Chicago Injury Lawyer Blog

Three individuals were killed and two others were critically injured in a two-car accident on Monday night in Chicago’s Kelvyn Park neighborhood. The accident victims included a toddler. The Chicago car accident occurred at the intersection of North Cicero and West Parker avenues. According to reports, the victims were all occupants of a Honda that was struck by a Toyota. The driver of the Toyota was issued a citation for negligent driving. No other charges have been filed in the matter and police are continuing to question the driver as of this morning.

The victims of the tragic car accident were identified as 20 year-old Orlando Rodriguez and 13 month-old Joshua Molina of the 200 block of North Tripp Avenue. According to initial reports, the Toyota was travelling southbound on Cicero when it struck the Honda. The identity of the third fatality, identified as a 21 year-old man, has been withheld pending the notification of relatives. Early reports indicated that four individuals were taken to area hospitals in serious to critical condition. Molina was taken to Children’s Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 11:39 p.m. Rodriguez was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center where he died around 11:43 p.m. The other individuals involved in the Chicago car accident were transported to Mt. Sinai Hospital and Our Lady of Resurrection Medical Center respectively. Both of those individuals were initially listed in critical condition.

If you have any questions regarding Chicago car accidents or would otherwise like to speak with an experienced personal injury attorney, please click here.

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Posted In: Car Accidents

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An investigation by the Chicago Tribune has found that of the 86 cases of sexual abuse and violence reported within Chicago nursing homes since July of 2007 only one has resulted in an arrest. The investigation determined that rape or other sexual assault allegations were reported in about 30 nursing homes in and around the city. While the bulk of the reported abuse cases alleged abuse by fellow residents, there were also reports of abuse at the hands of nursing home employees.

One speculated reason for the proliferation of nursing home sexual abuse in Chicago is Illinois’ use of nursing homes to house psychiatric patients with sometimes violent criminal records. The Tribune study found that the 30 Chicago facilities that reported rapes were twice as likely to house mentally ill patients and convicted felons as other nursing homes. Of the 23 Chicago nursing homes which the federal government has investigated for substandard staffing levels, 21 were rated ‘below’ or ‘well below’ average staffing levels.

The stunning lack of prosecution has been linked to several factors. Some experts point to the fact that many sexual abuse victims suffer from dementia and delusions which render them unable to assist investigators. Others contend that many of the sexual abuse victims are afraid of speaking out due to the proximity of the abusers, fear of alienating the caregivers, and anxiety about facing police questions and forensic examination. Still others have pointed the finger at the nursing homes themselves which have reported many of the incidents as ‘consensual’.

If you or someone you love has been the victim of sexual abuse and would like to speak with an attorney, please click here.

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Comedian Andy Dick was charged with two counts of felony sexual abuse in West Virginia on Saturday. Dick was arraigned on Saturday afternoon by a Cabell County Magistrate Court. The charges stem from an incident at a bar called Rum Runners in which Dick is accused of grabbing a bouncer’s crotch and groping a male club patron. Bail was set at $60,000 for the comedian who is due back at court on February 2nd for a preliminary hearing.

The present sexual abuse charges are not Dick’s first legal troubles. The Hollywood comedian is presently on probation from a July 2008 incident in which Dick was accused of pulling the shirt of a teenage girl exposing her breasts. Dick pleaded guilty to drug and sexual battery charges arising out of that incident. Dick was also arrested in 1999 for possession of cocaine and marijuana.

If you know anyone who has been the victim of sexual abuse or would like to speak with an attorney who has over twenty eight years handling sexual abuse cases, please click here.

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A Joliet, IL, priest has been charged with four counts of criminal sexual abuse and two counts of criminal sexual assault following allegations that he molested a 13 year-old boy at a West Chicago church. Rev. Alejandro Flores, a 37 year old priest, had recently reportedly attempted suicide by falling 20 feet from a balcony at St. Mary’s Carmelite Church in Joliet, IL. Flores was found unconscious on the floor of the church on January 6th.
The allegations of childhood sexual abuse date back to Flores’s time as a semarian at St. Mary’s. The church was made aware of the allegations against Flores through an investigation by the West Chicago Police Department. The police were planning on interviewing Flores the same day that he fell from the balcony.

The former priest was released from the hospital directly to the custody of Kane County authorities yesterday. Formal sexual abuse and assault charges were brought against Flores last Friday. His bond was set at $1 million dollars. Flores is to receive screening to determine whether he should be on suicide watch according to Lt. Pat Gengler of the Kane County Sheriff’s Department. He said that a suicide attempt similar to the conduct of Flores generally warrants special attention.

If you have been the victim of sexual abuse or would like to talk to a lawyer with over twenty eight years of experience in sexual abuse cases, please click here.

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A government study released on Thursday found staggering rates of sexual abuse at juvenile correctional centers around the country. According to the study, nearly one out of three inmates at 13 juvenile detention centers around the country reported some type of sexual victimization. The Federal Justice Center report, which was the first of its kind, found that about 12 percent of youths in state-run, private, or local facilities experienced some form of childhood sexual abuse. The survey used information collected from an anonymous computerized questionnaire from June 2008 through April 2009.

The victims reported abuse at the hands of both juvenile detention center employees and fellow inmates. About 10 percent of the victims implicated abuse at the hands of juvenile detention center staff with nearly all of those allegations against female staffers. Six facilities had extremely high rates of sexual abuse in that at least three out of ten juvenile inmates reported some form of sexual abuse. Those facilities include Pendelton Juvenile Correctional Facility in Indiana. Another seven detention centers showed nearly equivalent levels of sexual abuse. The report found that staff sexual misconduct was markedly higher at state run facilities and that smaller facilities tended to have fewer reports of victimization. In commenting on the study Indiana Department of Corrections spokesman Doug Garrison said, “There’s no such thing as consensual sex in a correctional facility, certainly not in a juvenile facility.”

If you or someone that you know has been the victim of childhood sexual abuse or if you have any questions regarding childhood sexual abuse and would like to speak with an attorney, please click here.

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The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) has asked the City of Berwyn to investigate an employee of the Berwyn Cultural Center located at 6420 W. 16th St. Former priest Frank Paduch, who was accused of sexually abusing five boys in the 1980s, has come under fire for his failure to disclose certain information when he was hired by the city. According to reports, a 1997 civil lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court alleges that Paduch sexually abused a St. Rita High School student while he was working for the school. The lawsuit settled for an undisclosed amount two years later. SNAP further reports that an additional four alleged victims have come forward through an attorney, but none have filed a lawsuit against Paduch.

SNAP submitted a letter to the Berwyn City Hall on Thursday asking the village to investigate the circumstances surrounding Paduch’s hiring. SNAP was reportedly made aware of Paduch’s current employment situation as a result of citizen reports. The Berwyn Cultural Center is located across the street from Lincoln Middle School. Berwyn has said that it will respond to the letter today.

Victims of clergy sex abuse often suffer devastating psychological and physiological injuries as a result of the trauma. If you have any questions regarding clergy sexual abuse or would otherwise like to speak with an attorney to learn your rights, please click here.

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An Aurora, IL, man was seriously injured last week when an accumulation of snow and ice slid off a tractor trailer and smashed through his windshield at an overpass on Butterfield Rd. The victim, Peter Morano, now faces the prospect of losing sight in one of his eyes. According to reports, the Chicago truck accident happened while Morano was on his way to work in Warenville, IL. He was passing a large truck eastbound on Butterfield Rd. when the top of the truck went under an overpass causing a large piece of snow/ice to slide off the truck and come through his windshield. As a result of the accident, Morano has suffered a broken nose, broken bones in his face and a serious injury to his eyes. Doctors will not know whether or not Morano will have vision in the affected eye for about six months.

Subsequent reports have revealed that what was initially thought of as a freak accident has actually occurred several times. Nine years ago Tim Giometti was at the same stretch of road when an ice/snow accumulation on top of a truck hit the overpass and smashed through his windshield. Luckily neither he nor his infant son was seriously injured. Another motorist reported falling concrete and debris falling onto her vehicle from a truck that scraped the overpass.

If you have been injured in a Chicago truck accident or would otherwise like to speak with an attorney, please click here.

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A Chicago area priest accused of sexual abuse reportedly jumped from a 20 foot high church balcony yesterday as a sexual abuse investigation regarding his conduct heated up. Rev. Alejandro Flores, a 37 year old parochial vicar of the Holy Family Parish in Shorewood, IL, was reportedly found unconscious lying between the pews of St. Mary’s Camelite Church in Joliet, IL. The priest survived the fall but has suffered traumatic head injuries. He remains hospitalized in the intensive care unit at Silver Cross Hospital in Joliet as of yesterday. The priest is listed in critical but stable condition.

Flores had just been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into allegations that the priest had sexually abused a thirteen year old boy. Both Kane County and the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) are currently investigating the sexual abuse allegations against the priest. Flores had been placed in diocese residence in Joliet where he was to be closely monitored and kept from contact with children. Detectives were on the way to Joliet to interview the priest regarding the sexual abuse allegations when he fled the Joliet diocese residence. He was found at St. Mary’s, which is a boarded up and vacant church, about three and half hours after he went missing. Flores was reportedly carrying a jacket, cell phone, glasses, a large knife and a bottle of liquor when he fell from the balcony. The sexual abuse investigation is ongoing.

Sexual abuse victims often do not know where to turn or what to do. If you have been the victim of sexual abuse or would otherwise like to speak with an attorney, please click here.

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A Chicago airplane crash killed two individuals today near the Chicago Executive Airport in Wheeling, IL. The airplane accident occurred around 2 p.m. when a LearJet crashed into the Des Plaines River as it was making its approach into the airport. According to reports, the accident claimed the lives of both the pilot and co-pilot which were the only two individuals aboard the aircraft. The identities of those two individuals have not yet been released.

The airplane reportedly took off from Oakland County International Airport which is located approximately 35 miles northwest of Detroit around 1 p.m. eastern time. The aircraft was headed to Chicago to pick up cargo when the accident occurred. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has begun an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the aviation accident. The recovery effort has been suspended until early tomorrow morning.

If an airplane equipment malfunction or error contributed to the accident the victims’ families might have a wrongful death claim. When an airplane crash occurs it is very important that an investigation be performed as soon as possible so that potential evidence may be preserved. If you have any questions involving airplane accidents or would otherwise like to speak with an attorney, please click here.

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The purported public safety justification for the installation of red light cameras throughout the State of Illinois since 2006 has been put into question as a recent Chicago Tribune article reports that nearly half of the 14 suburban intersections which carry the devices have seen an increase in vehicle accidents. According to the newspaper, car accidents rose at 7 of the 14 equipped suburban Chicago intersections since 2007 while they fell at only 5. The other two intersections showed no significant change. The Mannheim and St. Charles road intersection in Bellwood, IL, provides an example of this trend. Collisions at this intersection rose from 17 the year before the cameras were installed to 24 the year after. Oak Lawn, IL, cameras provide an even more striking example of the development as the intersection at Cicero Ave. and 95th St. has seen an increase in car accidents from 34 in 2006 to 44 in 2008. Additionally, broadside accidents, which can often result in serious personal injury or death, rose from 1 to 5 per year at that location.

A similar trend has been noticed at city of Chicago intersections equipped with the red light camera devices. Numbers compiled by the Illinois Department of Transportation show that collisions have either increased or held steady at nearly 60 percent of the 47 city intersections equipped with red light camera traffic control devices.

While lawmakers and municipal officials continue to justify the use of the cameras on public safety grounds, statistics coming from the equipped intersections are telling a different story. Critics of the cameras point to the fact that the devices are heavy revenue generators. Red light camera violations cost Chicago drivers $100 per offense. Opponents of the cameras can now point to increased Chicago car accidents as a justification for curtailing red light camera use.

If you have been involved in a Chicago area car accident or would like to speak to a traffic or injury lawyer, please click here.

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The police have one individual in custody following a Chicago area hit and run car accident that left a woman dead and her 6 year-old son in critical condition. The accident occurred on the 1400 block of West Greenleaf Ave in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood. According to authorities, the woman, 48 year- old Maria Worthon of the 1400 block of West Touhy Ave., died at the scene of the accident when her and her 6 year-old son were struck by a vehicle around 9 p.m. The car, a Pontiac Grand Prix, was travelling south on North Greenview Avenue when it struck the victim. Chicago police officers arrived to find the victim unresponsive.

The young boy involved in the Chicago car accident was initially taken to St. Francis Hospital in Evanston. He was subsequently transferred to Children’s Memorial Hospital in critical condition. The Grand Prix continued south on Greenview Ave. until it was stopped by police on the 6400 block of North Newguard Ave. Charges have yet to be filed against the driver and the police Major Accident Investigation Unit continues to investigate the Chicago car accident.

Pedestrian-car accidents are common in urban areas where there is a high volume of foot traffic. These types of accidents can often be very serious. If you have any questions about pedestrian-car accidents or would otherwise like to speak with an attorney, please click here.

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Posted In: Car Accidents

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An off-duty Lockport, IL, police officer was involved in a three vehicle accident that left one dead on Chicago’s Stevenson Expressway last night. The crash occurred around 9:35 p.m. near the Cicero Avenue exit. According to reports, all three vehicles were travelling north on the busy Chicago expressway when the vehicle in the far left lane, which was being operated by the off duty officer, lost control and spun to face the middle lane. Man Wong, a 29 year old resident of the 2000 block of S. Wentworth in Chicago was operating his vehicle in the middle lane when he hit the officer head on. Wong was pronounced dead at Mount Sinai Hospital at 10:16 p.m. last night according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.

The City of Lockport has confirmed on its website that one of their officers was involved in the car crash. At least one source has identified the officer as Edward Stapinski. It is unclear whether or not alcohol played a role in the fatal Chicago car accident. The Illinois State Police are investigating the accident along with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. The crash held up traffic for six hours on the busy Chicago expressway. No traffic citations have been issued to this point.

Expressway car accidents often occur at very high speeds. As such, these Chicago car crashes are some of the most deadly. If you have been involved in an expressway car accident or would otherwise like to speak with an attorney, please click here.

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Posted In: Wrongful Death

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