Illinois is for the most part a very employee/worker friendly state. One example of this is the strong protections given to workers who are victims of sexual or domestic violence. It’s through a law called VESSA which stands for Victims Economic Security and Safety Act. In short, if you are a victim of violence, this law allows you to deal with that process without facing discrimination or retaliation from your job.

Under VESSA law, you are entitled to a bunch of rights, some of which are similar to the Family Medical Leave Act. But VESSA goes farther. These rights include:

Unpaid Leave: Under VESSA, your Illinois employer must provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave every year if you are dealing with domestic or sexual violence. This leave covers time for medical treatment, counseling, legal matters, and safety planning. Notably, this leave also extends to employees caring for a family member (child, parent, spouse, or another relative) who is a victim.

Reasonable Accommodations: Employees can request reasonable workplace accommodations to deal with the effects of domestic or sexual violence. This might involve changes to work schedules, job duties, or even working remotely for safety reasons or to attend court proceedings. If working the night shift puts you at risk, you might be able to secure a change to the day shift.

Confidentiality: This is a big one as in most cases your employer doesn’t have to keep confidentiality. It’s different if you are a violence victim. Your employer must keep your status as a victim confidential and cannot disclose this information without your consent. If they do there are consequences, especially if it’s a willful disclosure or it causes you harm.

If your employer violates your VESSA rights, several remedies are available to ensure you are compensated and your rights are upheld. These include:

Getting back pay: If you’re wrongfully terminated or denied leave, you may be entitled to back pay, covering the wages you would have earned.

Getting your job back: You could be reinstated to your previous job with all benefits if wrongfully terminated. If your old job is unavailable, a comparable position should be offered. And if no job is available, that will likely increase what the case is worth.

Payment for lost benefits: Any lost benefits, such as health insurance or retirement benefits due to the violation could result in them having to pay you for it.

Emotional Distress Damages: While every case is different, you might be able to receive compensation for emotional distress caused by your employer’s behavior including for pain and suffering. This is often proven through evidence of counseling or other medical care.

Punitive Damages: In cases of really egregious or intentional conduct by the employer, punitive damages may be awarded to penalize and deter this bad behavior from happening again.

Attorney’s Fees: The good news is that if you sue with a lawyer under VESSA and win, your attorney fees are paid for by the employer. This really levels the playing field for workers. All of the Illinois VESSA attorneys we know work on a contingency basis which means they won’t ask you for any money to take on your case.

So what can attorney do for you? Quite simply, an experienced lawyer will great increase your chances of success. Knowing how to win a VESSA claim and work the way through the process can be the difference between winning and losing as well as between getting a small or large amount of money.

Your lawyer will be with you throughout the whole process to make sure everything is filed correctly and that your story gets properly told. This isn’t just making sure everything is filed in time (note there are short time limits for bringing these cases), but also managing the legal process so you can focus on your physical and mental health.

If you think your rights under VESSA have been violated or just simply have questions about the process, you can speak with us for free and in confidence any time. Call us at 312-346-5320. We cover all of Illinois.

One of the interesting things about the law is that new areas are popping up all of the time. AI has created a whole new category that didn’t exist five years ago. The legalization of marijuana has caused some firms to create practice groups that were unfathomable a decade ago.

Data breaches aren’t necessarily new, but they are really common these days as hackers break their way into systems to steal important information like your credit card, social security number, password and other things they don’t have a right to. These breaches can also be unintentional from lazy record keeping or storage.

When this happens and it’s widely publicized, the courts get flooded with lawsuits. What will eventually happen is that some day you will receive a notice in the mail and discover you are getting $10 or free credit counseling or something else trivial while some lawyers are getting millions.

There’s no realistic way for you to get that much, but there is a way to get more money. That involves being the first or one of the first people to get with a data breach attorney and have your name attached to the lawsuit.

When you are the lead or named plaintiff in a class action lawsuit – there can be more than one – you will get additional compensation for your efforts. There’s no set amount, but it’s not uncommon for the lead plaintiff to get $10,000-$20,000 or more. That may not seem like a ton, but compared to what you’d get by doing nothing, it’s likely a windfall and for not much work.

So how fast do you have to act? When AT&T disclosed it was hacked, those lawsuits were filed right away. For smaller data breaches such as when employee data is stolen or it’s against a smaller company like a hospital, it’s possible that if you wait a week it won’t be too late. But the sooner the better. Otherwise you are just lumped in with the rest of the class and likely won’t get much.

We do get asked if people can just bring their own case. You can, but in almost every case those claims aren’t worth enough on their own to get you compensation that justifies the cost of a lawyer unless you can prove actual significant harm that you’ve suffered as a result. That’s really hard to do which is why a class action, which costs you know money, usually makes the most sense.

We know aggressive attorneys who have had a lot of success with data breach and other privacy violation issues. If it happened to you and many others, please call us any time at 312-346-5320 to speak with a lawyer for free.

Medical care is a critical aspect of our lives, and we trust healthcare professionals to provide the highest standard of care. However, there are times when medical treatment falls short or mistakes are made, leading to serious harm or even death.

When that happens, it’s worth pursuing whether or not you or a loved one has been a victim of medical malpractice. The question we got a lot is when is it the right time to hire a medical malpractice attorney.

The short answer is right away. That doesn’t mean you are actually “hiring” them, but having a consultation to see if there’s a case worth investigating. Even if a case seems like a slam dunk, these cases are always fought. The initial investigation to see if you even have a case usually lasts six or more months.

That said, these are things we as lawyers advise you to think about.

Recognizing Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare provider deviates from the accepted standard of care, causing injury or harm to the patient. Common examples include:
• Misdiagnosis or Delayed Diagnosis: Failure to diagnose a condition correctly or in a timely manner can result in harm that could have been prevented with proper treatment.
• Surgical Errors: Mistakes during surgery, such as operating on the wrong body part or leaving surgical instruments inside the body, can have severe consequences.
• Medication Errors: Prescribing the wrong medication or dosage can lead to adverse reactions or ineffective treatment.
• Birth Injuries: Negligence during childbirth can result in injuries to both the mother and the baby, such as cerebral palsy or other permanent disabilities.

These aren’t all of the potential cases, but some of the main causes that could lead to a case.

Things To Know When Hiring a Medical Malpractice Attorney

  1. Significant Injury or Harm
    If you or a loved one has suffered a significant injury due to medical negligence, it is essential to consult with a medical malpractice attorney. Significant injuries often require extensive medical treatment, rehabilitation, and can result in long-term or permanent disability or death. An attorney can help you understand your legal options and pursue compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering. That doesn’t mean malpractice hasn’t happened if your injury isn’t serious. But as these cases are very expensive and require a lot of work, the honest truth is that lawyers are looking for claims that involve bigger injuries.
  2. Complex Medical Evidence
    Medical malpractice cases involve complex medical evidence and require a deep understanding of medical terminology and standards of care. An experienced attorney has access to medical experts who can review your case, provide expert testimony, and strengthen your claim. Without this expertise, proving negligence can be challenging. A lot of lawyers say they handle these cases, but the biggest verdicts every year seem to mostly be handled by a group of 10 or so top Illinois law firms.
  3. Disputed Liability
    Insurance companies and healthcare providers will dispute liability in medical malpractice cases. They may argue that the injury was a known risk of the procedure or that it resulted from a pre-existing condition. A skilled attorney can counter these arguments, gather evidence, and build a compelling case to establish liability.
  4. Statute of Limitations
    Medical malpractice claims are subject to strict statutes of limitations, which in Illinois can be as little as two years from when the malpractice happened. These laws set the time frame within which you must file a lawsuit. Failing to file within this period will result in losing your right to bring a lawsuit. An attorney will ensure that all deadlines are met and that your case is filed correctly and promptly.
  5. The Role of a Medical Malpractice Attorney
    A medical malpractice attorney does a lot of work including:
    • Case Evaluation: They will evaluate the merits of your case, determining whether you have a viable claim.
    • Expert Consultation: Attorneys work with medical experts to review your medical records and provide critical insights.
    • Legal Strategy: They develop a comprehensive legal strategy tailored to your specific circumstances.
    • Negotiation and Litigation: Whether negotiating a settlement or representing you in court, your attorney will advocate vigorously on your behalf.

    Medical malpractice can have devastating consequences, but you don’t have to navigate the legal complexities alone. If you believe you have been a victim of medical negligence, please call us at 312-346-5320 to speak with an attorney for free and in confidence. We will do whatever we can to help you.

We get calls all of the time for people looking to sue for defamation or slander. Most of those cases go nowhere for a variety of reasons. These include:

  • They waited too long. The time limit for suing in Illinois is one year from when the defamatory statement was spoken or written.
  • Lack of harm. If you can’t prove actual financial damages, your case won’t have enough value. If it’s just your family members or some people on Facebook, the case likely isn’t worth much. It doesn’t make it right, it just means you’d likely have to pay your lawyer up front to bring the suit.
  • A bad defendant. If you were defamed, but it’s by someone who has no money, even if you win, the chances of collecting anything are low. So if you are suing a teenager or poor person, it’s probably a waste of time. Also, you can’t stop a crazy person from being crazy via a lawsuit.
  • Truth or opinion. This is the #1 defense to these lawsuits. You can’t sue someone for telling the truth, even if it’s embarrassing. And you can’t sue someone for expressing a bad opinion about you. In other words, they can say you were terrible at your job. That’s their opinion.

For these reasons and more, it’s very rare to hear about a successful defamation lawsuit in Illinois. The best ones I remember have involved public figures or situations where a newspaper or TV channel has done something egregious.

But recently there was an Illinois defamation trial that was the exception to all of this. A worker at Wells Fargo called the clients of another broker and falsely told them that he had defrauded investors in the past and committed fraud upon his clients. This was a lie.

In doing so, he did this as an agent of Wells Fargo which meant they could be sued too. There doesn’t appear to be any defense to the claims as a jury found for the plaintiff and awarded over $27 million in damages plus attorney fees which will bring the total verdict to around $28.5 million.

This lawsuit was filed in time, harm was proven by lost clients and reputation damage, the defendant is great because it’s a big company and nothing said was remotely factual or an opinion.

This is a legal unicorn. Something like this almost never happens.

By the way, the case took five years to get to trial. That involved a lot of legal work. It’s why attorneys won’t take cases without big damages. These cases take time and if they aren’t going to get a big judgment in the end, it wouldn’t be worth it to spend hundreds of hours on the case. Unless you pay them out of pocket which would cost you thousands, win or lose.

AI (Artificial Intelligence) and ChatGPT are some of the buzzwords in life that didn’t exist in most conversations as recently as just a couple of years ago. We are ignoring the lessons of the “Terminator” movies and AI is here to stay.

I get hit up from so many companies trying to incorporate AI into my practice. In many ways it feels like the early 2000’s when people were trying to sell websites or online businesses with no real evaluation as to if they are good at their job. People love the shiny new thing and don’t want to miss out.

That’s not to say that AI couldn’t have its uses, but I’d venture to guess that time is down the road. Right now, in my opinion, it seems like taking legal advice from a first year law student.

I recently got my first phone call from someone looking for legal help who had formed an opinion via an AI app and wanted to confirm if it was correct. Unfortunately AI got almost everything wrong. The danger of course is that people are going to rely on these apps and assume that they are getting correct advice.

The law is different in every State and constantly changing. But the bigger issue as far as I’ve seen is that AI relies on you to present all of the relevant facts and can’t be counted on to ask things that an experienced attorney would ask. AI also isn’t likely to recognize other legal issues that you aren’t thinking of that would only be discovered by asking probing questions.

At least once a week for example I talk to someone about wrongful termination or medical malpractice and discover that their best case is actually for workers’ compensation due to a work related injury. Many of those callers will tell me they don’t have a work comp claim, but it’s only when I explain how work comp law actually works in Illinois that they realize they do have that option.

One company has an AI feature that says they will predict the likelihood of success in your case. That seems like the biggest bit of horse crap I’ve ever heard. There are so many factors in every case that a computer can’t know, namely what the other side is going to say. I can tell you why I think I should have custody of my child, but I’m not going to tell you what my ex is going to say because I can’t speak for them. Or I could tell you what happened to me at a hospital, but if you don’t have access to my medical records, there’s no reasonable way to predict if we’ll win the case.

And none of this even considers who the Judge is on a case and how they tend to think. If you think that a computer can indicate what a Judge is going to do, I’ve got some stories of Judges falling asleep in trial or being inebriated or being in a terrible mood for personal reasons that would indicate otherwise.

I think AI at its best right now is a better search engine than existed before, but if it’s used as anything other than a supplemental tool for an attorney, it’s dangerous. Oh and don’t get me started on law firms who use an AI tool for their live chats to help generate leads. That’s just a way to make you less customer service focused and less helpful to the people who need you.

Despite the reputation of the Government not doing anything (and it’s not a wholly undeserved reputation), there are a lot of great Government agencies. They may not always do what we want or do it as fast as we want, but places like the EEOC, Illinois Department of Human Rights, and others do help a lot of people.

Another great agency at times is OSHA, or the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. They are the people you call when your employer is not following appropriate safety rules or putting your health in danger. You can call them anonymously, and they may come out to your employer and do an investigation.

Filing a complaint to OSHA can be viewed as a form of whistle blowing. You are trying to protect yourself and/or co-workers from injury. And usually you are doing this after you’ve gone to an employer and asked them to remedy the problem.

Most employers are great, but some really are just assholes. I’ve heard some crazy stories over the years about really unsafe working conditions. In one case where people were having trouble breathing due to no ventilation in a facility which would get to over 100 degrees, the “solution” was to tell the workers they could crack open a door. In many cases I’ve seen people have to work without proper safety equipment or on machines that failed inspection tests.

OSHA can come in after an injury, but the goal is to prevent an injury. And while you can remain anonymous, there’s no guarantee that will happen. If your employer finds out and retaliates against you, that can be illegal and a lawsuit in Illinois.

Retaliation can be as simple as making your life miserable by bullying you or giving you unfavorable work assignments. Or quite often it means that you will get terminated. We consulted with one whistle blower who literally was fired a month after being named the top employee once the company discovered they filed an OSHA complaint.

The good news is most people do remain anonymous and don’t get retaliated against if found out. That said, if you have been retaliated against over this we’d love to talk to you to see if we can help. There’s no fee to talk and usually the cases are taken on a contingency basis which means there’s no fee at all unless the case is successful.

If you’d like to speak to a lawyer for free and in confidence, please call us any time at 312-346-5320.

When we started our Illinois lawyer referral and legal guidance website in 2001, we promised to be direct, blunt and honest. We feel that is how lawyers should be because clients and potential clients need to know the truth and know that we can help them by being straight with them. Some people love it. I like direct people that get to the point. Not everyone feels that way and some people truthfully don’t like it. That’s OK. We are not for everyone. In fact, we’ve had people choose to not work with us because they didn’t like how to the point we are. That’s also OK.

When talking to a lawyer for the first time, you should be evaluating if that’s someone you feel is the right fit. That includes asking them whatever questions you have about the case, their experience, how they’d approach things etc. You don’t need to become friends with them, but should feel that they are someone you are alright talking with.

A little secret is that lawyers are evaluating you too, especially ones that are experienced and successful. And for many of them, they are using the PITA factor to decide if they want to get involved or not.

What is the PITA factor? It stands for “pain in the ass.” The bigger a PITA you seem to be, the less likely they’ll want to work with you and/or the more likely they will ask you for a lot of money to take the case on.

Take for example a recent caller to my office. He had an agreement with his ex-wife that she’d sign the house over to him in what is a quit claim deed. He’s been paying the mortgage at around $1,100 a month for over a year, but she won’t sign the house over and won’t leave. He wanted to know if he had a case.

I let him know it was a straight forward situation. What the contract says and what their divorce decree says will determine the outcome. The solution, since he’s stopped returning his calls and texts, is to sue her. That forces her to respond and if she doesn’t he gets what he’s looking for. I let him know that the attorneys who handle that type of case would charge him $1,500 up front.

He wanted guarantees he’d win and got a bit aggressive about it. I let him know that nobody honest could give a guarantee because we don’t have all the facts and don’t know her side of the story. She might say there is no contract and he forged her name. She might say that they signed a second document after the one he’s talking about. The divorce decree may have given her the house or ordered them to sell it. Or he could be 100% in the right.

The only way to know for sure is to sue and see how she responds. I get why he wouldn’t want to risk $1500 on attorney fees, but alternatively he’s spending almost that much every month for a house he doesn’t even own or live in.

He kept on being hostile so I ended the call as he was not someone I’d want to work with. Truth be told, lawyers would have more tolerance for someone like this if they were hit by a bus and had a case that could be worth $10 million. But most good attorneys aren’t going to get involved in an hourly fee case with someone who is rude and won’t listen to their advice.

So fair or not, I highly recommend to people that they put on the best impression possible when you first talk to them. You wouldn’t hire a jerk, so don’t act like a jerk. Lawyers are there to help you and while we might not tell you what you want to hear, we will tell you the truth.

When a loved one passes away unexpectedly, the grief and pain can be overwhelming. Unfortunately, grieving relatives sometimes have to deal with an added frustration: the loved one died of an accidental death, had a life insurance policy that covers that, and the insurance company denies the claim.

While life insurance pays out for most deaths, accidental death policies, as the name implies, pay out in cases of an accidental death.

What exactly is an accidental death?

An accidental death is both sudden and unexpected. Some common examples include:
• Motor vehicle accidents (as a driver, passenger, scooter rider, or pedestrian).
• Drownings.
• Fatal falls (from ladders, roofs, windows, balconies, and decks).
• Death from leisure activities (boating, water skiing or jet skiing, snow skiing).
• Poisoning (from gases like carbon monoxide or from medications).
• Work/industrial accidents (heavy machinery accidents, equipment malfunctions, explosions, mining accidents, impact from a falling object).
• Suffocation (choking on food, other airway blockages).
• Firearms (the exclusions are those killed in combat and those who use a firearm for suicide).

This is not a complete list of examples of accidental death. The key is that the death was not intentional (suicide is), expected, or foreseeable (such as an illness).

Of course, life insurance companies make more money by not paying out on accidental death claims. Therefore insurance companies often deny claims when the situation is not cut and dried, or even when it is.

Sometimes relatives/beneficiaries of the deceased receive these rejected claim letters and simply accept it. They think there must be something in the fine print of the policy that prohibits a payout. Or they don’t know how to challenge the denied claim. It can be daunting for an individual to take on a huge insurance company and know how to respond and fight their decision.

That is where an attorney can step in and be a tremendous help, possibly the difference between no payout and tens (or hundreds) of thousands of dollars. The attorneys we recommend are highly reputable and have decades of experiences with accidental death policy cases. When a strong lawyer represents you, the insurance company immediately know that you mean business and you won’t just “go away” like they wish you would.

You do not have to pay an attorney anything up front. They only get a percentage of the money that they obtain for you and if they don’t make a recovery you owe them nothing.

There are important deadlines to meet in an accidental death policy case. Since time is of the essence, contact us today at 312-346-5320. We help with cases everywhere in Illinois.

Most people are aware of the foster care system in Illinois. Foster care exists because the home life for certain children may be dangerous to their physical, mental and/or emotional well-being.

When children’s birth parents or legal guardians are not able to adequately care for them, or they are in danger, the children are removed by social services and placed with foster parents.

Foster parents must be at least 21 years old. They must pass background checks and complete training. They must also be financially stable.

Sadly, the foster parents who are entrusted to provide a safe and stable home for the foster children sometimes fail and are abusive or neglectful.

What are some examples of social services abuse?

Physical abuse: Hitting, kicking or shaking the child, throwing objects at the child, excessive spanking/corporal punishment.

Mental/emotional abuse: Isolating the child, belittling or making disparaging comments to the child, withholding love, being highly critical.

Sexual abuse: Fondling, sexual assault, exposing child to sexual conversations or pornography, indecent exposure.

What are some examples of social services neglect?

Physical neglect: Not providing reasonable food, water or shelter. Not supervising the child adequately and/or leaving the child alone.

Medical neglect: Failure to get the child medical care when needed. Not following doctors orders or failure to give prescribed medication. Neglecting the child’s dental needs.

Mental/emotional neglect: Similar to the examples of abuse listed above. Not fulfilling the child’s need for parental love, support and affirmation.

Education neglect: Not registering the child for school or allowing the child to attend.

How do these sad and traumatizing situations happen?

Social services agencies are often overworked. The case workers may have more files than they can handle. That can lead to poor decision making and bad oversight.

When children are abused and neglected, it is often because the agency did not:
• Complete the necessary background checks.
• Adequately monitor the homes and foster families.
• Investigate reports of abuse or neglect.
• Act when there was evidence of abuse or neglect.
• Consider the families financial or physical challenges when making placements.

How can an attorney help in these situations?

We get involved in bringing lawsuits when children suffer major injuries such as sexual abuse, severe physical harm or even death in some cases. In other words, not every example of abuse listed is a case.

To get justice, an attorney would first complete an investigation of the situation to determine if the social services agency was at fault. If the agency is at fault, filing a lawsuit would be the likely next step. Going after the abusers themselves is a challenge as they usually don’t have any money. So we sue the social services agency for their negligent placement and/or supervision.

If you’d like to speak to an attorney about a possible case, we are happy to provide a free consultation. Note that there are time limits for bringing a lawsuit, so time is of the essence. Call us any time at 312-346-5320.

People contact us when they are looking for an Illinois attorney. Some are considering or pursuing a divorce and want to hire an experienced and reputable attorney to represent them. A question we hear often in those situations is, “Who gets the house?”

It makes sense that this would be on the minds of people about to divorce. Often the house or condo that the couple owns is their largest or most expensive asset.

If both spouses are on the title or it was bought during the marriage, it’s a marital asset. There are three options the divorcing spouses need to consider:

• Sell the house
• Co-own the house
• Agree to a buyout

Sell the House

If neither spouse wants the house, or they would not be able to afford it on their own, they can sell the house and split the profit. To get to that payout, however, there is typically a lot of work to be done. Finding a real estate agent, making repairs, and sprucing up the property involves a lot of work and money. Can the two parties do that work together or will just one spouse take that on?

Another factor to consider is the state of the real estate market. Is it a sellers’ market or are properties being listed for months before they sell?

The two parties will have to pay off the mortgage and any home equity loans. They need to prepare for the capital gains tax on the proceeds.

Co-Own the House

This is probably the least common outcome. We see this with spouses who have children and believe it is best for the kids to stay in the family home and not have to go between two houses or apartments. The divorced spouses either have separate housing and take turns staying at the family house with the children, or they live in different bedrooms/parts of the house.

This can be a permanent or temporary solution (e.g., in place for 2 years before revisiting the situation). Either way, the spouses remain tied to each other financially.

Agree to a Buyout

In this situation, one spouse wants to keep the house and the other agrees to move out and accept a buyout. The tricky part is determining what the fair amount is for the buyout and how that value is given to the spouse.

Sometimes other money or assets are given in a buyout. Sometimes payments are made over time. Occasionally, the spouse keeps the home as a form of lump-sum alimony.

When you and your spouse can’t agree on one of these three options, a Judge may decide for you and usually that will mean forcing a sale of the house.

Going through a divorce is obviously stressful. But having an experienced advocate in your corner who will help you through the process, including the big issue of who gets the house, will make the process easier. And in the long run, you will likely be better off financially than if you didn’t hire an attorney or if you hire one who isn’t good at their job.

For the best divorce attorney for your situation, contact us at 312-346-5320. We help with divorces in Cook County and the neighboring counties of Lake, DuPage, Kane and Will.