Recently in Personal Injury Law & Process Category

Although an arrest warrant was issued for ex-Bulls player and Chicago native Eddy Curry last month for failing to appear at a court hearing, the Associated Press reported that both parties have agreed to vacate the warrant. He was reprimanded for failing to pay the damages of a lawsuit he lost last year.

Eddy Curry's Chicago injury lawyer, Mark Belongia, said his client and the prevailing plaintiff in the suit have agreed to a payment plan and that he already has made the first installment.

The violent act of rape certainly is a crime against the social fabric as a whole, which is how criminal law prosecutes cases. But as with other acts of violence, individual rape victims should be able to file suit and collect substantial damages for their unspeakable injuries.

Jeff Dion, director of the National Crime Victim Bar Association, explained the importance of civil remedies for crime victims in a Slate article: 

"The criminal case is about paying your debt to society. The civil case is about [perpetrators] paying their debt to the victim."

Only that doesn't happen as often as one might think for something so serious as rape, according to the article.

Bicycle commuters push pedals instead of pistons for any number of reasons, including exercise, environmental concerns, high fuel costs or simply for a little extra adventure during the morning (and evening) rush. Perhaps another reason to ride your bike to work in Chicago is CTA's 75-cent fee hike for the El. 

As the popularity of biking-for-transportion increases, however, so does the accident rate. Biking to work can be an invigorating way to start the day, but it's important to remember the vulnerability of bikers in a car-dominated society. 

Individuals seeking loans typically put up homes, cars or other tangible assets as collateral. But what if the loan applicant is confident they could win a personal injury suit if only they had the cash for a lawyer?

Turns out, lawsuit financing (a.k.a. settlement loans) is a big business. One of the largest settlement loan providers, Chicago-based Preferred Capital Lending, began serving clients in Illinois more than 10 years ago (Las Vegas Business Press).

Assume you're a trainer for an amateur hockey team. You attend to injuries, help players condition for games, develop daily training regimens and sometimes have close calls with pucks or icy surfaces. This is the world of sports, after all, so you recognize these hazards and often tend to the medical needs of the players.

But what if one day a high-velocity puck makes contact with the area around your right eye, fracturing those fragile bones, resulting in permanent vision loss?

Tough luck, right? Not so fast, according to the opinion of the Appellate Court of Illinois for the Second District (State of Illinois), which reversed a dismissal of two counts and ultimately found that the plaintiff's personal injury claims against the Chicago Steel hockey team were valid.

Let's say you and your teenage daughter were cruising along on your motorcycle and were struck by a negligently driven Chevy truck. You both survived, did not sustain brain injuries and will lead mostly normal lives. How much is the pain and suffering from numerous broken or fractured bones, a couple of which are quite serious, worth to you?

One-hundred thousand? $250,000? How about $6 million?

It's not the same in all 50 states, but Illinois' Hate Crime Act includes hateful offenses against individuals based on their real or perceived sexual orientation, in addition to race, religion, national origin, physical or mental disability or gender. Which brings me to a civil case involving the Hate Crime Act, otherwise punishable as a Class 4 felony.

A woman named Frances Johnson who was initially arrested for assault when she tried to break up a scuffle between her son and a Chicago Housing Authority guard has filed an eight-count lawsuit (Davis v. Moore, DocStoc) that includes assault and battery, malicious prosecution and hate crimes.

Orland Park landlord Terence Flanagan has been sued by the U.S. government on charges that he discriminated against African-American prospective tenants, a violation of the federal Fair Housing Act. While it's a federal matter, I wonder if he might also be liable under state law?

Let's not get ahead of ourselves, though.