Recent Blog Posts
Insurers Devaluing Personal Injury Claims? Not on Our Watch
When negligence leads to an accident that injures you, you may qualify for compensation. Unfortunately, insurance companies do not want to pay your claim fairly. Instead, they often attempt to minimize the payout you could receive. Unless you have an experienced attorney protecting your best interests, you might not even realize insurers are taking advantage of you.
Did you know that people with competent lawyers usually receive substantially higher compensation for their personal injury claims? Our skilled Kane County, IL lawyers know how insurers operate and how to combat their underhanded tactics to help you secure the highest available payment for your damages.
How Do Insurers Sabotage Personal Injury Claims?
Although insurance company representatives may seem friendly and helpful, their jobs depend on their ability to protect the company’s profits. When you file a claim, an adjuster will investigate and estimate the total value of your damages. This applies to car accidents, product liability claims, medical malpractice, premises liability incidents, and other personal injury cases.
Are My Workers’ Compensation Benefits Taxable in Illinois?
Most Illinois employers are required by law to carry workers’ compensation insurance. Injured or ill workers can file a claim against those policies and receive specific benefits. Many injured workers want to know if the money they receive through a workers’ comp claim is taxable. An experienced Aurora, IL workers’ compensation attorney from Kinnally Flaherty Krentz Loran Hodge & Masur P.C. can answer your questions during a free consultation.
What Benefits Does Illinois Workers’ Comp Provide?
If you sustain injuries or contract illnesses due to work-related duties, your employer’s workers’ comp policy should cover your medical expenses and a portion of your lost wages. It might include disability benefits as well. Unlike personal injury claims, you do not have to prove that negligence contributed to causing your injury or illness. However, accepting these benefits usually bars you from filing a personal injury claim against your employer, so you cannot receive non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering. Exceptions can apply, such as if:
Is Cheese Contaminated With Listeria a Defective Product?
Various cheeses produced in Lena, Illinois, were recently recalled due to potential contamination with listeria, a dangerous bacterium that can cause illness and death. Please review the list of affected cheeses to ensure that this has not affected you, as some were sold in Illinois.
Is contaminated food considered a defective product if it makes you ill? Can you get compensation for food poisoning? A knowledgeable Aurora, IL personal injury lawyer from Kinnally Flaherty Krentz Loran Hodge & Masur P.C. can answer your questions during your free consultation.
What Is Listeria?
Listeria are germs that can contaminate various foods, such as certain dairy products, prepared meats, melons, and deli. Soft cheeses and raw milk are at a higher risk for contamination. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, infection caused by listeria is the third-leading cause of foodborne illness deaths, killing approximately 260 people in the U.S. every year.
Nursing Home Abuse Vs. Neglect: What Is the Difference?
The decision to place a family member in a nursing home is rarely easy. Many families do so to ensure their loved ones receive better care than they can provide, and these facilities are required by law to uphold high care standards. Unfortunately, the threat of nursing home abuse or neglect is real. According to the World Health Organization, elder abuse affects approximately 16 percent of people aged 60 and up in community settings annually.
While abuse and neglect in nursing homes both harm residents, these terms do not describe the same situation. Understanding the warning signs and types of harm can help you protect your family member. Working with an experienced attorney from Kinnally Flaherty Krentz Loran Hodge & Masur P.C. can help you or your loved one get compensation for the harm caused and perhaps prevent it from happening again.
Maximum Medical Improvement and a Personal Injury Claim
You probably know you could qualify for compensation by filing a personal injury claim if someone else’s negligence is responsible for injuring you. However, getting enough to cover all your accident-related expenses and intangible losses is often challenging. Liable insurers routinely use various tactics to reduce the amount they must pay, and one of them is trying to force you to accept a fast settlement.
What is maximum medical improvement? How can MMI affect my compensation amount? The trusted lawyers from Kinnally Flaherty Krentz Loran Hodge & Masur P.C. can discuss how MMI applies to your case during a free consultation.
What Is Maximum Medical Improvement?
When you are injured in an accident, you will gradually begin to recover. Some wounds heal quickly, while others can take months or years despite intensive medical treatment. At some point, your condition will likely not improve further, even with additional treatment. Although the term "maximum medical improvement" is often used with workers’ compensation claims, it also applies to personal injury cases.
Does Workers’ Comp Pay for Pain and Suffering in Illinois?
If you are injured at work or become ill from work-related causes, your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance policy should pay your medical expenses, a portion of your lost wages, and other specific benefits if you qualify. While some injuries are minor and have no long-lasting effects, other accidents cause mental and emotional anguish, including pain and suffering.
Does workers’ comp cover your pain and suffering after a workplace accident? Do you have any other options for paying your damages? A trusted lawyer from Kinnally Flaherty Krentz Loran Hodge & Masur P.C. can explain your legal options and help you pursue the compensation you deserve.
What Is Pain and Suffering?
"Pain and suffering" is a legal term you have probably heard in conjunction with personal injury cases. It is an umbrella term that can refer to:
- Emotional pain: anxiety, depression, or fear
- Physical pain
7 Common Misconceptions About IL Product Liability Claims
Consumers expect the products they buy to be safe. Patients expect medical devices to improve their condition, not cause more harm. When these products are defective and cause injuries or illnesses, victims may qualify to obtain compensation through a product liability claim.
Many people do not fully understand what product liability claims are and if their situations qualify. Contact one of the knowledgeable Aurora, IL lawyers from Kinnally Flaherty Krentz Loran Hodge & Masur P.C. to discuss your circumstances and learn your legal options.
Misconception: You Must Prove Negligence To Win a Product Liability Claim
While negligence is the basis for most personal injury claims, that standard does not necessarily apply to product liability cases. Strict liability, meaning that a party can be held accountable for injury resulting from a product defect regardless of intent, applies to these claims. You only need to prove that a product was defective and that your injury resulted from that defect.
Breast Cancer: When Can It Lead to Medical Malpractice?
With October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the topic is at the forefront of many people’s minds. Along with reminders about early detection and prompt treatment comes the unfortunate fact that many Americans are misdiagnosed or otherwise harmed by their physicians. The consequences of medical negligence are often severe and sometimes fatal.
Qualified individuals or families may obtain compensation through a medical malpractice or wrongful death claim. An experienced attorney from Kinnally Flaherty Krentz Loran Hodge & Masur P.C. can investigate your situation, identify the at-fault parties, and explain your legal options.
What Is Medical Malpractice?
Doctors, nurses, radiologists, hospitals, and other healthcare providers have a legal duty to uphold high care standards. Medical negligence occurs when a provider does not perform the way another medical professional with similar qualifications would if faced with the same situation. When a patient suffers harm from that negligence, that provider may be guilty of medical malpractice.
How Are Aggressive and Reckless Driving Different?
Anybody can have a bad day. Busy schedules, stressful situations at work or home, and traffic congestion can irritate drivers, sometimes causing them to act in ways they typically would not. Whether due to stress, rushing to reach a destination, casual indifference, or intentional malice, aggressive or reckless driving is behind many car accidents.
Reckless and aggressive driving are negligent, which may give you grounds to file a personal injury claim if you are injured in a crash. An experienced attorney from Kinnally Flaherty Krentz Loran Hodge & Masur P.C. can investigate your collision and find supporting evidence to help you collect the compensation you deserve.
What Is the Difference Between Reckless and Aggressive Driving?
Although these terms are often used interchangeably, they actually refer to different types of behaviors. Reckless driving generally means unsafe driving behaviors without any ill intent. Examples include:
Top 10 Reasons Your IL Workers’ Comp Claim Might Be Denied
When you become ill due to work-related causes or are hurt at work, you are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits in Illinois. Unfortunately, many workers file a claim only to have it denied. Understanding the top reasons for denials may help you avoid problems getting the benefits you deserve. The knowledgeable attorneys at Kinnally Flaherty Krentz Loran Hodge & Masur P.C. have helped injured Illinois workers with workers’ comp claims for over 50 years, and we stand ready to assist you with yours.
What Reasons Do Insurers Often Give When Denying Workers’ Comp Claims?
Although Illinois workers’ comp laws give you rights as an injured employee, your employer or his insurance company may not approve your claim. Some commonly used reasons for denial include saying that:
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You did not report your injury or illness to your supervisor or employer within the 45-day deadline
