How to Protect Yourself Against Winter Hazards
So far, 2018 in Chicago can be described in one word: Cold. Overnight temperatures as low as -15 have been reported, with wind chills—how cold it feels outside—dropping to nearly -30. It’s been so cold the last few days that Chicago’s annual Polar Plunge into Lake Michigan was canceled this week. Of course, cold and […]
Illinois Personal Injury 101: What is Discovery?
Many old television shows about lawyers feature a common courtroom trope: The underdog attorney is about to lose the case until, by some stroke of luck or genius, he or she stumbles across some hitherto-unknown evidence that conclusively proves his or her client’s case. Television writers rely on this trope to make their stories more […]
Dog Bite Lawsuits in Illinois
According to insurance industry statistics, Illinois was home to more dog-bite claims in 2013 than 48 of the other states. It was second only to California. When a person is injured by a dog bite—or in any other way by any kind of animal—what remedies does the law provide? In Illinois, there are two answers […]
Illinois Personal Injury 101: The Burden of Proof
One of the most fundamental concepts in personal-injury law is the burden of proof. Technically, there isn’t just one burden of proof, but three: The burden of pleading refers to the requirement that a plaintiff must plead whatever it is he or she wants to prove in court. Otherwise, the court might not let him […]
Open-and-Obvious Rule Bars Slip-and-Fall Claim in Illinois
In August, we wrote a post introducing premises liability in Illinois. Recently, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois had the chance to apply the principles we described in that post to an actual case, Ochoa v. Menard. Here’s what happened, what the court decided, and what you can take from it. […]
