No one signs up for a personal injury case. Rather, people become plaintiffs in a personal injury lawsuit because something out of their control has happened to them - due to another party’s negligence. Dealing with your injuries is likely already painful and difficult. Fighting to force the party who injured you to compensate you can also be challenging in many ways. It is necessary to introduce substantial evidence to prove the extent and nature of the physical harm that was done to you.

If your case goes to court rather than settling, this may mean that you necessarily will lose some privacy in your medical information. If you are naturally a private person, this may be difficult for you. Understanding the ways that medical evidence may be used in your trial is important so that you are well-prepared. Our attorneys do, of course, always make an effort to secure a settlement you are happy with first. 

Types of Medical Evidence Used in Personal Injury Cases

People are often apprehensive about giving up medical privacy. One of the first things you should know is that the defendant does not have free reign to go diving into your entire medical history. The medical evidence that can be introduced to court is limited in scope and must be relevant to the case at hand. Some types of medical evidence your attorney may want to use include: 

In recent years, news headlines in many states have announced that minor shoplifting is not being seriously prosecuted and defendants charged with stealing items valued under a certain amount are only being charged with a misdemeanor offense. Certain cities in Illinois have taken a similarly lenient approach. In 2016, Kim Foxx told Cook County prosecutors that the vast majority of retail theft under $1,000 would only be prosecuted as a misdemeanor rather than a felony. 

While news like this may make it seem like stealing products of little value from retail stores is not a big deal, many drugstores have closed because of an inability to prevent theft and previously lenient prosecutors are now taking a firmer stance against minor theft. Theft laws in Illinois still remain strict and, in Will County, prosecutors are still going after retail thieves aggressively. 

Many Actions Can Be Considered Retail Theft

Everyone knows that putting an item in your pocket or your purse and leaving the store without paying for it is stealing. But several other behaviors can be prosecuted as shoplifting as well, including: 

For criminals unschooled in federal case law, robbing someone at an ATM might seem like the perfect opportunity to get easy cash without having to commit the more serious crime of holding up a teller at a bank. If you can catch someone at an ATM with their debit card, you may think you can access account funds without risking more than charges of basic robbery. 

This turns out to be a huge mistake. While most personal robberies do indeed fall under state law, robbing someone at an ATM will likely be treated the same as robbing someone at a bank. While courts are still somewhat divided over this issue, rulings exist that have allowed ATM robberies to fall under federal law and jurisdiction, bringing much harsher penalties. If you have been charged with robbing someone at an ATM in Illinois, make sure you have an excellent criminal defense attorney. 

Not All ATM Robberies Are Bank Robberies

There is some division among federal circuit courts that have heard appeals from people who have been charged with robbing someone at an ATM but who dispute that the robbery was a federal crime. In most of these cases, the circuit courts agreed that the ATM money was in the possession and control of the bank and that forcing a customer to withdraw cash from an ATM was also robbing the bank. 

When elderly adults reach the point that they need live in a full-time residential care facility, their health and well-being can easily be put at risk by improper care or monitoring. Although many Illinois nursing homes have well-trained staff who are responsive to the needs of their patients, the news is full of stories about nursing home residents who have been seriously injured or even died because staff are untrained, overworked, neglectful, or abusive. 

One early sign that nursing home abuse or neglect may be present is the appearance of bedsores. Fortunately, the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act guarantees nursing home patients a basic standard of care, and there are legal remedies available to take action if patients are being treated poorly. 

What Are Bed Sores? 

Bed sores, also called pressure ulcers, are injuries that happen when someone has been lying in the same position for too long. A person’s body weight puts pressure on the areas where the body comes into contact with a bed or wheelchair, cutting off circulation and causing sores to develop. Generally, sores first appear on a patient’s elbows, buttocks, back, or legs, and sores begin to worsen in gradual stages. 

The death of a loved one is a terrible shock. In addition to the grief survivors suffer, plans for the future must be completely recalibrated; for example, when the deceased individual is the primary breadwinner for a family, children are deprived both of a parent and that parent’s crucial financial support. In cases like these, a wrongful death lawsuit can be a lifeline for suffering families. If you recently lost a loved one and are wondering whether you can take legal action, read on. 

Who Can Bring a Wrongful Death Lawsuit? 

Illinois law allows a person’s next of kin to recover damages for wrongful death. “Next of kin” is generally the decedent’s spouse and children. If the decedent is not married, children and sometimes even parents can file a lawsuit. For example, if an infant is killed during childbirth because of a medical mistake, the parents may be able to sue the doctor responsible for the error. 

If the person who died is not married and has no children, the people who may be considered “next of kin” may broaden to apply to other relatives like grandchildren or grandparents. Friends and fiancés are generally not considered next of kin.