Posted on November 24, 2015 in Personal Injury

People turn to places of care and comfort when they are most vulnerable. Expert medical attention, with an emphasis on care and renewed health, is crucial for sick patients.

All over the country, advances in medical treatments are sought out by those in poor health, and more so in emergency situations. Over 35 million patients were admitted to registered hospitals in 2014, according to the American Hospital Association. However, a systemic problem of substandard care is emerging within some hospitals in our area.

Rankings of area hospitals has just been released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Hospital Compare. After analyzing data from over five thousand hospitals, consumers are able to see where their hospital of choice stacks up.

If you have been treated at a hospital that has provided care less than proper standards, contact an Illinois personal injury attorney to assess the harm you suffered and if you have an actionable case.

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 Posted on November 20, 2015 in Family Law

In Illinois, both parents have a legal obligation to provide financial support for their child. All child-related legal matters are made in the child’s best interests. State law provides a calculator that accounts for many factors, such as parents’ income, when determining child support. Once a judge has issued a final child support order, permanent child support payments will begin. You may be wondering how long these child supports payments will continue. Generally, child support payments are required until the child turns 18. There are important exceptions to this rule, however, which may apply to your situation.

Who Pays Child Support?

Usually, the non-custodial parent pays child support to the custodial parent. The custodial parent is with whom the child primarily lives. The exact amount of these payments varies case by case, based on a number of factors. In some cases, the child support payments will need to change as major life circumstances change (the child develops extraordinary medical needs; a parent loses a job; etc.).

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 Posted on November 18, 2015 in Immigration

An undocumented immigrant named Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez has been in prison since he allegedly killed U.S. citizen Katherine Steinle in July, on a San Francisco pier. He was released from jail when the drug charges against him were dropped, under a law referred to as a “sanctuary law.” Not long afterward, Lopez-Sanchez allegedly shot Steinle. Ever since then, the term “sanctuary cities” has been bandied about in the media, due to San Francisco’s status as one of them. However, as with many terms that come to the forefront of the media, there is quite a lot of misinformation being bandied about. It is important to understand what a sanctuary city actually is, and what it is not.

The Steinle Case and its Fallout

In this case, Lopez-Sanchez was freed from the city jail after the drug charges against him were dropped. A few hours later, he allegedly shot Steinle on a city pier. The sanctuary laws of San Francisco prohibit informing federal authorities of a person’s undocumented status if they are not in custody for immigration-related offenses. While Lopez-Sanchez alleged it was an accident, it appears to have been more a crime of opportunity. The crux of the matter is that he had been deported five times (in 1994, 1997, 1998, 2003 and 2009) and yet, continued to be able to re-enter the country.

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 Posted on November 17, 2015 in Personal Injury

Fatal motor vehicle accidents can happen to anyone, regardless of age, income, gender or location. However, a recent study, titled Trends in Socioeconomic Inequalities in Motor Vehicle Accident Deaths in the United States, 1995-2010, indicates that the disadvantaged are four times more likely to die in a crash than those that are financially well-off. It is not because a college education or a bigger salary makes you a better driver; instead, the authors believe that the increased risk stems from the less-than-optimal driving conditions with which impoverished communities often live.

Vehicle Safety Features Save Lives

Those with lower incomes typically own older cars, or cars that are more affordable. These often have lower crash-ratings, and they typically have fewer safety features, such as side-impact airbags, antilock brakes, or automatic warnings; this puts them at a much higher risk for life-threatening injuries and death in a motor vehicle accident. Those with lower incomes are also less likely to keep their vehicles in good, working condition, often neglecting maintenance issues, such as tire rotation, replacing worn brake pads or shoes, or repairing cracked windshields because of lack of funds.

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 Posted on November 13, 2015 in Family Law

There are many stressful issues you may encounter during your divorce. One particularly issue that many divorcing spouses face is their financial future after the divorce is finalized. Dealing with the financial issues in a divorce, including property division, alimony, and child support, involves a complex area of the law. You may feel overwhelmed by your options and the entire process. If you are going through a divorce, or considering divorce, there is important information you need to know regarding property division and how this division will affect you.

What Is Marital Property?

Generally, marital property comprises the property and assets acquired during your marriage. Under Illinois law, it is does matter whose name this property is titled in. For example, your spouse may purchase a vehicle titled solely in his or her name. If acquired during the marriage, that vehicle would be considered marital property. What is and is not marital property is an important distinction during the divorce process because Illinois divorces are subject to equitable distribution.

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 Posted on November 11, 2015 in Immigration

Adjustment of status is a common immigration term, used to mean a variety of things. In reality, it pertains to a specific procedure, namely the act of “adjusting status” from visa holder to lawful permanent resident (LPR) without having to leave the United States. Doing so is fairly straightforward; however, it is not without its confusing aspects. The method of adjusting one’s status is also constantly undergoing changes, even as of this writing.

Requirements

To be able to adjust status while inside the U.S., you must fit one or more of the visa categories; in other words, you must be either the beneficiary of an immigrant visa petition filed either beforehand or concurrently (depending on the category you are applying in), or you must have applied for and received a specific visa which permits adjustment of status. Categories include the following:

• Family based petitions, where a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident related to you files on your behalf;

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 Posted on November 10, 2015 in Personal Injury

Local area shopping centers will be a hubbub of activity during the upcoming holiday season. However, a routine trip for eager holiday shoppers can end in injuries as both in-store and parking lot accidents are common.

Dangerous Parking Lot Conditions

Various scenarios can cause serious or fatal outdoor retail store injuries. And while using common sense and taking proper precautions can help, parking lot accidents inevitably occur and can be caused by the following circumstances:

• Congested parking lots and insufficient security;
• Poor parking lot conditions such as a failure to clear snow, a poorly designed parking scheme, or inadequate lot lighting;
• Distracted, aggressive, or inattentive drivers rushing to find a coveted parking spot; and
• Unenforceable traffic laws in private lots.

Headaches As You Head Inside

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 Posted on November 06, 2015 in Family Law

It is common for a child with divorcing parents to express a desire to live with one parent over another. However, it is a frequent misconception that a child, especially an older child, can choose which parent to live with. In Illinois, the law does not allow a child to decide his or her custody arrangement. Instead, “the wishes of the child” is only one of a multitude of factors that a court considers when it awards custody.

Why a Child Cannot Choose Who to Live With

There are very good reasons for not allowing a child to determine his or her custody arrangement. For one, courts do not allow minors to make legally binding decisions. This includes prohibiting children from making decisions regarding their placement. Additionally, a court would not want to put a child in a position where he or she would have to make such an important decision about his or her future. Finally, not allowing a child to decide his or her placement helps protect the child from undue influence or persuasion from his or her parents or other potential guardians.

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 Posted on November 04, 2015 in Immigration

In the current American political climate, there is almost constant misinformation being spread about every aspect of immigration law. Conflicting reports abound on every question, from family sponsorship to requirements for asylum—and no topic has perhaps created more discussion (both truthful and misinformed) than the idea of keeping undocumented immigrants in the country via the passage of legislation and/or executive initiatives.

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and the DREAM Act (which has not been passed, but has influenced the content of other initiatives, DACA included) have been touchstones for discussion since their introduction. Anyone facing immigration consequences should be aware of what DACA actually states.

The History of the DREAM Act

The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act was first introduced in 2001. The original bill would introduce a set of criteria for undocumented minors to meet, after which they would be granted conditional residency, and later on, permanent residency if all qualifications were met. Various characteristics that applicants would be required to possess include the following:

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 Posted on November 03, 2015 in Personal Injury

An awful story came to light recently involving a car, a keyless ignition, and an innocent elderly couple. The couple's 2013 Lincoln MKS was left running in their attached garage, and by the time their home carbon dioxide alarm alerted them, it was too late.

A lawsuit has been filed and it cites several cases in which drivers had inadvertently left their vehicles running inside enclosed garages. The buildup of toxic odorless carbon monoxide gas seeped into homes and, in the case of the elderly couple, proved deadly.

Although a relatively new convenience, keyless ignition systems are available on several new cars sold throughout the United States. These systems allow drivers to start a car with the press of a button while their electronic "key fob" remains in their pocket or pocket book. A car will not start if the key fob is not detected inside the vehicle. However, what has emerged as somewhat of a defect is that once the vehicle has been started, these systems allow to the vehicle to continue idling even though the fob is no longer in the car.

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