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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…

Clearinghouse Serves Anyone Interested in Biking The Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center (PBIC) bills itself as a national clearinghouse for information about “health and safety, engineering, advocacy, education, enforcement, access and mobility for pedestrians and bicyclists.” League Represents Interests of America’s Bikers Founded in 1880, the League of American Bicyclists is the oldest recreational biking group in America. In addition to extensive educational resources and training courses, the group also sponsors National Bike Month in…

Most adults stopped thinking about bike safety when they were kids or after they had kids! While bike injuries and deaths for children have dropped consistently during the past decade, the numbers for adults (and especially men) are going up. Still think you know bike safety? Well, then, match your wits with our experts and answer these 10 bike safety questions for adults. 1. Riding against traffic on a two-way street or against traffic on…

By the numbers 675 Deaths: In 2011, 675 bicyclists were killed in crashes, a 10 percent increase from 2010. Overall, bike injuries and deaths are down for all age groups since 1975 except for men older than age 20. Source: Fatality Facts, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety 90% No Helmet: Over the past decade, roughly 90 percent of bikers killed in road accidents were not wearing helmets. Despite this fact, only 20 to 25 percent of…