Suit Filed After Deadly Helicopter Crash Settled

In 2002, three employees of an air ambulance company were killed in a helicopter crash that officials blamed on pilot inexperience and a faulty rotor. The men had just taken off from an Iowa hospital when the helicopter began to encounter mechanical trouble. The pilot – who was also killed in the crash – was unable to guide the malfunctioning craft to safety. After a lengthy investigation into the causes of the accident, the families of the victims filed suit, eventually resulting in a sizable settlement from several companies involved in the manufacture of the helicopter.

Have you or a loved one been injured as a result of faulty product design? It’s time to learn more about your options with the help of a highly qualified personal injury lawyer. Contact the attorneys at The Heller Law Firm for a free consultation, or call us direct at 866-461-5791. You will hear from us either the same day or within 24 hours.

Supermarket Mishap Leaves St. Louis-Area Woman Injured

In the midst of her weekly grocery run, Latoya Walker unknowingly stepped into a puddle of water that had accumulated in the frozen foods aisle of her local Schnucks, a popular Midwestern chain grocery store. The water caused her to lose her footing and slip, leaving Walker with extensive injuries to the head, lower back, and left hip.

Walker’s suit claims the store was negligent in failing to attend to the safety risk posed by pooled water. She is seeking at least $60,000 for medical costs and wages lost due to the incident.

If you or a family member has been hurt in a slip or trip accident, you need the help of an experienced personal injury lawyer. Contact the attorneys at The Heller Law Firm for a free consultation, or call us direct at 866-461-5791. You will hear from us either the same day or within 24 hours.

Home Depot Hit with Premises Liability Suit

Although shopping at big-box home improvement stores is an experience that’s not for the faint of heart, customers shouldn’t be forced to wear a hard hat – or should they? When Barbara Molska was shopping at a Chicago-area Home Depot store in 2005, she was struck on the head with a heavy brick-like object. Soon after the incident, Molska began to experience an array of troubling health symptoms, including debilitating neck and back pain and vision disturbances. In the recently filed suit, Molska is seeking at least $50,000 to cover the medical costs she incurred after being injured.

If you or a loved one has been hurt while out and about, we can help. Contact the attorneys at The Heller Law Firm for a free consultation, or call us direct at 866-461-5791. You will hear from us either the same day or within 24 hours.

Employer Liable in Chatting-While-Driving Case

Textile industry giant International Paper was found liable in a recent case that highlighted the dangers of using a cell phone while operating a vehicle. An employee who was driving her company car while talking on a company-issued mobile phone rear-ended another vehicle. The impact of the crash forced the other driver into a ditch, causing injuries that ultimately resulted in the loss of an arm. A number of aggravating circumstances in the case – including the fact that the employee had set her vehicle’s cruise control for seven miles over the legal speed limit – resulted in a record $5.2 million settlement.

If you or a family member has been victimized by someone else’s carelessness, a seasoned personal injury lawyer can help you understand your options. Contact the attorneys at The Heller Law Firm for a free consultation, or call us direct at 866-461-5791. You will hear from us either the same day or within 24 hours.

Instructor Knowingly Assumed Risk When Riding With Student Drivers, Court Rules

Most passengers don’t plan to be injured in a car crash when they’re riding shotgun, but a New York judge said that that’s exactly what Edward Yetemian, 55, should have done. What explains Yetemian’s bad luck? Well, he happens to work as a driving inspector and instructor for the New York Department of Motor Vehicles – and Supreme Court Justice Valerie Nelson ruled that Yetemian should have expected that his job would put him in harm’s way. Pursuant to the ruling, Yetemian was unable to pursue damages against a 37-year-old student who smashed into a parked car during a lesson.

Have you or a loved one suffered injuries as a result of a car accident? If so, you need an experienced personal injury lawyer to help you navigate the legal system. Contact the attorneys at The Heller Law Firm for a free consultation, or call us direct at 866-461-5791. You will hear from us either the same day or within 24 hours.

Dosage Errors Can Turn Deadly for Tiniest Patients

In late 2007, actor Dennis Quaid’s newborn twins received a dose of blood thinning medication that was 2000 times stronger than necessary. Despite the firestorm of recent media attention surrounding the Quaid case, medical experts say the problem of dosage errors has been a major concern for years – and that infants and children are at particularly high risk for hospital overdoses. CNN.com’s health desk recently offered readers a series of tips to help patients and parents alike avoid dangerous dosage errors.


If you or a loved one has fallen victim to a medical error, a highly-qualified personal injury lawyer can help you understand your options. Contact the attorneys at The Heller Law Firm for a free consultation, or call us direct at 866-461-5791. You will hear from us either the same day or within 24 hours.

Preventable Medical Misstep Cost John Ritter His Life, Suit Claims

When beloved comedic actor John Ritter collapsed on the set of his hit sitcom, 8 Simple Rules For Dating My Teenage Daughter, everyone from the paramedics who responded to the emergency call to the physicians who treated him at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center thought he was having a heart attack. In fact, Ritter was suffering from a sudden, massive tear in the aortic vein – and his grieving family claims that this misdiagnosis and the incorrect treatment that followed it caused the 54-year-old’s premature death. Patient advocates are pointing to the case as a classic example of the way that incorrect diagnoses can quickly spiral out of control in urgent care situations.

If you or a loved one has suffered due to a medical mistake, you need a highly-qualified personal injury lawyer on your side. Contact the attorneys at The Heller Law Firm for a free consultation, or call us direct at 866-461-5791. You will hear from us either the same day or within 24 hours.

Safety of Medical Devices Thrown into Question by Supreme Court Decision

In a recent landmark decision, the Supreme Court moved to limit consumers’ right to sue for damages related to design flaws in medical devices. According to the highest court in the land, FDA approval of a medical device should be evidence enough of its safety and reliability – and consumers are therefore prevented from bring lawsuits challenging device safety at the state level. The controversial decision is seen as a boon to the rapidly growing medical supply industry, already a $75-billion-dollar-a-year behemoth.

If you or a loved one has suffered as a result of a faulty medical device or another treatment, you should talk things over with a highly-qualified personal injury lawyer. Contact the attorneys at The Heller Law Firm for a free consultation, or call us direct at 866-461-5791. You will hear from us either the same day or within 24 hours.

Political Adversaries Once Partnered for Patient-Centered Health Care Reforms

At the height of a cutthroat primary election season, Democratic frontrunners Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama may not seem to share much common ground. But back in a more peaceful era, the two Senators – both former attorneys – joined together to advocate for patient safety. An article co-authored by the pair was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2006. Although the medical reform bill Obama and Clinton were backing at the time ultimately failed to pass muster, their stated goals of reducing medical errors and improving transparency in the health care system are something we can all get behind, no matter where we happen to fall along the political spectrum.

Has a medical error or malpractice impacted your family? Talk over your options with a highly-qualified personal injury lawyer. Contact the attorneys at The Heller Law Firm for a free consultation, or call us direct at 866-461-5791. You will hear from us either the same day or within 24 hours.

Donda West Case Sheds Light on Shortcomings in California’s Medical Malpractice Laws

For Donda West, longtime Chicago State University English professor and mother to famed hip hop artist Kanye West, the beauty quest turned deadly in November 2007, when West fell victim to complications after undergoing several cosmetic surgery procedures. It has since come to light that West’s surgeon, Dr. Jan Adams, has a history of alcohol-related legal troubles and has settled several medical malpractice cases in the past.

Despite clear indications that a pattern of negligence may exist, the West family’s ability to seek damages in the case may be limited by a peculiarity of California law. The Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act of 1975, or MICRA, sets limits on the amount of damages that can be awarded in some medical malpractice cases. The fairness of the controversial law has been called into question by a number of prominent industry experts and think tanks in the past, but it may take the heightened scrutiny of the press in the aftermath of the Donda West case to finally bring widespread attention to the issue.

If you or a loved one has fallen victim to questionable medical practices, you need the help of a highly-qualified personal injury lawyer. Contact the attorneys at The Heller Law Firm for a free consultation, or call us direct at 866-461-5791. You will hear from us either the same day or within 24 hours.