These override systems would prevent unintended accelerations by automatically releasing the throttle when the car’s onboard computer senses that the brake pedal is depressed, and thus unable to function.

As a car and truck accident attorney in Chicago, I am pleased to see the federal government taking steps to address an important vehicle safety issue. I hope automakers do not resist this key proposal. Particularly as someone who lives in Chicago, with its high volume of traffic, any type of regulation that makes the roads safer is encouraging.

The investigation determined that the crossing-protection system had been turned off by Canadian National track maintenance workers while they worked on track switches in the area. Unfortunately, an order to stop train traffic was lifted and flagmen were removed from the crossing before the warning system was successfully reactivated. As a result, the crossing’s warning system activated a mere two seconds before the train entered the crossing, and the woman’s SUV was struck by the train as she attempted to cross the tracks.

As a Chicago personal injury attorney, I find many facets of the Federal Railroad Administration's report troubling. First, the Canadian National signal supervisor had no training that would authorize him to supervise the crossing in question on that day. Canadian National owes a duty to all motorists and pedestrians who may cross the tracks to provide qualified supervisors to ensure an incident like this does not happen. Second, the Canadian National employee assigned to make sure that the crossing’s safety system was operating properly was not tested for drugs or alcohol after the accident. Although the accident may have been the result of a careless mistake, Canadian National should have immediately determined whether the signal operator was impaired when the incident occurred. Third, the Canadian National crew was not abiding by the federal hours-of-service law, which restrict the hours that train and signal employees may work on a given shift. These laws were enacted to prevent exactly the kind of tragedy that resulted in this case due to exhaustion, carelessness, and/or distractedness. Canadian National violated these laws likely in an attempt to increase profits or finish a project ahead of schedule.

Finally, and perhaps most troubling, none of the workers at the crossing accepted any personal responsibility for the woman’s death. The workers’ refusal to accept responsibility demonstrates the same kind of headstrong attitude that likely contributed to the careless errors which ultimately caused the crash and the woman’s death.

As a car and truck accident attorney in Chicago, I believe that we should always strive to reduce the number of road deaths in this country. I find it very troubling that automakers are satisfied with the current number of road deaths and do not want to continue trying to reduce this number. We should never be complacent when it comes to automobile safety. I support this Senate bill and hope that its safety measures are successful in reducing the amount of road deaths in the United States.

This fatal hit-and-run went unsolved for four years. Yet, last Sunday, the driver came to the home of the victim’s sister and confessed to the accident. The driver asked her not to call the police and quickly left the sister’s house. Luckily, the victim’s sister caught the driver’s license plate before he left and called the detective in charge of the case. The driver was arrested shortly thereafter and is now facing multiple charges in the fatal hit-and-run.

As a Chicago car accident attorney, I feel for her family members who had to spend years thinking the driver that killed their loved one and fled the scene would never be caught. This case highlights the unfortunate fact that some people will do whatever it takes to avoid accountability for the harm that they cause. Unlike this instance, in many cases the wrongdoer never confesses, and thus will never be held civilly and criminally liable to the victim’s family. Sadly, the victim’s family then cannot be compensated for their unimaginably painful loss.

The Chicago law firm of Hurley, McKenna & Mertz P.C. has filed a lawsuit against the County of Cook on behalf of the family of a woman whose body lay unidentified in the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office for over fourteen [14] months. The family contacted the Cook County Medical examiner’s office weekly between January of 2010 and June of 2011, seeking information regarding their missing family member. However, employees of the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office repeatedly told the family over a fourteen month period that they did not have her body, even though her body was at the morgue.

Questions regarding the case can be directed to Christopher Hurley at (312) 553-4900.

The suit alleges that 47 year-old Carmelita Johnson went missing in Chicago in January of 2010. On April 10, 2010, Chicago Police Department officers discovered the body of Ms. Johnson on the Lake Michigan shore south of Rainbow Beach. Chicago Police transported Ms. Johnson’s body the same day to the morgue of the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Ms. Johnson’s family contacted the Cook County Medical examiner’s office weekly between January of 2010 and June of 2011, seeking information regarding their missing family member. However, employees of the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office repeatedly told Ms. Johnson’s family over a fourteen month period that they did not have her body, even though her body was at the morgue. Further, morgue employees refused to allow the family to view the remains of unidentified bodies in the morgue, despite the fact that a body matching Ms. Johnson’s description was in the morgue but unidentified. Ultimately, the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office did nothing to identify Ms. Johnson’s remains until June of 2011, despite the family’s willingness to supply the office with dental records and tissue samples throughout that fourteen month period.

The Johnson family’s plight is highlighted by Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s recent admission that she was "disturbed and disappointed and discouraged," because the Cook County Medical Examiner's office has allowed hundreds of unidentified bodies to stack up in a crowded cooler.

"The manner in which the Cook County morgue and medical examiner’s office treated Ms. Johnson’s family raises serious questions about the County’s oversight of that office. Ms. Johnson’s family is looking for answers,” according to Christopher Hurley, one of the attorneys for the Johnson family.

The case is entitled Leslie Jackson, et al. v. County of Cook, Cook County Circuit Court No. 2012 L 001477. Questions regarding the case can be directed to Christopher Hurley at (312) 553-4900. Requests for copies of the Complaint at Law may be sent to cthurley@hurley-law.com.

According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, cell phone distractions were the main cause of over 500 crashes in Illinois during the first half of 2010.

As an Illinois car accident attorney, I have seen the serious injuries that can result from distracted driving. Although I appreciate the everyday convenience that cell phones provide, I support this legislation because I believe it will reduce the amount of serious injuries and deaths that result from cell phone distracted driving.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2010, 38 un-belted back seat passengers died in car crashes in Illinois. While this may seem like a relatively small number, many of these deaths likely could have been averted if the passengers were wearing their seatbelts. I strongly encourage Illinois motorists to follow this new law to avoid getting a ticket, and more importantly, to prevent serious injuries or death.

As reported in Reuters today, the pattern continues:

A priest accused of producing child pornography was welcomed into a young victim's home and included in numerous children's activities because a bishop kept evidence related to the priest a secret, according to a lawsuit filed on Wednesday.

The suit is one in a string of lawsuits and legal actions against Father Shawn Ratigan and Bishop Robert Finn, the leader of the 134,000-member Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, alleging that Ratigan took advantage of his position as a priest to create pornographic photos of children in his parish.

The suits allege the bishop knew about the photos, and had received numerous warnings about Ratigan's behavior, but hid the information from police and families in the Diocese.

Obviously, The Catholic Church has learned nothing from its past mistakes. Unfortunately, the victims still must force the Church to reveal the truth regarding sexual abuse perpetrated by priests, Brothers and teachers. If you are a victim of sexual abuse or are inquiring on behalf of a friend or family member who has suffered a sexual assault, contact experienced trial lawyers immediately to confidentially discuss your claims.

The Illinois Department of Public Health declined to investigate 85 percent of the 560 hospital complaints it received last year, even when the reports alleged violations such as patient abuse and inadequate infection control, records show. Some allegations of serious harm or death were not pursued even though federal law requires that such claims be investigated within 48 hours.

"These are serious complaints," said Lisa McGiffert, director of the national Consumers Union Safe Patient Project. "If the regulatory system is collecting these complaints and not responding, that is a massive failure of oversight."

Complaints can reveal crucial systemic problems, experts say. And when it finds violations, the state can order hospitals to make corrections.

But Illinois regulators say they don't have the funding to investigate. And the hospital industry has fought proposals to pay for the investigations with fees that amount to pennies a day per hospital bed.

This report shows why private citizens must have access to the courts when mistakes have been made in hospitals. With such a void left by the State, the victims or their surviving families must be able to turn to the courts to get justice to put pressure on the hospitals not to repeat these mistakes.

Illinois law features a long list of people who must notify the Department of Children and Family Services if they suspect that a child has been abused or neglected, including doctors, coroners, social workers, police officers, foster parents and members of the clergy.

The law also specifies "school personnel" as mandated reporters, and DCFS spokesman Jimmie Whitelow said Thursday that the department interprets that to include employees of colleges and universities.

Institutions that deal with children, such as schools and churches, may be liable in civil suits if they fail to fulfill a duty to report sexual abuse of children. If you have encountered a situation where a school, church or other institution has failed to report abuse, or covered it up, contact us.

New York Times columnist Frank Bruni recently addressed the parallels between the scandal at Penn State and the scandals involving large institutions such as the Catholic Church and the Boy Scouts of America:

That has been true of the Boy Scouts, which has paid out tens of million of dollars in response to lawsuits by former scouts molested by adults who continued to work in the organization despite complaints or questions about their behavior.

That has been true of the Roman Catholic Church, whose diocesan heads and bishops repeatedly transferred abusive priests from one parish to another rather than report them to law enforcement authorities. This cover-up spanned decades and went all the way up the hierarchy of the church.

Many factors explain it, including a fear of scandal and desire to protect the church’s image. The Boy Scouts, too, didn’t want messiness exposed.

The truth in cases where large institutions hide sexual abuse is usually revealed only when experienced trial lawyers can use the power of the courts to force institutions like the Archdiocese of Chicago to open up their files on the histories of their abusive priests and brothers. Even if you or a loved one were sexually abused long ago, you may still be able to pursue claims against the religious organizations involved in the abuse. If you are a victim of sexual abuse or are inquiring on behalf of a friend or family member who has suffered a sexual assault, contact Hurley McKenna & Mertz immediately to confidentially discuss these claims.

Abuse experts see many similarities between the Penn State scandal and Catholic Church scandals in cities such as Chicago, Milwaukee and Boston:

Child sex abuse expert Kenneth Lanning, who worked in the FBI for 30 years, said the abuse suspects in Boston and at Penn State share similar profiles as “acquaintance molesters,” who have access to children, do good things for them and often are seen so far above reproach that people don’t believe even obvious signs that something is wrong.

He said institutions such as Penn State and the Boston archdiocese also have similar profiles, as successful and respected organizations, with strong motivation to preserve their reputations. That can lead to bad decisions to avoid negative publicity, even if there’s no malicious intent, he said.

“Any youth-serving organization can have these problems,” he said. “But I think when you have a youth-serving organization that has a certain aura about it, or status about it, then I think there’s at least a strong potential that that can influence their decision-making process and how they handle things.”

However, the Penn State sexual abuse scandal also reveals: YOU ARE NOT ALONE. Even if you or a loved one were sexually abused long ago, you may still be able to pursue claims against the religious organizations involved in the abuse. If you are a victim of sexual abuse or are inquiring on behalf of a friend or family member who has suffered a sexual assault, contact Hurley McKenna & Mertz immediately to confidentially discuss these claims.

18 year old Ryan Armstrong was driving under the influence when he crashed his car, killing his passenger. According to Officer Robert Lehman of the California Highway Patrol, the Carmel Valley resident was arrested on charges of felony DUI and vehicular manslaughter.

Armstrong’s vehicle drifted off of the edge of Tasajara Road, and rolled several times. His passenger, Keenan Lucero, 19, of Carmel, was not wearing a seatbelt and was thrown from the vehicle as it flipped. Lucero died at the scene.

Lucero was a well-liked student-athlete at Carmel High School and went on to Chico State University.

Two other passengers suffer minor to major injuries.

This tragedy might serve as a reminder to all about auto safety. I strongly urge my clients to always wear seatbelts when travelling in a vehicle and to be cautious and alert -- not only as a driver, but also as a passenger. The family of Kevin Lucero and other victims of careless drivers have the right to seek justice for their losses, pain, and suffering.

The officer who hit the children claimed that he was in pursuit of a vehicle, after he had seen a man in the vehicle pointing a gun at a pedestrian. However, police investigation never located the suspect, or the car Officer Mark Delboccio was chasing.

Recently, the City Council Finance Committee awarded $6.5 million to settle the lawsuit as a result of this horrific incident – $590,000 to the girl, now 18, and the remaining to the boy’s family for their losses. The full council will vote on the settlement this upcoming Thursday.

As a Chicago auto incident attorney, I see tragic cases like this that may call for a wrongful death lawsuit. Wrongful death claims mean that a person, or an institution, wrongfully causes the death of someone else. Families who are dealing with tragedy of this sort have legal rights to financial compensation. A person who is negligent should be held accountable for their wrongful behavior that causes the loss of a loved one, pain, and suffering. A wrongful death claim may arise in many types of law including medical malpractice cases, nursing home cases, and like in case of Gregory Jones, auto accidents.