Illinois

May 20, 2023

Illinois Personal Injury Verdicts and Settlements

This page examines settlement amounts and jury awards in personal injury cases in Illinois. Our attorneys also offer an analysis of Illinois personal injury law.

As a personal injury victim pursuing a compensation claim in Illinois, it’s natural to want to understand the potential range of settlement payouts for your claim. After all, monetary compensation is ultimately the goal of a personal injury or wrongful death claim.

This page aims to explore how personal injury cases have been resolved in Illinois, allowing you to compare your claim with Illinois personal injury settlement statistics and examples of settlements and jury awards.

April 12, 2023

Illinois Birth Injury Malpractice Law

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

This page will review Illinois medical malpractice cases involving birth injuries. We will explain some of the relevant laws in Illinois and look at the settlement value of Illinois birth injury lawsuits.

About Birth Injuries

The term “birth injury” simply refers to physical harm inflicted on a baby due to something that happens during the process of labor and childbirth. Unlike birth defects, birth injuries are not genetically inherited. Birth injuries are most often the result of medical negligence during delivery.

April 10, 2023

Illinois Cerebral Palsy Lawsuit

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a condition that is accompanied by changes in muscle tone and posture, both at rest and with voluntary activity. It is usually diagnosed before the age of three and is the result of brain damage. The American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine (AACPDM) considers the age of five years as the upper limit for brain damage leading to cerebral palsy. There is no question that medical malpractice practice causes many cases of cerebral palsy. In these cases, the child’s cerebral palsy is usually caused by mistakes made during the birthing process.

There are many different types of cerebral palsy. Neurologic classifications of cerebral palsy include spastic (pyramidal) cerebral palsy, dyskinetic (extrapyramidal) cerebral palsy, and mixed types. Spastic cerebral palsy disorders tend to be the most commonly occurring and account for approximately 75% of children affected.

Cook County Hospital

March 19, 2023

Illinois Malpractice Verdicts | Malpractice Settlement Value

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

I think sample settlements and verdicts are a useful tool in conjunction with other tools to help victims better understand at least the range of values in a medical malpractice case. Clearly, no two cases are the same and you cannot summarizes a case in a paragraph.

Sometimes, I have tried or settled cases where there is no way I could summarize the case in a way that would explain why the plaintiff won or why the verdict was as high or low as it was. Said differently, reading these is important and education in understanding the value of medical malpractice claims in Illinois but you can only learn so much from these.

If you have what appears to be an exactly identical case, the results could be very different. All of these verdicts are from 2014 to 2022. Illinois is a big state. A lot of cases go to trial here.

August 28, 2012

Improving Pedestrian Safety By Reviewing Primary Types Of Incidents

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

One thing I think we can all universally agree on it that there are just too many pedestrian accidents and deaths. Clearly, Chicago is not an exception. A report of pedestrian and vehicle crashes released by Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) in 2011, focused on this problem and the types of crashes involving pedestrians. The authors of the study reviewed pedestrian accident data from police reports in the Chicago metropolitan area to determine how each incident occurred.

September 12, 2011

Drug Swallower Wrongful Death Lawsuit Leads to $1.3 Million Settlement

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

The City of Chicago has reached a $1.3 million settlement in a lawsuit filed over the death of a man who swallowed a bag of drugs during an arrest.

Cue the tort reformers narrative: man swallows drugs on purpose and sues the city. You can hear it already. But all people, including those who are taking drugs, are human beings. Video surveillance shows the man in obvious distress and the police officers just completely ignored him. Because they have drugs, apparently, someone can suffer right in front of you and die without catching your attention. That is just beyond awful and the City of Chicago did the right thing by acknowledging this and settling this case.

November 17, 2010

Malpractice Premiums and Caps

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

There has been a 61% decrease in medical malpractice insurance payouts in Pennsylvania over the last 7 years, according to Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell.

According to the governor, this has led to an 18% decrease in malpractice premiums. I’m trying to figure out why a 61% drop in payouts leads to an 18% decrease in premiums. Where is all the money going? In any event, we still have a doctor shortage in much of Pennsylvania.

Why aren’t doctors fleeing to Pennsylvania? If they are not going to Pennsylvania, where do they go? The top 5 highest paying jobs in the United States are doctors? Are they quitting medicine and becoming real estate agents? Have you ever met a doctor that just stopped practicing medicine and took up something else?

November 18, 2008

Duragesic Pain-Patch Lawsuit Results in Another Pain Patch Verdict

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Two units of Johnson & Johnson were ordered to pay $16.6 million to the family of a Chicago-area woman who died after using a Duragesic pain-patch. This is the 4th consecutive pain pump verdict against Johnson & Johnson in the pain pump litigation. Last month, a Florida jury awarded $13 million to the family of a woman who died after using a similar patch.

If you have a Duragesic pain patch case, call our attorneys at 800-553-8082.

October 3, 2008

Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Paramedics to Proceed, Court Rules

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Yesterday, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that a wrongful death lawsuit against the city Park Ridge can move forward because the city is not immune from a lawsuit. An Illinois trial court had granted the city’s motion for summary judgment.

This wrongful death case is gathering attention because of it bizarre facts. A 15-year-old boy’s father called 911 and reported that his son was unconscious and needed resuscitation. Paramedics arrived 5 minutes later but did not treat the patient. We have no idea why. The father called back at about eight hours later. When the paramedics arrived, the boy was in cardiac arrest. Tragically, hospital records showed that he died at the hospital from overdosing on cocaine and opiates.

Bizarre facts. The lawyer for the city of Park Ridge says he cannot talk about the case until it comes out in court. Please.