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Sears Washing Machine Class Action

Posted on May 20th, 2010 by The Firm

The Record (www.madisonrecord.com and/or www.stclairerecord.com) recently posted an article featuring a class action suit filed by Mark Goldenberg against Sears for alleged violations of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, fraudulent concealment and nondisclosure, breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty and unjust enrichment.

To read this article, please visit The Record.

For more information, contact Mark Goldenberg.

Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees (SOAR) Awards Banquet

Posted on May 20th, 2010 by The Firm

Goldenberg Heller Antognoli & Rowland, P.C. is proud to sponsor SOAR (Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees). SOAR will hold their first awards banquet on June 12, 2010.

SOAR will award a scholarship to a high school senior, as well as recognize some very important people to their organization.

For more information, please visit www.soar7-34-2.org.

From Construction Worker to Asbestos Attorney

Posted on May 20th, 2010 by The Firm

Goldenberg Heller Antognoli & Rowland’s Ronald “RJ” Abernathy was recently interviewed by Jane Mundy from LawyersandSettlements.com to discuss his carrier path from union laborer to asbestos attorney.  RJ’s unique situation and personal insight make him an invaluable member of Goldenberg Heller Antognoli & Rowland’s asbestos team. 

To view the full article, please visit LawyersandSettlements.

Attorney Answers Asbestos Victims’ Frequent Questions

Posted on May 20th, 2010 by The Firm

Robert Rowland, a co-department head in the asbestos department at Goldenberg Heller Antognoli and Rowland, P.C., was recently interviewed by Jane Mundy of LawyersandSettlements.com to discuss the frequently asked questions of asbestos victims.  

To read the full interview please visit Lawyersandsettlements.com.

98,000 Reasons to Remove Medical Malpractice Caps

Posted on March 16th, 2010 by The Firm

The Institute of Medicine has found that each year, there are over 98,000 deaths resulting from medical malpractice. There are generally two types of damages awarded in such cases – economic (medical bills, funeral expenses, lost wages from missed time at work) and non-economic (loss of companionship, pain and suffering). Many state legislatures have limited the amount of money these families can receive for non-economic damages. In other words, many states have essentially said that your loss of enjoyment of life, pain and suffering, or your loss of a spouse is only worth so much money.

Thankfully, the tide has turned in Illinois. Illinois medical malpractice victims are now allowed to seek full compensation for their clients as the Illinois Supreme Court has ruled non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases violates the Illinois Constitution. Under the old law, victims could be awarded no more than $500,000 in non-economic damages against doctors and $1 million against hospitals. Finally, Illinois juries will decide a plaintiff’s loss – not the legislature.

The State of Missouri continues to have a medical malpractice cap in place. In 2005, Missouri tort reform was passed which instituted a non-economic damage cap of $350,000, which is NOT adjusted for inflation. For insurance companies insuring medical providers who have committed negligence, the 2005 reform was music to their ears. They know that no matter how bad the act, no matter how severe the injury, their liability cannot be more than $350,000. We are pleased to report that on January 14, the Supreme Court heard the arguments from both sides regarding the constitutionality of the medical malpractice damage caps in Missouri. We hope to have good news to report soon.

To learn more or to discuss Medical Malpractice, contact Bob Rowland.

A Colossus Mistake

Posted on January 26th, 2010 by The Firm

Colossus is a claims evaluation software program used by 25% of the insurance companies to assist with determining the settlement value of personal injury claims. The following companies use Colossus: Allstate, American Family, CNS, Farmers, The Hartford, Met Auto and Life, Travelers and USAA. While the insurance companies claim that the program is just a tool to aid its adjusters, many adjusters have come forward saying that the Colossus numbers are those used for settlement offers.

We normally caution our clients against trusting insurance adjusters. But at least adjusters are human and can look at photographs, listen to eye witness statements, take into account pain and suffering, and recognize drastic life-style changes after an accident. Colossus isn’t human. It uses formulas, not compassion. A computer cannot give consideration to the effects of losing your job, permanent scarring, painful medical procedures or lost time with your family. Colossus looks at the entered data only. It will search for surgical procedures, diagnostic testing (MRIs, x-rays, CT scans) and lost wages. It will determine what your medical diagnosis is and assign a certain dollar value according to that diagnosis.

Juries do not evaluate claims like this. Think about this situation – you are in a car accident and while your pain is immediate, you hope it will go away. When it doesn’t, you go to your doctor who runs several tests on you. All the tests are normal. Although there is nothing that can be done to help you medically, you experience daily pain. You cannot hold your grandchildren. You can no longer play golf. A jury would find that you have suffered a loss. Colossus, however, would consider you to have no injury at all. To trust Colossus as the authority on what your claim is worth would be a huge mistake. You have already been injured. If you are dealing with an insurance adjuster, it is in your best interest to hire an attorney who has experience with Colossus so that you are not injured again.

To learn more, contact Robert D. Rowland.

Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself!

Posted on December 21st, 2009 by The Firm

Been in a car accident?  Check out these 7 deadly sins that can wreck your case.

1.  Failing to call the police - Don’t ever assume that it will later be obvious what happened.  Call the police and tell your story.

2.  Providing a recorded statement to an insurance adjuster - Whether it is your company or the other driver’s, don’t speak to the adjuster without first talking to an attorney.  Despite what the commercials say, the insurance company is not on your side – you are not in good hands.

3.  Failing to see your doctor after a traumatic event - You may not think you are hurt but you are not a doctor.  If for, whatever reason, you didn’t go to the hospital from the scene be sure to follow-up with your primary care physician as soon as possible.  Insurance adjusters, and more importantly, jurors, notice when you take too long to make that appointment.  They will say, he couldn’t have been that hurt, he didn’t see a doctor for a month!

4.  Failing to be honest with your doctor - If something hurts, tell your doctor.  If it doesn’t hurt, please don’t say it does.  This is a common theme you will hear from us – be honest.  If you are honest, you have nothing to be nervous about.  Don’t conceal prior injuries.  Don’t assume that your minor pain is no big deal.  Let the doctor do his job.

5.  Talking to your doctor about a potential lawsuit - If you walk into your appointment asking if you will get money for your injury, your doctor isn’t going to trust you and neither will the jury.  Keep your lawsuit and your medical treatment separate.  Most doctors do not want to be involved in a lawsuit.  If you seem focused on your case, it may compromise your medical treatment.  Your first priority should be your health.

6.  Missing or showing up late for medical appointments - If you don’t care about your health, why should the insurance adjuster?  Better yet, why should the jury?  Missed appointments are indeed something the jury will hear about.  Just don’t do it.

7.  Failing to be honest with your attorney - We are here to help you.  If you aren’t honest with us, we cannot help you.  The insurance company will pay large sums of money to prove you aren’t hurt.  If you say you can’t move, they will try to videotape you mowing the lawn.  We need to always be updated on your health status so that we can properly represent you.  Finding out at trial that you aren’t as hurt as you said you were is too late.  Likewise, if you have a skeleton in your past that could affect the case, it is better to be up-front with us.

To learn more about Personal Injury, contact Bob Rowland.

Missouri Medical Malpractice Caps on Lawsuits Only Hurt Victims

Posted on December 8th, 2009 by The Firm

The St. Louis Post Dispatch recently printed an article discussing the medical malpractice caps in Missouri.  In August 2005, the Missouri lawmakers decided to cap awards for non‑economic damages in medical malpractice cases at $350,000.00 total for all defendants. Prior to this law passing Missouri already had medical malpractice caps at approximately $545,000.00 per defendant and the cap was adjusted for inflation.  The new cap has no inflation adjustment.

This means if your physician carelessly injuries you, he and his insurance company are protected ‑ they only have to pay $350,000 for your pain and suffering.  Doctors and insurers argued this law was necessary because insurance rates continue to rise.  As attorneys for injury victims, we think this law is detrimental to the health system as a whole.  If you make an error and injure someone on a roadway, your liability is not capped.  Doctors need to be held responsible for their careless conduct just as the rest of the public is held responsible.  The insurance companies make up a billion‑dollar industry that does not need protection.

To learn more about Medical Malpractice, contact Bob Rowland.

You can read the full article here.

$1.3 Million Award Against Missouri Department of Transportation

Posted on November 24th, 2009 by The Firm

A former member of GHAR represented the family of Jemma Dant, a 28 year-old woman who was tragically killed on December 6, 2005. Ms. Dant, on what would have been her second day at a new job, was sitting in traffic on westbound 44 at Vandeventer. Traffic backup was so severe that Ms. Dant was 1450 feet from the exit. The backup caused her to sit, stopped, on the actual interstate where cars were traveling at high speeds. At the same time, a tractor trailer was traveling in the middle lane. The truck driver saw that his exit was after Vandeventer so he merged right. He saw that traffic was stopped and although he tried, was unable to stop his truck resulting in a collision with Ms. Dant’s vehicle. The collision was so violent that it shoved Ms. Dant’s car underneath the tractor trailer stopped in front of her, killing her instantly.

We all know how big and scary semi-trucks can be, especially when traveling fast. Most people fear driving too close to a semi because we know it is impossible for a, 80,000 pound truck to stop quickly. MoDot knew that traffic was backing up at this location for two years prior to this accident. In fact, it had a plan in place since 2003 to try to correct the problem. Even though it knew of the danger, MoDot did not warn motorists of the stopped traffic. We filed suit against MoDot and the truck driver, on behalf of Ms. Dant’s family. We settled out of court with the truck driver and his family.

The case was tried to a panel of three Arbitrators on November 9, 2009. We argued that the stopped traffic on the highway caused a dangerous condition that motorists should have been warned of. MoDot could have put in place signing telling thru traffic to stay out of the far right lane. It could have put up signing warning motorists of the traffic backup. We see signs similar to this all over today. MoDot had no answer as to why there were no signs. They didn’t think the signs were needed. A MoDot engineer even argued that putting up a sign would have been too difficult because the wind would have blown it down.

The Arbitrators agreed with us that MoDot was partly responsible for Ms. Dant’s death. They agreed that while the truck driver was to blame, MoDot shared that blame for failing to warn motorists, especially out-of-town motorists. An award of $1.3 million was entered in favor of the family. According to Missouri law, MoDot can only be liable up to $378,814 in such a case. This award will be reduced to the current cap.

This was one of the most unfortunate cases I have ever worked on not only because of the immense loss, but because it was preventable. Hopefully, this case will be a reminder to MoDot, and other public entities, that corners should not be cut when it comes to human life.

To learn more, contact us

Personal Injuries and Workers’ Compensation – Don’t Speak to the Insurance Company!

Posted on November 24th, 2009 by The Firm

Nothing is more frustrating to me than when an insurance company takes advantage of an injured person. It happens frequently. As soon as you notify the insurance company of your injury, whether it be from a fall, injury at work, or automobile accident, the insurance company will immediately try to take your recorded statement. Is the adjuster doing this to help you get compensated for your harms and losses? Absolutely not! He/she is trying to box in your story. The insurance adjuster knows it is unlikely that you have already hired an attorney to help you so the adjuster will try to get you to speak early. An attorney can help you avoid certain pitfalls – like providing details you aren’t sure of, downplaying your injuries, and providing irrelevant information.

If you are asked to provide a recorded statement, kindly tell the adjuster that you will be happy to do so, after you hire counsel. Then, hire counsel! We can walk through the likely questions with you and discuss your case. You likely have questions – the insurance adjuster is not the one to ask. The insurance company can, and will, withhold any benefits due to you until you provide a recorded statement which it is why it is crucial to find legal representation quickly. If you were in an automobile accident, it may make sense for you to contact your own insurance company but there are exceptions. You need to speak to an attorney about that question. Until you hire an attorney, follow your doctor’s advise, get well, and do not speak to the insurance company.

To learn more or to discuss Workers’ Compensation, contact Robert Rowland.