in damages.
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A $1 million settlement in favor of our client, a hemophiliac, who suffered severe soft tissue damage in a car accident.
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A union steel worker who injured his back moving a 300 pound steel beam in the rain recovered $1 million for his construction site work injury.
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We obtained a $900,000 settlement in the case of a beaten prison inmate who died after being given the wrong medication at the hospital.
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We obtained a $600,000 settlement for a man who suffered a below the knee amputation after his friend accidentally shot him with a hunting rifle at a restaurant.
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A 54 year-old woman recovered $600,000 in a product liability settlement after her oven mitt exploded and severely burned her breasts.
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A woman who had lost her baby to fetal distress while in the hospital was awarded $500,000 for medical malpractice.
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An 81 year-old bedridden stroke victim recovered $390,000 after he developed what would turn out to be fatal pressure ulcers stemming from negligent nursing care.
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A nursing home resident won a settlement of $300,000 stemming from a hip fracture accident. His nursing staff had failed to take proper fall-risk precautions.
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We obtained a settlement of $250,000 for the estate of a 21 year-old man who, after sustaining life-threatening injuries in an automobile accident, subsequently died in the hospital due to the staff's failure to insert a chest tube.
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We obtained a settlement of $175,000 for the estate of a woman whose negligent nursing home care resulted in bed sore ulcers that led to an infection that ultimately caused her death.
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We obtained a $150,000 settlement for a 69 year-old stroke victim who had to have an above the knee amputation due to nursing home neglect.
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A $150,000 verdict was recovered for the estate of a 79 year-old man, who suffered bed sores stemming from nursing home neglect that ultimately contributed to his death.
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