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• Pit bull bites woman second time

  Barry Doyle | May 22, 2007 8:30 AM | 0 CommentsCook County, IL

  A California woman who was visiting a friend was bitten by the friend's 90 pound pit bull for the second time. The woman, who had been bitten on the leg in December, 2005, realized that the dog was acting aggressively, and tried to hide in the bathroom, but the dog broke down the door in order to attack her.The woman suffered serious injuries to her arm in the most recent attack.The traditional...

• Medication error kills patient

  Barry Doyle | May 21, 2007 8:00 AM | 0 CommentsCook County, IL

  A Montana nurse admitted to a coroner's inquest that she adminstered a wrong medication to a patient who died shortly after receiving the drug. The patient came to trhe emergency room of the hospital with difficulty breathing. The doctor ordered lasix, a diuretic, to help draw out fluid that may have been contributing the respiratory problems.Instead of taking the lasix from the pharmacy, she...

• Bill to permit wrongful death jurors to consider familly's grief

  Barry Doyle | May 21, 2007 6:36 AM | 0 CommentsCook County, IL

  The General Assembly has sent a bill to Gov. Blagoevich for signature that would allow juries to consider the grief of surviving family members as part of the damages in a wrongful death case. Hopefully, the governor will sign the bill.One thing that most people are unaware of is that the damages in a wrongful death case are controlled by a statute -- the Wrongful Death Act. By statute, the...

• Contractor cited after employee falls through floor

  Barry Doyle | May 20, 2007 4:21 PM | 0 CommentsCook County, IL

  A contractor was hit with over $69,000 in fines by OSHA after an employee was injured when he plummeted three floors when the floor of the building he was working in collapased. The employee was involved in the demolition of a building at the time of the accident.Violations of OSHA regulations such as this put employees lives at unnecessary risk of harm.When done safely, demolition of buildings...

• CTA notice law denies legitimate claims

  Barry Doyle | May 19, 2007 1:55 PM | 0 CommentsCook County, IL

  NBC News had a recent feature on a little-known statute which requires persons injured in accidents with the CTA to provide the CTA with a special statutory notice. If the notice is not completed or if information is missing or wrong, then the lawsuit gets dismissed. It does not matter that the CTA has the correct information - the lawsuit still gets dismissed.The woman featured in the NBC...

• Girl mauled by pit bull

  Barry Doyle | May 18, 2007 9:15 AM | 0 CommentsCook County, IL

  A visit to a friend's home tragic for a 7-year old Ohio girl last week. While she was playing in the backyard with her friend, a 7-month old pit bull owned her friend's uncle mauled the girl and did not stop attacking the girl until the friend's mother drove the animal away.The victim lost an ear and suffered facial fractures which required the insertion of a steel plate in her cheek. The bite...

• Woman bitten by Akita

  Barry Doyle | May 17, 2007 8:30 AM | 0 CommentsCook County, IL

  A Georgia woman passing through a trailer park attempted to provide some water to a dog that was tied to a trailer and was bitten for her efforts.The dog, an Akita, bit the woman so badly on the hand that she had to undergo thumb reattachment surgery.The Akita is one of the breeds which insurers are increasingly reluctant to provide coverage for. Some carriers are excluding them from coverage...

• Wheel comes off tractor-trailer

  Barry Doyle | May 16, 2007 8:45 AM | 0 CommentsCook County, IL

  Outside Seattle last week, a wheel assembly came off a tractor trailer while it was moving, bounded over the median, and smashed into the windshield of a minivan going in the other direction.The front seat passenger of the minivan was killed instantly. An inspection of the tractor trailer after the accident showed that the brake system to the trailer had come apart.Before going out on the road,...

• Trench collapse in Louisiana

  Barry Doyle | May 15, 2007 8:30 AM | 0 CommentsCook County, IL

  Two workers were lucky to survive when the trench that they were working in collapsed. The trench was being dug near a highway and did not have a proper retaining wall. Authorities believe that vibrations from the nearby highway triggered the collapse.One of the workers suffered a fractured ankle while trying to escape the trench.Working in an excavation is one of the most hazardous duties in...

• Fatal collision with asphalt truck

  Barry Doyle | May 14, 2007 9:00 AM | 0 CommentsCook County, IL

  A Texas man was killed last week when he was driving through a construction zone. An asphalt truck left the roadway and then re-entered it. The man struck the rear-end of the asphalt truck as it came back onto the roadway. The driver of the asphalt truck was ticketed for failing to yield while entering the roadway.The man suffered such severe injuries that he was pronounced dead at the...