Justia Injury Law Opinion Summaries

The Hancock Center in Chicago is managed by Shorenstein (several related companies). Shorenstein hired an architectural firm, MCA, to design and oversee renovation of windows and exterior walls; MCA hired a general contractor. In 2002, a scaffold fell from the 42nd floor in a high wind and killed three people in cars, severely injuring several others. Shorenstein settled with plaintiffs in 2006 for a total of $8.7 million. MCA’s contract with Shorenstein had required MCA to obtain liability insurance covering the owner, Shorenstein, and any other party specified by the owner. MCA obtained the required insurance policy from AMICO, covering “any person or organization to whom [MCA is] obligated by virtue of a written contract.” There was a dispute concerning which Shorenstein entities were covered. Shorenstein was awarded $959,866.02 by the district court. The Seventh Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part, holding that the court erred in apportioning the award among the Shorenstein entities. The court rejected AMICO’s arguments that the claim was barred by an exclusion of coverage for injuries “due to rendering or failure to render any professional service” by an insured and that Shorenstein gave up its right to indemnity by AMICO by asking its other insurer for indemnification. View "Nat'l Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh v. Am. Motorists Ins. Co." on Justia Law

Since 2006 Ray has experienced pain in his shoulder. He contends that the pain stems from an injury and that an MRI scan would point the way toward successful treatment; Shah, Ray’s treating physician at the correctional center, believes that the pain stems from arthritis and that a scan would not help in diagnosis and treatment. The district court rejected Ray’s suit under 42 U.S.C.1983. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, noting that Ray has been examined often, x-rays have been taken, and physicians have prescribed painkillers; staff also has arranged for Ray to be assigned a lower bunk. Because Ray’s claim fails the objective component of cruel-and-unusual-punishments analysis, his contention that Dr. Shah displayed subjective antipathy is irrelevant. View "Ray v. Wexford Health Sources, Inc." on Justia Law

Fitzgerald had not eaten all day, had not slept in three day, and drank some wine. Feeling “down,” Fitzgerald attempted to call a hospital help line, but instead dialed a police non-emergency number. She proceeded to talk to the desk officer. Though Fitzgerald denied suicidal thought or intention, the desk officer described a “very depressed,” possibly suicidal, intoxicated female caller. As officers approached the building, Fitzgerald abruptly hung up on the desk officer. This information was relayed to the officers. Upon entering the apartment, officers and paramedics found Fitzgerald unsteady on her feet and slurring her words. For 30 minutes, they talked to her. She denied wanting to harm herself, but admitted being upset and told them that she had been taking anti-depressants. They, along with Fitzgerald, unsuccessfully attempted to contact Fitzgerald’s friends. The decision was made to take Fitzgerald to the hospital. Fitzgerald would not go voluntarily. She screamed and physically resisted. Eventually, the officers and paramedics lifted Fitzgerald onto the stretcher and handcuffed her right hand to the stretcher. She continued to resist, eventually breaking bones in her wrist. Surgical repair was necessary. The district court dismissed her 42 U.S.C. 1983 claims. The Seventh Circuit affirmed. View "Fitzgerald v. Santoro" on Justia Law

Devbrow entered the Indiana prison system in 2000. During intake, he told the medical staff that he had prostate problems and would need to be tested for prostate cancer within two to four years. In 2004 a test revealed an elevated PSA, but the medical staff did not order a prostate biopsy for more than a year. In a biopsy six months later, Devbrow was diagnosed with prostate cancer that had spread to his spine; treatment options were severely limited. Devbrow sued prison doctors and a nurse practitioner under 42 U.S.C. 1983 for deliberate indifference to serious medical needs in violation of the Eighth Amendment. The district court entered judgment for the defendants based on the two-year statute of limitations, construing the claim as a constitutional violation that in April 2005 when the biopsy was ordered. The Seventh Circuit reversed. The statute of limitations for a section 1983 deliberate-indifference claim does not begin to run until the plaintiff knows of his injury and its cause. Devbrow did not know of his injury when the defendants ordered a biopsy; he discovered it six months later when he learned he had cancer that might have been diagnosed and treated earlier. View "Devbrow v. Kalu" on Justia Law

Roddy, born in 1964, suffers from several serious medical problems, including severe lower back pain attributable to degenerative disc disease. When her pain became unbearable, she stopped working and applied for disability insurance benefits. She was unsuccessful before the Social Security Administration. An administrative law judge found that there were jobs in the national economy within her capabilities, although she no longer could perform her old job as a shift manager at a Taco Bell restaurant. The district court affirmed. The Seventh Circuit vacated and remanded. The ALJ improperly discounted the opinion of a physician and improperly considered Roddy’s testimony about her ability to do housework. View "Roddy v. Astrue" on Justia Law

Bogie attended a comedy show featuring Joan Rivers, who told a joke about Helen Keller, offending an audience member who had a deaf son. The audience member heckled Rivers; their brief exchange was filmed and was part of the documentary. When Rivers exited to a backstage area, closed to the public, Bogie gained entry and expressed frustration with the heckler and sympathy for Rivers. Rivers responded with an expression of sympathy for the heckler. The film shows at least three others present. The interaction was filmed and included in the documentary entitled Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work. Bogie’s conversation lasted 16 seconds in the film’s 82 minutes, 0.3 percent of the entire film. The documentary was distributed nationwide. Bogie alleges that she was portrayed in the film as having approved of condescending and disparaging remarks by Rivers toward Wisconsin, its citizens, and the heckler. Bogie’s complaint alleged that her privacy was invaded by the distribution of the film and that the film misappropriated her image for commercial purposes without her consent. The district court dismissed. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, reasoning that the footage was “incidental,” newsworthy, and not used for advertising. View "Bogie v. Rosenberg" on Justia Law

The 57-year-old woman, diagnosed with frozen shoulder and later with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, stopped medical treatment in 2003, having no health insurance and income of $4500 to $9000 a year as a clerical worker. Her last significant employment, as a hotel night-clerk, ended in 2007. She got another clerical job, but was immediately fired because unable to lift a box of paper. She sought social security disability benefits and resumed treatment. She had regained the full range of motion, but muscles in her arms and shoulders were weak and she had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, causing bronchitis, respiratory infections, and shortness of breath. The ALJ decided that she was capable of performing as hotel clerk and was not disabled; he disregarded findings by a doctor whom he had appointed and with whom the applicant had no prior relationship. He noted the “lack of aggressive treatment” and that she smoked, overlooking that she stopped smoking 30 years earlier. The ALJ focused on her ability to do laundry, take public transportation, and grocery shop. The Appeals Council declined review. The Seventh Circuit remanded, stating that: “Really the Social Security Administration and the Justice Department should have been able to do better.” View "Hughes v. Astrue" on Justia Law

Hentz is an accountant with a firm employed by pension funds to perform accounting and auditing services. The firm possessed a compact disc containing confidential and protected information, including the names, birth dates, and Social Security numbers of approximately 30,000 participants and beneficiaries of the funds. The firm agreed in writing to ensure that it would safeguard the information on the compact disc. Hentz placed the compact disc in a laptop, put the laptop in her personal vehicle, and parked in the open at her residence. The laptop and disc were stolen. The funds incurred nearly $200,000 in credit monitoring and insurance expenses and sued Hentz, who tendered the defense to Nationwide, which had written her homeowner’s insurance policy. Nationwide obtained a declaration that it had no duty to defend or indemnify Hentz because the policy does not cover damage to property rented to, occupied or used by or in the care of the insured or arising out of or in connection with a business conducted from an insured location or engaged in by an insured, whether or not the business is owned or operated by an insured or employs an insured. The Seventh Circuit affirmed. View "Nationwide Ins. Co. v. Central Laborers' Pension Fund" on Justia Law

Scherr, an elderly woman who required the use of a walker, booked a room at the Courtyard Marriott Hotel in Overland Park, Kansas and requested a room that complied with the Americans With Disabilities Act. The hotel had recently undergone a renovation and had installed spring-hinged door closers on the bathroom doors of some of its rooms, including the ADA-compliant room assigned to Scherr. While attempting to exit her bathroom, the door, which she had pushed open and then released to use her walker, quickly slammed shut on her, striking her and knocking her down. She underwent surgery for a broken wrist and an injured hip and later brought a personal injury action against the hotel, which settled in 2010. Prior to settlement, Scherr brought a suit under the ADA seeking injunctive relief against the hotel and 56 other Courtyard Marriotts for using the spring-hinged door closers. The district court ruled that Scherr had standing to sue the Overland Park hotel, but not the 56 other Marriotts, and that the applicable statute of limitations did not bar her suit, but later granted Marriott summary judgment. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, holding that the spring-hinged door closers comply with ADA regulations. View "Scherr v. Marriott Int'l, Inc." on Justia Law

School administrators approved a seventh grade field trip to Mauthe Lake. Students were not required to attend. The school district forbids swimming on field trips unless a lifeguard is present. The administrator, present at the lake, knew that there was no lifeguard and that there were places in the swimming area where water would be over the children’s heads. Several students entered the lake at the beach. The chaperone told the children not to go deeper than their chests, Kamonie, with others, walked until the water reached his chest, and was pulled down to water over his head. He drowned inside the designated swimming area. His parents sued (42 U.S.C. 1983), claiming that the defendants deprived Kamonie of his life in violation of the due process clause. The district judge dismissed. The Seventh Circuit affirmed. A state does not deprive a person of his life in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment by failing to prevent death, but only if the death was caused by the reckless act by a state employee acting within the scope of employment. Negligence enhanced the risk to Kamonie, but negligence is not enticement, or deliberate indifference, or blindness to obvious dangers. The parents may have state law claims, but damages would be capped at $150,000. View "Slade v. Bd. of Sch. Dirs.of the City of Milwaukee" on Justia Law