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Top 10 Illinois Medical Malpractice and Patient Safety Concerns (2026)

Nobody wants to go to the doctor or hospital if they can avoid it. Even if you have good insurance, it is still expensive, takes a lot of time and can often feel like a waste of time. Let’s be honest. Healthcare in the US kind of sucks.

Patients in Illinois have a lot of concern, including worries about medical malpractice and general safety. An organization called ECRI studied these concerns and put out a list of the top ten patient safety concerns for 2026. They are not exclusive to Illinois, but certainly many of these fears we hear from Illinois residents who seek our guidance in finding a medical malpractice lawyer.

Here is a plain-English breakdown of their findings and what they mean for your legal rights.

1. Misdiagnosis and Patient Harm from AI Guidance

Artificial intelligence is the number one patient safety concern this year. Healthcare corporations are rushing to use AI to cut administrative costs, but these automated systems are notorious for making diagnostic errors that lead to catastrophic patient harm. Beyond algorithmic bias, there is a major concern that relying on software erodes the critical thinking skills of actual doctors. AI can be a tool, but human physicians must make the ultimate medical decisions.

2. Rural Healthcare Closures and Medical Oversight

It is a simple fact that funding cuts to Medicare reimbursements have been catastrophic for rural healthcare providers. These cuts, combined with the difficulty of recruiting qualified doctors to rural towns, mean patients outside major cities face worse medical outcomes, lower life expectancy, and less access to mental health support. Alarmingly, some networks are pushing low-income patients to rely entirely on AI “doctors,” which is incredibly dangerous.

3. Increased Rates of Preventable Disease

Vaccines work—or at least, they used to prevent massive outbreaks. Due to a massive spike in medical misinformation online, diseases like measles that were essentially eradicated are making a comeback, resulting in preventable deaths and severe, lifelong injuries.

4. Federal Healthcare Funding Cuts

Government spending on healthcare is projected to drop by an estimated $1 trillion. While cutting budgets sounds great in abstract political debates, the real-world consequence is that millions of everyday people will be denied adequate medical care, leading to preventable fatalities.

5. Failure to Recognize and Respond to Patient Deterioration

Many patients worry that modern hospitals simply fail to catch and respond to developing complications. Research shows that facilities only track about half of the adverse events that occur, making it incredibly difficult to prevent the exact same hospital mistakes from harming future patients.

6. Gender Bias Against Women in Medicine

Medical gender bias remains a pervasive issue. Too often, when a woman reports severe pain, healthcare providers dismiss it as “emotional,” hormonal, or psychological. The ECRI data confirms this systemic issue: women’s medical complaints are treated with significantly less urgency than men’s, especially regarding the timely administration of pain medication. Dismissing symptoms this way can quickly cross the line into medical negligence.

7. Staffing Shortages and Corporate Hospital Negligence

Severe nursing and doctor shortages plague thousands of medical facilities across Illinois. This is heavily driven by the private equity and corporate ownership of hospitals. Executives cut staffing to protect profit margins, even though understaffed floors directly result in terrible patient outcomes. Ironically, this cost-cutting measure has become a massive driver of medical malpractice lawsuits.

8. Retaliation Against Medical Whistleblowers

Patient safety suffers when healthcare workers are discouraged from reporting errors. Doctors and nurses report that blowing the whistle on unsafe hospital conditions or surgical mistakes often results in professional retaliation or being ostracized. When staff are bullied into silence, dangerous conditions persist, and patients pay the price.

9. Emergency Room Boarding and Limited ICU Beds

Because hospitals face severe bed shortages, critical patients are frequently “boarded” in overcrowded emergency rooms for hours or even days instead of being moved to specialized units like the ICU. ER staff are spread incredibly thin, and keeping a critical patient there without dedicated specialist oversight is a recipe for severe medical oversight.

10. Preventable Medication Distribution Errors

Medication errors account for a staggering 29% of adverse events in medical facilities, heavily driven by poor drug packaging. Pharmaceutical companies frequently package entirely different medications in identical-looking bottles and boxes. It is a simple design flaw with fatal consequences, yet corporate manufacturers have been incredibly slow to fix it.

What are Your Legal Rights in Illinois?

Almost every single one of these structural flaws can result in a catastrophic injury that warrants an Illinois medical malpractice lawsuit. If you or a loved one has suffered due to a hospital’s negligence, a surgical error, or a failure to diagnose, you do not have to fight the insurance companies alone.

Frequently Asked Questions about Illinois Medical Malpractice

What qualifies as medical malpractice in Illinois?
To have a case, you must prove that a healthcare provider breached the “standard of care” (failed to act with the skill and care that a reasonably qualified competent doctor would use under similar circumstances) and that this specific failure directly caused your injury or wrongful death.

What is the statute of limitations for medical malpractice in Illinois?
In most cases, Illinois law requires you to file a medical malpractice lawsuit within two years of the date you knew, or reasonably should have known, about the injury. However, a lawsuit can never be filed more than four years after the actual negligence occurred (with separate, extended rules applying to minors).

How much does it cost to hire a medical malpractice lawyer?
Reputable Illinois personal injury and malpractice attorneys work on a contingency fee basis. This means there are absolutely zero upfront costs to you, and the law firm only gets paid if they successfully secure a financial settlement or jury verdict for your case.

If you would like a completely free, honest, and confidential case review from an attorney we trust, please call our team anytime at 800-517-1614.

Illinois Medical Malpractice Due To AI

I remember the first time I heard about robots performing surgery. That was wild to me, but at least we knew that doctors were handling everything. That seems to be changing a bit when it comes to AI in the medical field. And in my opinion, that should worry everyone.

Artificial intelligence is starting to play a bigger role in medicine, including in operating rooms across the country. Many hospitals now use surgical systems with AI-powered software that is designed to help doctors perform procedures more precisely. These tools work like a GPS system for the human body, helping surgeons track where their instruments are during surgery. In theory, this technology should make procedures safer. But some recent botched surgeries suggest that these systems don’t always work the way they are supposed to. When that happens, it’s likely a case of medical malpractice.

In some cases, the technology reportedly told surgeons their instruments were in one place when they were actually somewhere else inside the patient’s body. When that happens, the results can be catastrophic. Surgeons may unintentionally damage nearby tissue, nerves, or blood vessels if they rely on incorrect information from the navigation system. If they are not verifying EVERYTHING that the AI tool is telling them, it’s a problem.

One reported case involved a surgeon performing a minimally invasive sinus surgery on a middle-aged woman. The surgeon intended to blow up a small balloon in her sinus cavity to expand it. During the operation, the navigation system reportedly misidentified where the instrument was located inside her head. As a result, her carotid artery was injured, leading to a blood clot and then a stroke. The mother of four spent five days in the ICU. A part of her skull was removed to give her brain room to swell.

Reports to federal regulators suggest that problems actually increased after AI features were added to certain surgical navigation systems. Before the AI upgrades, only a small number of malfunctions had been reported. After the changes, regulators received many more reports involving injuries, equipment errors, or system malfunctions.

Federal regulators have cleared more than 1,000 AI-enabled tools used for diagnosing conditions, monitoring patients, and assisting with surgery. While many doctors believe this technology can improve patient care, some experts worry that certain devices may not be thoroughly tested before they reach the market.

For patients, it is important to understand that AI does not replace the judgment or responsibility of the surgeon. These systems are meant to assist doctors, not make decisions for them. However, when the technology provides incorrect information during surgery, it can create serious risks.

As AI becomes more common in hospitals and operating rooms, these types of problems may lead to more medical malpractice and product liability claims. If you or a family member has suffered serious harm from a botched surgery, it is worth discussing this with a licensed attorney. Contact us today for a free consultation and advice on how to best move forward.

Pre-Existing Conditions and Illinois Work Comp Law

One thing that Illinois work comp insurance companies LOVE to do is to try and deny a claim stating that there is a pre-existing condition. This strategy flies in the face of actual Illinois law that states you get work comp benefits if your job causes, aggravates or accelerates a condition/injury.

In other words, if you are not actively treating for an injury, then you should get work comp. I have two examples that demonstrate this.

In the first one, a caller to our office tore his rotator cuff working out at the gym. Two days later he was at work and claims it got way worse by having to lift a box. That would be a hard case to win as the underlying injury was clearly caused outside of work and lifting the box is likely a temporary aggravation. To win, he’d likely need a MRI after the gym incident and a different one after lifting the box. That would be the only realistic way to prove things got worse.

The second example which worked out for an injured worker is the subject of an Illinois Appellate Court decision that came out within the last year. Below is a summary. Note that we were not involved in this case.

The Facts Of This Illinois Workers’ Compensation Claim

John Barickello worked as a drywall laborer for Engler, Meier & Justus. His job was physically demanding and included carrying drywall, loading heavy carts, and traveling between job sites. On October 21, 2016, while driving between jobs for work, he hit a semi-truck tire lying on the highway. After pulling over, another vehicle rear-ended his truck. Barickello immediately felt pain in his neck and back and was taken to the hospital by ambulance.

Barickello had a history of back problems from a 2009 work injury with a different employer. He had back surgery in 2011 and continued to receive pain management treatment for several years. Even with those problems, he was still able to work full-time as a drywall laborer up until the 2016 accident.

After the 2016 crash, Barickello began experiencing serious pain in his neck, middle back, and lower back. MRIs showed issues in his cervical spine, including herniated discs. His treating doctors believed the car accident either caused new injuries or made his existing back condition worse. They recommended treatments such as physical therapy, injections, and a spinal cord stimulator to help control his pain.

The employer’s doctor disagreed. He believed Barickello only suffered a temporary strain and said he could return to work without further treatment.

The Court Ruling

The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission sided with Barickello. It found that the 2016 accident was a major factor in his current medical problems. The Commission noted that he had been able to work a heavy labor job for several years despite his earlier injury. After the accident, however, he could no longer work.

The Commission awarded Barickello payment for his medical treatment, including future care such as therapy, injections, and a spinal cord stimulator. It also awarded him temporary total disability (TTD) benefits for the time he was unable to work.

The employer appealed, but the appellate court upheld the Commission’s decision. The court agreed that the 2016 accident was a cause of Barickello’s neck and back problems and that the medical treatment and disability benefits awarded by the Commission were supported by the evidence.

What This All Means

This case, in my opinion, is typical of the insurance company nonsense you see all the time in Illinois workers’ comp cases. Sure this guy hurt his back around seven years before the new work accident. And yes, that was a major injury.

But he clearly had recovered to the point where he could work a heavy duty job without any restrictions. Then he was involved in a serious car accident on the job which obviously caused new injuries and made the old ones worse.

But insurance companies will always find hack doctors willing to state what they want, so they fought this one, probably hoping to save money on a compromised settlement. Fortunately this worker and their lawyer saw the case through. It’s surprising the insurance company kept appealing, but in the end justice prevailed.

The bottom line is that his condition clearly was made worse as evidenced by the fact that he went from being able to work to not being able to work as well as needing treatment for new injuries.

So do not get frustrated or worried if you have a pre-existing condition. If you are not receiving major medical care when your job makes it worse, you will likely prevail.

If you have questions, want a free case review or a referral to a great lawyer in your area who can help, please contact us any time.

This Is What The Best Illinois Trial Lawyers Do

People call us all of the time looking for the “best lawyer” for whatever area of law their case involves. We have written about the qualities of the “best Chicago workers’ compensation lawyer” or the “best Illinois personal injury lawyer.” Those posts are still valid. But recently I was talking to a great car accident attorney that we send cases to, and he reminded me of something that the best trial lawyers do.

The first thing to know is that in civil cases, not every lawyer is really a trial lawyer. A lot of lawyers want cases, but do not actually want to do the hard work to get a case ready for trial. They are hoping a defendant just pays.

The second thing to know is that ironically, the best way to get a case to settle and avoid trial is to do all the hard work. This is what the best Illinois trial lawyers do.

Trials are a risk for both parties. They happen for reasons including:

  • There is a gap between the parties as to what the case is worth and neither side will budge off their demands.
  • One party refuses to be reasonable. This happens a lot in medical malpractice cases.
  • Someone’s case is terrible and they won’t acknowledge it.

But the biggest reason that a case goes to trial instead of settling is because you hired the wrong law firm. If they don’t do the hard work up front, it will hurt you in the end. Some common mistakes include:

  • Failing to secure the evidence quickly. This is really important in truck crashes and slip and fall cases, but true in general in every case. Maybe you find a witness that nobody else does. Maybe you secure and investigate a black box in a vehicle. This stuff makes a huge difference.
  • They do not hire the best experts. Almost every civil lawsuit needs some sort of expert witness to testify on your behalf. It is mandatory for medical malpractice cases. These experts can make or break your case.
  • They did not rock discovery. Before you go to trial, a pseudo trial happens with depositions and written discovery. This is your chance to make your case and show the other side how strong your position is. Some attorneys float through this process. It hurts the clients. An aggressive lawyer will get the documents that the other party hoped you would never find out about. In one case we were involved in, the defense attorney swore there was only $1 million in insurance coverage. The lawyers we recommended discovered a hidden corporate owner that made the case worth more than $10 million.

The attorneys who do this stuff well are truly the best trial lawyers in Illinois because they understand that the trial starts the moment they are hired, not when they file the lawsuit or appear before a jury. They are always ready, willing and able to try a case and will when it makes sense. But they get the best results for their clients because they can avoid the stress and risk that a trial puts on a client and still get an amazing outcome.

By the way, a lot of these men and women really love going to trial. Trials are exciting. They can be great publicity for their law firm. They look good on a website and in a newspaper. But the goal they all share is doing what is bet for the client. And that means that they kick ass from the get go, not just when the bright lights are on them.

Illinois Car Accident With USPS Truck

We are experienced injury attorneys who will give you a free case review and help you find the best attorney for your case. Call us any time at 312-346-5320.

Imagine that you are sitting at a stop light and you get run into by a mail carrier driving a United States Postal Service (USPS) truck. Your back and neck immediately hurt and you go to the hospital. The doctor checks you out, refers you to your family doctor and they recommend you get physical therapy. That does not work and you end up with an orthopedic doctor. It is not a crippling injury, but one that will require months of treatment before you feel better.

You were in a car accident once before and when that happened, your phone was ringing off the hook with ambulance chasing attorneys trying to get your case. They also sent letters and texts. It was terrible.

This time, you do not hear from one lawyer at all. While that is welcome as the attorneys who do that are gross, you find it odd. So you call a couple of lawyers, tell them what happened and they tell you that even though you were not at fault and are hurt, they can not help you?

What is going on?!?!?!?

Why Some Lawyers Don’t Take USPS Truck Accidents But We Do

If this has happened to you, you are not alone. Finding an attorney willing to sue the Federal Government for a car accident in Illinois can be a challenge. These are not normal car accident cases. Because a Federal employee was driving, you have to sue under a law called the Federal Torts Claim Act or FTCA.

When suing the Post Office or any other Federal department for personal injury, attorney fees are limited to only 20% of an administrative settlement or 25% of a judgment at trial or court approved settlement. In other words, if an attorney takes one of these cases, their normal fee is drastically reduced.

Beyond that, there are extra hoops you have to jump through to file the case because it’s in Federal Court as compared to filing a case in your local county. This includes a six month waiting period and the US Attorney’s Office often being slow to respond.

In other words, the lawyers get paid less and they have to work a lot harder. Some Illinois personal injury attorneys do not want tougher cases and do not want to work hard at all. It’s a shame.

But the reality is that once you know how to manage the Federal system and FTCA cases in general, they are not that hard. In fact we know one great Chicago car accident lawyer in particular who loves these cases and does great work for his clients. He has figured out the system and uses that experience to get great results.

So if you were hit by a USPS truck or any other Federally owned vehicle, do not fret. We can help you find an excellent lawyer who will protect you and get you compensated for your injuries. Call us any time at 312-346-5320 for a free review of your case.

Amazon and Suicide Lawsuits

This is not a fun post to write, but it is a very important topic. Since 2001 we have helped over a half a million people with legal questions or finding the right lawyer. If you want our help, please contact us any time for a free case review.

Amazon is unfortunately the most dominant company around. It is great for convenience. It is kind of insane that you can order something and it is at your home later that day or the next. It has certainly changed our way of thinking and purchasing.

I say it is unfortunate because of a few reasons. First is that in Amazon workers’ compensation cases, we have heard many horror stories of how they treat their employees. Reports of drivers and warehouse workers having to pee in bottles are widespread. But many injured workers report a complete lack of empathy from their bosses and attempts to get rid of them.

It is also unfortunate because people can get just about anything they want on Amazon, including items that can harm them. And this has led to lawsuits against the company.

Most recently Amazon was sued by families with relatives who committed suicide by consuming sodium nitrite they bought from the retailer’s site. The families accused Amazon of promoting the sale of sodium nitrite on its website alongside other products that could assist people in carrying out suicides.

They also alleged that Amazon has known of the link between sodium nitrite and suicide for years yet continued to sell the product without restrictions.

And that is really the crux of the case. If Amazon knows/knew that people were buying products on their website and using them to harm themselves, that is negligent. In these cases, according to this statement from a Congresswoman, it is alleged that Amazon allowed children to set up accounts and recommended other products such as a suicide handbook and a pill to prevent vomiting to help with suicide.

That is shocking. And incredibly gross if true. And devastating for these families. Why would a suicide handbook ever be sold by them? What is the point of that? Why would they (allegedly) promote a pill to help prevent vomiting when committing suicide.

Lawsuits such as this are really the only way to make a company that is so focused on money change their bad behavior. The only other option is legislation or for them to grow a conscience and do the right thing. Based on our dealings with them, I would not expect that to ever happen. Hopefully these and future lawsuits save lives and change behavior.

We love going after Amazon and holding them accountable. If a loved one of yours has been harmed by their products, please call us at 800-517-1614 for a free case review. We will do whatever we can to help.

Waivers And Illinois Personal Injury Lawsuits

A caller to our office was badly injured at a gym recently. He did not think he had a lawsuit because he had signed a waiver when he joined the gym. The waiver was pretty standard in that it released the gym from having any liability when it comes to injuries from working out, using the equipment, etc.

I have seen a lot of these waivers and you probably have too. Maybe you read them, maybe you didn’t. You can’t sign up for a 5k or any other race without agreeing to a waiver. So if you are running and break your leg in a pot hole, you state that you are going to forfeit your right to sue. We have seen waivers in others instances such as youth sports, trampoline parks, indoor rock climbing venues and many others.

Does Signing A Waiver End Any Chance Of An Illinois Personal Injruy Lawsuit?

A lot of people think that if you sign a waiver then that is it. In Illinois that is simply not true. A waiver can definitely limit your options, but it is always worth having a free consultation with an experienced attorney before making any final decisions.

When you sign a waiver, what it can do is waive your right to sue for an anticipated injury. So for example, if you are running on the treadmill at a gym and it skips, causing you to fall and hurt your knee, the waiver probably anticipates that will happen.

On the other hand, if a mirror falls off of a wall and hits you in the head, that is not anticipated. That is negligence. You can certainly sue for that. If you are playing basketball in the gym, getting fouled and hurting yourself is probably anticipated. Slipping on a wet gym floor due to a leaky roof is not and is definitely worth suing over. There have been successful lawsuits with each of those fact patterns.

This is the type of case where you will definitely need an Illinois personal injury lawyer in your corner. The insurance company for whoever harmed you will absolutely say that the waiver ends your claim. That is not true, but they will not voluntarily pay what the case is worth.

Even if you do sue, they will try to use the waiver to fight the claim. Sometimes it works, but very often it does not. It really comes down to the unique facts of how you got injured. Kids get hurt at trampoline parks all of the time. But if the injury happens because there was a defect in the trampoline, that might be enough to win. If you are doing indoor rock climbing and fall because the rock comes off the wall, that might be enough to win. Every case is fact specific.

What you should never do is take legal advice from the insurance company or anyone else that is not an attorney or has a competing interest with you.

We are happy to provide a FREE consultation and case review any time. If you would like to do that, give us a call at 312-346-5320 to talk to an attorney. We will give you direct, honest advice.

What Happens In An Illinois Medical Malpractice Lawsuit?

We are experienced Illinois attorneys who will talk to you for free about your medical malpractice case. For a free case review, please contact us at 312-346-5320.

There is a big misconception as to how lawsuits in Illinois work. This is especially true with Illinois medical malpractice lawsuits. These are complex cases that take a special firm in order to win. While every case is different, we thought it would be helpful to give a general overview of what happens in most Illinois medical malpractice cases.

Step One, The Negligence

Illinois medical malpractice lawsuits are for claims of negligence against a doctor, nurse, hospital or other medical provider. So to have a case, you need to have been a victim of negligence in some way. And for most cases, you need a significant physical harm to make it worth reaching out to an attorney.

Put another way, if your doctor violated HIPAA or made you wait for hours, that is bad, but not a lawsuit. On the other hand, if you had back surgery and ended up with nerve damage or they failed to diagnose cancer in a timely fashion, that might be a case.

If you or a loved one has an injury from medical care or lack of, it is worth reaching out to an attorney.

Step Two, Talking To A Lawyer

While there are a lot of law firms who state that they handle medical malpractice claims, the reality is that there are around ten or so that are truly elite at it. If you have a catastrophic injury such as a birth injury to a child, you need to be with a firm like that.

No matter who you reach out to, the initial process will be something like:

  • You explain what happened
  • The lawyer asks questions about the process
  • If they see obvious defenses to your claim, they will tell you they can not help
  • If they think your case is worth investigating, they will likely have a more detailed discussion with you and/or sign your case up to begin an investigation
  • You will sign a contract with them that states they are taking your case on a contingency basis which means they only get paid if they make a recovery for you.

Step Three, The Investigation

If you have made it to this point, your case is farther along than most. These are hard cases to win and most get rejected before this point. In the investigation process, your law firm will gather your medical records (sometimes they ask you to do that) and review them internally.

Many of the firms that we recommend have nurses in house that conduct a review to identify negligence or possible defenses. For example, if the records show a patient refused medical care that was recommended, that could end a case. On the other hand, this review may show major errors.

Based on the internal review, the next step is to send out your records to an outside, independent medical expert. These are doctors or nurses in the same field as the person responsible for the harm. So if you were going to sue over a botched back surgery, your lawyer would send your records to an orthopedic doctor to get their opinion as to what went wrong.

To win these lawsuits, you have to show that what happened is not just a bad result, but also negligence. Often bad results happen from things that are known risks. For example, if you have a colonoscopy and your colon gets nicked, that is a risk of that procedure. You would likely only be able to sue if your doctor did not catch the error in a reasonable period of time.

Knowing the best experts to consult with is one way elite Illinois medical malpractice firms separate themselves from others. It can truly be the difference between winning and losing a case. In order to bring a lawsuit, you need an affidavit from an outside expert as to what went wrong and that it violated the standard of care.

***KEY POINT TO KNOW

This whole investigation process often takes 6-12 months or more as there can be tens of thousands of medical records to go through and often you are going back and forth with the expert as they seek more information. In most cases there is a two year time limit to sue from when the negligence occurred (some exceptions can make it longer). The point is that you should not wait until the last minute to reach out to a lawyer.

Step 4, The Lawsuit

If your lawyer gets an affidavit from a credible doctor, they will file a lawsuit which details what happened and what the lawsuit is about. After that happens, this is the typical process:

  • All defendants must be served
  • There will be a preliminary court date, usually a few months from when the lawsuit is filed
  • Each party will have the chance to submit written questions called interrogatories that you and they will have to answer
  • Depositions will take place of every relevant person involved in the lawsuit. This includes plaintiff(s), defendants, experts and witnesses.
  • During this time your attorney may consult with experts about financial losses, likely needed medical care, a life care plan or other issues. In many cases it is common to hire a videographer to film a “day in the life video” or in cases of wrongful death, a “grief impact” video that discusses the person who passed and how their loss is affecting your life.

While every case is different, the goal in Illinois is to get the case to trial within 28 months of when it was originally filed. In some cases that is not possible because there are too many defendants. One case we are working on has nine defendants with multiple law firms involved. As you can imagine, scheduling can be difficult. In cases of birth injuries, sometimes it makes sense to see how the child develops before a trial takes place.

Step 5, Settlement Attempts and/or Trial

While it is possible to settle a case before a couple of years have passed, that is not common until most or all of the depositions have happened. Insurance companies do not give money away and they know that if only one of 12 jurors believes they are not liable, they will not have to pay anything.

But the farther a case goes on, the more pressure the insurance company and defendants face as jury verdicts in Illinois can be quite large. So it is very common for a mediation to take place. In that process, your lawyer and the other lawyer (along with you present typically) meet with an independent mediator who often is a former Judge. Each party will discuss the case and the mediator will see if they can help you find common ground and a resolution.

Not every mediation is done in good faith and it is not unusual for there to be more than one in a case. As the trial date gets closer, most insurance companies make their best offer.

If the case does not settle, it will go to trial. That process often takes two to four weeks depending on the complexity of the case. All of the relevant parties, witnesses and experts will testify in court with the plaintiffs going first.

The case could still settle during this time, but if it does not, eventually closing arguments will happen and the jury will deliberate and make a decision.

Step 6, Other Factors

If the case settles and there was a death or a minor involved or an incapacitated adult, probate will have to happen. That is a process of determining who is entitled to recover as well as protecting the assets of a minor.

There are also medical liens to take care of if a settlement happens. If your case settled for $1 million, but there are $800,000 in medical bills, if your attorney does not negotiate those bills to a lower amount, you will end up with nothing. This process can take a year or more. That can be frustrating, but it is an important part of the process and must be done correctly. Know that your lawyer will not get paid until you do, so they have a motivation to make that happen.

If the case goes to trial, either party can appeal within 30 days of the verdict. Winning an appeal on a malpractice lawsuit in Illinois is very hard, but not impossible. That process can take another couple of years. In rare cases a new trial is ordered and you go back to that step.

That is how it goes in most cases. It is a lot to take in. The main points are:

  1. Illinois medical malpractice lawsuits involve injuries due to negligence.
  2. Do not wait too long to reach out to a lawyer as it takes a long time to properly investigate a case. If you wait too long, you could lose your right to sue.
  3. Experts are needed to state malpractice occurred. Your lawyer will find them.
  4. Cases take more than two years from the time a lawsuit is filed. Settlement negotiations typically take place toward the end of a case. If it does not settle, the case will go to trial.

If you have any questions about this process or want to speak with a lawyer for FREE, please call us any time. We will give you the same guidance we would to a family member or friend.

Can AI Tell You What Your Illinois Personal Injury Case Is Worth?

We are experienced attorneys who will talk to you for free. If you would like to speak with a lawyer, please contact us at 312-346-5320.

Use of AI tools like ChatGPT is so common now for people looking for Illinois legal advice that I expect some day we are going to see a legal malpractice lawsuit against an AI company. We have already seen similar suits on behalf of families whose loved ones killed themselves in part based on AI guidance.

The problem is that AI does not actually think. It can regurgitate information it is aware of in a confident manner. It is almost like sports radio where someone yells and acts confident so people believe it. That is not to say it is never right, but the problem is that it is often wrong.

A recent caller to our office started off by telling me, “I am very smart and make over a million dollars a year. I have been involved in a car accident case for three years and I want you to help verify something for me. AI told me what my case is worth, but my lawyer tells me that is wrong and the best offer I can get is $50,000. That is ten times less what AI told me I should get. Can I sue my lawyer or file a bad faith lawsuit against the insurance company?

The Problem With Someone Who Takes Legal Advice From AI

I knew this call was going south when the person led off by telling me how smart they are and how much money they make.

This is the truth about relying on ChatGPT or another product for legal advice. The chances they will get it wrong are so great, that you will always have to wonder what it got wrong and what you are missing. That is if you are being honest with yourself. I say that for a few reasons including:

  • AI lacks nuance – By that I mean that every day I get calls from people who want to discuss one legal issue, but in talking to them I realize they have not thought about something else that could solve their problem.
  • AI can’t have the full picture – You can tell it your version of events, but surely are not going to give it the version that the opposing party will tell. So you are getting the advice you want to hear versus what the true situation is. Also, AI does not know who the Judge is, the opposing lawyer’s motivations or other external factors that affect the outcome of a case.
  • AI does not have real world experience – In the car accident example above, part of the reason the caller was getting only $50,000 had to do with negotiating medical liens. How that works varies from state to state, case to case and based on who the medical providers are. If you haven’t dealt with that in actuality you can’t help someone. A machine can not comprehend all of the possible scenarios.
  • AI does not think or reason – What it does is spit out a sentence based on information it is given. It often hallucinates and makes up case law and it is geared toward telling you what you want to hear.

So Is All AI Terrible?

That is not to say AI does not have useful functions. It can summarize text, help you craft a vacation plan or even get you started on drafting a letter. The summary might take the place of actual thinking. The vacation plan might be great or might miss out on things you would find out on your own, but it essentially acts as a search engine which is what it is. The drafting of the letter is great, especially if you lack creativity or are crunched for time.

But you are fooling yourselves if you think it is intelligent. You can not put a bunch of words into a machine and rely on it to regurgitate something that you can rely on to handle a complicated matter. It can give solid, generic summaries of cases, but not actual legal guidance.

And it certainly can not accurately tell you what your case is worth. If you rely on it to do so, you are either going to be disappointed with the outcome or end up settling for too little money because AI lacked the nuance or information to figure out that your case is actually worth so much more.

Who Are The Top Rated Personal Injury Lawyers In Chicago?

A person whose grandson was badly injured in a car accident called me and was very direct right away. I love that because when you call us for legal advice, we are also incredibly direct, honest and to the point. Within 10 seconds this man said to me,

I want you tell me who the top rated personal injury lawyers are in Chicago.

That comment led to a longer discussion. Before I get into that, people come to us because we are lawyers who help people find the best Illinois attorney for their case. We have helped over half a million people since 2001 and would love to help you. You can contact us for a free case review any time at 312-346-5320.

Everyone wants the “best” lawyer they can get for their case or they should. But how do you find that? The answer is that there is no such thing, but instead you want to find the best attorney for your specific case.

There are literally thousands of Illinois attorneys who say they handle personal injury cases. Let’s first eliminate the ones you do not want.

Some of them are young. I would never recommend that you hire an attorney with less than ten years of experience. That is not to say a younger attorney couldn’t do a good job, but I would not want them learning from your case.

Some of them are old. Like really old. When you see that and they are not a part of a bigger firm it is a red flag. Are they spending half of their year in Florida or Arizona? Why are they still working? Are they keeping up with technology? Do they still take cases to trial? How is their health? All of these things would worry me.

I also think you should avoid attorneys who dabble in personal injury. Take a look at their website. If it talks about divorce or criminal law or real estate or anything else that is not an injury case, that could be a red flag. Again, they could do a good job for you, but I would feel more comfortable if they were doing nothing but injury cases.

After that look at what type of injury case you have. Most personal injury lawyers have handled car accident cases. Not all of them have a track record of winning slip and falls, trucking accidents, sexual abuse cases, injuries caused from defective hand rails, or other more unique claims. A lawyer might tell you that they can handle a case like that or have handled a couple, but again your best chance of success is with a firm that has handled dozens if not hundreds of similar cases and will not be learning on the job with your claim.

From there, an important question in determining who the best Illinois personal injury attorney for you is who is the defendant and what type of insurance is available. We often refer cases to a firm that sets records throughout Illinois for multi million dollar settlements and trial verdicts. They have over 200 results in the seven, eight and even nine figure range. They are incredible. But if your case is worth a maximum $100,000 because that is all the insurance there is available, they are not the right firm for you.

For cases with smaller values, but still worth something, there are a lot of great attorneys who will do an extremely thorough job on your case an maximize the amount put in your pocket at the end of the day. These attorneys also have a track record of seven figure wins, but give the same effort on a case worth much less than that.

On the other hand, if you have a major injury and there is a lot of insurance available, which usually means there is a corporate defendant like a trucking company or other business, there are certain firms who can make your case worth more money. I say that because they have a track record of getting large trial verdicts. This makes insurance companies think twice and gets your the highest offer possible. These are firms that are willing to turn down a million dollar offer if they think they can get you 10 million at trial. Believe it or not, there are a lot of law firms who would tell you to just take the million because they do not want to risk losing out on a big fee.

In my opinion, there are around ten or so firms in Illinois that regularly get settlements and verdicts that outshine others and probably another 15 or so that are able to get those types of results. We know which ones are still hungry and really fight for their clients. Some of these elite firms just want easy cases and appear to not put in the hard work. Others seem to coast by a reputation from accomplishments from a decade or more ago. It is not about who was the best injury attorney in 2018, but who is the best one for you today.

Part of our evaluation in making a recommendation has to do with the type of case you have. If it is something complex like an airplane crash or a multi car/semi accident, it is probable that a trial will not take place for many years. We think about not only who is right to take on the case now, but also who will be well positioned in the future.

We are also constantly networking and aware of law firms that are breaking up or rumored to be; we hear about attorneys planning to retire before the general public does; we know which firms have success with really niche cases. All of these things are a factor in finding the best attorney, especially in bigger injury cases.

There are other factors too like someone who speaks a foreign language if needed and someone who will travel to see you when necessary. Although we do recommend attorneys located all over Illinois, the most elite and accomplished ones are in Chicago. You do not need them for a smaller car accident, but the more complex a case is, the more likely they are the right fit for you. Do know that no matter where you are, no attorney we recommend is going to ask you to travel a distance to see them. They will handle your case by phone, Zoom and in person at your home.

Some things to look out for:

  • Beware attorneys that want to charge 40% or more. A personal injury lawyer can ask for whatever they want. You should never agree to more than 1/3 in our opinion unless there is something really unique and challenging about your case.
  • Beware ambulance chasers. These are firms that will pay for police reports to get your contact info and reach out to you unsolicited. That is unethical and a sign of the type of people you would be dealing with if you hire them. We never recommend law firms who do this.
  • Know that a lot of the lawyers you see on TV are not actually Illinois attorneys. They might have an office here, but the main partners are based in other states and do not have a long track record of handling Illinois cases. We never recommend any of these attorneys. A lot of them are essentially marketing agencies in our opinion and hiring them creates a lot of risk for you.
  • There are no legitimate rating lists. Lots of companies give out “awards” for top lawyers. Most of these are BS and go to attorneys who are willing to pay for the distinction. I have never met an attorney who puts any value on those things. It is pure marketing.
  • Know that there are no official won/loss records. A win to you might be a loss to someone else. Getting a million dollars for a client sounds great and looks good on paper, but if the case could have been worth five million then it is a terrible result. You will never have enough information from a website to know what a case might have ultimately been worth and no lawyer is going to post about a loss. Our advice is to look for a pattern of great results. That is not a guarantee, but a good indicator.

We promise to give you a free case review and the chance to ask any questions you have. After that, if wanted, we will recommend a law firm for you based on your unique case facts. Nobody pays us to recommend them and while we can not guarantee a result, we do promise do give the same guidance that we would provide a friend or family member. Reach out any time at 312-346-5320. You will usually speak to an experienced attorney right away.

StubHub Is Screwing People On World Cup Tickets

The idea of StubHub and other ticketing sites is great. I remember going to Wrigley Field in my 20’s without tickets and there being a guy holding what looked like 100 tickets selling them outside a ticket broker’s office. Buying them was the ultimate low information activity and felt a little sketchy.

Buying on resell sites feels better because you can compare prices, know what seats you are getting and never have to talk to the seller. That sounds great even if at times you end up having to spend way more than you want to in order to get in to the event.

The World Cup is here and FIFA is charging insane prices for these games. It appears a lot of people bought tickets with the hope of selling them for more money and they were right. There are rumors that FIFA actually gave a lot of their inventory to re-sell sites too. Getting into the US game this Friday will cost you more than a Final Four or World Series ticket. Yay capitalism.

The problem with the World Cup is that the only place to get guaranteed tickets is from the FIFA re-sale site. Their site sucks. It is not user friendly at all and you have to pay a 15% fee whether you are buying or selling.

So a lot of people are going to sites like Stubhub for tickets. Many of them do it because they promote a “fan guarantee” that if your seller does not deliver tickets they will get you comparable or better tickets. The problem with that is it never seems to happen and their fine print allows them to simply just refund you. Of course that does not happen usually until the last minute. This happened to me last year when trying to purchase tickets for a concert. I could not get a refund until an hour before the event started.

But the problem with the World Cup sounds insane. Here is a sample of complaints I’ve seen lately.

And here is one where a buyer had to get on a flight without tickets being delivered. Do you want to go to Houston in June without being there for an event? Neither do I.

There are hundreds of other horror stories with Stubhub and it’s not unique to the World Cup. A good friend had hockey playoff tickets until he did not. No replacement tickets given. And there’s this one below from the NCAA tournament.

So What Can You Do About Stubhub Screwing You Over?

What is your recourse if this happens to you. This person has an idea that will never happen.

I’m beyond sympathetic, but the reality is that when you sign up for Stubhub or these other ticketing sites, you agree to their terms of service. As part of that, you agree, whether you realize or not, to resolve all disputes via arbitration and waive your right to be a part of a class action lawsuit.

This is gross, but not unique to them. In fact, most companies you deal with have these clauses. Plainly speaking, suing as a consumer on a class action basis is often impossible.

There ought to be a law that prevents these clauses, but the truth is that the republicans in the Bush administration made it happen and democrats haven’t done anything about it when they have gotten power. It is the number one way that companies get away with nonsense. And it prevents them from fixing problems or actually having a real “fan protect” guarantee.

So if you are looking for tickets, it is buyer beware! And that includes any thought about suing Stubhub if things go sideways.

Illinois Divorce When There Is A Business – Ten Things To Know

This post is inspired by a conversation I had with a friend in another state who was asking my opinion about their divorce. I could not give them legal advice as we only help with Illinois divorce cases. But what they were going through is relevant to anyone in Illinois who is going through a divorce involving a business.

In this case, it is a husband who is a doctor and a wife who gave up her career to support him for over 20 years, including working at the practice he founded after they got married along with raising the kids. I thought it would be helpful to talk about what legal advice I would give if you are the spouse who owns the business as well as if you were the supporting spouse.

So in no particular order, here are key things to know if you are going through a divorce with a business in Illinois. These are tips to not only help you find the best divorce lawyer possible, but also to understand how these cases actually work.

  1. When was the business started – The first thing an Illinois divorce attorney will look at is was the business started. If it was before the marriage, then it is likely not a marital asset. The earnings will be relevant for other reasons, but your spouse would not have an ownership claim. On the other hand, if it was started after you got married, then it is a marital asset.
  2. What happens when you join an existing business after you got married? – This is really common. Think of a lawyer becoming a partner in a law firm or a doctor joining an established medical practice. What is relevant is the date you became an owner in that business. If you were married then, it’s a marital asset.
  3. Not every attorney can handle a divorce with a business – While some businesses are small and do not have a lot of assets if any, if it is a successful business, you need an attorney in your corner who is experienced with forensic accounting. That means they know how to evaluate what a business is worth as well as expert accountants who can assist in the process. If your attorney has not handled dozens of similar cases it could cost you a lot of money, potentially millions.
  4. Compensation is usually given for your spouse’s ownership in the business you work at – The easiest example to think of is the spouse of an attorney at a big Chicago law firm. Let’s say a forensic accountant determines that attorney’s partnership share is worth $3,000,000. That means the other spouse can claim an interest of $1,500,000.00. There are various ways this could work out, but it is common for the non-working spouse to get paid either via a loan or being given other marital assets. For example, if you live in a $2,000,000 house that is paid off, each spouse would have a million dollar interest. Waiving rights to the home could help compensate the value of the business.
  5. None of this takes away from other Illinois divorce issues – If you have been a stay at home mom (or dad) for the marriage and gave up a career, you are likely entitled to maintenance benefits (commonly thought of as alimony). Even if you get paid your ownership percentage in the business, you can still receive compensation for the lifestyle you have grown accustomed to. In other words, if a doctor making seven figures wants to get a trophy wife they can, but the first wife will not lose out completely. They will be entitled to a percentage of ongoing income in most cases. There is also child support and division of other assets.
  6. If one spouse makes much more than the other, that spouse will likely have to pay for both lawyers – This is to prevent the person who makes more money bullying their spouse financially. So if your spouse has a car dealership and you have never worked or if you make significantly less than they do, most likely a divorce Judge would order them to pay your attorney fees too. This is usually the first motion your lawyer will file.
  7. Neither of you is the Judge – Bullying is really common in Illinois divorces and seems to happen even more so when there is a business involved. It could be one spouse saying that the other can’t see the kids. It could be the bread winner threatening their spouse financially or even trying to cut off access to bank accounts. Courts do not look kindly on this type of behavior. Court is also your solution to stop the bullying. The best thing I can tell you is do not take legal advice from your spouse. They may tell you what is going to happen to try and intimidate you, but a strong attorney can level the playing field and protect you.
  8. These divorces can take longer than ones without a business– That is because the key factor is valuing what a business is worth. Sometimes there are people who do not keep honest financial records and hide cash. Other times we might be waiting for a development that could drastically increase or decrease what the business is worth. Think of a company that has a patent for a new medicine and they are trying to bring it to market. Or a brand new restaurant or other startup. Those businesses might explode and be worth a lot or they might go bankrupt.
  9. Too many attorneys overcharge in these cases– Illinois divorces involving a business can be complex. The attorneys who are truly experienced with this usually have a high hourly rate. That is legitimate. What is not legit is some of them try to use these cases as cash registers and drastically overbill their clients. Maybe they bill for research that is not really needed. They will assign multiple attorneys to show up at court when only one is required. They will charge you for reviewing an email or having a phone call in an amount much greater than the time it actually took. I have heard of lawyers billing for thinking about a case! My strong advice is that you should closely monitor the bill and demand monthly itemized statements. Do not get too far down the road where you suddenly owe $100,000 and feel like the true value is less than half of that.
  10. All of these case issues are negotiable – When you hire an Illinois divorce lawyer, they should talk to you about your goals. Some people care about child custody over everything else. Others want to get the case done quickly so they can move out of state. Some prioritize the value of a business. Talk to your attorney about what is important to you so they can work to meet as many of your goals as possible. They can not change the law, but if they understand what matters to you, they can work to get you the best outcome attainable.

We have helped tens of thousands of people who are going through divorce in Illinois. Our service based out of Chicago and we have a network of top, experienced family law attorneys in Cook County, Lake, DuPage, Kane, McHenry and Will Counties. If your case is there and you would like a free, confidential consultation, please contact us at 312-346-5320 any time.

How To Pick An Illinois Medical Malpractice Lawyer

One of the most common questions we get is deals with how to pick an Illinois medical malpractice lawyer. We are attorneys who will talk to you for free and recommend who we think the best lawyer is for your case. If you would like a free, confidential case review, please contact us at 312-346-5320. We help all over Illinois. People say that our service is like having a lawyer in the family.

What Makes A Medical Malpractice Lawsuit?

Before you look for an attorney, you should discover if you even have a case worth pursuing. People often come to us to find out if they even have a case at all. Part of choosing the best Illinois malpractice law firm for you is doing a deep dive into the case facts.

Winning medical malpractice lawsuit is hard. You need the type of case that 12 jurors would agree on and damages that make it worth it. Some things to know include:

  1. These cases are expensive. It is not uncommon for it to cost a law firm $100,000-$200,000 to bring a case. As a result the second point happens.
  2. Illinois medical malpractice lawyers are looking for cases with big damages. Given how expensive the cost is, you usually need major harm to have a case worth investigating. That sadly means death, paralysis, brain damage, loss of use of a limb, permanent disability, blindness, etc. We have won cases when those things do not exist, but it is much harder to get a law firm interested when you make a great recovery.
  3. To win you also have to prove negligence, not just a bad result. A bad outcome does not mean a doctor, nurse or hospital made a mistake every time. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t. If the harm you suffered was a result of the problem you already have, you do not have a case. If the harm likely would have happened anyway, it is not a case. And if the injury from them is due to a known risk (such as your colon getting nicked in a colonoscopy or catching an infection), it is usually not a case unless they do not catch the error in time.
  4. As a result of all of this, doctors do often get away with being terrible at their job. That is one of the hardest parts of this law. Many times bad medical providers are not held responsible.
  5. But often they are. And when you do win a medical malpractice lawsuit, not only do you take steps to prevent it from happening to others, you can recover millions of dollars. Or in some cases like birth injuries, tens of millions of dollars. This is why picking the right malpractice law firm really matters.

OK, I Understand About What Makes An Illinois Medical Malpractice Lawsuit. How Do I Pick An Attorney?

Unlike car accidents, divorces or DUI’s there are not hundreds of law firms in Illinois who have a track record of bringing and winning medical malpractice lawsuits. That is because they are costly, time intensive (most cases take many years) and complex.

So while every year smaller firms win some medical malpractice lawsuits, it is pretty rare. And those are the types of firms that in a ten year period will have tried or settled 2-3 malpractice cases. You want to pick a firm that gives you the best chance of success. In our experience since 2001, having been involved in reviewing more than 10,000 malpractice cases, these are things to look for in an Illinois medical malpractice law firm.

  1. A real track record of success. Their firm should have a results page. If they do not have at least ten cases for malpractice that have resolved for seven figures or more, there are probably better firms for you. In fact, most of the firms we recommend have over 100 such cases.
  2. They have taken medical malpractice cases to trial repeatedly. If you can settle for a good amount, that often makes sense. But unlike any other are of law, you have to be prepared and willing to go to trial to get the best result when it comes to medical lawsuits. Not every website will discuss their trial experience, but you should look for it and ask about it when interviewing them.
  3. They have at least three lawyers. Most firms we recommend have ten or more, but three is the minimum. We say this because these are time intensive cases that require attorneys who can work as a team. Usually there are at least two lawyers assigned to a case. If it goes to trial, that could be 2-4 weeks. If they do not have other lawyers, the rest of their cases will suffer during this time which is a bad reflection of the firm. Also, smaller firms are going to at times push too hard for a settlement. If you settle for $5 million when the case could be worth $15 million, that is a loss. Your lawyer’s motivation should be what is best for you and not anything else.
  4. The lawyers are also experienced. Having one seasoned attorney and two that have been out of law school for less than three years is practically the same thing as hiring a firm with just one lawyer. While anyone can contribute to a case, we typically look for attorneys with ten or more years of experience. And the attorney primarily responsible for your case should have at least 15 years experience in most situations.
  5. Whoever you hire should have experience with cases similar to yours. One of the most important aspects of any Illinois medical malpractice lawsuit is knowing what outside experts to turn to in order to review your case to see if there is negligence. This is a requirement under Illinois law. So if you were going to sue for a failed back surgery that left you disabled, your best chance of a great result involves hiring a firm that has won similar cases to yours. They will know who to consult with and what to look for. This allows the case to move quicker and also provides leverage in settlement negotiations. If the insurance company knows your lawyer won a similar case for $20 million, that will really get their attention.
  6. Only hire Illinois based firms for Illinois cases. There is a gross development in the law where firms that are mainly based in other states are marketing themselves as Illinois lawyers. If they are not regularly before Illinois Judges in Illinois courts and familiar with Illinois law, that puts you at a disadvantage. Many of these firms are just marketers and tricking potential clients. Avoid them like the plague. There is too much at stake and these cases are too complex.
  7. The primary attorney on your case should not be too old. This is a tricky one. A lot of the better firms have older attorneys who essentially serve now as intake coordinators and case managers since they are so good with the clients. You need to know who will be the attorney to try your case. That might not happen for 3-5 years or more depending on the case facts. If the trial attorney is 75 now, do you want them trying your case when they are 80? I would not. Generally speaking, make sure the firm has a good roster of attorneys in their 40’s, 50’s and 60’s and that one of them will work on your case.

So I Know What To Look For, How Do I Tell All Of These Firms On The Internet Apart?

There are a couple hundred law firms that say they do medical malpractice cases in Illinois. We have been following cases since 2001 and one thing is clear. There are about ten law firms who year in and year out get the best results.

This does not mean they should get all of the cases. For cases that could be worth mid six figures like getting a stage four bedsore in the hospital there are certain firms that have a good track record of quick recoveries in those types of claims.

But for the truly catastrophic injury cases, these ten or so firms really do make a difference. Simply put, cases are worth more money in their hands than with other, less accomplished firms.

These are the types of lawyers we recommend. Nobody pays us to recommend them. We would treat you like a family member or friend and only send you to an elite law firm that has a track record of great results. And we do not publish a list because some of these firms are better for certain types of injuries than others. Also, year over year firms can break up, have a main partner pass away or have something else that affects their worthiness. We want you to have the best attorney for the moment in time when you reach out to us.

If you would like our opinion as to if you have a case and if so, who you should hire, please call us any time at 312-346-5320. We will do whatever we can to help you and answer any questions that you have.

Injuries Out Of The Country At Resorts

We are experienced attorneys who will talk to you for free. Please call us any time at 800-517-1614.

There was a very tragic and sad accident at a luxury Nicaraguan resort earlier this year. A resort-owned vehicle with over 20 people in it crashed and caused multiple injuries, including killing one woman.

While this type of tragedy is somewhat rare, it does happen. What is even more common is people going on an overseas trip and having an accident of some sort. The question is, can you get an injury attorney in the United States to help you? The answer is it depends.

The Key Factor In Out Of The Country Personal Injury Claims

The reality is that laws in other countries are different than in the US. The average monthly salary in a place like Nicargua is $300-$400 which is probably less than one night’s hotel stay at most of the high end resorts there. As a result, even in a major injury case like this one, you can not expect to sue in Nicaragua and get something that fairly compensates you. They have probably never had a multi-million dollar settlement in that country.

So if you are a victim of negligence and injured, the key factor is can you find a way to sue in the United States? If so, you can likely bring a lawsuit here.

In this case, the hotel where this happened is part of a world wide luxury resort brand. They have hotels in many countries. Their US headquarters are in California and their operations center in the US is in Chicago on Wacker Drive.

In other words the victims and their families can make a great argument that a lawsuit can be filed in Illinois. That is huge and could change the value of some of these claims by tens of millions of dollars.

In this case, it appears that all of the negligence is tied to the resort. It was not a Marriott Hotel, but that is another example of a hotel chain that is all over the world. It is very reasonable to argue that you trusted the brand, so even if the negligence happened overseas, that trust and their activities in the US serve as a basis for bringing the case here.

The situation would likely be different if it was a tour operator of some sort that caused the crash. If they have no affiliation with the hotel, then it is harder to hold the hotel responsible. But even then, if the hotel was cross promoting with them, that could potentially give you a reason to sue in the United States.

For example, I was in Costa Rica and the concierge at our hotel was able to book a zipline tour and have us pay our bill through the hotel. That would likely be enough to make a sound argument that the hotel was in part responsible for any accident. On the other hand, if you walk into town and get hurt at a local restaurant, your options would likely be limited to the laws of that country.

The Bottom Line

While it sounds morbid to say, if you are going to get hurt from someone else’s negligence, you are much better served and protected if you can find a way to bring a lawsuit in the United States. The simple reality is that cases are worth more here.

There are very few law firms who have experience with international cases like this. Your run of the mill car accident attorney is not likely the right attorney to hire for a situation like this. You need a bigger injury firm that has a track record and if needed can afford to send investigators to the foreign country to gather evidence.

There are not very many law firms in the country with a real track record of complex injury cases like this. It is not typically the type of attorney you see on TV. It is the firms that lawyers would hire if it happened to them.

If you or a loved one was seriously injured out of the country at a hotel, on a cruise ship or in another place, we promise to give you the same guidance we would to a family member or friend. Call us at 800-517-1614 to speak to an attorney for free. We will give you a case review and if appropriate, recommend a top firm that can help you get financial justice for what happened.

Best Illinois Work Injury Attorneys For Neck Injuries

Neck injuries at work are quite common, and they can be incredibly painful and disruptive to everyday life. Sometimes a neck injury happens all at once, like after a fall or a car accident on the job. Other times, it creeps up slowly after months or years of repetitive movements, awkward positions, or strain that just doesn’t let up. Either way, neck injuries can be difficult to recover from and often take longer to heal than people expect.

A serious neck injury can make it impossible to perform normal job duties, and in some cases, working at all isn’t an option for a period of time. That’s where workers’ compensation is supposed to step in. If your neck injury is work-related, you should be receiving benefits that cover your medical treatment and replace part of your lost wages while you’re unable to work. Simply put, you shouldn’t be paying out of pocket for medical care, and you shouldn’t be left without income because you got hurt doing your job.

Neck injuries can vary widely in how severe they are. Some people start out with what feels like a mild strain, only to realize the pain isn’t going away. Others suffer much more serious conditions, including herniated discs in the cervical spine that may require injections or even surgery, such as a cervical fusion. Pain that starts in the neck and travels down the arm is often a red flag for a disc pressing on a nerve. If it is left untreated or not handled properly, these injuries can worsen and, in extreme cases, lead to permanent nerve damage or paralysis. If this is happening to you, you should get to an orthopedic doctor or neuro surgeon ASAP.

Imaging like a cervical MRI is often important in figuring out what’s going on. Treatment can begin conservatively with physical therapy, rest, or medication. For more severe cases, epidural steroid injections may be recommended to reduce inflammation and pain. When those options fail, surgery may become necessary. These are not minor issues—they can be life-altering, affecting a person’s ability to work, drive, sleep, or perform basic daily activities.

While construction workers, delivery drivers, healthcare workers, and factory workers are at higher risk of neck injuries because of heavy lifting, repetitive motions, and physically demanding tasks, plenty of neck injuries happen in less obvious ways. Work-related car accidents often result in whiplash that turns into a more serious neck condition. Office workers can also suffer neck injuries from long hours at a desk, awkward workstation setups, or constantly cradling a phone or wearing heavy headsets that strain the neck over time.

No matter how your neck injury happened, if it’s connected to your job, it’s important to take it seriously. Workers’ compensation benefits exist to make sure you get proper treatment and financial support while you recover—and having an experienced workers comp attorney on your side can make a huge difference. While you focus on your health, your lawyer can take care of dealing with the insurance company to ensure you get the benefits you deserve. We work on a contingency basis, so you pay no fee unless we win. Contact us today through chat, our form or by phone at 312-346-5578.

Illinois Failure to Diagnose Prostate Cancer – Law Overview

Prostate cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in men, and early detection is the key to successful treatment. Unfortunately, not every patient gets the timely diagnosis they need. When doctors miss warning signs or fail to follow basic medical guidelines, a failure to diagnose prostate cancer can become life-changing — and in many cases, life-threatening.

Since 2001, IllinoisLawyers.com has helped Illinois residents get free legal guidance and referrals to the best failure to diagnose cancer attorney. If you have a malpractice claim, contact Illinois Lawyers today at 312-346-5320 or 800-517-1614 for a free, confidential consultation, or fill out our contact form.

What Happens in a Failure to Diagnose Prostate Cancer Case?

Failure to diagnose prostate cancer in Illinois can lead to serious harm. Patients may file medical malpractice claims when doctors delay diagnosis, misread PSA tests, or ignore screening guidelines, causing the cancer to worsen and treatment costs to rise.

A prostate cancer lawsuit may be filed if:

  • A doctor dismisses urinary symptoms
  • A PSA test comes back elevated, and no further testing is ordered
  • A biopsy is misread
  • A referral to a urologist is delayed or not done
  • Abnormal findings are overlooked in the chart

Learn more about how long a medical malpractice case takes in Illinois.

The Medicine: How Prostate Cancer Should Be Diagnosed

Doctors have well-established tools to detect prostate cancer early. A competent provider should:

  • Ask about urinary symptoms (hesitancy, weak stream, dribbling)
  • Consider risk factors like age, family history, and race
  • Order a PSA blood test when appropriate
  • Follow up on abnormal PSA results
  • Refer the patient to a urologist within a reasonable timeframe
  • Order imaging or a biopsy if cancer is suspected

Most failure to diagnose prostate cancer cases occur because a healthcare provider failed to follow one of these basic steps.

When a Missed Diagnosis Becomes Medical Malpractice

Why it’s a malpractice issue:

  • Early detection saves lives: Prostate cancer survival rates drop significantly if it’s not caught early. Once prostate cancer spreads — especially to lymph nodes or bone — treatment becomes more difficult, more expensive, and far less successful. That’s why delayed diagnosis cases often lead to higher failure to diagnose lawsuit settlement amounts.
  • Negligence: This can involve ignoring symptoms, ordering inadequate tests (like failing to check PSA levels), misreading scans, or delaying referrals for biopsies.

Breach of Duty: Doctors must provide care meeting the accepted standard, and failing to diagnose treatable cancer when signs exist is a breach.

This is where having the right failure to diagnose cancer attorney matters. These cases are complex, expensive, and evidence-heavy. Many firms simply do not have the experience or financial ability to handle them. We know who does.

What Damages Can You Recover in Illinois?

A failure to diagnose malpractice lawsuit may compensate you for:

Economic Damages

  • Surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, hormone therapy
  • Ongoing monitoring and follow-up care
  • Lost wages or reduced earning ability
  • Travel costs for treatment

Non-Economic Damages

  • Pain and suffering
  • Emotional distress
  • Loss of normal life
  • Loss of companionship

The severity of the delay, the stage of cancer at diagnosis, and the impact on your life heavily influence potential failure to diagnose lawsuit settlement amounts.

When You Should Call a Lawyer Immediately

You should reach out if:

  • Your prostate cancer was diagnosed at Stage 3 or Stage 4
  • Your PSA was elevated in the past, but nothing was done
  • Your doctor ignored urinary symptoms
  • A biopsy was misread
  • You lost the chance for less aggressive treatment
  • Your cancer spread during delays

Even if you’re unsure whether malpractice occurred, a quick phone call can give you clarity.

We talk to you the same way we’d talk to a friend or family member — honestly, directly, and without pressure.

Other Key Things To Know

Some other important factors to be aware of:

  • Time is of the essence. You have to sue within two years of when you knew malpractice occurred, but can not go back farther than four years to sue.
  • We are typically looking for a delay of at least six months or more.
  • Every attorney we recommend works on a contingency basis which means there is no fee unless you win the case.

How IllinoisLawyers.com Helps You

We are Illinois attorneys who:

  • Give free, confidential advice
  • Match you with the best lawyers for your exact situation
  • Know which firms win prostate cancer misdiagnosis cases
  • Treat every caller with respect and honesty

A failure to diagnose prostate cancer is one of the most devastating types of medical malpractice because timely testing makes such a massive difference in survival. If a doctor’s mistake allowed your cancer to progress, you deserve answers — and possibly compensation.

Call IllinoisLawyers.com anytime at 312-346-5320 or 800-517-1614 for free guidance. No appointments. No pressure. Just real help from real Illinois lawyers.

When Your Boss Wants To Hug Or Kiss You. Or Worse

TL/DR – If your boss tries to kiss you, hug or have sex with you, it is against the law and likely a lawsuit. Call us at 312-346-5320 for help anywhere in Illinois. No fee unless you win the case.

When you go to work, it is to make money and hopefully progress in life. Almost everyone I have ever met just wants to do a good job and be rewarded for working hard.

What people do not want is for some creep to make them feel uncomfortable. And they certainly do not want to feel like their job security depends on giving that creep what they want.

If you are being sexually harassed, it can come in a variety of forms. This includes:

  • Lewd comments
  • Unwanted touching
  • Being asked for hugs
  • Unwanted kissing
  • Being coerced into sexual activity
  • Forcible assault

None of this should happen to you. If it does, the first thing you should do, after getting to a safe spot, is report the bad behavior to your employer. In order to have a lawsuit against your employer, they generally have to be aware of the bad behavior and given a chance to correct it.

Generally speaking, you can not sue an employer in Illinois for something a co-worker does if the employer is not aware of it and given a chance to correct the problem. Correction can mean firing that person, suspending them or taking other steps to make sure it does not happen again.

If the employer does not correct the problem or prevent it from happening again, that is when you likely have a lawsuit. Of course, sometimes it is the owner or someone else in charge who is doing the bad deed so there is nobody to report to. Other times the employer is already aware that an employee is doing bad things. In those cases, you can usually sue right away.

In a recent case, an Oak Brook police officer did some pretty gross things. This includes allegedly:

  • Sending love notes and demanding to receive love notes back
  • Repeatedly touching genitalia and other body parts over the clothes
  • Stopping someone from leaving his office
  • Making comments about the personal lives of women in the office and their sexual activity
  • Taking a woman on extended coffee runs and parking the car and groping her
  • Stating that promotions were dependent on having sex with him
  • Retaliating when he learned of complaints
  • Unholstering his gun in an attempt to intimidate

It got worse as apparently another male co-worker joined in and when the problems were reported, nothing was done about it. The case recently settled for $2 million. That is a very large number, but almost does not feel large enough. This type of behavior is simply gross.

What the best Illinois employment lawyers look for in assessing these cases, aside from the notification requirements, is does the case meet the legal standard. That standard includes:

Is the behavior so severe or pervasive as to alter the conditions of employment. In other words, would a reasonable outside person look at this and see that the behavior was wrong and it affected you. Sometimes that is a one time offense and other times it is minor things that are going on all of the time.

Most people would think that your boss saying, “I like your sweater, it looks nice” is not a big deal. But if they said that and added something like, “It would look nicer off of you” that it was inappropriate behavior. That happening once is one time too many, but not in of itself a lawsuit. That happening repeatedly over a period of time and the employer saying something like, “Oh, you know he is kidding, he jokes with everyone” would likely make it a case.

Every case is different. What we promise is that we will listen to you in confidence, give you an honest legal opinion, and if appropriate, refer you to a law firm that has a track record of winning these cases. We love holding bad people accountable. There is never a fee unless the case is successful.

If you would like a free case review with an experienced attorney, call us any time at 312-346-5320. We cover all of Illinois.

When The Police In Illinois Want To Question You

In the last month I have been contacted by multiple people who have received phone calls from detectives asking them to come in for questioning. The most recent involved a case in Chicago where someone is suspected of rape years ago and in Lake County where the Waukegan police want to ask someone about involvement in a burglary.

None of these people have been arrested. Yet. They all had the same question.

What should I do?

The Number One Thing To Do If Chicago Police Or Anyone Else Wants To Question You

If the police in Chicago, Waukegan, Wheaton or wherever want to talk to you, there is one thing every Illinois criminal defense attorney will tell you to do. In the words of the Black Eyed Peas

That is right. Shut up. Do not say anything. Do not talk at all.

Should You Not Talk To The Police If You Are Innocent?

Do not talk to the police if you are innocent either. Do you think that innocent people don’t ever get arrested? Happens all of the time. It shouldn’t, but it does. The police are not looking out for you and can certainly twist your words around. And in extreme cases, they get people to confess to things they have never done. That sounds crazy, but there are many people who have been freed after evidence shows that the police kept them up for a long period of time and then coerced them into confessing something they were innocent of.

Anything you say can and will be use against you. And some crooked cops take that to an extreme. And some honest cops can misinterpret what you are saying.

Beyond that, I have been told stories by “innocent” people who, if they repeated that story to law enforcement, would be arrested. It is usually someone who thinks they are acting in self defense or unknowingly committed a crime like retail theft or trespass.

What Do I Do If The Police Want To Meet?

Doing nothing is not a great idea in most cases. You still need to shut up and not talk to them. You can even shut up and dance.

The best way to protect yourself is to get an attorney to contact the police for you and see what they want. They can answer any questions the police have and accompany you to a meeting if needed.

Anything a lawyer you hire says can not be used against you. And an experienced Illinois criminal defense attorney knows what not to say and how to answer questions. They will protect you.

The person being investigated for possible rape who called me really did not want to spend money on an attorney. The point of getting one now is that it can help prevent you from being arrested at all. It might cost $1,500 up front to get a top lawyer to speak to the police for you. But if you get arrested and prosecuted for a felony, that would cost you ten times that amount. And of course if you get convicted, you are probably going to jail and in the case of this person, they would be labeled a sex offender.

The best thing you can do after keeping your mouth shut it to get someone who knows what they are doing to advocate for you. If you do have information that shows you are innocent, having an attorney present it will put you at no risk and greatly increase your chances of success.

It is certainly scary getting this type of phone call from the cops. If you are not scared, you are not taking it seriously. But the good news is that the right attorney can give you the best chance of the best possible outcome.

If you would like to know who we as lawyers would hire if the police wanted to talk to us, give us a call at 312-346-5320. All calls are confidential. We were learn about your case and give you unbiased advice as to what the next proper steps are.

Winning Trucking Crash Cases Just Got Easier. And More Valuable

Hot off the presses breaking news. The United States Supreme Court just issued a decision that will have a huge impact for people injured in trucking crashes.

Based on a case that was started by injury attorneys in Illinois, you can now sue freight brokers if a freight broker negligently hires an unsafe trucking company, and that unsafe carrier causes a crash, state-law negligence claims against the broker are allowed.

Prior to this ruling, which was shockingly unanimous, you could not sue a freight broker like CH Robinson, TQL or others because it used do be that they could say that under Federal law they were exempt. Not true any more.

This is a game changer which will make winning cases easier because you will have more companies to sue. And it will make these cases more valuable for two reasons:

  1. There will be more insurance because there are more companies named defendants.
  2. Many of these shady trucking companies carry minimal insurance. But if you can go after the broker too, a case that might have been capped at $1 million could not suddenly be worth tens of millions of dollars if there is a death or catastrophic injury.

The key point is that a big freight company like C.H. Robinson will not be limited to whatever insurance policy they have. It is estimated that they are worth $18 billion. So if your lawsuit is worth $30 million, you will be able to collect that amount if you get that judgment at trial.

This case is a direct negligence path to suing freight brokers. Some of these brokers act recklessly and ship with companies that they know have a history of safety violations. This ruling is a new interpretation of the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act (“FAAAA”) and it is incredibly worker and consumer friendly.

What this case does not mean is that suing a freight broker is a slam dunk. You still have to prove that they were negligent in hiring whatever trucking company they chose. You also need to have a proper investigation done of the accident which often means having an attorney hire an accident reconstruction specialist.

The truth is that there are only a limited number of law firms that have had great success with winning catastrophic trucking accident lawsuits. As attorneys ourselves, we know who these firms are because every day we are monitoring court cases for results. We know who does the best job and can not only win your case, but recover the most money for you.

The lawyers that win most of these cases are typically not ones that you see advertising on TV or that most regular people have even heard of. If you would like us to tell you who we would recommend for your unique case, please contact us for a FREE case review with an experienced lawyer. We will discuss what happened and tell you who we think you should hire based on what your case facts are. You can call us in confidence any time at 312-346-5320 or 800-517-1614.

Some things we consider in suggesting an attorney include:

  • Where did the accident take place? There are some great attorneys who only handle Illinois cases and others who go throughout the country.
  • How bad are the injuries? The type of attorney needing for a trucking death or brain injury is different than the one needed for a broken leg. We want to make sure that you get the best law firm for what your case involves.
  • Who was at fault? We have worked with other lawyers who have won cases even when the victim was ticketed. Some firms will not consider those cases. We know the best ones who will.
  • Do you have personal needs? Perhaps you would be more comfortable with a lawyer who speaks Spanish. Maybe you can not travel, but want a lawyer who will come to you. We will get you exactly what you want and need.
  • Is the best attorney at the firm available? In some cases, you should work with a certain lawyer from the get go. If we know they will be on trial for a month on another case and that there is another firm that has more availability that also does a great job, we will recommend the firm that has more time.
  • When did the crash happen? Ideally in any catastrophic accident, you will get the case investigated ASAP. That gives you the best chance at securing evidence. Some people wait and when you do that, it can impact which law firm gives you the best chance of success.
  • What will they charge you? Every attorney we recommend works on a contingency basis which means there is no fee unless you win the case. Some firms try to take 40-45% of what is recovered. That is too much in our opinion. We only work with firms that charge 1/3 or less.

We treat everyone who reaches out to us like a family member or friend. If you would like our help, please get in touch any time.

A Jewish Medical Malpractice Lawyer In Chicago

We are experienced lawyers who will help you find the best attorney for your case. Call us at 312-346-5320 for a free case review any time.

I’m Jewish. I am also a lawyer in Illinois. I do not know if I “look” or “sound” Jewish, so when people call me looking for a recommendation for an attorney, maybe they assume they can talk a certain way.

Of the thousands of people I talk to every year, some will ask me if I know any good Jewish attorneys. The question is almost never asked by someone who is actually Jewish. Just last month, someone called me and said they want to hire a Jewish medical malpractice lawyer in Chicago.

Whenever this happens, my immediate response is to say something like, “Why do you care what religion a lawyer is?” Here are some of the responses I have received:

  • I have heard they are better attorneys.
  • They are known for being aggressive.
  • They really like money so they can get me the most for my case.
  • They fight dirty.
  • Jewish people stick together and most of the Judges are Jewish.
  • They are great negotiators.

These responses range from naive all the way to anti-semetic. If someone seems just naive, I am happy to help them. If they are anti-semetic, that is not somebody I want to get involved with.

A lot of people are just ignorant. I grew up in Northbrook which is a pretty Jewish suburb. It was not until I got to college that I met people who had never met a Jewish person before. So while I will blame someone for being a bigot, I do not blame them for being ignorant. It is not your fault if you are a victim of how you were raised and have not been exposed to other people.

That said, I do tell people that their comments are offensive and try to have a calm discussion to explain why. It is important to have this discussion and let people know these are offensive stereotypes. It is no different than any other awful stereotype about any other religion, race or gender.

The reality is that there are amazing Jewish lawyers, so-so Jewish lawyers and terrible ones. The same goes for black, Irish, Christian, Asian, Hispanic or any other group of people. I have seen lawyers go above and beyond to get amazing results and I have seen lawyers who steal from their clients or do not fight for them. Race, religion, gender, etc. is not a predictor of success.

This is way different than saying you want a Russian car accident lawyer because you speak Russian or a female lawyer because you have been sexually assaulted and that would make you more comfortable.

The bottom line is that we will listen to what your case is about and discuss any personal needs that you have. After that we will always recommend an attorney that is the best fit for your situation and gives you a chance at the best possible outcome.

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