Chicago Injury Blog

CHICAGO, IL – After a week of trial in front of Judge Donald O’Brien, a urologist tendered his $1-million insurance policy on January 20, 2010, to settle a wrongful death case with the family of a deceased man arising out of the physician’s failure to timely diagnose bladder cancer.

In Russell v. Norris, M.D. and Northwest Suburban Urologists, Ltd. (Case no. 06 L 3887), Carmen Russell and Daniel Russell, Jr., the wife and son of Daniel Russell, reached a settlement with Jeffery Norris, M.D. and Northwest Suburban Urologists, Ltd. Attorney for the plantiffs was Stephan D. Blandin, of Romanucci & Blandin, LLC.

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CHICAGO – There is no real difference between the terms “concussion” and “mild traumatic brain injury,” yet the term doctors use makes a big difference in the seriousness with which the injury is treated, according to a study published in the journal Pediatrics.

During the study, doctors tracked 268 children admitted to a hospital in Ontario, Canada, after suffering a head trauma. One-third of them was given the diagnosis of “concussion,” while the others got some variation of “traumatic brain injury (TBI).” Those with a diagnosis of “concussion” were 1-1/2 times as likely to be discharged from the hospital as those with a “mild TBI” diagnosis.

The study suggests that a children who’s given the diagnosis of concussion, the less like the family is to consider it a brain injury. These children may be sent back to school or allowed to return to normal activity sooner than they should.

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Will caps on non-economic damages in personal injury cases be declared unconstitutional by the Illinois Supreme Court? Chicago injury attorney Antonio Romanucci discussed tort reform last Saturday with veteran political reporter Dick Kay on WCPT radio. To hear the interview in its entirety, click here: http://www.doogiesplace.com/podcast.html

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The New York Times (12/22, A40) editorializes that in "a lamentable 5-to-4 decision earlier this year" in Ashcroft v. Iqbal, "the Supreme Court discarded 50 years of legal precedent to make it significantly harder for Americans to assert their legal rights in federal court." The case "involved a Muslim man swept up on immigrations charges after the Sept. 11 attacks," but the "damage went beyond the case or the national security sphere. The court altered the procedural rules for initiating a lawsuit, raising the bar in a fashion destined to make it far harder to bring valid actions and to allow wrongdoers to avoid accountability." The Times notes that Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) "has introduced corrective legislation in the House" and Sen. Arlen Specter, (D-PA) "has introduced another bill targeting the problem. It is the responsibility of Congress to reopen the courthouse doors."

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CHICAGO – A Cook County jury late yesterday awarded the parents of a now ten-year-old boy with a $22.3 million verdict in a medical negligence case arising out of the care and treatment on May 29, 1999 at Advocate Christ Medical Center/Hope Children’s Hospital, in the Chicago suburb of Oak Lawn, which resulted in the loss of the boy’s left leg.

After a three week trial, the jury returned the verdict after closing arguments were presented by attorneys Antonio M. Romanucci and Stephan D. Blandin, of Romanucci & Blandin, LLC, who represented the plaintiffs, and Edward H. Nielsen, of Pretzel & Stouffer, Chartered, representing the defendant, Tarek Husayni, M.D., a cardiologist, and Rudy Schade, of CassidaySchade, LLC, representing the remaining defendants.

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Romanucci & Blandin and other attorneys, working with Margaret Benson, director of the Chicago Volunteer Legal Services (CVLS), recently hosted a breakfast meeting for volunteer lawyers who are interested in providing pro bono legal work at Operation PUSH in Chicago, established by Rev. Jesse Jackson.

At the event, Rev. Jackson told attorneys about the critical need for free legal counsel to low-income people in areas including divorce, child support and visitation, guardianship, adoption, special education, consumer fraud, landlord-tenant, bankruptcy and tort defense.

Benson, whose organization will provide training to attorneys, said that very little reporting will be required and that volunteer attorneys would be covered by CVLS malpractice insurance. For further information, contact Benson at 312-332-5542.

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Is there a link between football players’ brain injuries and mental decline among players later in life? Evidence is mounting. Romanucci & Blandin, LLC, in Chicago, is pleased to see that the U. S. House of Representatives is holdings hearings on this issue at which former player Tiki Barber and family members of injured players, have testified.

At the hearings, Roger Goodell, NFL Commissioner, would not way whether he thought there was a link between football and cognitive decline among NFL players. However, he did say that the issue of brain injuries in football warranted federal scrutiny because “the NFL is a monopoly whose existence was legislatively sanctioned.” U.S. Representative Michael Quigley, of Illinois, said that although Congress is focusing mostly on NFL policies, that “the norms of the NFL, for better or worse, become the norms of high school football players.”

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The Chicago Tribune’s current front page expose, “Compromised Care,” reveals that patients in nursing homes throughout Illinois are being dosed with powerful psychotropic drugs, often needlessly, and leading to tremors and a higher risk of falls and even death. Romanucci & Blandin are long-time advocates for nursing home safety, and we will continue our efforts to advocate for safer nursing home practices.

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Sixty Minutes last night broadcast a wonderful show highlighting the aspects of traumatic brain injury in football players. As you know, Romanucci & Blandin, have been advocates in preventable causes of brain injury -- especially in our youth players. We continue to fight the fight with the Chicago City Council in banning metal baseball bats for youth players. This story on football only furthers our cause and educates all of us as to the dangers associated with contact play and being aware of the symptoms of concussion and any injury. The video in its entirety is right here:
Watch CBS News Videos Online

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This video is incredible. It demonstartes how a safely designed parking lot and a conscientious owner of the mall saved the life of a young girl. This out of control vehicle was actually stopped by parking bollards and wound up being impaled on top of them. The young girl and the building were protected from any harm whatsoever by the bollards:

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CHICAGO, October 8, 2009 – Stephan Blandin, a partner in the Chicago personal injury law firm of Romanucci & Blandin, LLC, participated in a news conference this morning at Operation PUSH headquarters at the invitation of Rev. Jesse Jackson, to discuss ways that lawyers can mentor students in the wake of the fatal beating of a teenager at Fenger High School by the boy’s peers.

Yesterday, President Obama sent Attorney General Eric Holder and Education Secretary Arne Duncan to Chicago to meet with Mayor Daley, local leaders, and Fenger students.

During a press conference at City Hall, officials announced a $500,000 grant to help make Fenger and the schools that feed into it safer. Daley, Holder and Duncan had breakfast at the Four Seasons Hotel off Michigan Avenue with religious and community leaders to discuss youth violence.

Romanucci & Blandin has a program in place to support and encourage more youths to consider a career in law. Visit www.lawfirmbound.com.

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The NFL Players Association has announced the formation of a Concussion and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Committee to address the issue of head trauma and brain injuries among professional football players.

Antonio Romanucci praised the effort, indicating that it will address two fundamental, timely and critical issues facing professional football players: first, the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of concussions and TBI in active players; and second, the long-term cumulative effects of isolated or repetitive TBI in NFL players as patients in order to discover how these effects can be reduced and eliminated.

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