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If you are injured at work in Illinois, workers’ compensation will normally cover your medical bills and some lost wages. Workers’ compensation laws allow workers who are injured on the job to recover compensation without having to file a lawsuit. However, this system also requires employees to give up their right to sue their employers for negligence.

Workers’ Compensation in Illinois

Workers’ compensation is intended to protect workers who are injured or killed in the workplace. The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act was passed in 1911. Employees gave up their general rights to sue their employers, but they were able to recover compensation for injuries more quickly. In general, the Act is the only way for employees to recover for job-related injuries. However, there are certain exceptions to that rule. For example, an employee may be able to sue an employer as a result of intentional conduct. In addition, a negligent third party may also be held liable for injuries.

Suing a Third Party for Negligence

Someone injured at work may be able to bring suit against a third party if the party’s negligence contributed to causing the injury. A third party is another person or organization—not your employer or a co-worker—that is partly responsible for causing the injury. Some examples of third-party claims are suing a manufacturer for a defective product, suing another person or organization working at the same site, suing a manufacturer for a toxic substance, suing the driver of another car, or suing the owner of the land where you are working.

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Pharmaceutical companies have made some incredible breakthroughs when it comes to developing drugs that can help people cope with a variety of conditions. In some cases, these drugs can provide a life-changing solution for people who suffer from painful and debilitating conditions. For all their benefits, however, pharmaceuticals can pose serious and life-threatening dangers to patients. Two of the most recent drugs to come under scrutiny for posing an unreasonable risk to patients are Prilosec and Nexium. Both drugs are manufactured by AstraZeneca and fall within the pharmaceutical category of proton pump inhibitors. This type of medication is commonly prescribed to treat gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and peptic ulcer disease (PUD). First approved in 1988 under the brand name Losec, Prilosec is a first-generation proton pump inhibitor. Nexium is a second-generation version of the drug that was marketed as an improved version of Prilosec.

According to a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), proton pump inhibitors are associated with an increased risk of chronic kidney disease. The risk of developing this condition increases when the patient takes the drug over a prolonged period of time. Cases involving kidney-related conditions have already surfaced in patients who have taken Nexium and Prilosec. A man in Tennessee, for example, has been diagnosed as having interstitial nephritis, renal failure, and a heart attack after taking Prilosec and Nexium pursuant to a physician’s prescription.

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Medical malpractice claims often require additional evidence, including expert testimony, affidavits, and special administrative procedures. For this reason, the first issue in any case alleging the negligence of a medical provider may be whether or not the allegations fall under medical malpractice in the first place.

In a recent case, a plaintiff filed a claim based on a hospital’s alleged failure to properly maintain equipment used to sterilize surgical instruments. The plaintiff alleged that he had developed an infection after having spine surgery at the hospital, and that the infection was the result of improperly sterilized instruments. However, that state’s supreme court had to decide whether the claims actually fell under the state’s medical malpractice act, considering the definition of malpractice. The hospital argued that the plaintiff’s claim fell under the definition of malpractice in the act.

The court decided that the hospital’s failure to properly maintain its equipment fell under the definition of medical malpractice. In addition, since the act used the term “health care provider” rather than “physician,” it included treatment related to the hospital’s capacity as a health care provider, rather than just treatment provided by a doctor there.

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Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary Ethicon may be slapped with higher than anticipated costs for the settlement of the nearly 50,000 product liability claims brought regarding the company’s transvaginal mesh device. Last year, Johnson & Johnson agreed to enter a $5 million settlement with a plaintiff who sued Johnson & Johnson for injuries she sustained after being implanted with an Ethicon transvaginal mesh device. The news about the settlement broke in November 2015 when the attorney representing the plaintiff filed a motion seeking approval of his attorney fees, reports Bloomberg news.

In January 2016, Johnson & Johnson agreed to a $120 million settlement to resolve the first two to three thousand transvaginal mesh lawsuits filed against it. With news of the $5 million settlement, however, the settlement of these claims could cost the health care company to shell out more dough to settle additional claims.

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People of all ages can cause accidents—even children. But in cases in which the parents did nothing wrong, when can a child be held liable for his or her actions? One state’s supreme court addressed this issue in a recent case.

While a woman was babysitting a four-year-old, the boy threw a rubber dolphin toy at her, hitting her in the eye. Since the woman had previous eye injuries, the woman lost her sight in that eye as a result of the incident. The woman brought suit against the boy’s parents for negligent supervision, which was quickly denied. In addition, the woman sued the boy individually for his own negligence.

That state’s supreme court held that the four-year-old could not be held liable for negligence. The court decided that children under the age of five30 could never be held liable for negligence. The court reasoned that children under five years old have a limited ability to appreciate how their actions could result in harm and that they have a limited ability to control impulses. Accordingly, the court stated that there was very little possibility that a child under five years old would be deserving of moral criticism or capable of being deterred by the law. In addition, requiring a child to testify about his or her ability to understand consequences and impulse control is especially difficult when a trial would likely occur years after the actual incident.

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Federal, state, and local governments control much of our everyday life these days, and they have a vast number of employees. Bringing suit against the government can be very tricky. There are often issues of governmental immunity. Sometimes there are issues about when you will be able to receive the compensation you deserve.

Governmental Immunity

Governmental immunity grants many federal, state, and local governments immunity from tort claims in some cases. This means that generally lawsuits cannot be brought against federal, state, or local governments or their employees. However, there are many exceptions. For example, some claims in Illinois cannot be heard in circuit courts but can be brought in a special Court of Claims. Another example is that some statutes provide exceptions—such as U.S.C. Section 1983, which allows plaintiffs to bring claims who were deprived of their constitutional rights by an official’s abuse of his or her position. Also, while Illinois’s Tort Immunity Act generally protects local governments, a local government or employee may be liable for willful and wanton conduct or for quasi-intentional conduct. A government entity can also waive the immunity. For example, a state legislature may be able to waive immunity, making government entities liable. An entity can also waive immunity by contract.

Even if an exception applies or immunity is waived, an attorney’s assistance is essential to get the compensation you deserve. The government may offer too little in a settlement—or there could even be a delay in getting your compensation because the budget is in deadlock.

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The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has issued a new 2016 Shopping Guide, indicating that strawberries are now the most heavily contaminated item in the produce section. According to the report, 40 percent of all strawberries contained residues from at least 10 hazardous pesticides. Some of the compounds found on the strawberries included known carcinogens, which have been directly linked to developmental and reproductive harm, hormone disruption, and cognitive issues, reports the EWG.

Strawberries are a seasonal crop, but the use of chemicals and pesticides has allowed growers to produce strawberries year-round. In 2014, over 2.3 billion pounds of strawberries were harvested in California, which is the country’s biggest producer of strawberries.

Other items on the EWG’s list of most contaminated fruits and vegetables include apples, nectarines, peaches, celery, grapes, cherries, spinach, tomatoes, and bell peppers.

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No one expects to be injured while attending a fair. However, accidents can happen anywhere. And as one woman found out, sometimes the purpose of the event can be the determining factor in whether or not a person can receive compensation for their injuries.

In a recent case, a woman sued a county fair after injuring herself on a grandstand. The woman went to the fair to watch a fireworks show. After she arrived, she began looking for a seat in a grandstand to watch the fireworks. She stepped on a rotten board, fell through the stands, and suffered injuries. The woman sued the fair, alleging that the fair was negligent in maintaining the grandstand and that she was injured as a result. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendant. It found that the fair was protected from liability because it had “recreational use” immunity.

While landowners generally owe guests a duty to maintain their premises, the state had a law that provided an exception for certain landowners who used their land for recreational purposes. The exception did not apply to for-profit businesses that used their land for commercial purposes.

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Moll Law Group and Bayer have entered into a settlement agreement under which Moll Law Group agreed to dismiss with prejudice the pending litigation on behalf of its client in The United States District Court of and for the Southern District of Illinois. Pursuant to the terms of the settlement, Bayer agrees to pay the Plaintiff $1.5M and holds no admission of liability or wrongdoing of any position whatsoever in connection with any matters relating to Plaintiff’s alleged use of Ocella or otherwise.

The case involves a young woman who consumed the birth control pill, Ocella, manufactured by Bayer. In 2011, the young woman was 23-years and was a first time birth control user. Within weeks of her Ocella use, Plaintiff began experiencing problems that led to surgeries and partial loss of vision. The complaint, filed in 2013, states that the Plaintiff was prescribed Ocella and suffered injury including, but not limited to, loss of vision, blood clotting and various brain traumas that required continuous surgery.

Ocella is an oral birth control medication with a combination of 2 hormones: an estrogen (ethinyl estradiol) and a progestin (drospirenone). The complaint cites studies that suggest drospirenone is a diuretic that can cause an increase in potassium levels in the blood. This can lead to a condition known as hyperkalemia (elevated blood potassium levels). Hyperkalemia can cause heart rhythm disturbances, such as extra systolies, pauses or bradycardia. If left untreated, hyperkalemia can be fatal. If hyperkalemia disrupts the normal heart rhythms, the flow of blood through the heart can be slowed to the point that it permits blood clots to form. Blood clots in the heart can lead to heart attacks, or the clots can break off and travel to the lungs where they can cause pulmonary embolism, or can travel to the legs where it can cause deep vein thrombosis, or it can travel to the brain causing a stroke.

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Medical technology has led to some incredible breakthroughs and has allowed doctors to heal certain injuries and conditions that were previously next to impossible to address. For all their benefits, however, there are some instances in which medical devices do more harm than good. One current example involves surgical robots like the Da Vinci robotic surgical system.

In a recent case, Zarick v.1 Intuitive Surgical, Inc., a 44-year-old woman has alleged that the Da Vinci robot caused her to suffer serious injuries when it malfunctioned during her hysterectomy procedure in 2013. The woman underwent the hysterectomy procedure to address a number of cysts growing in her pelvic region.

The malfunction resulted in the plaintiff’s intestines prolapsing through her vagina. The plaintiff required a second surgery to address the physical damage, but the malfunction was so severe that the plaintiff was left with permanent injuries that prevented the plaintiff from engaging in sexual intercourse with her husband, among other injuries.

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