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Illinois Business Interruption Insurance Lawyers

Business owners have the duty and privilege to mitigate their losses. This means that you could and should attempt minimize the potential losses you may incur. Mitigating your losses includes protecting your property from further loss or at the least being proactive at protecting against a current loss.

This can include taking or having taken out a business interruption insurance policy on your business. These policies are meant to reimburse businesses for financial losses they incurred due to unforeseen circumstances that prevent normal operation of business.

Business interruption insurance can cover anything from payroll to mortgage payments to relocation costs. The amount of insurance needed, and the cost of that amount depends on a business’s gross earnings and estimation projections of lost future profits as well as risk of loss.

Your policy should kick in between 48 to 72 hours once it is activated. However, it is important to check your ‘restoration period’ which is the length of time when your policy with assist with lost revenue as everyone’s different.

A common problem amongst business owners – COVID losses
A common recovery problem that businesses are currently having are COVID losses. One would think that a global pandemic would be considered an unforeseen circumstance therefore, insurance companies would cover businesses’ lost income during the pandemic.

Unfortunately, it has been found to be the opposite. There are a few policies that do cover COVID loss, but insurance companies have quickly denied them and have launched a campaign to discourage businesses from pursing the claims. An extensive number of businesses have filed lawsuits after being denied coverage from their insurance companies, and all were lost.

Despite the past failed lawsuits, there are circumstances that make a ‘good case.’ The easiest circumstance to be in is that your coverage does not exclude pandemics or infectious disease. Courts have found many clauses to be ambiguous and often decide against the insurer.

Another circumstance is proving that your business satisfies the “physical loss” requirement. This doesn’t always have to include damage to buildings or equipment. It could include safety threats or prohibiting access to use of your property. Another good circumstance to have experienced is that, specifically, the government prohibited access to your business by social distancing, occupation limits, etc. as it satisfies the Civil Authority Clause.

If this sounds like your situation at hand, your next step would be to file a lawsuit. This is a complicated process on its own without insurance companies actively working towards tricking business owners out of viable lawsuits. Insurance companies are known to be dishonest and greedy. They are currently taking advantage of the undefined aspects of COVID cases at the expense of their policy holders.

These cases can be worth hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars.
It is highly recommended that your next step is to contact an attorney. Attorneys are pricey but it is important to note that your claim would be contingency based. That means your lawyer shares the risk of a payout with you. They won’t get paid unless you do, and they get paid more only if you do. You can call us for a free consultation with any questions at 312-346-5320.

Aggravated Speeding Lawyers In Illinois

Most of us drivers out on the roads of Illinois drive a bit over the speed limit from time to time. We occasionally even feel that sense of dread when we see those blue and red police car lights flash behind us. We pull over, preparing to receive a ticket or hope that it’s not us that they are going after.

People often ask us, “Do I need to hire a traffic attorney for my speeding ticket?” Well, that all depends on the answer to this question: How many miles above the speed limit were you going?

Let’s take a look at the speeding laws in Illinois:
• 1 to 25 miles per hour over the speed limit – Usually pay a fine and get court supervision. Often you can get this result without an attorney.
• 26 to 34 miles per hour over the speed limit – known as aggravated speeding. It is a criminal offense, a Class B misdemeanor. It carries up to six months in jail and a maximum of $1,500 in fines.
• 35 or more miles per hour over the speed limit – known as reckless driving. It is a criminal offense, a Class A misdemeanor. It carries up to one year in jail and a maximum of $2,500 in fines.
• It is also possible that with aggravated speeding or reckless driving, you will lose your license.

Loss of your drivers license, a huge fine, and possible jail time? That’s a scenario you obviously want to avoid. We do recommend to almost everyone who contacts us and has been charged with aggravated speeding or reckless driving to hire an attorney to represent them. Judges respect and listen to attorneys who know the rules and procedures of a courtroom. It is common for a good attorney to get the criminal charges knocked down to regular speeding. That means it would be like a traffic ticket where you would pay a smaller fine and get court supervision. You would avoid jail time and avoid losing your drivers license.

We know reputable, experienced traffic attorneys who get good results for their clients. You can contact us any time at 312-346-5320 to get a recommendation of an attorney. The lawyers we recommend have a track record of success and have successfully had these serious charges lowered or dismissed outright in the past.

How To Get A Malpractice Attorney To Take Your Case

We are Illinois lawyers who since 2001 have helped people find the right lawyer for their case and as a resource for people who want to ask an attorney questions for free. Please call us at 312-346-5320 to speak with a lawyer any time.

A caller to our office was upset because she had called a bunch of different law firms and nobody wanted to take her medical malpractice lawsuit. Rather than discuss what was wrong with her case, I thought it would be helpful to tell you what attorneys are typically looking for in order to take on a medical malpractice lawsuit. Note that despite public perception, these are very hard cases to bring and win so the best firms are very selective when it comes to taking on clients.

  1. Is it clear that you are a victim of negligence? Having a bad result with a doctor, nurse, etc. is not enough to bring a lawsuit. You have to show that they violated the acceptable standard of care and that what happened to you wasn’t just a risk of your situation. For example, getting an infection after surgery is usually a risk of a medical procedure. Not monitoring the heart rate of a baby about to be delivered is usually negligence.
  2. What is the long term outcome? A sad but true fact is that a doctor can screw up badly, but if you are going to make a great recovery or nothing bad actually happens to you, there likely isn’t a case. This is because a key factor in Illinois medical malpractice lawsuits is what are your damages? It’s very expensive to bring a lawsuit (often $200,000.00 or more) so if you don’t have life altering injuries such as death, paralysis, brain damage, permanent disability, etc., then it can cost more to take the case on than it’s worth. Lawyers also look for things like long term economic loss because you can’t work any more or cost for having to receive significant future medical care or help.
  3. Do you have any co-morbidities? A common defense to malpractice lawsuits is that the person was so sick that this was an expected outcome or their poor health increased the chances of a bad result. It may not sound nice, but it’s true. For example, if you weigh 550 pounds and have blood flow issues that you feel a doctor didn’t diagnose, the insurance company for the doctor will argue that they couldn’t have done much to change your outcome. If you have stage 4 cancer with a six-month life expectancy, if a doctor doesn’t properly diagnose a blood clot your damages would likely be limited due to your short life expectancy.
  4. What is your age? The honest truth is that the older you are, the harder it is to get a lawyer to take on a medical malpractice lawsuit. It’s not impossible, but very hard to find. You could be the healthiest 85 year old in the world, but even then your life expectancy is very short. That limits what any case could be worth. So as with the other examples, if the lawyer thinks they might spend more than they can win, they won’t take the case on.
  5. How much time do you have left to sue? Generally speaking, the closer you are to the statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit, the harder it will be to find an attorney. It takes six months to a year to pull most cases together. If a law firm takes on a case right before the deadline to file, they risk not identifying the right defendants and exposing themselves to legal malpractice.
  6. Have other reputable law firms reviewed the case and declined to take it? We’ve taken and won cases that other lawyers have rejected, but if a really good law firm has reviewed your case and declined to get involved, most law firms would be hesitant to get involved. It’s expensive to have these cases reviewed which again makes lawyers very selective.

Remember of course that every case is different and not every law firm has the same standards. In other words, it doesn’t hurt to ask. If you’d like to speak to an attorney for free, please contact us any time.

Suing For Sexual Orientation Discrimination In Illinois

We are passionate about advocating for the rights of everyone. Why anyone would care who you want to sleep with or what gender you identify with is beyond me. And fortunately the laws of Illinois agree and offer protections for people who are discriminated against based on things such as their sexual orientation.

Most discrimination lawsuits happen from bad behavior in the workplace. That makes sense because you are at the job probably more than any other location you go to. So there is a lot more time and opportunity for bad behavior to occur. That said, discrimination also happens at places of business that you go to such as restaurants, stores, etc.

The key point in these cases is to know that you can treat someone poorly who is LGBTQ, you just can’t treat them poorly because they are LGBTQ. Does that makes sense? Let me give you a good example.

A lesbian woman contacted us some time ago for legal guidance. She wanted to sue a bar that she felt discriminated against her because of her sexual orientation. When I asked what happened, it turned out that the first time she went into the bar, she recognized one of the workers as someone she had a bad Tinder date with. They ended up blocking each other on that app.

As the story went further, it turns out that this caller confronted that bad date and also shared the story with some of her co-workers at the bar. The next time she came in, a manager asked her to leave and told her she was barred from the establishment because she was making the employees feel uncomfortable.

The caller felt that the employees were uncomfortable because she was a lesbian. Objectively it felt like they were uncomfortable because of her personality and behavior, not her sexual partner preference.

The situation would have been way different if she was in the bar on a date with another woman and they kissed and got asked to leave. It would also be way different if the bar manager or anyone else said anything negative about her sexual preference.

You need actual evidence to win these cases, not a feeling. You can always file a complaint with the Illinois Department of Human Rights or if in Chicago, the Commission on Human Relations. But to get a lawyer involved, you have to have objectively strong facts.

If you feel you were discriminated against and want our opinion on that, please call us any time at 312-346-5320 to talk to a lawyer for free and in confidence.

Prison Workers Committing Sexual Abuse In Illinois

We are experienced Chicago attorneys who help with sexual abuse cases everywhere in Illinois. Call us at 312-346-5320 for a free, confidential consult with an attorney.

We often see sexual abuse cases in Illinois where one person has authority over the other, so they are able to pressure them into various sexual acts. It’s gross. The abuser may convince themselves in their mind that the sex is consensual, but it almost never is.

While all of these are bad, I’m not sure it gets much worse than a prison employee doing it to an inmate. They may have the ultimate power imbalance as they can make life hell for a prisoner.

That’s what happened to a female inmate at the Logan Correctional Center in Logan Illinois. She was assigned to a counselor who she had to visit weekly and work with on making phone calls and getting job assignments.

The counselor would use that time to coerce her into sex acts and also would make sexual comments to her when she was on the phone with her daughter. She was transferred to a different housing unit which was supposed to mean she’d get a new counselor, but he made it so she stayed with him. He also told her that his friend who was a supervisor at the prison gave him advice how to avoid punishment if he got accused of sexual abuse.

Finally through her own efforts and persistence she was able to get a new counselor and the abuse stopped. During this time the prison received reports that abuse might be happening but didn’t stop it. It wasn’t until an IDOC employee made a complaint about the counselor that a real investigation happened. As a result the abused prisoner got sent to Decatur which resulted in her being farther from her family and unable to finish schooling she started.

She sued in Federal Court and won a judgment of $19.3 million. And she deserves every penny. It’s disgusting how she treated. And by the way, she was sexually abused for years. Somehow the counselor has not been arrested yet.

A similar power imbalance exists with cops and prosecutors. There is a suburban State’s Attorney who was arrested for coercing a criminal defendant into sexual favors to avoid a case going forward. There have been many cases where cops have induced sexual acts in return for not getting arrested.

We have helped many people file lawsuits in these situations and are always happy to help because it does feel we are really getting justice in those cases. We help everywhere in Illinois and if you want a free, confidential consultation, call us at 312-346-5320.

Delayed Medical Care And Illinois Car Accident Cases

If you get into a car accident, especially if you are rear-ended and don’t see it coming, it’s not uncommon to feel mostly OK immediately after it happens. If your buddy is unexpectedly whipped around, it will usually create a rush of adrenaline in your system. This often will prevent you from noticing any pain.

It’s not uncommon at all to wake up a day or two after an accident and then have back or neck pain. In fact, we probably see that more than we do see people have back and neck pain right away unless they hit their head on the window or have an airbag injury.

In these situations, you likely would not have received medical care right after the accident. So the question we get a lot is, “When is too late to go see a doctor.”

The correct answer is never. Your health is most important so whenever you start feeling poorly you should see a doctor whether it’s related to an accident or not.

But as far as the case itself goes, the correct answer is that the longer you wait, the harder it is to prove your injuries are related to the accident. I’ve noticed in uptick of people who have tried to “tough it out” and end up going months without getting any medical care beyond taking Advil.

If you were hit by a car in June and don’t see a doctor for back pain until October, it’s really hard to prove that your back problems are related to that accident. At the very least it creates a really good defense for the insurance company. I say that, because during the time in between the accident and the first appointment, you are living life, working, walking around, etc. It’s assumed that if you are able to do those things that you are fine. And it indicates that something else might have happened to cause you to seek care.

For us, we encourage people to get treatment ASAP and if anyone goes more than a month without doing that after the accident, we would be hesitant to get involved. On the other hand, if you went a doctor a couple of days after an accident and don’t return for 4-6 weeks, we can make a better argument that your need for treatment is still related to getting hit.

The bottom line is that the sooner you treat the better. I hate going to the doctor too and the US health care system is kind of a joke. But if you create a gap in treatment you are also creating a defense for the insurance company. And they love to deny cases for any reason they can.

Free Legal Advice From A Chicago Lawyer

We get so many great questions from people who are looking for an Illinois attorney to speak to for free. Some of those questions we turn into a blog post. Others we save up and put in one big post every few months. Here are some of the interesting questions we’ve received recently. If you have a question you can call us any time at 312-346-5320.

What is the lawyer fee on medical malpractice lawsuits in Illinois? Is it different for trial vs. settlements?

It’s 1/3 of what is recovered. That is an Illinois state law. An attorney can’t charge you more if the case goes to trial.

Can I get more alimony if my spouse cheated?

Illinois is a no fault divorce state. While sub-consciously a Judge might think about awful things your spouse did like cheating, there is no law that punishes them for doing it and it certainly won’t increase your maintenance (alimony).

Is it true you can’t expunge a felony?

No, this is not true. In Illinois, you can expunge or seal some felony convictions, but not all. You may be eligible to expunge or seal a Class 4 felony conviction if it is your first offense and you have completed all the terms of your sentence. You may also be eligible to expunge or seal certain non-violent Class 3 and Class 4 felony convictions. More serious violent crimes typically can not be expunged. Every case is different and you should call to see if you are eligible. Note that if you were charged, but not convicted, that arrest can be expunged or sealed.

I got fired with no warning or notice. Is that legal?

Assuming you aren’t in a union or don’t have an employment contract, the answer is yes. Illinois is an at will employment state which means you can be let go any time, for any reason, without warning, unless it’s for an illegal reason. Unfair or unjust isn’t illegal.

I’m worried I’m going to get fired. If that happens does my company have to give me a severance?

They don’t. It happens often for good will and to get you to waive your rights to sue them for anything. But it’s not required by law. That said, if there’s any indication that you are being let go illegally, we often can get one for you.

If I’m worried about treatment of my grandma in a nursing home, but she’s not injured, is there anything I can do?

Yes. Call the Illinois Department on Aging. They will investigate bad treatment in those care facilities.

Why can’t I be defended on a contingency basis? What if I win the case and get sanctions or lawyer fees awarded to me?

This doesn’t happen because there’s no realistic expectation that you are going to be recovering money when you are being sued.

Is it legal to spank my kids?

It’s not and why would you want to do that? It’s physical child abuse. You are a giant person to them. You might think it’s a good idea because it happened to you, but I promise you it’s not. And it could lead to a DCFS investigation and/or criminal charges.

So Many Crimes In Revenge Of The Nerds

Growing up I loved to rent and watch movies back when you went to Blockbuster or the town video store to actually rent a movie. I loved “Animal House” but now that I’m older I can see that while it was hilarious, there is also a really disturbing rape situation going on. I also enjoyed “Porky’s” and saw it a lot, but now that I’m an adult I see that there was a lot problematic with that movie too.

But the king of movies I didn’t realize had issues is “Revenge Of The Nerds.” I watched it again recently and couldn’t believe the number of felonies that it showed, most of which were committed by the “good guy” nerds. As an Illinois attorney who has helped thousands of people with Illinois criminal charges, I could make a career off of defending all of these cases.

The most obvious one is when nerd Lewis has sex with Betty by stealing the mask of her boyfriend Jefferson. It doesn’t seem like a big deal to a 13-year-old boy watching it because she ends up liking it and making him her boyfriend. But it’s clearly rape. I can’t imagine that scene getting made in a movie today. That is the worst one, but there are others:

  • Booger talks about going to the high school to look for jail bait.
  • The Tri Lambdas Film the sorority girls without their consent.
  • The Tri Lambdas watch the naked women with Wormser, the child who is in college. That’s sexual exploitation of a minor.
  • They then sell pictures of the nude women to others on campus. That could be felony revenge porn under Illinois law.
  • The Nerds put liquid heat on the jockstraps of the football players. It’s a funny scene, but also breaking and entering, potentially use of chemical weapons or battery.
  • The Nerds do a panty raid on the sorority. There were so many crimes there including sexual battery, theft, and criminal trespass.

Of course, the jocks committed a lot of crimes too. They include:

  • Ogre throwing a pledge off a balcony. It could be considered attempted murder.
  • The coach and police seem to commit insurance fraud when discussing the fire in their fraternity.
  • There are attempts at bestiality.
  • The Alpha Betas tar and feather Louis which looks like aggravated battery to me.
  • They unleash pigs on the Nerd house which includes many crimes including animal cruelty.

There were random crimes such as:

  • The old woman who hits on young Wormser.
  • The school having them get drunk while riding tricycles.
  • Football coach John Goodman encourages arson and threatens the dean with violence.

Now I’m not a no-fun person and I don’t take offense to this movie or take it seriously. It’s part of being a lawyer that you see things in a different light at times based on what we do every day for work. And holy hell, did I not realize that Revenge Of The Nerds is as much a criminal movie as it is a comedy.

We normally write about Illinois legal issues. Check out our post on suing for malpractice in Illinois for not diagnosing a stroke in time or 10 things to know about Illinois sexual abuse lawsuits for examples of what we often talk about and how we can help.

Can An Illinois Attorney Have Sex With A Client?

This was almost a one word blog post. The answer is no. But I’ve heard stories of this happening so often in the last year that I thought it was worth expanding on.

When you hire a lawyer (or doctor, psychologist, probably real estate agent, many other professions) to represent you in a case, there is a natural power imbalance. You might be attracted to them. You might like them. You might want to have sex with them or date them. That doesn’t change the fact that the relationship is imbalanced.

Illinois attorney ethical rules are crystal clear that a lawyer can not have any romantic encounters with a client. In fact, if you are representing a client and begin to feel romantic toward them, if you want to date them you have to terminate the attorney/client relationship before that can happen.

We were involved in one case where the client was attracted to her lawyer and began a sexual relationship with him. After a while she felt that he was manipulating her into sex with issues related to her case and personal things that he knew about her. Eventually she felt she couldn’t say no because she had no more money to hire a lawyer and she was worried he’d drop her if she turned him down.

In many situations the sex is taking place in the lawyer’s office. That’s a sure sign that they know what they are doing is wrong. And even if it’s a more proper venue, I assure you that the lawyer knows what they are doing is wrong.

If this happened to you, there are two things you should do:

  1. File a complaint with the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, iardc.org which is the disciplinary body for lawyers. If your attorney does this they should lose their license to practice law.
  2. Call us or another law firm to file a lawsuit against the attorney. There action is a version of sexual assault. It would not be a surprise to see a lawsuit result in a settlement or verdict in the six or seven figures depending on the case facts.

If this happened to you, we would be happy to talk to you about if for free and in confidence. There is never a fee on these cases unless we are successful. Please note that there are time limits for filing suit, so time is of the essence. If you’d like to speak with an experienced Illinois attorney, please call us at 312-346-5320.

20 Questions To Ask A Chicago Divorce Lawyer

Recently a friend called me asking for a divorce attorney referral for his brother. Unfortunately the brother is in another state so I couldn’t help. We only handle family law cases in the Chicago area. I couldn’t help him, but gave the brother some guidance on questions to ask before hiring an attorney. These questions are helpful for anyone looking to speak with a Chicago divorce attorney.

  1. What is the retainer fee? If a lawyer wants $5,000 and you only have $1500, that attorney isn’t going to work with you. Retainers are payment plans and every lawyer wants that retainer amount paid in full, up front, before they do anything.
  2. How long will the retainer fee last? You might be excited that a lawyer has a low retainer fee, but some will do that to just get your money and get you in the door. If they are going to be asking for money in three weeks and you won’t have it, they’ll potentially drop you.
  3. Who is going to work on my case? There’s a law firm in Chicago that is potentially in big trouble for having multiple lawyers and staff members bill (over bill) on pretty basic cases. Most cases require just one lawyer and maybe one support person. Either way, you want to know who you will be hiring and primarily working with. You don’t want to think you are hiring a lawyer with 25 years of experience and end up with a young attorney just out of law school.
  4. What will I be billed for? They should bill for talking to you, attending court, writing motions, talking to the other attorney, etc. They shouldn’t bill you for un-needed research, talking to co-workers about your case, etc.
  5. What time increments do you bill in? Believe it or not some firms will bill you 15-30 minutes of time for reading an email from you that took them less than a minute to read. Others will charge an hour of time for a five minute court appearance. This is why we tell people not to worry about the retainer cost as much as hiring an honest law firm. Which leads to my next question to ask.
  6. What is the estimated cost for my case? They can’t tell you for sure because your spouse could make a case drag on. That said, if you know it will be amicable or there’s really only one issue to fight over, they should be able to give you an estimate. They should at least be able to give you a range.
  7. When will the case be filed and when is the first court date? This will help you understand the process.
  8. Will you be out of town or unavailable for an extended period in the next 12 months? I’ve seen cases where someone hired an attorney a couple of weeks before that lawyer got married and then was out of town for more than three weeks with wedding activities and a very long honeymoon. You should know that before you put your case in their hands.
  9. When you are unavailable, who do I talk to? Who will work on my case? Hopefully this is self explanatory. If the answer is nobody I would be worried.
  10. Who do I talk to when I call? Some firms essentially have paralegals or secretaries do all of the communication. That’s in my opinion not great. The lawyer will have other cases, but they should be able to speak to you when needed. That doesn’t mean every day or every call, but in general they should be available.
  11. What is the best way to communicate with you? In my opinion, the best way is email or text for basic stuff and phone calls for something more urgent or serious with meetings before big court events. Either way, find out.
  12. How often should I expect to hear from you? As stated, they have other cases and there is no reason for them to talk to you daily or weekly. But in most cases you should have at least monthly communication.
  13. How often will I be billed? My recommendation is to ask for monthly invoices so you can track what you are being charged for and don’t find yourself with a huge bill out of nowhere.
  14. What do you know about my spouse’s attorney? They might not have one yet, but if they do, your lawyer should give you some insight on them.
  15. What can you tell me about the Judge? This would be for cases already filed. If they have no idea about the Judge it’s a bad sign.
  16. What am I not thinking about that I should? You can’t be expected to know what a lawyer knows. They should educate you at that first meeting.
  17. What is a realistic outcome of my case? I like attorneys that are honest and direct. This gives them a chance to show that to you.
  18. What percentage of your practice is divorce and family law? It doesn’t have to be 100%, but in my opinion it should be close to that.
  19. What experience do you have with forensic accounting in your cases? This is if your divorce involves a business owned by either spouse. Properly valuing that business as well as searching for hidden money could be a big issue. If your lawyer usually deals with more basic divorces they are not the right attorney for you.
  20. What can I do to help my situation? This is a good one for when you have kids and custody is an issue. Documenting all the things you do for them is helpful. There are many other things you can do to increase your chances of success. What those are depends on the case issues.

I hope these tips help. Nothing guarantees a good result in your case, but having an attorney who does a good job really increases your chances of success. If you would like a recommendation of an attorney that we feel would do a good job for you, please call us at 312-346-5320 any time.

See also: Ask A Chicago Lawyer Questions For Free

Illinois QDRO Lawyers And Lazy Attorneys

About once a week, we get a phone call from someone who is divorced and needs a qualified domestic relief order (QDRO) completed. In plain English, it’s a legal document that divides up retirement funds between the two spouses. It essentially gives you your share of a 401k for the amount that was accumulated during a marriage.

Even if a spouse isn’t retiring when you get divorced, a QDRO can be completed and entered into court when you get divorced. And it should be completed then. It’s a lot of paperwork and if you don’t know what you are doing it can be complicated. So even though it should be done during the divorce, a lot of lazy Illinois divorce attorneys simply aren’t doing it.

Typically a QDRO is filed by the spouse not on the benefits. So if you are a husband whose wife gets a 401k through her work, you’d want to file it. If you are a wife whose husband has a 401k, then the burden would be on you.

Why so many divorce attorneys don’t do their job is beyond me. I think it’s because so many lawyers who take on divorces don’t actually handle cases that are beyond simple. They likely handle divorce and traffic and car accidents and write wills and do almost anything that comes through the door.

What ends up happening is years later you have to hire a different lawyer to finish the job. That will cost you more money than it should.

Now some may say that it’s not a big deal, they’ll deal with it when they have to. But there are a couple of problems with that:

  1. You risk your ex bleeding those funds dry without a court order. That could literally cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars.
  2. Most real family law and divorce attorneys don’t want to do QDRO’s if it’s not a case they are handling for an existing client. They know that it’s something the first attorney should have done and because they aren’t really enjoyable, a lot of them just refuse to clean up someone else’s mess.

The good news is that we do know some very good attorneys who will do this work. It can be frustrating for you as you will have to shell out money to get money that you are entitled to. But when your first attorney didn’t do the job (or you went without a lawyer and didn’t have a QDRO done), you really have no choice.

If you are in the Chicago area and want help getting a QDRO completed, entered and approved by the Courts, please call us any time at 312-346-5320.

How To Fix The NCAA Realignment Problem

I have a son who plays high level soccer. He will often travel 3-5 hours to play a game. It’s fun to see him against other teams, but there are also times when I think it’s dumb as there is so much great competition within an hour of where his club is based. Other times they will travel to places like Florida, Maryland, Dallas (in the summer) to play teams from around the country.

I go along with most of the travel because that’s what you do as a parent and he loves it and has big goals. Certainly there are times when I think it’s ridiculous and I definitely don’t think the decision makers have the best interests of the kids at heart.

If he does play Division 1 soccer, it’s likely the travel will make even less sense. If you are a sports fan, you know that the Big 10 is now actually 18 teams consisting of schools that touch both the Atlantic and the Pacific. I don’t envy the players that have to fly from Washington to Happy Valley, PA or from UCLA to a game in Iowa. If you don’t have charter flights, none of these trips will be easy. It’s of course happening elsewhere. Arizona now will have a conference game in West Virginia.

The players who will have it best are actually the football players. Most teams will have only four to five road games and likely will only have one to two really out of the way trips with the exception of the west coast schools who probably will have three. It sounds like a nightmare for the other sports, especially baseball and softball who play multiple games in a weekend. If you play a Friday series that means you are likely gone Thursday until late Sunday, early Monday at best.

I worry about the mental health of these players. The reality is that college sports is pro sports and these conference realignments are only happening due to the revenue sports of football and basketball. There’s sadly no going back on the changes made because of those sports.

The question I have is why do we treat all the sports the same? There’s no reason to. Already for sports like hockey and men’s soccer, you will find schools playing in different conferences than their other sports. Akron is in the Big East for soccer. Kentucky is in the same conference as Coastal Carolina and Georgia State. San Diego State plays with five other Pac 12 schools.

So why not have these national conferences for football and basketball and sensible, reasonable conferences for all the other sports? All you would need is a commissioner for each sport and an agreement to do what’s best for the kids. I realize that is probably a pipe dream.

But if you really cared about the best interests of the kids, you’d have some rule that all efforts should be made to keep 80% of the games within driving distance.

Take Northwestern for example. They are part of the Big 10 in soccer and soon will have to travel to Washington or UCLA every year, but also go to Maryland, Rutgers, and Penn State. Why not have most of their sports in the same conference as UIC, Loyola, DePaul, Northern Illinois, Illinois, Bradley and even Purdue, Indiana and Notre Dame (yes, I know not all of those schools have men’s soccer). This would still lead to really strong competition and the schools with more money or interest could still play non-conference games a little further afoot.

This already happens and works in college hockey. Boston College of the ACC is in a conference with Boston University, Northeastern (also in Boston), UMass and a bunch of other New England schools that are within driving distance. You could play road games on a Friday and Saturday and still sleep in your own bed. None of this has prevented BC from being a college hockey powerhouse.

This of course would not only be good for mental health, but also save money. And it wouldn’t take away from the competition. Is it hypocritical to not do this for football and basketball? Of course it is, but the whole of NCAA sports and the idea of a student athlete is built on hypocrisy. But it’s a workable and reasonable solution, especially for the schools who have fellow conference members 2,000 miles apart from them. And if it doesn’t happen, the next step is going to be to drop these non-revenue sports which nobody wants to see happen.

The next step is for a leader to step up and propose something that may sound radical, but really is logical. It could happen if we put an athletes first person like Jay Bilas in charge of the NCAA. In other words, it will never happen.

Are Some Illinois Personal Injury Lawyers Getting Scummier?

Growing up I heard the term ambulance chaser. It’s meant to describe a low life personal injury attorney who would follow an ambulance to a hospital and try to sign up a client. The image is of an unkempt person with a bad suit and bad haircut.

I never imagined that could be a reality, but sadly it is. Now with the caveat that most Illinois personal injury attorneys are honest and ethical and the ones we recommend wouldn’t do these things, there do seem to be more and more that toe the line of morality. And in my opinion they greatly cross the line of what’s right and wrong. Here are some things I’ve heard from callers in the last few months:

  • One Chicago personal injury attorney may have stolen funds from a client as part of a settlement that were supposed to be used to pay off liens by medical providers. This same attorney paid the client in cash for the settlement instead of writing a check. I’ve literally never heard of an attorney doing that and can’t imagine why they would. Oh, and this lawyer has been suspended from practicing law for unethical behavior three times.
  • In one case where a person was rear-ended in Chicago at a stop light, more than 20 law firms reached out to them within a week, unsolicited. Many of them did it by phone, a couple had “runners” show up at their house. I hear this type of behavior all the time. Is that not ambulance chasing? Many firms buy crash reports. Some allegedly pay off cops to hand out their business card or alert them to big accidents.
  • One of the lawyers who does this chasing is backed by private equity money meaning he has investors in his law firm that fund his practice. They of course have an expectation of getting a return on their money. To me it’s a huge red flag if a firm is doing this as you have to question if they are going to be worried about your best interests or making their investors happy. In fact, I encourage you to ask your lawyer before you hire them if they are backed by private equity. One notorious lawyer who does this doesn’t actually try cases.
  • Another firm advertises heavily here with billboards and TV ads yet the main guy isn’t even licensed to practice law in Illinois. They just hire out attorneys to handle the cases. They are, in my opinion, marketers, not lawyers.
  • I’ve heard stories of some attorneys paying clients at the beginning of the case to sign up. It’s basically an illegal advancement on their settlement. It sounds great to the client, but the reality is that these lawyers are breaking the law and often you end up with less because they are just trying to churn through cases instead of get the best result possible.
  • And of course many lawyers pay doctors for referrals or have an arrangement where they send each other business even if it’s not in the best interest of the client.

It’s really disheartening that it happens so much and that it’s happening more and more. The public gets hurt. All I can tell you is that if someone will cross an ethical line to get your business, it’s a reflection of how they will handle your case. And the best firms who get the best results don’t feel a need to do this and their clients are happier.

Opioid Overdose Death Lawsuits In Illinois

Most Americans have heard about the opioid crisis in our country. Opioids (or opiates) are a broad class of drugs that help control or relieve acute pain. Some common opiate painkillers include oxycodone (sold under the trade names OxyContin and Percocet), hydrocodone (Vicodin and Norco) and fentanyl (Actiq, Duragesic). Some opioids are derived naturally from the poppy plant and others are synthesized in a laboratory.

When opioid medications travel through your blood and attach to opioid receptors in your brain cells, the cells release signals that dampen your perception of pain and increase your feelings of pleasure.

Doctors often prescribe opioids following surgery or an injury, or for health conditions such as cancer. The opioid drugs are quite potent and readily available, which means there is a risk that patients will become addicted to them and possibly overdose. It’s not negligent for these doctors to prescribe these drugs, but it is negligent to not monitor their use or over prescribe them.

Since the 1990’s there has been an alarming increase in the overuse, misuse/abuse, and overdose deaths attributed to opioids. Yes, there is some level of personal responsibility involved when taking any medication; however, we are going to focus on corporate greed and physicians wrongly prescribing or over prescribing the drugs that lead to these awful outcomes.

Pharmaceutical companies make more money if more people take the medications they produce. That makes sense. But what is concerning is that, according to an analysis from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard Medical School, and CNN, “Opioid manufacturers are paying U.S. doctors huge sums of money for speaking, consulting, and other services—and the more opioids a doctor prescribes, the more money he or she gets paid by those same manufacturers.”

With pharmaceutical companies and doctors looking to line their pockets, is the best interest of the patient at the forefront? Can drug-pushing doctors be liable for the deaths of their patients?

Recently, a Cook County jury decided yes, in a particular case. That jury awarded $6 million to the family of a woman who died due to an opioid addiction the family says was caused by her doctor.

A woman was under the care of a pain management physician for years for neck and back pain from a work-related accident. That physician prescribed her hydrocodone with refills nearly every month. The doctor also increased her prescription several times as she said she was feeling no change in her pain level.

The woman began to abuse the opioids and died of respiratory failure related to her opioid use.

The woman’s family stated that the doctor failed to warn her of the dangers of opioid medications and failed to wean her off them after the doctor knew that the meds were not working to relieve her pain.

The $6 million verdict sends a signal to pain management doctors to be more thoughtful about how they prescribe these drugs.

While every case is different, we are interested in helping families who have lost loved ones due to the failure of doctors in monitoring these opioids. If you know someone who has died from opioid use related to a doctor over-prescribing these powerful meds, please contact us at 312-346-5320. All calls are free and confidential and there is no fee unless the case is successful.

See also: Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Attorneys

Accidental Death Insurance Lawsuits In Illinois

We are experienced Illinois attorneys who can help you with an accidental death benefits lawsuit when the insurance company doesn’t pay out a policy. To speak with an attorney for free, call us any time at 312-346-5320. We cover all of Illinois.

We have written a lot about life insurance lawsuits in Illinois. Those are cases where someone dies and there is a life insurance policy on them that doesn’t get paid out for some reason.

Accidental death insurance is a different type of benefit than life insurance. As the name implies, it pays out for accidental death. It also can pay out for accidental injuries such as a loss of a limb. It overlaps slightly with life insurance, but only provides a benefit for stuff like being killed in a car accident, being murdered, a plane crash, etc. People like it because you are typically automatically accepted for it if you apply for it unlike life insurance which often requires a medical exam and screening.

Much like life insurance, we see insurance companies denying these policies without good cause and acting in bad faith. They will look for any non-accidental factor that contributed to a death and hope that you will accept the denial and go away.

The key thing to know is that quite often these denials are b.s. When you purchase and accidental death and dismemberment policy (AD&D) the beneficiary shouldn’t have to deal with a nonsense denial. What the lawyers we recommend typically do is immediately file a lawsuit to force the insurance company to provide a valid reason for the denial. Often doing so results in them just paying out the policy benefits. Some of the ways they deny you wrongly include:

  • Saying that the policy had lapsed when they didn’t give notice this will happen.
  • Alleging there is a misrepresentation in the application for benefits.
  • Saying the death was caused by an illness, not an injury
  • Putting a requirement in place that isn’t clearly defined or interpreting something vague in their own favor.

It’s important to know that these policies often have filing deadlines, so acting without delay is important. You should also know that the attorneys who take on these cases work on a contingency basis which means that there is no fee to you unless they are successful with the lawsuit.

The bottom line is that you should not accept a denial in the payout of accidental death and dismemberment benefits without talking to an attorney first. If you would like a free, confidential consultation, we would be happy to speak with you any time.

See also: Accidental Death Policy Lawsuits In Illinois

Illinois Lawyers Who Will Sue Other Lawyers

One big misconception I hear from the public a lot is that attorneys will cover for each other when one of them does something wrong. I’m not saying that there aren’t some scummy, unethical attorneys in Illinois. There are. But the great majority are honest, ethical and want to do the right thing.

As part of this belief, some individuals don’t think that lawyers in Illinois will sue each other. I promise you that is not true. We love to get involved in legal malpractice lawsuits. They aren’t easy to win, but when the facts and damages are right, we are all over them.

So what makes a good Illinois legal malpractice lawsuit?

The first thing needed is what is called irreparable harm. That means that your lawyer made an error and it can’t be fixed. So if you hired an attorney to file a lawsuit for a car accident and they didn’t do it before the statute of limitations ran out, you’d have irreparable harm and likely a good case for suing. On the other hand, if you feel that your lawyer has been lazy and that’s caused the case to drag on for years, that sucks, but it’s a harm that can be fixed. In other words, that’s not a case.

We also look for actual financial losses. If the car accident case isn’t filed in time, that’s an actual loss. If you lose out on a spouse’s pension in a divorce because your lawyer waived your right to it without permission, that’s an actual loss. Because there are costs in bringing these lawsuits, we want the financial loss to typically be at least $100,000.00.

It’s also important to know that a bad result doesn’t mean legal malpractice nor does a lawyer not doing what you want. In most cases, an attorney could successfully defend themselves by saying that they made a judgment call and it didn’t work out. That’s unfortunate, but not typically negligence. You also can’t sue because their service was bad. It’s unethical not to return phone calls or yell at a client or miss court, but if it doesn’t lead to the irreparable harm, it’s not a lawsuit.

The last thing to know is that to win an Illinois legal malpractice lawsuit, you have to be able to prove that had the attorney done things correctly, you would have won your case. That can be a challenge at times. The more complex the original case was, the harder it can be to sue your law firm.

These cases aren’t easy, but we love to bring them. If you’d like a free consultation to see if you have a case, call us any time at 312-346-5320.

Chicago Police Are Raping Immigrants

Over the weekend there was an article in the Sun Times that had a headline stating police in Chicago are being investigated for possible improper sexual conduct with immigrants. There are allegations that multiple police officers are having sexual acts with teenage immigrants. One officer is accused of impregnating a teenage girl.

I respect the police, but this favorable headline treatment is ridiculous. These cops are being accused of rape and sexual assault. That’s what it is. If the teens are under 18 it’s statutory rape. If not, do you really believe that these fresh to the country teens are so horny and hot for cops that they voluntarily engaged in sexual acts with them?

Of course they didn’t. There’s a huge power imbalance here. We’ve seen scores of instances across the country, including many in Illinois, where police have pressured women to have sex with them or blatantly raped them. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that’s what is happening here.

I hope these immigrants understand that they have rights and that includes the right to sue the police. They can and should do that. This power inbalance is no different than if a lawyer pressured a client for sex or a doctor did that to a patient. It’s not too dissimilar to the power imbalance sexual abuse and hazing allegations recently in the news against Northwestern. We’ve sadly seen those situations many times too and have represented people in all of these types of cases.

Coerced or forced sexual activity is sexual assault. Any officers that did that should be stripped up their police powers and arrested. It puts a huge stain on good cops. Any victim should file a lawsuit and I hope that they recover millions. Them being immigrants doesn’t change their rights in any way and may actually make the situation worse as for some this is their first exposure to the United States.

We have helped hundreds of sexual assault victims with their lawsuits. If you would like to speak with an attorney for free and in confidence you can call us any time at 312-346-5320.

How To Pick An Illinois Medical Malpractice Lawyer

I recently had an hour long conversation with a woman who was looking for an Illinois medical malpractice attorney to pursue a case involving the tragic death of her husband.

At first it seemed like it would be a quick conversation because she just asked “Who is the best Illinois malpractice attorney?” Usually I can explain this away quickly, but she asked me so many good questions about hiring a lawyer that I thought it would be a good blog post.

What I told her is that there isn’t a “best” law firm, but what we can do is help her find the best one for her possible case. To do that though, we need to know what happened with the treatment and about the patient.

I say that because there are some Illinois malpractice firms that are extremely selective with the cases they take. They have amazing track records of success and it would be great if you can get them to take your case. But because time is of the essence, you don’t want to waste your time with them if it’s clear you won’t meet their standard.

In other words, for some firms, if there isn’t an economic loss or millions of dollars in medical bills for past and future treatment, they won’t consider the case. Some firms are only interested in cases that could be worth potentially in the mid to high seven figures at worst.

Other firms won’t take cases that have obvious defenses right away. For example, if you have co-morbidities such as diabetes, extreme obesity, etc., they won’t even consider your case.

There’s of course no way for you to know this about various firms which is one reason we started our lawyer referral service. We know the selection criteria each firm has and can match you up with the best one for your case facts.

You also want to hire someone who has experience with your type of case. Having won similar cases in the past can increase the chances of success as well as speed up the process. If they know which experts to consult with, it can significantly cut down on the investigation time. These are also things we are familiar with and can help you with.

Some things you can do on your own when looking for an Illinois medical malpractice attorney include:

  • Make sure they can demonstrate a track record of settlements and trial verdicts in many cases. How many? There’s no magic number, but it should be at least somewhere above 25.
  • Verify that they can fund these very expensive cases. If you have a young or one person firm, they might not be able to.
  • Know that just because a lawyer says they do medical malpractice cases in Illinois doesn’t mean they really do. A lot of lawyers just list it in order to refer the cases on to other firms.
  • Be aware of the time limits for suing. It can be as little as two years from when the incident happened. So don’t delay looking for a law firm as it takes more than six months on average and often more than a year to properly investigate a case.
  • Avoid lawyers that also do defense work. You don’t want to have to worry that they will have a conflict of interest or be more loyal to their insurance company clients.

If you have any questions or want our opinion as to if you have a case and if so who you should hire, call us any time to speak with a lawyer for free at 312-346-5320.

Free Legal Advice From A Chicago Attorney

We are Illinois attorneys who since 2001 have given free legal guidance to more than 500,000 people. If you’d like to speak with a Chicago lawyer for free, call us any time at 312-346-5320.

We get a lot of great questions from readers and callers. Here are some of the best ones that we’ve received over the last few months that we thought you might enjoy.

Can my doctor stop seeing me?

Generally yes. They can’t ignore an emergency situation, but just as you can stop seeing them, they can choose not to see you. They should give you notification in writing and a reasonable amount of time to find a new doctor.

I have my will mad and would like to register it to make things easier for my executor. Where should I go to register it?

While there have been talks about creating a State registry and it is a great idea, as of now it does not exist. The best thing you can do is to let your loved ones know that a will was created, who made it for you and where a copy can be found.

Can the police lie to you?

Yes they can and it happens all of the time. They aren’t generally looking out for you and it’s not their job to look out for you. This is why lawyers advise people not to talk to the police and certainly not to trust them in most situations.

My wedding got cancelled after my fiance and I ended things. The event planner and venue won’t give me a refund. Can I sue them?

The real question is can you sue and win? The answer comes down to what the contract you signed with them says. Typically it’s written in their favor so while you still have to look at the contract, I’m not optimistic.

With Covid and everything being closed, is that a way to get around not filing a lawsuit before the statute of limitations expired?

It’s not. The courts were open and lawyers were working even if most things were being done remotely. So generally speaking, Covid is not an excuse for waiting too long to sue.

My son was shot and killed outside of his apartment in the streets of Chicago. I’m sick of the violence here. Can we sue the City of Chicago over his death?

We are all sick of the violence and this is a sad situation. That said, there is no basis for suing the City over the acts of some criminals. They can’t police every block at every moment. There may be a lawsuit against the scum bag who did the shooting or potentially whoever supplied the gun. In some cases we can sue property owners if they let this behavior happen. But I’ve never seen a successful lawsuit against the City due to the amount of crime.

If you have any questions about anything related to Illinois law or want our help in finding the best attorney for your case, please contact us any time.

See also: An Illinois Lawyer Who Will Talk To You For Free

Winning An Illinois Work Comp Fall In A Parking Lot

We are Illinois attorneys with over 25 years of experience helping people with work injury cases. Call us at 312-346-5320 any time to speak with a lawyer for free. We help with work injuries everywhere in Illinois.

One thing that most people don’t know is that just because you are injured while at work doesn’t always mean you have a good workers’ compensation claim. You have to prove that something about the job increased your risk of injury.

For example, if you slip on a wet floor at work, the job increased your risk of injury. On the other hand, if you don’t tie your shoes and trip over your own two feet, it’s likely not a case because the job didn’t contribute to your accident.

Sometimes it’s clear that an injury is work related, other times a real analysis is needed. One area in which this is especially true is when an injured worker falls in a parking lot.

Typically if a worker is in a parking lot, they either haven’t started their work day, just finished their work day or are coming back from a break. But you don’t have to be clocked in to have a valid work comp case. What you do need is to show that the job increased your risk of getting hurt.

The number one thing that Illinois workers compensation attorneys look for when a worker falls in a parking lot is who owns the parking lot. If your employer owns and maintains the lot, it’s highly likely that a fall in that lot will be covered by the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act. In other words, a slip and fall on an icy lot owned by your employer is similar to falling in the office on a wet floor.

The other thing we look for if your employer doesn’t own the lot is did you have to park in a certain spot and/or was that area open to the general public or not.

If your employer directs you to park in a certain location (such as the back of a store) then they are exercising control over you and increasing your risk of injury as compared to the general public. In a similar manor, if a parking area is only for employees, it also could increase your risk of injuries. The key factor is the control that they have over you.

On the other hand, if you work at a place like a shopping mall and can park anywhere, a fall in that lot wouldn’t likely be covered unless your employer owned the lot. It’s the same thing in places like the City of Chicago where you can have a parking lot across from your building, but not be required to drive.

There are a couple of big exceptions. 1. If you are carrying something for work and that leads to your accident, you’d likely have a case. For example, if you are carrying a box of supplies and slip on wet pavement, if the box prevents you from breaking your fall that would show that your job increased your risk of injury. 2. If you are a traveling employee, most falls would be covered because the act of having to drive for work increases the chance that you will get injured. Your driving is a benefit to the company so you get the benefit of work comp coverage.

This can be confusing which is why we are happy to talk to you for free to see if you have a case. Whatever you do, don’t take the word of your employer or the insurance company if they say you don’t have a case. They often lie or don’t know what they are talking about and certainly aren’t looking out for you.

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