Illinois Lawyer Referrals and Legal Guidance

Archive for December, 2010

Five Things To Watch Out For During The Holidays

Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010

Every Wednesday we offer five legal tips on various areas of Illinois law. Today’s tips revolve around the holidays.

1. You should never drive drunk, but this is the worst time of year to do it. Aside from bad weather leading to even more accidents, the police are actively looking for drunk drivers.

2. If you are under 21 and get caught drinking on New Year’s Eve (or any other time for that matter), it can lead to a suspension of your driver’s license. This happens even if you get court supervision. It would be hypocritical for me to tell someone under 21 not to drink so let me just say be careful and don’t get caught.

3. Tis the season for divorce filings and child custody battles. Divorce filings will go through the roof in January. With so many new cases on the docket and lawyers being very busy, we suggest that if you are going to file for divorce that you keep a short journal of your goals and clearly document for your attorney where money is kept as well as your debts.

4. Plenty of new laws go it to effect on January first. It is your duty to be aware of them. Ignorance to the law, even a brand spanking new law, is no excuse.

5. Overtime pay for working on a holiday is not mandatory, but is very common. If you aren’t receiving it for working on Christmas just ask. But there is no attorney that can make them give it to you.

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The new civil union laws in Illinois

Tuesday, December 21st, 2010

Like it or not (and we don’t), gay marriage is not legal in Illinois. That also means that gay divorce is not recognized here, even if you are legally married in another state. So if you are in a same sex marriage and want out, if you live in Illinois you are probably going to have a hard time.

While Illinois can’t divorce you, it can deal with property disputes, child custody and other traditional issues that arise in a divorce. In fact you can pretty much do everything a divorce does except get maintenance (aka alimony) and argue over what are considered marital assets.

But the recent passage in the Illinois legislature of the Act which creates civil unions in Illinois, will soon have an affect on these and other breaking up issues. Once the Act is signed and becomes law, same sex partners (as well as opposite sex partners) will be able to enter into a civil union according to the provisions of the Act, and then be entitled to all of the rights and responsibilities of the laws of Illinois for married spouses.

This means that, though there will not be a marriage, the couple that will enter into a civil union can also have a formal dissolution of that union if it doesn’t work out. The dissolution action should be the exact same as a dissolution of marriage, so that alimony and other rights and obligations under the dissolution of marriage laws should apply to the civil union dissolution.

Additionally, for the same sex couple that has been legally married in another state, Illinois will treat that marriage as a civil union for the purpose of applying its laws, and the couple should be able to have an Illinois dissolution action if they break up.

While this Act in Illinois appears that it will make ending a same sex relationship in Illinois easier, it may also add other complications, as Illinois couples traverse this new landscape. So whether you were married in another state, or are planning to enter into a civil union in Illinois, or are just in a same sex relationship that is breaking up, a family law attorney is probably the best way to address these issues. That said, there are only a handful of lawyers that have this type of experience. Some don’t take these cases because of political views. Some don’t take them because it’s a different kind of work than they are used to. And some attorneys would love to take these cases, but they have no experience with it so of course you probably don’t want to hire them. The right family law attorney can help you figure out how to make the best of a break up, and protect your rights.

Posted in Illinois Family Law | Comments Off

Common Illinois Legal Terms

Monday, December 20th, 2010

Statue of Limitations: The statute of limitations is the law that declares the time period in which a case must be brought in court. After the time period has expired, no legal action can be brought. Limitations periods apply in both civil and criminal cases, and the period of time varies depending on the what the claim or charge will be.

Evidence: A type of proof that is used to establish or disprove a fact at trial. Detailed rules of evidence are applied to determine what evidence may be admitted in court. Evidence can be in many forms, including witness testimony, documents, records, and concrete objects.

Allegation: The assertion or declaration of something which is claimed to be true, and which will be proved with evidence in a court action.

Arbitration:Instead of going to court, the parties may submit their dispute to a neutral third party who will hear the arguments and make a decision. The arbitrator’s decision can be either binding or advisory.

Non-Economic Damages: These are damages that generally do not have specific monetary values, such as pain and suffering, and loss of companionship. Economic damages, on the other hand, are usually quantifiable, such as loss of wages, medical bills, and damage to property.

Consumer Fraud: Fraud is a deception that is deliberately done to secure an unfair or unlawful gain. Consumer Fraud in particular, usually involves the wrongful conduct of an insurance company or a finance company that intentionally deceives an individual in order to profit unlawfully.

Misdemeanor:These are criminal offenses that are less serious than felonies. In Illinois the jail time for a misdemeanor is up to 364 days. Fines or penalties may also be given for these crimes.

Arraignment: This is the process by which a criminal defendant appears in court and is officially read the charges against him or her, and asked to plead to the charges.

Power of Attorney: A written form which is signed by a person, while they are competent, that designates another person to be his or her agent to make certain decisions. It is only valid during the lifetime of the person giving the powers. There are two basic types. One is a financial power of attorney, which gives the agent the power to make decisions concerning financial matters. The other is a power of attorney for health care, which gives the agent the power to make health care decisions.

Guardianship: When a person lacks the ability to legally act on his or her own behalf, this type of legal arrangement may be used to care for that person and his or her property. Usually a guardianship is created where someone lacks physical or mental capacity, or is not yet of age.

Posted in Did You Know? | Comments Off

Suing the U.S. Government and the military

Friday, December 17th, 2010

We’ve received two interesting calls lately regarding suing the U.S. Government. Both situations have to do with members of our military.

The first scenario involves a soldier who allegedly came back from Iraq and began to suffer from post traumatic stress disorder. He had a gun on him and shot a civilian for no apparent reason. The civilian survived although he did have multiple surgeries. His wife called wanting to know if they could sue the military because the soldier’s illness was known and they didn’t detain him.

The fact is that the military doesn’t have to detain someone with PTSD and even if they did, they are not responsible for the actions of soldiers that are not in the performance of their duties. This soldier was at a bar which was not part of his job. A potential lawsuit exists, but it’s against the soldier. The Government will never have to pay a penny.

The second example involves a soldier who went to a military doctor while active duty. Long story short is that the physician failed to diagnose a very serious problem and there is a likelihood the soldier will now be paralyzed. Because the soldier was active duty when this happened, even though he is no longer in the military, he is barred from filing a lawsuit.

Had the soldier been retired when this happened or not in the military at all then the case likely would have been worth several million dollars due to the incredible and unfortunate damages. But active duty military members can not sue. The same goes true for the family of military members killed while on active duty. e.g. If you are in basic training and get accidentally shot by another soldier, there is no lawsuit.

Both of these examples sound strange to many people I talk to, but they are what they are.

Tags: military lawsuits
Posted in Litigation | Comments Off

New pages on our website

Thursday, December 16th, 2010

We try to constantly update our website with new information. The following are some of the new topics we have written on:

Drug possession:

http://www.findgreatlawyers.com/illinois-drug-possession-lawyer.htm

Social Security and workers’ compensation:

http://www.findgreatlawyers.com/illinois-social-security-workers-comp.htm

How to break up an Illinois business:

http://www.findgreatlawyers.com/illinois-business-dissolution.htm

An overview of histoplasmosis:

http://www.findgreatlawyers.com/illinois-histoplasmosis-attorney.htm

Neck injuries and Illinois work comp:

http://www.findgreatlawyers.com/illinois-neck-injury-attorney.htm

Posted in Did You Know? | Comments Off

Illinois labor attorney advice

Wednesday, December 15th, 2010

Every Wednesday we offer five tips on various areas of Illinois law. Today we present five random facts Illinois employment attorneys think you should know:

1. Employers can pay 50 cents less than standard minimum wage in Illinois, for the first 90 days of an employee’s work. Though minimum wage for adults is $8.25 per hour, if you are an employee who does not receive tips as part of your income, Illinois law allows your employer to pay you only $7.75 for this initial period.

2. It is unlawful in most cases to refuse to hire or to fire anyone because of their lawful use of products outside of their employment. Generally, you cannot be disadvantaged by an Illinois employer in terms of compensation, privileges, or other conditions of employment, if you use tobacco or consume alcohol away from the employer’s premises and during non-working hours. Some allowances are made for differences in coverage or premiums for insurance policies, however.

3. Your rate of pay may be reduced by your employer prior to your performing the work. As long as your pay does not fall below the minimum wage, and you are notified of the change in advance, it is legal in Illinois for an employer to reduce your pay or make other changes in the time and place of payment.

4. You are entitled to up to 8 hours of unpaid leave during a school year, for attending your children’s school conferences and activities, if they cannot be scheduled during non-work hours. Illinois employment law allows you to be given these unpaid leave hours, if you have exhausted all of your other leaves such as vacation and personal days, but without regard to sick or disability leave. No more than four hours may be taken on any given work day.

5. Unless you have some other agreement governing termination, an employer may end the employment at any time, without any justification. Illinois is an “employment at-will” state, which means that there does not need to be a reason or cause for termination. Discharge cannot, however, be based on any discriminatory reason such as race, religion, age, etc.

Posted in Five Tips | Comments Off

Workers Compensation IME Injury

Tuesday, December 14th, 2010

An injury occurring in the course of your employment is generally compensable under Illinois workers’ compensation law. This may also include activities that are not part of your typical work duties, but are nonetheless ordered by and in fulfillment of your obligations to your employer. But a recent decision by the Illinois courts has shed light on a limitation to what many may have believed would entitle them to benefits.

An employee suffered a work-related injury, and filed a claim for Illinois workers’ compensation benefits. Shortly after that injury, the employee was terminated. The employer requested an independent medical examination related to the work injury. On a snowy morning, while leaving the hotel she was staying at to attend the examination, the employee slipped and injured her back.

The employee believed that since she was injured while doing something that related to her prior employment, she should entitled to workers’ compensation benefits for this second injury. According to the facts of her situation, the employer had requested the exam, and directed her to go to this particular physician which was far from her home, and necessitated the hotel stay. So this would ordinarily sound like a good argument for a proper causal connection between the employment and the injury, allowing for benefits. However this was not the case.

In order to be awarded workers’ compensation benefits, you have to be able to prove there was an employer-employee relationship in existence at the time of the injury. Though your former employer has a right to have you undergo an independent medical examination as part of your claim for workers’ compensation benefits, this alone will not establish the relationship. Again, it might seem like a logical position that the examination should relate back to the employment, since it is only being done because of the prior employment and the injury that happened during that employment. But the courts in Illinois have decided otherwise.

The right to have the independent medical examination exists separate and apart from the employment, the courts have said, and is not a condition of employment. The remedy for refusing the exam affects only the workers’ compensation benefits, and not the employment. If you do not comply with the request by your employer for medical treatment or evaluation, you may end up with reduced or suspended benefits, but you will not end up with a suspension or termination of your employment. Because of this, if you are injured in the course of that medical exam, it cannot be said that your injury was in the course of your prior employment, and therefore would not entitle you to any benefits for that additional injury.

Posted in Injury Cases | Comments Off

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