Chicago trial lawyer Brian LaCien, a founding partner with Todd A. Smith of Smith LaCien LLP, has been named by Super Lawyers for the 4th consecutive year as a Top 100 Illinois Super Lawyer. The state has nearly 97,000 licensed attorneys.
LaCien has been on the Illinois Super Lawyers list since 2011. Super Lawyers evaluates lawyers in each state, using criteria such as peer nominations, independent research, and peer evaluations by Illinois lawyers. Eligible nominees from more than 70 practice areas are considered.
Smith LaCien concentrates on Chicago personal injury law, medical malpractice, wrongful death, trucking accidents, traumatic birth injuries, and…
Continue Reading LaCien Named an Illinois Super Lawyer for 4th Consecutive Year

Hermione got hurt at work, but that wasn’t enough for her employer to give her some time off to recover.

That’s when she realized she needed help, and a quick Google search brought her to Ankin Law. Once we picked up the phone, attorney Josh Rudolfi and legal assistant Cassie Madison got right to work to get her help.

See how we helped this mother of two get healthy and compensation for her injuries in this edition of “Client Stories” in the video.
Continue Reading This Hurt Worker & Mother Really Needed Ankin Law’s Help

In 2022, 1.6 million car crashes resulted in severe injuries, and 4.2 million resulted in property damage [1]. Not all of these car accident cases go to court, as there are options to get a fair settlement without filing a lawsuit. 

However, if the insurance company refuses to offer sufficient funds, an experienced car accident attorney can ensure that accident victims receive fair compensation to recuperate in comfort. 

When Does a Car Accident Case Go to Court?

Many car accident cases settle out of court, as this is faster and easier than undergoing the lengthy legal process. However, an accident…
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President Trump has ousted National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo—a move that mirrors former President Biden’s unprecedented removal of the board’s general counsel four years ago. Trump also fired NLRB member Gwynne Wilcox, an unprecedented removal that leaves the five-seat board with only two members, depriving it of a quorum and therefore currently unable to decide cases. So, what does this all mean for employers?
Continue Reading NLRB Shakeup: Trump Removes Two NLRB Officials

Personal injury lawsuits happen when someone gets hurt because of another person’s mistake or carelessness. These cases can include car accidents, slips and falls, medical malpractice, and more. People file these lawsuits to get compensation for their injuries, medical bills, and lost wages.
Understanding how often these cases succeed is important for anyone thinking about filing a claim. Knowing the chances of winning helps people decide whether to go to court, settle, or drop the case altogether. This guide breaks down the success rates of personal injury lawsuits based on real data.
Understanding Personal Injury Lawsuits
A personal injury lawsuit…
Continue Reading Chances of Winning a Personal Injury Lawsuit – Based on Actual Data

Cerebral palsy is a condition that affects movement, muscle control, and posture. It usually develops in early childhood due to brain damage before or during birth. Most cases are diagnosed when children struggle with motor skills or muscle stiffness as they grow. Since it is a lifelong condition, many people assume that cerebral palsy can only be present from birth.
This raises an important question: Can cerebral palsy develop in adulthood? The short answer is no—true cerebral palsy does not start later in life. However, some adults experience symptoms that look similar to cerebral palsy due to brain injuries or…
Continue Reading Can You Get Cerebral Palsy Later in Life?

Monitoring a fetus during pregnancy, labor, and delivery can give your medical team advance notice of any problems that arise. Early warning enables the possibility of intervening in many cases, potentially saving the baby from preventable harm or death. Unfortunately, improper monitoring can cause birth injuries that have permanent consequences.
What kinds of fetal monitoring are standard practice? What birth injuries could result from improper monitoring? If you believe your child was harmed by improper fetal monitoring, a knowledgeable Chicago, IL birth injury attorney can help you get the compensation you deserve.
What Types of Fetal Monitoring Should Be Performed?
Continue Reading How Can Improper Fetal Monitoring Lead to Birth Injuries?

About three babies are born with birth injuries every hour across the United States, or about seven babies in every 1,000 deliveries. Many families are left wondering whether a mistake made by a medical provider caused or contributed to their baby’s birth injury. If medical negligence caused a birth injury, a medical malpractice claim can help the family get the medical assistance the child needs now and in the future.
Birth injuries tend to be more common in males than females because males are often larger. About 80 percent of all birth injuries are considered moderate to severe, and birth…
Continue Reading How an Apgar Score Can Affect Your Medical Malpractice Claim

A living will is one of several very important advance directives that every adult should have in place. Your advance directives allow you to make certain decisions about your own medical care ahead of time in case you become incapacitated in the future. A healthcare power of attorney lets you name the person you would want to make decisions on your behalf. A living will lets you make some decisions on your own behalf more directly. When you are creating your living will, it is very important to think carefully about what types of treatments you would accept if you…
Continue Reading 3 Choices You Can Make Using a Living Will

Truck driving can be an appealing job for a recently retired person to take up. Truck drivers get to travel and see the country while getting paid to drive. Some retired couples even get their CDLs together so that they can work together and drive in shifts. This can be great for people who retire from their primary career early, in their early 60’s or so. However, aging adults can start to experience a myriad of physical and mental health conditions that might impair their driving. While there are mechanisms for revoking an aging driver’s CDL for medical reasons, this…
Continue Reading The Danger Posed by Retirement-Age Truck Drivers

Sometimes, people walk away from an accident unscathed, while others sustain catastrophic and life-threatening injuries. Brain and spinal cord injuries are some of the worst because even if victims recover, their lives may be permanently altered. Insurers often offer fast settlements after catastrophic injuries in hopes the victims do not realize they may be entitled to much more.
What kinds of accidents can lead to spinal cord and brain injuries? How can these injuries affect victims long-term? An experienced Barrington, IL personal injury attorney can calculate your damages and fight to maximize your compensation.
How Can Catastrophic Injuries Happen?
Continue Reading Why Do Insurers Offer a Fast Payout for Catastrophic Injury?

Unfortunately, one cannot file a personal injury lawsuit against Mother Nature. The weather contributes significantly to many car accidents, especially in the winter. However, drivers have a duty to take the weather conditions into consideration and adjust their driving accordingly. Simple measures like slowing down earlier when approaching a red light can keep drivers safe even in harsh weather. While it is harder to avoid an accident when the roads are icy and visibility is poor, most car accidents in poor weather could have been prevented through more careful driving. Proving fault can be slightly more difficult when the…
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ABSTRACT: The Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment for the insurer, ruling no bad faith where the carrier promptly offered policy limits. The claimant’s subsequent demands for a 537.065 agreement were not sufficiently definite to constitute a “reasonable opportunity to settle.”

On December 3, 2024, the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District affirmed the trial court’s order granting summary judgment in favor of insurance carrier and against insured who was suing for bad faith failure to settle.
Within a few weeks of receiving notice of the claim, the carrier had offered policy limits to counsel for the injured party. Rather…
Continue Reading No Bad Faith Found where Carrier Promptly Offered Policy Limits and Subsequent Demands Were Not Sufficiently Definite

Chicago Hit and Run Car Accident: Next Steps Experiencing a hit-and-run accident in a busy city like Chicago can be daunting, but knowing what to do in such situations helps. It’s important to stay at the scene of the accident, provide help if you can, and contact the police immediately. Reporting the incident right away plays a key role […]
The post Chicago Hit and Run Car Accident: Steps to Take appeared first on Blumenshine Law Group.
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South Elgin, IL (January 28, 2025) – Elgin-area officers say that one person is dead after a crash in the west suburbs on Tuesday night, January 28.
The crash happened in South Elgin at Stearns Road and McLean Boulevard, but it’s unclear how many people were ultimately involved in the incident. No additional information was available as officials investigated, though citations may be pending. Witnesses were asked to step forward as soon as possible.
We offer our deepest condolences to the deceased victim’s family members. Our thoughts are extended to the injured victims and their loved ones. We hope for their…
Continue Reading S Elgin, IL – Fatal Vehicle Crash at Stearns Rd & McLean Blvd

Introduction
Welcome to 2025—a year that’s shaping up to be one of the most transformative in recent history. The political and economic winds have shifted dramatically since President Donald Trump returned to the White House. Backed by Elon Musk’s new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the administration is on a mission to simplify regulations, boost tech innovation, and propel the U.S. economy into an uncharted era of AI-driven growth. So we should consider some practical Retained Earnings Strategies for the year.
Meanwhile, OpenAI has released its much-anticipated “o3” model—touted by some to be the first Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)—fueling…
Continue Reading Optimal Retained Earnings Strategies for 2025