Saturday 24 November 2012

Workers Compensation Helps Families



For some Chicago families, losing one breadwinner means financial disaster. When one of the family members upon whom the others depend for income loses their job due to an injury, workers compensation is supposed to provide a means for that injured individual to stay afloat. Unfortunately, these claims are sometimes denied, even when it's obvious to just about anybody that the worker should get compensation for their injuries.

Hiring a Chicago Workers Compensation Attorney

When you're already worried about being able to pay the mortgage or the rent, the idea of hiring a workers compensation attorney in Chicago might seem counterintuitive. If you can't pay your basic life expenses, how are you supposed to pay legal fees?

One of the ways that workerscompensation attorneys in Chicago make their services affordable for their clients is by working on contingency agreements. Under such an agreement, the attorney forgoes any payment unless they actually win the claim for their client. If they win, their legal fees come due and, in some cases, the costs of the attorney are simply added to the amount of damages sought by the plaintiff.

When you're considering filing a lawsuit over workers compensation benefits, it might be difficult to determine how you're going to get by in the meantime. The important thing to remember is that you may have resources that you haven't taken advantage of yet and, if you do, those may be able to tide you over while your case is being decided upon. In many cases, the attorneys who have a workers compensation cases also handle claims for Social Security benefits and other types of disability benefits, so you may be able to get multiple services from the same attorney and, thereby, ensure that you don't end up facing a grim financial future because of an injury that you suffered at work.

Friday 23 November 2012

Social Networking and Personal Injury



As the Internet has become more a part of people's lives, what happens on the Internet has become more and more a part of their lives away from the computer. To illustrate this point, there have been several lawsuits recently that have involved social networking sites in various ways. A woman in the United Kingdom, for instance, recently won a lawsuit that compelled one of the social networking sites to give information on people that bullied her and disparaged her reputation using fake profiles.

In another case, a college student got into a fight with one of her sorority sisters after having altercations back and forth on a social networking site. While this case is still developing, it does bring to light the fact that what people do on social networking sites does matter. Simply because somebody disparaged you or caused you other harm on the Internet doesn't mean that they are immune from being held liable to it if it did, in fact, do real harm to you financially or physically in some manner.

Complex Cases

There are plenty of ways that people go after one another online all the time. Fortunately, many instances of this type of behavior result in nothing more than hurt feelings or bruised egos. In other cases, however, the sort of bullying that sometimes leads to personal injuries and the sort of harassment that can affect somebody's business or good reputation starts out on the Internet. Talking to a Chicago personal injury attorney about such an instance may be a good idea.

Chicago personal injury attorneys represent people who have been harmed financially or physically due to the negligence or deliberate actions of another. Whether or not somebody who engages in this type of activity ends up facing criminal charges, contacting personal injury attorneys in Chicago to discuss the situation may reveal that you do have cause to file a lawsuit.

Wednesday 14 November 2012

Trampoline Centers Sued



Two Chicago-area trampoline centers have been sued following the injuries of two children. The two children – who are not related – suffered leg injuries during separate instances at two separate trampoline centers. Both of the children suffered leg fractures.

Not Following the Rules

According to the lawsuits, the traveling centers failed to follow their own regulations regarding letting children use the trampolines. Specifically, the safety rules hold that only one child can use the trampoline at a time. In both instances, the children ended up suffering fractured legs. In both instances, the parents are alleging that negligence is the cause of their child's injuries.

Injuries and Negligence at Amusement Facilities

According to reporting in ABC Local, one of the facilities maintained through a spokesman that their employees are trained extensively in how to make certain that the children that use the facility are safe. Even if adequate training is provided, any instance where you or a child is injured at such a facility due to what you believe to be negligence is sufficient reason to contact the Chicago personal injury lawyer.

Injury Lawyers

A personal injury lawyer in Chicago can work with you to determine whether filing a lawsuit would be a good option for your family in instances such as the situation named above. Some of these attorneys will work on contingency, allowing you to pursue your case without having to worry about paying them legal fees up front. If they win your claim, they get paid but, if they do not win your claim, you do not owe your attorney any money. In some cases, the families that pursue these lawsuits add their legal fees and court costs to the amount of money that they are seeking in a lawsuit. Speaking with an attorney is the first step in finding out whether or not you should sue.

Tuesday 6 November 2012

Workers Compensation Benefits Employers and Employees



For many workers injured on the job, receiving workers compensation benefits can be something of a challenge. The claim may be denied for reasons that don't seem fair to the employee and, because of that, workers compensation is oftentimes cast as something that is always contentious between employers and employees. This, in reality, should not be the case.

For most employers, the trade-off in paying a worker who is injured on the job workers compensation benefits comes in the form of not being sued for negligence or for any other reason. The employer provides medical and wage compensation so that the worker can recover and get back on the job. Not only does is protect the employer from being sued, in some instances, it also provides them with the opportunity to get experienced employees back on their workforce when that employee has recovered. Being injured in the course of doing one's job is generally something that we can all count on during our lives. Worker's compensation law helps workers and their employers to maintain a constructive relationship.

Unfortunately, not all employers are willing to pay employees benefits when they are entitled. If this happens to you, contact the Chicago workers compensation attorney. Workers compensation attorneys in Chicago work with people who were injured on the job and you need to receive the benefits to which they are entitled but who are being denied them by an employer or by another agency. You can hire a workers compensation attorney in Chicago and let them do the heavy lifting involved in getting you your benefits. Before you even make the decision to hire them, they have to decide whether they can help you. This is usually done during a free consultation, which gives you an opportunity to get to know the attorney and to see if you're comfortable working with them, as well.

Drunk and High Driver Causes West Side Wreck



An intoxicated driver injured three people and himself in a car accident during the second week of July on the West Side. The driver had previous DWI convictions and was charged with driving under the influence of drugs and driving under the influence of alcohol according to reports in the Chicago Tribune.

Chicago car accident lawyerIn this particular accident, the driver was driving in the wrong lane, speeding and ended up causing a wreck when another driver swerved to avoid him. The intoxicated driver slammed into the vehicle anyway and ended up crashing into a CTA support beam, according to the report. As of the time of the report, the authorities were seeking to upgrade the drunk driver's offenses to a felony level, as he also did not have a valid registration, had a suspended license and did not have insurance.

Drunk driving accidents like this are, unfortunately, very common. Drunk drivers heading the wrong way on one-lane streets or entering the wrong lanes on freeways are also quite common. These incidents obviously have the potential to cause head-on collisions, which can be among the most deadly of all. In many cases, drivers who cause injuries or deaths while driving under the influence end up facing serious criminal charges. Unfortunately, the criminal charges really do nothing for the people injured by the drunk driver.

Compensation

Speaking with a Chicago car accident lawyer might provide you with an opportunity to explore filing a lawsuit. A good car accident lawyer in Chicago can help you prepare a lawsuit whether or not the driver that struck you has actually been charged with a crime. Lawsuits are civil matters and the Chicago car accident attorney will work to use the court system to get compensation for you and your family, which addresses the needs of the victim in a way that the criminal justice system does not.