Chicago Injury Blog

CHICAGO – Romanucci & Blandin, LLC, has filed a lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court on behalf of its client, a Chicago teenager, against The Jesse White Tumbling Team, Inc., for failing to properly supervise the tumblers and provide proper medical care at a Fourth of July parade in Wheeling in 2008. As a result, the plaintiff, a former team member, suffered permanent paralysis of the lower half of his body.

For the front page story, “A daring stunt gone wrong,” which appeared in the July 20, 2010 Chicago Tribune, http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/ct-met-paralyzed-tumbler-20100719,0,1126862.story

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CHICAGO – Romanucci & Blandin has received the results of a study that show the number of doctors in Illinois has NEVER declined in the past 45 years. In 2005, when the cap went into effect, the myth of doctors fleeing abruptly stopped – rather odd considering that there was no immediate droop in the high malpractice insurance rates (the reason why doctors were supposed to be leaving).

Interesting fact: Illinois has more doctors per capita than three other states – California, Ohio and Texas – frequently cited by tort reformers because of their caps on damages

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In softball, little and senior league and college baseball, most of the bats are made up of aluminum. Proponents of aluminum bats say that metal bats hit the ball harder and farther. But in truth, metal bats aren’t safe. They should be banned, especially for use by youth leagues.

Brain injuries, chest injuries, and even deaths, have resulted when metal bats were used by children. Metal bats may increase the speed of the ball, but is a higher batting average worth the risk? Isn’t it ironic that, when it comes to professional baseball, players say that wood baseball bats are a must.

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Kudos to the Chicago Sun-Times for launching a front-page series, written by Rick Telander, on a newly-identified brain disorder called chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, that affects football players who suffer multiple concussions. CTE is produced only by blows to the brain, and at least for now, it can only be discovered from a dead person’s brain.

In a recent issue of Scientific American Mind, Dr. Douglas Smith, director of the Center for Brain Injury and Repair at the University of Pennsylvania, wrote that the injury doesn’t just suddenly appear, but that it builds up over time, going from memory loss and personality changes to a full-blown dementia. It is different from other brain diseases such as ALS and Alzheimer’s disease. Researcher Ann McKee, who has dissected more than 2,000 brains, says that many CTE cases are misdiagnosed.

Millions of Americans, mostly men, play football at some level, and a lot of them have suffered injuries. But the cumulative effect of head blows, even slight ones, can and do damage the players as they age.

One solution to reduce the number of concussions, some experts say, is to stop hitting in practice. The other, of course, is to give up football.

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As most of our blog visitors know, we are outspoken critics of the use of metal baseball bats by youth leagues because of the catastrophic head injuries and other injuries they can and do cause. Some of our visitors tell us they not only respect our point of view but have climbed on the “ban” bandwagon and now support our campaign.

That means that a few metal baseball bats must be sitting around collecting dust. So before you toss that metal bat in the trash (and contaminate our environment), consider recycling. Metal bats are recyclable! In fact, the aluminum in metal bats can be recycled completely. Read more: How to Dispose of an Aluminum Bat | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_5715143_dispose-aluminum-bat.html#ixzz0rghb27Rq

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CHICAGO – Romanucci & Blandin notes a new study reporting that, in the year following a traumatic brain injury, about half of the survivors experience clinical depression, a rate almost eight times higher than found in the general population.

Those who had both a head trauma and depression reported more pain, mobility problems and greater difficulty in carrying out their usual responsibilities. The research was conducted by the University of Washington. Some say that TBI, combined with severe depression, can have severe consequences from the recovery of TBI.

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Statement by Antonio Romanucci on June 8, 2010.

I am a staunch supporter of a small but growing group of people who want to ban metal baseball bats in youth sports. I have been on the forefront of this issue for three years, since a friend of mine called my attention to the problem. Christina Russo’s son, who was 14 at the time, was seriously injured when a line-drive off a metal bat struck him directly in the face. He has since needed two plastic surgeries to repair the damage, but he and his family are doing fine, considering all the physical and emotional trauma they have faced.

I told Christina I would do what I could to help and approached State Rep. Bob Molaro, who introduced a bill in the state legislature that would have banned the use of these bats by youth leagues. Unfortunately, the bill never got out of committee. Last year, Alderman Bob Fioretti was extremely supportive of our efforts to have the Chicago City Council ban metal bats in youth leagues, but the metal bat “cartel” brought in their big guns, and sadly, we struck out.

Currently, only New York City and the state of North Dakota have succeeded in passing legislation to ban metal bats in youth leagues. The latest state to step up to the plate is California. In May, a bill was introduced in the state legislature to ban metal bats as a result of a Marin County teenager who suffered a serious head injury when he was hit in the head by a ball hit off a metal bat. The boy’s team actually switched to wood bats to honor the injured player.

Continue reading "Banning Metal Baseball Bats May Help Prevent Catastrophic Head Injuries in Youth Sports" »

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Chicago – A wrongful death lawsuit claims that the victim was killed as a result of negligence (or other type of unjust action) on the part of the person or entity being sued, and that the victim’s survivors are entitled to monetary damages as a result of the improper conduct. The wrongful act may be a negligent or careless act such as careless driving, a reckless act or an intentional act such as a deliberate murder.

Almost every state has enacted a statute permitting a lawsuit to be brought by the relatives of a person who died as a result of a wrongful act. Attorneys at Romanucci & Blandin, LLC, can help you determine if you have a case.

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Chicago – Attorneys at Romanucci & Blandin, LLC, have considerable experience in representing victims and families in situations where nursing home abuses have occurred leading to serious injuries.

Nursing home abuse occurs when the resident is physically abused, raped or sexually assaulted, over-sedated, or subjected to verbal and/or emotional abuse in nursing homes. Abuse in nursing homes can be hard to detect, since many nursing home residents have trouble communicating and may have sporadic family support.

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Chicago – Investigators have found that a state-of-the-art brain imaging method may be useful for detecting and monitoring mild traumatic brain injury, a controversial diagnosis that is based largely on a patient’s subjective experience, reports attorneys at Romanucci & Blandin, LLC.

The phrase traumatic brain injury tends to conjure the worst case scenario of a patient who suffers severe brain damage leading to severe disabilities, coma or death. However, most traumatic brain injuries are classified as mild. A mild traumatic brain injury typically involves symptoms of brain damage (such as mood changes or confusion), but no sign of damage based on a neurological exam or standard brain imaging techniques.

This definition complicates diagnosis. Some patients are told nothing is wrong with them.

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Chicago – Workers’ Compensation is the name given to a system of laws meant to protect injured workers. The goal, according to attorneys at Romanucci & Blandin, LLC, is to make sure that somebody who is injured at work receives appropriate medical care, lost wages relating to the on-the-job injury, and, if necessary, retraining and rehabilitation, so as to be able to return to the workforce.
When workers are killed on the job, members of the workers' families are ordinarily eligible for benefits. A good source of information is in our brochure posted on our website at http://www.rblaw.net

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CHICAGO – Romanucci & Blandin, LLC, congratulates members of the Illinois House of Representatives for their unanimous approval vote on a bill that would sharply raise standards of care and safety, and reduce personal injuries, in the state’s troubled nursing homes. Similar support is expected from the state Senate.

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