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The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that officials are investigating the cause of equipment that failed on a jet bridge at Gate E-10 at the Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport on Saturday, December 29th, 2018. Seven people were taken to area hospitals with injuries following the incident. It was reported that a sick passenger on Southwest Flight 822 from Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, was being taken off the plane by medics at about 7:45 p.m….

A fire in a parking garage in Chicago’s River North neighborhood on Saturday, December 29th left one person dead and four others injured who are reported in critical condition. Flames and heavy black smoke captured on cell phone video surrounded the area and were shooting from the roof of the building at Hubbard Avenue and Orleans Street about 1:20 p.m. Smoke could be seen for blocks and the roof was charred from the fire. Investigators…

The Illinois House voted Nov. 27 to increase the cap on damages made in the Illinois Court of Claims to $2 million in a 71-36 vote overriding Governor Rauner’s veto. The Illinois Senate already had voted to override the veto, so the bill is now law. The change comes in response to the tragic deaths from Legionnaires’ disease of several Illinois residents of Veterans’ Homes. In particular, the state had been criticized for its slow…

Clifford Law Offices sponsored the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois (WBAI) Annual Top Women Lawyers in Leadership Awards honoring women who have made major professional contributions through their service in a leadership role. Sarah F. King, attorney at Clifford Law Offices, organized and co-chaired the event which was held at the Hotel Allegro. Sarah is currently a Director of the WBAI.

Bradley M. Cosgrove, partner at Clifford Law Offices, spoke at the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association (ITLA) Medical Malpractice Seminar on “Demonstrative Exhibits.” Cosgrove has obtained numerous medical malpractice verdicts and settlements, some of them records in the state, the latest being a $21.5 million record verdict on behalf of a family who lost their son in a drowning incident. Other topics discussed at the half-day seminar included jury selection, birth injuries and “Perspective from the…

On Tuesday, December 4, 2018, Clifford Law Offices obtained a $21.5 million verdict on behalf of a south suburban family whose son drowned on a weekly trip to the Bridgeview Park District Pool four years ago. The verdict is the highest for a drowning in the state of Illinois. It is also the highest in the state for the death of a minor excluding medical malpractice and child abuse cases. The jury deliberated less than…

Kevin P. Durkin, partner at Clifford Law Offices, obtained on Monday, November 26, 2018, a record $5.5 million settlement on behalf of a man who was severely injured on his motorcycle. John Kirkton of the Law Bulletin Publishing Company confirmed that the settlement is the highest settlement or verdict that has ever been previously reported in McHenry County, IL. The previous high was $4.35 million settlement in 2007 for a brain damaged infant. Randy Ritter,…

Drones have been popular holiday gifts, but many people may not know that purchasing insurance is a good idea for your unmanned aircraft. Stories appear after the holidays about anxious recipients of the gift immediately opening their drones and setting them in flight in the living room, only to have them get caught in ceiling sprinklers, tangled in daughters’ hair and crashing into the Christmas tree. Even more hazardous were national news stories reporting that…

With more than three times as many drones operating in the U.S. than manned aircraft, commercial applications of the unmanned aircraft – from package deliveries to video applications – still await airborne-identification rules from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). And, according to a recent story in The Wall Street Journal, those regulations may not be coming as quickly as once expected. In “Rule Delay Slows Drone Industry,” Nov. 23, 2018, The Wall Street Journal reported…