Firm News

Nearly 5,200 workers died of traumatic injury on the job, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for 2016, the last year for which complete data is available. This indicates a trend of more workers dying on the job, with 2016 being the third consecutive year finding an increase in fatalities and the highest number since 2008. Government estimates also show that occupational disease kills another 50,000 people every year – more than homicides,…

U.S. Congress has summoned current and former executives of pharmaceutical distributors to testify who are accused of contributing to the serious opioid crisis in this country and what role they and their companies play in the epidemic of prescription painkillers. The May 8 hearing, scheduled before a House Energy and Commerce Committee oversight panel, will put pharmaceutical executives under oath to explain why so many highly addictive pain pills are finding their way into several…

On April 2nd, 2018, Clifford Law Offices named Craig J. Squillace a partner at the firm. Craig J. Squillace, associate at Clifford Law Offices since 2002, was promoted to partner. Squillace, who most recently received a record settlement of $4 million in Will County, concentrates his practice in the area of vehicular and trucking accidents at the personal injury firm. He also has experience in medical malpractice, product liability and municipal liability. Squillace is a…

For the first time in 28 years, jurors in federal court will receive a pay hike of 25 percent. That means that for each day that a person sits as a juror in federal court, he or she will receive a check for $50, up from $40 that has been in effect since 1990. President Trump signed the bill into law that takes effect May 7. The raise was included in a bill that provided…

Hospital executives have to learn to reduce healthcare costs while improving healthcare outcomes because the measure of their success will be defined by the latter in the years to come. That’s according to a recent study of more than 300 hospital executives across the country. The four-month study that ended in January, 2017, was conducted by Willow Research and concluded that the “seismic shift in healthcare” includes the fact that individual patients are becoming the…

Much research has been conducted on jurors and how they think. This type of insight helps lawyers to determine trends among the population and make wiser choices in selecting those types of people and personalities who will have a fair and open mind to their cases at trial. A recent study conducted by Willow Research concluded that political divisions in this country have been intensifying over the last 25 years, with some people’s beliefs falling…

A U.S. Senate committee reported Monday (Feb. 12, 2018) that the five largest opioid manufacturers paid more than $10 million directed, in particular, to patient advocacy groups and professional medical societies who would then encourage the use of those highly addictive drugs. In a 23-page report released by Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), the ranking Democrat on that Committee, called these groups opioid “cheerleaders.” The committee has been investigating…

With congressional approval of the Budget Act early on the morning of Friday, Feb. 9, 2018, Medicaid enrollees will again receive justice in reimbursement of liens. Medicaid is a state-based program that pays for medical costs for those with limited resources. This action by Congress reinstates the effect of a unanimous decision by the Supreme Court of the United States that held that Medicaid cannot have a right of first recovery for full reimbursement of…

Tracy A. Brammeier’s favorite fictional law character is Alicia Florrick from the former CBS series, The Good Wife. The character, played by actress Julianna Margulies, is the wife of the Cook County State’s Attorney, who returns to her career in law after the events of a public sex and political corruption scandal involving her husband arise. “She is determined, unafraid, and always looking ahead,” Tracy says. Tracy’s favorite quote from Alicia Florrick is, “Oh yes,…