A woman who drove drunk into a mobile home causing significant damage lost her appeal Wednesday after arguing the state’s blood draw occurred outside the three-hour window under statute and thus did not prove her blood alcohol level at the time of the accident. Elberta N. Jackson was convicted of Class A misdemeanors operating a vehicle with an alcohol concentration…
A trial court erred in ordering a new trial after a jury returned a general verdict in favor of the estate of an electrician who wired a barn where a teenager was electrocuted in 2010, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday. A Noble County jury ruled in favor of the estate of Gary Pfafman, who had years earlier assisted…
This week (April 8-14) is National Dog Bite Prevention Week®, and with an estimated 89.7 million dogs living in U.S. households, accidents are bound to happen. Most dogs will never bite, but it is important to remember that any dog CAN bite regardless of breed or type. In 2017, State Farm paid $132 million as a result of 3,600 dog-related…
Eau Claire, Wis.-based Menards is suing a Georgia company for personal injury claims tied to moving walkways installed in some of the home improvement chain’s stores. Menards filed the lawsuit last week in Eau Claire County Court, alleging that ThyssenKrupp Elevator Corp. didn’t live up to its warranty and other parts of a contract to install the walkways intended to…
A 29-year-old man in Illinois faces several charges, including driving under the influence, after he allegedly crashed a vehicle early Monday morning and abandoned the scene, leaving his girlfriend “semi-unconscious” in the front passenger seat, police said Wednesday. Emil Nichitoi, according to the Des Plaines Police Department, was allegedly driving the vehicle around 2:20 a.m. when he crashed into a…
As the number of new asbestos lawsuits declined nationally, activity in Illinois’ three hotbeds for asbestos litigation showed few signs of ebbing in 2017, even though the distribution of filing activity has shifted slightly. Recently, Washington, D.C.-based consulting group KCIC released an analysis of U.S. asbestos exposure case filings, showing in 2017 total new asbestos exposure-related lawsuits dropped another 7.5…
Ten U.S. senators are asking Ford, General Motors, Fiat Chrysler and other companies developing self-driving cars whether they are using or planning to use contracts with consumers that would limit their ability to sue in the case of a crash. The letter headed by U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., comes as concerns are growing on Capitol Hill about autonomous vehicles…
The next civil trial of a Munster cardiologist accused of performing unnecessary surgeries is scheduled to begin April 9. Dr. Arvind Gandhi stands accused by hundreds of patients of implanting unnecessary heart devices. The first such trial ended earlier this month in Gandhi’s favor. The plaintiff for the next trial, Gloria Sargent, went to see Gandhi in June 2006 for…
A Chicago appeals panel has pulled a $14.4 million jury award from the parents of a toddler, who died through medical malpractice, saying the obstetricians’ insurer – Illinois’ No. 1 malpractice provider – deserved 12 rather than six jurors, in a trial over accusations the insurer allegedly misled the doctors into going to trial in the underlying malpractice suit, instead…
After a St. Clair County jury awarded a mother and her daughter $3.75 million following the third trial attempt in a medical malpractice suit alleging hypoxia and fetal depression during birth, the parties announced that they had reached a post-trial settlement. Associate Judge Chris Kolker entered an order March 1 vacating the Dec. 12, 2017, jury award after the parties…
