A firefighter was seriously injured in an Englewood fire yesterday afternoon. Authorities say that the firefighter injured his left knee and that he was transported to Little Company of Mary Hospital in Evergreen Park. It is unclear how the firefighter injured his knee or whether he will be able to fully recover from this workplace>> Read More

Some of the first DePuy hip implant cases are going to trial and mounting evidence shows that device maker Johnson & Johnson hid information regarding the dangerousness of these defective medical devices. Documents disclosed during the DePuy hip implant trial reveal that executives from Johnson & Johnson’s DePuy Orthopaedics unit were aware of a critical>> Read More

A recent investigation by federal health and safety inspectors found that workers at a Chatsworth, Illinois, manufacturing plant were exposed to preventable workplace hazards. Minnesota-based Prinsco Inc. faces up to $75,000 in fines for safety violations at its Illinois plant. Inspectors from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration found several disturbing>> Read More

In the midst of a growing awareness of the strong risk of traumatic brain injuries from contact sports, a foundation donated 80 concussion diagnosis kits to the Chicago public high school system last week. Even a seemingly minor impact can cause a dangerous traumatic brain injury and the foundation hopes to help protect young athletes.>> Read More

The number of new fungal meningitis cases is slowing according to new CDC data. So far 438 cases of fungal meningitis have been reported in an outbreak that has killed at least 32. All of the fungal meningitis cases are linked to defective pharmaceuticals from the Massachusetts based New England Compounding Center, a specialty pharmacy.>> Read More

An 8-year-old girl was recently bitten by a dolphin at SeaWorld. WKMG-TV reports that the girl was visiting SeaWorld the day before Thanksgiving when she was allowed to feed fish to the dolphins. The girl’s parents were recording her as she became momentarily distracted while holding an empty fish tray. The impatient dolphin she was>> Read More

While scientists have known for some time of the connection between traumatic brain injuries and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the link may be stronger than previously understood. Brain injuries are one of the most common wounds affecting soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. While it is obvious that an explosion or serious accident that causes>> Read More

If you or someone you know is struck by a falling tree or branch, the owner or possessor of property upon which the tree sits may be liable for injuries or other damages caused. The owner or possessor of land can be held liable for injuries caused by falling tree branches if they knew of>> Read More

A lack of written standard operating procedures for the ammonia refrigeration process No emergency action plan A failure to perform inspections and tests on process equipment A failure to address the hazards of the ammonia refrigeration process A failure to address the findings and recommendations of the process hazard analysis team Other safety violations found>> Read More

A Sullivan, Illinois, manufacturer has been fined by the U.S. Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration for three repeated workplace safety violations. The federal fines come after a worker suffered an amputation injury at Agri-Fab Inc. work facility last fall. “Agri-Fab has a responsibility to recognize the hazards that exist in its workplace and>> Read More

In our last post we discussed a South Bend plane crash that is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board. In addition to investigating aviation crashes, the NTSB has also been busy investigating train accidents. Two serious accidents in Illinois and Michigan have prompted the NTSB to recommend the development of new safety standards>> Read More

Courthouse News reports that Abbott Laboratories was recently sued in Cook County by a woman who claims that the drugmaker’s arthritis-treatment shots gave her cancer. The woman received bi-monthly Humira injections for a two year period starting in 2008. She stopped the shots in 2010, when she learned that she had developed B-cell non-Hodgkin’s follicular>> Read More