Stotis & Baird

08/30/2022

Did you know that if your spouse dies without a will, half of his or her estate may go to the children? If you were expecting to have that money for your retirement, this can be a big shock. Check out this new article on our website about avoiding the “50% surprise” to learn how you can avoid that result.

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04/16/2020

Quarentine may be the perfect time to get your estate plan in order. Some thoughts from Eric Parker:

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04/01/2015

Stotis & Baird attorneys Michael Baird and Eric Parker were once again named to the "Super Lawyers" list for 2015. Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The…

01/02/2015

better late than never http://chicago.suntimes.com/nationworld/7/71/255688/51-years-wreck-7-inch-car-part-found-arm-illinois-man

A 7-inch turn signal lever from a car accident 51 years ago was surgically removed this week from an Illinois man's arm.

10/28/2014

An excellent story on small airplane safety and engineering http://www.usatoday.com/longform/news/nation/2014/10/27/plane-fires-crashes-deaths/16530225/

The fire ignited when the small airplane smashed into a parking lot and empty building in central Anchorage on a failed takeoff. Passersby ran to pull four burning people from the Cessna Skywagon.

10/16/2014

Doctors say that because people are allowed to make claims against them for professional negligence, they practice "defensive medicine" -- order more tests, do more work, and drive up costs. Lawyers that represent negligence victims have always said this isn't true -- it's an excuse to get legal immunity for causing harm to other people. Many studies prove this. Another study was recently published by The New England Journal of Medicine, a highly respected journal "dedicated to bringing physicians the best research and key information at the intersection of biomedical science and clinical practice."

The study looked at the states where legislatures had already largely taken away a patient's right to make a claim against their doctor (raising the standard to make a claim, so that a person could only make one for "gross" negligence). They checked to see if these doctors were doing fewer tests, doing less work, and saving on health care costs. The result? Taking away a patient's right to make a claim doesn't help reduce costs. http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMsa1313308?query=TOC&

Special Article from The New England Journal of Medicine — The Effect of Malpractice Reform on Emergency Department Care

10/14/2014

Another Megabus crash. This one in Indiana en route to Chicago http://breakingnews.suntimes.com/chicago/megabus-headed-to-chicago-rolls-over-crashes-in-indiana/

Six to eight people are said to be in serious condition, police said.

09/25/2014

GM begins to offer compensation to victims in defective ignition switch cases: http://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/general-motors/2014/09/24/gm-victim-fund-makes-compensation-offers/16154387/

GM’s independent victims compensation fund has made its first cash compensation offers

09/16/2014

More publicly available information for patients = safer practices, safer hospitals http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/09/07/hhs-change-reporting-hospital-mistakes-foreign-objects/15084175/

Federal regulators are reversing course and will release data on hospital mistakes, including when foreign objects are left inside patients.

09/15/2014

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/14/business/trying-to-hit-the-brake-on-texting-while-driving.html?src=me&_r=0

People keep texting when they’re behind the wheel, so an engineer has found a technological solution. The problem: He can’t do it on his own.