The drop side feature of cribs, due to its convenience, is frequently used.  Unfortunately, as the side is repeatedly raised and lowered, the parts can become stressed and worn down.  When the hardware securing the drop side weakens or breaks, the drop side can come partially off its track, creating a small separation between the side and the crib mattress.  Infants can then fall into this gap, leading to suffocation or strangulation.  Some infants and even toddlers have literally been hung to their death in the deadly gaps.  All such instances warrant the consult of a top Chicago wrongful death attorney to investigate whether a viable civil action exists.

At least 32 deaths have been tied to drop side cribs, either through strangulation or suffocation.  An additional 14 infants’ deaths may have been caused by drop side cribs, although there is insufficient information to be certain.  Other infants and toddlers have escaped wrongful death, but suffered mild to serious injuries, including physical injuries and brain injury.

Even after evidence of the dangers of drop side cribs emerged, the CPSC delayed in recalling the cribs.  A series of mistakes at the CPSC led to months or years of delay.  Finally, in 2007, the first drop side crib recall was issued, covering about 1 million such cribs.  A series of waves of similar recalls followed over the next several years, covering over 7 million drop side cribs nationwide.

Earlier this year, manufacturers at last agreed to a voluntary ban on the sale and manufacture of drop side cribs, but there was still no actual, binding ban in place.  The CPSC is now committed to making the ban a matter of federal law.  Until such a ban is passed, however, manufacturers are free to disregard the ban and continue to sell their existing stock, or even continue manufacturing such cribs.  Oddly, a law passed last year has already made any such ban  retroactive for hotels and licensed childcare centers, meaning that although these facilities may currently use drop side cribs, once such a ban is put in place these facilities will have to immediately stop using them.

The evidence strongly suggests that many companies continued to manufacture and sell drop side cribs even after the dangers of these products had been exposed.  Therefore, many of the deaths and injuries may be the result of negligence by the companies that made and sold the offending cribs.  If your child was injured or killed by a drop side crib, you likely have a cause of action.  Our Chicago wrongful death lawyers can help you to analyze all possible claims and defendants, and determine whether legal action is warranted, and against whom.  While nothing can ever make up for the injury or death of a small child, if you do decide to bring a lawsuit we can help you obtain the compensation you deserve.

For a free consultation with an experienced products liability lawyer at Passen Law Group, call us at (312) 527-4500.

Now, it is being reported that the mining company, Massey Energy Company, is attempting to settle with the families of the deceased before the truth can come to light. Although federal and state investigators have not yet been able to get inside the mine (due to the presence of toxic gases), they believe that the explosion which lead to the miners’ deaths was caused by the buildup of methane gas and coal dust.

This gas, a toxic fume and a dangerous explosive, was a persistent issue at the Upper Big Branch mine. The mine had received multiple citations for federal safety violations related to the failure to properly ventilate methane. In the past year alone, the fines levied against the mine for serious ventilation violations – both the failure to properly plan for ventilation and the failure to follow its own ventilation plan – as well as the buildup of combustible coal dust, and the lack of proper firefighting equipment , have totaled nearly $400,000. Massey Energy Company (the coal industry’s most profitable producer) also has a questionable safety history throughout its mines in West Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia.

These facts have lead many, including our wrongful death lawyers, to speculate that negligence by those in charge of the mine  may have been the cause of the explosion. We will never know, however, unless a thorough investigation is conducted, both by federal and state regulators and through the diligent prosecution of civil actions by the families of the slain miners, represented by competent counsel.

It seems that Massey Energy Company has reached this same conclusion. Massey has now reportedly offered the families the tidy sum of $3 million apiece to avoid legal action and the corresponding bright lights of inquiry — in other words, to surrender their right to pursue justice against the company and the mine in a court of law.  Although the offer is generous on its face, the offer is a simple business decision by a company that wants to protect its own interests from the impact of public disclosure of the causes of the disaster, and from the risk of a much larger verdict or settlement in civil litigation. Those families who are reporting the company’s offer are also reporting, however, that they have rejected it.

The personal injury attorneys at Passen Law Group applaud these families for having the courage to reject a lucrative settlement offer in order to pursue the truth. Only if these families stand strong and maintain their civil actions will we have the benefit of appropriate judicial scrutiny of the safety issues at the Upper Big Branch Mine, and at Massey Energy Company more generally. Without that scrutiny, or at least the threat of it, we have no assurance that the company and the mine will correct the shocking safety breaches that likely were to blame for these tragic deaths.

For a free consultation with an experienced Chicago wrongful death lawyer at Passen Law Group, call us at (312) 527-4500.

The tainted water well in Crestwood, from which the suburban residents unknowingly drank contaminated water for more than two decades, contained perchloroethylene (PCE), an organic solvent widely used in the dry cleaning industry, and also a probable human carcinogen.

In the State’s report to titled, “Incidence of Cancer in the Village of Crestwood, 1994-2006,” the researchers found that “it is possible that the historical presence of PCE and its degradation products in the Crestwood water contributed to the increase of these cancers.”

However, the researchers noted that “due to methodological and data limitations, the assessment could not establish with certainty this relationship, nor rule out such a possibility.”  A number of other risk factors, such as smoking, diet, hereditary background and workplace exposure to harmful chemicals, are also known to be associated with these cancers, but researchers were not able to evaluate their relative presence in the Crestwood area.  The report finds that “future monitoring of the area’s cancer incidence is needed to evaluate possible changes in cancer incidence following the discontinuation of the contaminated drinking water.”

Still, experts note that the situation in Crestwood is different from other cases where exposure to toxic chemicals is questionable.  Here, according to Ken Runkle, a state health department toxicologist, “We are dealing with a situation where we have known exposure.  That means we can view these elevated cancer levels in a different light.”  Meaning there is a higher probability of the causal relationship between the contaminated water exposure and the development of cancer.

Indeed, kidney cancer in particular is associated with exposure to perchloroethylene (PCE) — the dry cleaning solvent, and known carcinogent, found in the Crestwood drinking water well.   Some forms of lung and gastrointestinal cancer have also been linked to PCE exposure.

In response to the Tribune report, Senator Dick Durbin, Representative Bobby Rush, and Illinois Governor Quinn urged federal and state officials to investigate the Crestwood situation and, in particular, the relationship between the high cancer rates and the contaminated water well.

Litigation is already pending relating to the Crestwood contaminated well, but as more people get sick and realize that their cancer may have been caused by the negligence of their public officials, more personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits are expected to follow.

For a Free Consultation with one of our experienced Chicago personal injury attorneys at Passen Law Group, call us at (312) 527-4500.

Gallbladder surgery is a relatively routine procedure.  Still, as with all surgeries, there is a risk of serious complications, including death.  It is important to distinguish a “bad result” from “malpractice.”  Only injuries caused by a doctor’s deviation from the appropriate standard of medical care is malpractice.

According to several news reports, Congressman Murtha first hospitalized with gallbladder problems in December, and underwent surgery on January 28 at the National Naval Hospital in Bethesda, Md.  He was discharged from the hospital following surgery, but was re-admitted two days later when complications developed.   According to various sources, Murtha’s surgeon inadvertently nicked his intestine while performing the laparoscopic gallbladder procedure.  The nick, or small cut, caused a serious infection to develop, which led to his death.

Congressman Murtha’s death has brought the issue of preventable medical errors back into the limelight as Congress returns to health care reform legislation.  Preventable medical errors, such as wrong-site surgeries, improper medication and delayed diagnosis of cancer, kill an estimated 98,000 people each year.  If you or a loved one has been seriously injured or killed while under the care of a medical professional, and you suspect medical negligence could have played a factor, contact a top-rated Chicago medical malpractice attorney at Passen Law today for a free consultation.

Since Murtha’s death, there has been much debate about whether or not the surgeons should have noticed the cut, taken appropriate steps to repair it, and then administered antibiotics to prevent infection and other complications. In other words, did Murtha die as a result of a preventable medical error?  Mr. Murtha’s family has time to decide whether or not to contact a wrongful death lawyer and pursue a negligence action arising out of his death.  It is possible that, behind the scenes, the insurance companies for the doctors and hospitals involved may be trying to resolve the matter without ever facing a lawsuits.  Such negotiations never become public record.

The death of such a prominent politician after undergoing a routine operation is a stark reminder that improved patient safety must be a key component of health care reform.   For a Free Consultation with an experienced Chicago medical malpractice lawyer at Passen Law Group’s, call us at 312-527-4500.