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Traditionally, cruise lines charge their highest prices during the summer season, but with the Costa Concordia sinking last year and the Carnival Triumph debacle this winter we were left wondering will industry sales be heavily impacted as we head into the warmer months? The survey says yes. In a Harris Interactive Poll, more than half (53%) of those surveyed answered “somewhat agree” or “strongly agree” with the statement “I am less likely to take a…

By the numbers 2 to 4 Million Hurt – Between 2 to 4 million Americans suffered serious, disabling or fatal injuries after using prescription drugs in 2011, based on estimates from data issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Source: QuarterWatch May 2012, Institute for Safe Medication Practices 80 Percent Generic – Even though nearly 80 percent of all prescriptions written in the United States are filled with generic drugs, the U.S. Supreme Court…

When an aviation disaster occurs, the families of the victims are often left to deal with an array of difficult emotions and circumstances. For one such family member, Jennifer Stansberry Miller, it was a reality that she was not prepared to handle. Unfortunately, as she found out at the time, neither was the aviation industry. The End that Started it All On October 31, 1994, Jennifer’s brother, Brad, was killed in the plane crash of…

You probably never think twice about filling your prescriptions with generic drugs. They are much cheaper than brand-names, and they perform exactly the same as the original, right? But what if something goes terribly wrong like it did for Karen Bartlett when she took a generic painkiller for shoulder pain? Soon after, two-thirds of Karen’s skin began shedding off. Or Kira Gilbert, who took the generic Darvocet in advance of knee surgery and never woke…

June 5, 2013 Keith A. Hebeisen, partner at Clifford Law Offices, has been reappointed as Chair of the American Bar Association (ABA) Standing Committee on Medical Professional Liability. Incoming ABA President James Silkenat of New York appointed Hebeisen to the one-year term. Hebeisen, who has served as Chair of the standing committee since 2011, also serves as on the Medical Negligence Committee of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association. He has been active in the Chicago…

Age, Deterioration and Funding Remain Core Problems, 11 percent of the nation’s 607,000 bridges were considered “structurally deficient” in 2012, according to the Federal Highway Commission. Just five years prior, the agency reported 12 percent. Not much has changed, even since the I-35 Minnesota bridge collapse in 2007 that prompted massive bridge investigations across the country. Even more alarming is the average age of a bridge in the U.S. is 42 years old. So what…

Two Chicago personal injury attorneys became partners at Clifford Law Offices. Shannon McNulty and Bradley Cosgrove are also Chicago wrongful death lawyers.

View Summer 2013 Newsletter (PDF)

Clifford’s Notes, Chicago Lawyer June 1, 2013 By Robert A. Clifford For years, Illinois courts have protected landowners from obvious dangers and risks on their property if it involved fire, drowning and falling from a height. These three dangers were considered examples of a per se obvious danger. Mt. Zion State Bank & Trust v. Consolidated Communications, Inc., 169 Ill.2d 110, 118, 660 N.E.2d 863, 863 (1995). A new wrinkle has been added to the…