Posted on February 16, 2017 in Personal Injury

One of the most traumatic life events is being involved in a car accident. Motor vehicle accidents take many forms, including the all too common fender bender and accidents involving excessive speed or impairment which can lead to high speed collisions or side impact accidents. Whichever type, car accidents can cause injuries and long term pain and suffering.

Rear-end accidents are no exception, and the injuries sustained by the impacted driver can be serious. The National Highway and Transportation Safety Administration reported that 28 percent of all crashes are rear-end collisions. This demonstrates how prevalent rear-end collisions are and how many negligent drivers share the roads with you.

If you were the victim of a rear-end collision caused by a driver who was not acting in a reasonable manner, you may be entitled to compensation—a monetary award for your injuries. Speaking with a respected personal injury attorney should be your first step in determining if you have a viable case.

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 Posted on February 13, 2017 in Family Law

Parentage is the legal relationship between a child and their parents - both mother and father. Of course, parentage issues usually address matters relating to the father since, in the state of Illinois, paternity is not assumed when the parents are not married. Still, there are issues pertaining to mothers addressed under the Illinois Parentage Act. The following explains further, and provides details on establishing paternity, your rights as a parent, and how to address child support issues.

Understanding Your Rights as a Parent

Under the Illinois Parentage Act, every child’s right to receive mental, physical, and emotional support from each parent. From this, parents can conclude that their rights are, in actuality, privileges. Further, these rights are not in place to benefit the parent; they are there to protect the best interest of the child. Yet the best interests of the child and the rights of the parent do intersect. A child’s right to receive physical and emotional support from each parent provides the father with the right to pursue parenting time and allocation of parental responsibilities, and the child’s right to receive financial support from each parent gives a supporting parent the right to pursue child support.

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 Posted on February 10, 2017 in Immigration

On January 27, 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump issued Executive Order 13769, entitled “Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States.” The executive order instituted a number of changes to the nation’s policies and procedures regarding immigration and banned individuals from seven specified countries from entering the United States. The order—which has become known as a “travel ban”—prohibited entry into the U.S. for aliens from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen for a period of 90 days.

According to reports, thousands of legally-issued travel visas were canceled immediately, and hundreds of travelers from these countries were denied entry. Some were even detained by immigration authorities. Within days, Washington state filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government, claiming that the executive order was illegal and unconstitutional and asking for a temporary restraining order (TRO) that would halt the order’s enforcement. Last week, a federal judge granted the TRO finding that the travel ban was likely to be proven unlawful. The federal government filed an emergency appeal asking for the TRO to be lifted.

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 Posted on February 09, 2017 in Personal Injury

Sidewalks are frequently used in large metropolitan cities and communities. Moreover, if you shop at a stand-alone store, a strip mall, or even a large scale mall, you are likely to traverse a sidewalk somewhere on those premises.

While you may take for granted the bee-line to get into a store, you are at risk for serious harm if the business owner does the same and neglects to maintain his or her premises. Land owners must keep their sidewalks in a reasonable safe condition—a condition that would not cause injury to a pedestrian. If sidewalks are not kept safe, owners may be held accountable for injuries caused by unsafe conditions.

If you have been injured on a defective sidewalk, contact an experienced premises liability attorney to assess your rights and how to proceed further to potentially receive compensation for your injuries.

The Expectation of Safety

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 Posted on February 09, 2017 in Immigration

When someone seeks to enter the United States, he or she almost always does so with inspection—that is, at a mandated border checkpoint, bearing the correct entry document (and visa, if necessary). However, for some, this is not an option for a variety of reasons. Some are not even aware that they are committing an immigration infraction. Given the stated goals of the incoming administration, it is a good idea for you and yours to be absolutely certain of your immigration status and take steps to remedy any deficiency.

The Consequences Are Severe

Contrary to popular perception, those who are found to have entered the U.S. without inspection suffer numerous consequences, though they may not wind up behind bars. Those who are in the U.S. without inspection begin to accrue what is referred to as unlawful presence, from the moment they enter the country. This is the case even if they are not exposed as having entered the country illegally. Thus, whenever their status is exposed, they may have years upon years of unlawful presence accrued, which can be used against them, such as denying an application to adjust status (even with U.S. citizen relatives).

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 Posted on February 06, 2017 in Family Law

According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV), nearly 66,000 reported incidents of domestic violence occurred in Illinois during 2014 (the most recent year for which statistics are available). Shocking as that number may seem, it probably does not even scratch the surface. In fact, many cases go unreported. The reasons for this are many, but fear over job security is a common concern. Thankfully, Illinois does offer certain job protections to domestic violence victims.

Victim Economic Security and Safety Act

In the state of Illinois, employers with 15 or more employees are required to comply with the Victim Economic Security and Safety Act, or VESSA. It states that employees cannot be terminated, threatened, demoted, or otherwise negatively acted against for taking unpaid leave to address domestic violence issues. This can include taking time off to move, attend court, heal from injuries, visit the doctor, file charges, or otherwise address domestic-violence specific needs.

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 Posted on February 02, 2017 in Immigration

Becoming the victim of a crime is one of the most traumatic events most people will ever experience. However, if you are undocumented, it can be even more frightening because it is easy to think that too much interaction with law enforcement may lead to your deportation. There are options for undocumented victims of crime that can increase the likelihood of remaining in the United States.

Undocumented Immigrants Are Common Victims

What many average people do not grasp is that due to their particular situation, undocumented immigrants are very often victims of crimes both violent and nonviolent. While official crime data does not factor in the undocumented (since it is based on census totals, which do not include undocumented immigrants), self-reporting and studies show that significant majorities of the undocumented who were interviewed—roughly 76 percent—reported being the victim of a crime, but did not report it to police due to fears of police bias or immediately being handed over to Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE).

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 Posted on February 02, 2017 in Personal Injury

When a loved one dies unexpectedly in an accident, it can feel like nothing can make you whole again. This is an understandable and common feeling. Illinois law does attempt to make a victim’s family whole again by giving family members the option to file a wrongful death action in cases where the fatal accident was due to someone else’s negligence.

If your wrongful death action is successful, you could be awarded damages for your grief, sorrow, and mental suffering.

Myth #1: Anyone Who Loved the Decedent Can Get Damages

First, a suit can only be brought by the representative of the decedent's estate. A decedent is the person who died in the accident. Most wills have a representative. However, in wrongful death actions, there is often not a will because fatal accidents are rarely anticipated.

In this circumstance where there is no will, the court will appoint a representative of the estate.

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 Posted on January 25, 2017 in Family Law

Despite your best efforts, your family law case may not have gone your way. Perhaps you received an unfavorable ruling on some key points in your divorce, or maybe you lost because of a default ruling. Alternatively, your case may have been mishandled by a judge that made a mistake or did not fully understand your situation. Whatever the reason behind your unfavorable ruling, you may still have options. The following explains these options, and details how you can ensure you have the protection and representation you need and deserve along the way.

Appealing a Default Judgement

Typically, defendants have only 30 days to respond to a family law petition. Failure to do so can result in a default judgement, which essentially means the plaintiff’s wishes are granted. Your own concerns - including any that you may contest - are not heard. Thankfully, it may be possible to have the default judgement reversed.

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 Posted on January 24, 2017 in Personal Injury

Tractor-trailers pose a huge threat to drivers of passenger cars. If they get into an accident, other cars are no match for such a heavy and large truck. Under trucking regulations, a truck can weigh up to 80,000 pounds. The average car weighs 4,000 pounds.

Because of this danger, trucks must follow additional federal and state regulations aimed at keeping trucks from getting into accidents. If you were injured in an accident involving an 18-wheeler, your case would be helped if it was determined that your accident was caused by the truck’s non-compliance with the regulations.

Consider the following trucking regulations that, if not followed, commonly lead to accidents.

1. Hours of Service Regulations

This set of rules governs how long a driver can drive. For example, a driver cannot drive for more than 60 hours in seven consecutive days or 70 hours in eight consecutive days. In addition, a trucker cannot be behind the wheel for more than 11 hours in a 14-hour on duty shift. After a 14-hour shift, a driver must go off duty for 10 consecutive hours.

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