US Court of Appeals Judge Michael M. Mihm, for the Seventh Circuit, recently ruled that the products liability lawsuit against the maker of the antidepressant Paxil by the parents of a young woman who committed suicide seven years ago may move ahead (PDF). Tricia Mason, 23-years-old at the time, ingested a lethal dose of cyanide just two days after she started taking Paxil.  

In non-legalese, it means the drug maker cannot simply state that the death is on the Food and Drug Administration's shoulders just because they may not have required a warning label.

Chicago injury lawyers and attorneys across the nation likely are taking notice of the ruling, which reverses a lower court decision that came before a recent Supreme Court opinion in a different case.

After being hit with nearly 50 medical malpractice lawsuits claiming botched Lasik eye surgeries, the Illinois Dept. of Financial and Professional Regulation banned Dr. Nicholas Caro from performing the corrective eye surgery in the state, the Chicago Tribune reports. Lasik changes the shape of the eye to improve the vision of nearsighted individuals, as explained by the Food and Drug Administration.

The Tribune reported on the flood of lawsuits against Dr. Caro in July. Nicholas Pucek's allegedly botched procedure by Dr. Caro left him with even worse vision than before the surgery, but he received a settlement in excess of $800,000 with the help of an Illinois injury attorney.  

Mr. Pucek was reluctant to give too many details to reporters due to the terms of the settlement, but had this to say:

"Ten years later I still have headaches when I read and I'm not able to do some of the things I was able to do prior to the Lasik surgery."

If allegations by a Chicago couple are accurate, an Evanston Hospital staffer handed new mom Jennifer Spiegel the wrong baby, as reported by the Chicago Sun-Times. A shocked nurse saw Mrs. Spiegel breast-feeding the boy and realized it wasn't her son.

The nurse told her that she was just with their actual son and that the baby she was feeding "isn't yours." So Mrs. Spiegel filed a negligence lawsuit, telling reporters that news of the alleged mix-up gave her "an awful, internal feeling."

Mrs. Spiegel's husband Scott just so happens to be an Illinois injury attorney and is handling the case himself.

A Rhode Island meat company and two of its former spice suppliers are defendants in a tainted food lawsuit brought by a Chicago man, the Associated Press reports. Raymond Cirimele filed suit for an illness he claims was the result of eating salami produced by Daniele International Inc. Wholesome Spice, and Mincing Overseas Spice Company were named co-defendants in the suit.

Daniele International recalled roughly 1.26 million pounds of its meat products in January and expanded the recall to include 115,000 pounds of peppered salami in February, according to the US Dept. of Agriculture. 

The culprit? Possible salmonella contamination in the pepper used in the salami, according to a Chicago Sun-Times article about Mr. Cirimele's lawsuit. Mr. Cirimele claims that he regularly bought the affected salami at a Costco store in Cook County.

Personal injury lawsuits in Chicago and elsewhere are called "adversarial" for a reason: Regardless of which party ultimately prevails, each party's Illinois injury attorney has the duty to advocate for his client in order to win the case.

But rape and sexual abuse victims often feel victimized once more when forced to answer for their sexual history, sometimes deciding not to report the crime, according to the National Center for Victims of Crime (NCVC). The same could be said about civil suits seeking damages for battery or assault on rape or sexual abuse allegations. 

A FAQ section provided by the NCVC discusses so-called "rape shield laws" that limit such potentially humiliating defense tactics. A new Illinois law that took effect on Jan. 1 essentially does just that.      

Intimate partners sometimes like to make videos of their more tender moments for their own personal viewing; with both partners consenting of course. But it's another matter altogether when it's done without the other partner's permission, an incident that prompted one Chicago woman to seek the counsel of an Illinois injury lawyer.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported on the woman known only as "Jane Doe" filed a personal injury suit against her former boyfriend.

She claims that she dated the man in 2008 but she had no knowledge a sex tape was made until another one of the man's former girlfriends sent her a CD of the recording, according to the article. The other woman reportedly told Ms. Doe that she found additional sex tapes in his home as well. 

All Irene Show wanted was a change in hair color, just like countless other American women. Instead, she claims the Clairol Nice n' Easy product burned her skin instead, according to a Chicago Now article (which provides a copy of the lawsuit). Ms. Show is suing Clairol parent company Procter & Gamble, as well as the grocery store where she claims to have bought the hair dye.

The alleged incident took place on March 30, 2009, according to Ms. Show's complaint, drafted by Illlinois injury attorney Michael A. Hume.

Ms. Show claims she suffered chemical burns to her face during her use of the hair coloring product, allegedly causing "a severe shock to her nervous system, and bruises, contusions and lacerations to her body, and became sick and disabled." Furthermore, she claims, the injuries will continue to cause her pain, disfigurement and costly hospitalization into the foreseeable future.  

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Joshua Molina, 21, and wife Amy Alanis, 20, have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the alleged driver of a vehicle that slammed into their car; killing the couple's 13-month-old son and two family friends.

Chicago accident attorney Tim Cavanagh, representing Molina and Alanis, told reporters that his clients still are in too much shock over the Feb. 1 crash. But he spoke to reporters on their behalf:

"This is way beyond a simple, ordinary mistake. This is what we call reckless conduct, defined as conscious disregard for the safety of others. This guy had no regard for the safety of others - particularly these guys in the back seat."

Those are the claims Cavanagh's clients have made against the unnamed defendant, who faces no criminal charges. The Cook County State's Attorney's office is still reviewing the case, according to the Sun-Times.

St. Charles resident Ed Izenstark claims the gas pedal of a rented Toyota Corolla became stuck on Dec. 26 resulting in an injury crash, as reported by Chicago Now (a copy of the complaint is available via the above link). He's suing Toyota for strict liability and negligence, and the car rental company Hertz for negligence.

While Toyota's gas pedal problems have been well-covered by the media, resulting in an estimated 19 fatalities and culminating in a massive recall estimated to cost $2 billion, a CNN article suggests that legal settlements could cost Toyota even more.

The Chicago Sun Times reports that Candice Williams, who was an honor roll student at Crete-Monee High School and pregnant at the time, claims her fetus died as a result of a security guard's violent actions in 2008. Security guard Marilyn Reid and the Village of Crete are named as defendants. 

Ms. Williams claims that after a workout with her track team on April 3, 2008, she was sitting on a bench inside the school waiting for a bus. Ms. Reid and another guard told her and some other students to leave the building. She says she walked toward the exit, but waited for her friends at the vestibule.

Ms. Reid again reportedly told her to go outside, but Ms. Williams allegedly said she was pregnant and it was too cold outside. A teacher told the guards that Ms. Williams was trespassing, but Ms. Williams refused to leave and off-duty police officers were called to the scene:

"The next thing I remember my face and chest was slammed against the wall of the vestibule and I was out the door," Ms. Williams said in the deposition. "I recall telling them [the police officers] I was pregnant."