Chicago Injury Lawyers Blog

On March 31, 2010, Pfizer disclosed that it has paid $20 million to doctors and researchers for consulting and speaking in the last six months of 2009. The figure does not include monies paid to others outside of the United States. This is the first public accounting of the amount of money paid to persons who may be recommending drugs to patients. However, the amount has not been audited by any outside agencies.

How many more millions of dollars will be disclosed from other drug companies in the coming weeks and months remains to be seen. However, the ethical issues remain: Should drug companies be compensating doctors for promoting their products? Does this payment to researchers and doctors compromise the judgment of doctors and researchers? Does this payment to doctors compromise the patient/doctor relationship?

On April 21, 2010, Chicago Injury Lawyer Tim Cavanagh, an Illinois Leading Lawyer and Super Lawyer, will speak at the Law Bulletin Seminar "Making Your Case: Courtroom Visuals." The four hour conference featuring some of the top trial lawyers in town will be held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Cavanagh will discuss courtroom strategies utilized in winning the $13.7 million verdict in Czapski v. Maher, the $55 million verdict in Velarde v. Canadian National Railroad and the $2 million verdict in Santillana v. City of Chicago. For information on the Seminar, go to http://www.lawbulletin.com/legal/law-bulletin-seminars/courtroom-visuals---apr-21.

Cavanagh Law Group is pleased to announce that Benjeman Nichols has joined the firm as an associate. Mr. Nichols concentrates his practice in plaintiff's personal injury law, including medical malpractice, product liability, premises liability and wrongful death. Before joining Cavanagh Law Group, Mr. Nichols defended physicians, hospitals, and corporations with the national law firm of Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP. Mr. Nichols experience representing doctors and hospitals will benefit the clients of Cavanagh Law Group, who have been the victims of medical malpractice.

Mr. Nichols earned a Bachelor's Degree in Music Education from Valparaiso University in 1999 and was a music educator in the Chicago Public Schools. He received a Fulbright Scholarship to research East German Lutheran church music in Dresden, Germany, where he worked and studied for several years. He is fluent in both English and German. Mr. Nichols returned to the United States to attend law school at Loyola University Chicago, where he was a Corboy Trial Team Advocacy Fellow, a Joan Marie Corboy Advocacy Scholar, an editor of the International Law Review, and a frequent member of the Dean's List. Mr. Nichols was also twice a judicial extern to the Honorable Blanche Manning in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

In addition to his legal practice, Mr. Nichols serves on the Board of Directors for Vox 3 Collective, Inc., a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization which is committed to arts education.

Four women were killed in a one car crash in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood in the early morning hours of Saturday, March 6, 2010. At 2 a.m. a Pontiac sedan was headed westbound on Garfield Avenue at a high rate of speed when it left the roadway and struck a tree. Chicago police and fire paramedics responded to the scene. The car was nearly unrecognizable due to the damage from the high speed impact with the tree. Chicago police are investigating.

Cavanagh Law Group has long been regarded as one of the preeminent firms in the state for personal injury, automobile liability and wrongful death. Timothy J. Cavanagh has been named one of the top 500 plaintiffs' lawyers in the United States by LawDragon Magazine, and today the partners of Cavanagh Law Group boast an astonishing record of success. With over $350 million in settlements, judgments and awards for our clients, the Cavanagh Law Group has earned the highest Martindale-Hubbell rating available. Some of our recent successes include:
$27 million, railroad crossing case
$14 million, medical malpractice
$13.7 million, wrongful death
$9.1 million, railroad crossing case
$7.5 million, medical malpractice
$5.7 million, motor vehicle liability
$4.5 million, motor vehicle liability
$4.5 million, product liability
$3 million, premise liability

Today we represent nothing less than a singular voice for personal injury victims' rights in Illinois.

In the early morning hours of Friday, March 5, 2010, a bus operated by Tierra Santa Tours, Inc. rammed another vehicle, crossed the center line and rolled over killing six and injuring sixteen in Arizona. The bus was transporting passengers on its trip from Mexico to Los Angeles. The crash occured on interstate 10 in Pinal County, south of Phoenix. Federal investigators have determined that the California bus company was operating the bus illegally because it didn't have the authority to operate over state lines.

The attorneys at Cavanagh Law Group have decades of experience handling transportation negligence cases in Illinois and around the country. Tim Cavanagh and Matt Rundio, partners at the firm, have teamed up to win numerous record setting verdicts. In Velarde v. Canadian National, the lawyers were the lead attorneys in winning a $55 million dollar verdict in a train/car crash. The verdict was recognized by the National Law Journal as one of the top 100 verdicts in the nation in 2002. In 2009, the lawyers obtained a $13.7 million wrongful death verdict in Czapski v. Maher. Cavanagh has also obtained several record setting settlements including $9.1 million in Ajmeri v. Illinois Central , $4.1 million in Barnes v. Berry Electric Company and $4.5 million in Taylor v. Daimler.