Cyclo-cross isn’t a typical bike race. It’s a fast course on pavement, wooded trails, grass, steep hills and obstacles requiring the rider to quickly dismount, carry the bike while navigating the obstructions and remount. And since races are usually held during the Fall and Winter, rain, wind, snow – and mud – is common. Competitors often change bicycles mid-race so mud can continually be power-washed washed off in the pit area. Falls are common in cyclo-cross, and so are broken bones.

Elizabeth began competing in triathlons after graduating from Beloit College in 1980. A natural-born competitor, she decided to switch to cycling, and has continued to pursue it as a passion over the years.

“It’s no walk in the park. When you’re 54 you’re as old as your mother used to be. I think I’m crazy, but then I see others out here who are just as crazy as I am,” Elizabeth says. “I’ll keep doing it as long as I can.”

Elizabeth Heller (L) takes 2nd place in the UCI Master's World Championships

For example, if a business loses a property in a fire and its insurance company denies its claim for no valid reason under the Policy, the business may sue the insurance company to recover the amount of its claim. Where the insurance company has unreasonably delayed or denied the claim, the facts may warrant relief under Section 155 of the Illinois Insurance Code: 215 ILCS 5/155 (2011). It’s a significant weapon against insurance companies trying to get out of paying valid insurance claims.

Section 155 allows for recovery of attorney fees and a monetary penalty when an insurance company’s actions in denying a claim or delay in settling a claim are “vexatious and unreasonable.” It is sometimes termed as an insurance company engaging in “bad faith”. In those situations, the Court may tax the insurance company reasonable attorney fees plus an amount not to exceed any one of the following amounts:

(1) 60% of the court or jury’s award against the insurance company; or

(2) $60,000; or

(3) an amount which equals the difference between what the insurance company offered to pay in settlement of the claim prior to the action and the court or jury’s award, i.e. ABC Insurance Company offers $20,000 to settle before trial, jury returns a verdict of $60,000, Court could award $40,000 on top of the jury’s verdict pursuant to Section 155.

In deciding whether an insurer is liable under Section 155, a trial court will consider the totality of the circumstances, including the insurer’s attitude. Buais v. Safeway Ins. Co., 275 Ill.App.3d 587, 591, 656 N.E.2d 61, 64 (1st Dist. 1995); see also Norman v. Am. Nat’l Fire Ins. Co., 198 Ill.App.3d 269, 304-05, 555 N.E.2d 1087 (5th Dist. 1990). When the attitude of an insurance company toward its insured is “not only vexatious, but irritating, exasperating, and provoking,” a request for relief under Section 155 is proper. Buais, 275 Ill.App.3d at 592-93 citing to Deverman v. Country Mut. Ins. Co., 56 Ill.App.3d 122, 124, 371 N.E.2d 1147 (4th Dist. 1978). However, attorney fees and penalties will not be awarded simply because the insurer refuses to settle or was unsuccessful in litigation. Keller v. State Farm Ins., 180 Ill.App.3d 539, 555, 536 N.E.2d 194, 204 (5th Dist. 1989). If there is a bond fide dispute as to coverage, an insurer’s delay in settling a claim may not violate Section 155. Id.

But where there has been an unreasonable denial of an otherwise valid insurance claim, Section 155 allows insureds to recover their attorney fees with a successful suit against the insurer. Section 155 is a mechanism designed to protect insured’s from their insurance company taking advantage of their unawareness of their rights and limited means to pursue recovery. After all, to an insurance company, an insured is just a policy number.

If you have a question or would like to discuss your business or commercial law issue, please contact us today.

RECOGNIZE THAT INTERESTS CAN COME FROM ANYWHERE
Katie didn’t know she wanted to be a lawyer when she was younger, but found herself interested in government and law in school. Teri, on the other hand, grew up with a father who was a Human Resources director. He’d bring his work home, and she’d sit with him at the table and go through contracts and agreements, which helped sparked her interest in law at a young age.

ASK QUESTIONS & WORK HARD – REALLY HARD
Katie and Teri both agree that diligence and hard work is the best route to take to law school. Knowing she wanted to be a lawyer back in high school, Teri went so far as to shadow a lawyer to really get a feel for the work. Katie believes shadowing lawyers and talking to teachers who know a good amount about law is very helpful. Ultimately, with the amount of social networking available today, it’s not hard to find and meet an attorney and ask them questions about what you’d like to know when deciding whether law is right for you.

HIGH SCHOOL TIPS
What can a high school student can do to familiarize themselves with law before entering college? Katie believes the key is reading. Read the newspaper, read journals, read everything online. Keep yourself as informed as possible. You should also volunteer in different areas of the community. Volunteering is a great resource and can help you focus in the specific field of law you’re interested in. And never forget to ask questions!

UNDERGRAD TIPS
How can you best prepare for a law career while an undergrad? For Katie, she knew that law schools didn’t require a specific major from their applicants, so she chose to major in Psychology. It was a subject she was always interested in and felt it would be valuable along with a law degree.

MAKING THE LAW SCHOOL DECISION
Teri’s advice for future law students? Know yourself and everything else that goes into a law degree. Make sure it’s something that you want to do and are going to continue to want to do as you get older.

GET READY FOR REALITY
Katie and Teri agree: When it comes to the reality of being a lawyer, the more research you can do, the better. The more you understand about law firms and how they actually work and what the job really entails, the more informed decision you can make.

THE QUALITIES OF A SUCCESSFUL LAWYER
Katie believes they are: organization, attention to detail, and work ethic. Teri believes a lawyer doesn’t have to be any one specific thing or type of lawyer. Most lawyers are depicted as loud and outgoing, whereas in reality most attorneys are more quiet and thoughtful in their work.

Teri Havron concentrates her practice in the areas of business and commercial law, class action litigation, estate planning & probate, and real estate. Contact her here.

Katie Hubbard concentrates her practice in the areas of worker’s compensation and personal injury. Contact her here.

On behalf of myself and the girls, we are so appreciative of all the hard work you and your attorneys have done for us.

When we filed this claim, little did we know how much time and effort you would put into helping our family. We think of the several trips you people made to ______.

We thank you so kindly.

If you or a loved one has been exposed to asbestos, please contact us to discuss your potential case.

Since 1970, TouchPoint Autism Services has provided excellent training for professionals, parents and families with children with autism, gaining them an excellent and well deserved reputation. TouchPoint provides residential services, employment support services, family support, recreational programs and respite care.

TouchPoint has more than 500 employees, a $15 million budget, 30 residential homes and seven locations across the state of Missouri – annually serving more than 2,700 people with autism spectrum disorders and their families.

1 in 100 babies born every day are diagnosed with autism. Visit http://www.touchpointautism.org today to see how you can get involved and help make a difference for individuals across the spectrum, throughout every stage of their lives.

Dear Elizabeth,

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for all of the hard work that you have done for me and my family. You might have spoken with my husband _____ when he was alive, perhaps not. Nevertheless, I have thought of you often and wanted to put pen to paper to let you know that we have a lot to that you for. Starting with your hard work and hours working away for _____, ______ and my financial future.

Sincerely,
__________

If you or a loved one has been exposed to asbestos, please contact us to discuss your potential case.

To read this article, please visit The Record.

For more information, contact Mark Goldenberg.

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.

To view the full article, please visit LawyersandSettlements.

To read the full interview please visit Lawyersandsettlements.com.

In March 2004, hockey player Todd Bertuzzi punched player Steve Moore from behind, and in the process, may have changed the legal landscape of professional hockey forever.  Some of you may recall this incident. On March 8, 2004, the Colorado Avalanche were set to face the Vancouver Canucks. There was some bad blood between the teams and it was rumored before the game that the Canucks were looking for revenge.

Bertuzzi, a noted tough guy, attempted to entice Moore into an a fight.  When Moore ignored Bertuzzi’s attempts, Bertuzzi came up from behind Moore and sucker punched him in the side of the face and threw his  head into the ice with the weight of his body behind him.  Moore was unconscious from the blow and suffered a broken neck with fractures in the C3 and C4 vertebrae and a T1 avulsion fracture.  Moore’s professional hockey career was over.

A civil lawsuit followed and is currently pending before the Ontario Superior Court.  When incidents like this occur, lawyers immediately think of the doctrine of assumption of risk.  Basically, this means that a person who voluntarily assumes a risk of harm arising from the negligent or reckless conduct of others cannot recover for injuries resulting from that harm.  This doctrine is always present in contact sports, and for this reason, most injuries in sports are not compensable.

In Illinois, for instance, the Supreme Court expounded on the “contact sports exception” to ordinary negligence.  Karas v. Strevell, 227 Ill.2d 440, 884 N.E.2d 122 (2008).  The Illinois Supreme Court concluded that, “in a full contact sport such as ice hockey or tackle football, a participant breaches a duty of care to a coparticipant only if the participant intentionally injures the coparticipant or engages in conduct ‘totally outside the range of the ordinary activity involved in the sport.’”  Id. at 459.  This is a significant ruling when considering the Court’s rationale.  The Illinois Supreme Court is saying that in situations other than injuries that were intentionally caused, even if the players’ actions are with complete disregard for the safety of the injured player, the conduct must still be totally outside the range of activities for the sport.

The best way to explain this is by applying it to the facts of that particular case.  In Karas, the Court analyzed a situation where a player was checked from behind into the boards when he was skating for the puck.  The Court reasoned conduct such as body checking is within the range of normal activity of a hockey game, even if checking from behind is against the rules.  However, the Court inferred that if the plaintiff had been struck from behind away from the play and action of the game, that may well be a breach of the standard adopted by Illinois.

When applying the above reasoning to the facts in Karas, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled the plaintiff had no case.  Would this same standard make Bertuzzi liable for his actions in Illinois?  The answer is: It depends.

Fighting is an inherent part of professional hockey.  For hockey, more so than other sports, it is hard to draw the line on conduct outside the range of ordinary activity.  Sure Bertuzzi’s actions were intentional, but even he admits he had no intention of injuring Moore.  In hockey, you check or hit opposing players to gain a strategic advantage on the puck.  You are not meaning to hurt players, but rather you want to take them out of the play.

But when you watch Bertuzzi’s actions you will see Moore had no interest in fighting Bertuzzi and Bertuzzi’s actions had no connection to the play.  Surely, a professional hockey player does not expect another player to sucker punch him from behind and drive his head into the ice.  This was an intentional act that ended someone’s career.  The law should not protect such actions among sports’ participants.

In Illinois, the Courts may likely say that getting punched in the face is part of the sport.  However, the fact that Moore was skating away from Bertuzzi and Bertuzzi’s actions were completely unrelated to the play of the game, may make him liable in Illinois. Surely, this is outside the range of ordinary activity in a hockey game.  Bertuzzi gained no advantage on the play by knocking Moore out. I hope the Illinois courts would agree.

Of course, fighting is only allowed in professional hockey, but rulings such as Karas should be concerning for hockey parents, particularly when considering younger players.

Contact us today to discuss this or other Business or Commercial legal issues.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

Anyone can buy a fancy ad these days. That doesn’t make him a good lawyer. That doesn’t mean he will listen to your needs, and be responsive when you need him to be. Ask yourself what you expect from your attorney and then research and ask around to find the right match. Check out the attorney’s prior success and read testimonials. Most importantly, at least speak to or meet with the attorney in person before you hire him or her. If you do not feel comfortable with the attorney, it probably isn’t a good match.

Do you want a huge firm with so many cases that the attorneys are too busy to work on your file? Or do you want a smaller firm who is selective in what cases it takes so that the attorney can provide you with individualized attention? Do you want a firm with a proven track record and respected in the community? Do you want a responsive attorney that you can get a hold of? Do you want an attorney who will work on your file until completion or one that will pass your file off to other attorneys? These are all important issues that may affect how pleased you are with your choice of counsel. Choose wisely.

To learn more about hiring an attorney, contact Robert Rowland or fill out our contact form.