Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Family of Late Actor Bill Paxton Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Nearly a year after his death from surgical complications, the family of late actor Bill Paxton has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against his surgeon and the hospital where he was treated. Stroke After Heart Surgery On February 14, 2017, Bill Paxton, known for his starring roles in the films Apollo 13, Twister, and Titanic>> Read More

Nursing Home Abuse

Illinois Nursing Home Abuse: Improperly Prescribing Antipsychotic Drugs for Dementia

The population of the United States is rapidly aging, with older people now accounting for one in seven Americans, or nearly 50 million. Moreover, the number of older Americans is predicted to double by 2060. While this increased lifespan is undoubtedly a positive development, it does not come without its costs. Longer life can also>> Read More

Drowsy Driving

Drowsy Driving Widespread According to AAA Study

A new study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety finds that drowsy driving is a widespread problem, playing a much larger role in traffic crashes than federal statistics suggest. Nearly 10 Percent of Crashes To conduct its study, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety examined dashboard videos from 701 accidents. The results suggested that>> Read More

Grubhub Lawsuit: Driver Is Independent Contractor, Not Employee

A US judge in San Francisco recently ruled that a former driver for Grubhub Inc. was an independent contractor and not an employee. The Grubhub lawsuit is the first case of its kind against a gig economy company that has gone to trial. Grubhub Lawsuit Finds Lack of Control On February 8, 2018, US Magistrate>> Read More

Compensation Benefits

Study Shows Workers’ Compensation Benefits Down in Illinois

Workers’ compensation is a system of benefits that is mandated by the state of Illinois for all injured workers employed in the state, other than Federal and interstate commerce railroad workers. In 2011, state legislators instituted an overhaul of the Illinois workers’ compensation system at the behest of businesses and insurance companies demanding a more>> Read More

Amtrak Train Crash

Fourth Fatal Amtrak Train Crash in Less Than Two Months

An Amtrak passenger train crashed into a stationary freight train in South Carolina, leaving two dead and 116 people injured. This incident marks the fourth fatal Amtrak train crash in less than two months. Crash with Freight Train On the early morning of February 4, 2018, Amtrak Train 91 was traveling south through Cayce, SC>> Read More

Train Crash

Train Crash Involving Republican Lawmakers, Garbage Truck Leaves One Dead

One person was killed and six others were injured following a Virginia train crash in which an Amtrak train that had been chartered by Republican lawmakers headed to an annual retreat struck a garbage truck. Area residents familiar with that railroad crossing have suggested that malfunctioning railroad safety equipment may have been a factor. Train Crash>> Read More

GWC’s Colin J. O’Malley Discusses Troubled Barrel Reconditioning Industry

GWC Partner Colin J. O’Malley was recently featured in a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article examining the troubled industrial barrel reconditioning industry. The newspaper looked at a decade’s worth of state and federal environmental and workplace records for 50 barrel recycling plants in six states: Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, Florida, Texas, and California. The Journal Sentinel found that>> Read More

Panera Cream Cheese Recall

Panera Cream Cheese Recall Announced for Possible Listeria Contamination

On January 28, 2018, Panera Bread announced that it was voluntarily recalling its cream cheese products after one of the varieties tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes bacteria. Affected cream cheese has been recalled from Panera locations nationwide. The Panera cream cheese recall also applies to Illinois, where the chain has more than 100 locations, including>> Read More

Medical Devices

Medical Devices Largely Unregulated, Recent Analysis Finds

Implanted medical devices are increasingly commonplace in the modern world. In fact, approximately one in ten Americans have at least one medical device implanted in them, including artificial joints, cardiac stents, pacemakers, defibrillators, nerve stimulators, surgical mesh, replacement eye lenses, heart valves, and birth control. With medical devices so frequently in use, and with the>> Read More

Texting While Driving

Chicago City Council Takes Further Action to Stop Texting While Driving

The Chicago City Council, a subcommittee of which had recently held a hearing to discuss changing current to allow police to use a device known as a Textalyzer to confirm whether motorists were texting while driving before crashes, has taken further action on the issue. In a more recent meeting, the full Council approved a>> Read More

Drunk Driving

Scientific Panel Proposes Tougher Laws to Curb Drunk Driving

A scientific panel commissioned by the federal government has come back with a sweeping report recommending tougher laws to reduce drunk driving rates nationwide. Its chief recommendation for getting rid of the “entirely preventable” 10,000 alcohol-related driving deaths each year is for states to lower their legal threshold for drunk driving. Lower Threshold for Drunk>> Read More

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