A relief pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, Bobby Jenks, recently suggested that a surgical error caused him to need an emergency surgery on his spine. The baseball player, 30, went to Massachusetts General Hospital in December for a spinal decompression surgery that should have removed two of the four bone spurs on his spine. After the surgery, Jenks experienced excruciating pain and severe headaches, and his incision was constantly leaking.

About 18 days after the procedure, the pitcher, who was in Arizona, went to the hospital to have his incision examined. Doctors found that surgery had begun on Jenks's third bone spur, but was not completed. An emergency surgery was required to stop the leaking spinal fluid, which had built up at the bottom of the pitcher's incision and caused an infection. Jenks believes that if he had waited longer the incision's infection could have infected the spinal fluid and led to potentially fatal complications. 

If you or someone you love has been the victim of a surgical error, contact the Chicago surgical error lawyers of Friedman & Bonebrake, P.C. at 312-466-8200 to learn more about your rights. 

A lawsuit filed in federal court in 2007 by 5 current and former prison inmates against the state of Illinois continues, but has yet to go to trial. The inmates allege that the state's prisons provide meals that contain dangerous amounts of soy, causing "irreparable, actual harm" to prisoners' health. The plaintiffs argue that the state's actions violate the Eighth Ammendment prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment.

Similar lawsuits have also been filed by other inmates in Illinois. The lawsuit claims that the plaintiffs' diet while in prison contained as much as 100 grams of soy a day. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, no more than 25 grams of soy should be consumed on a daily basis. Injuries that the plaintiffs argue they developed as a result of their high in soy diet include weakened immune systems, thyroid disorders, allergic reactions, and digestive complications.

Contact the Chicago personal injury attorneys of Friedman & Bonebrake, P.C. at 312-466-8200 to learn more about filing suit for injuries you or a loved one has suffered. 

20 construction workers are recovering from injuries they suffered in a construction accident at the building site for a casino in Cincinnati. The accident occurred at the end of last month when a metal beam holding up a second-story floor the workers were working on collapsed.

The elevated floor fell and several workers fell down onto the first floor. Fortunately, no workers were standing on the first floor underneath where the second floor collapsed. Contractors at the site said that one corner of the 60-foot by 60-foot floor area dropped first, essentially turning the floor into a slide down into the ground floor.

14 construction workers were taken to the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. The others injured in the accident were treated by paramedics at the scene of the accident for minor injuries. Officials with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating what caused the accident.

If you or someone you know has been injured working at a construction site, contact the Chicago construction accident lawyers of Friedman & Bonebrake, P.C. at 312-466-8200 to learn more about how we can help you.

This Monday, 4 people were killed in a tragic car accident near Hazel Crest.  Police say that the accident is the second wrong-way accident involving a drunk driver in the state in a week.  

The fatal car accident occurred on Interstate 80 at around 2:20 a.m. on Monday.  According to the Illinois State Police, a driver in a 1996 Infiniti was driving eastbound in the highway's westbound lanes before hitting a 1999 Ford traveling westbound.  The head-on collision caused both vehicles to catch fire.  

Both drivers and 2 passengers in the Infiniti were killed in the accident.  A third passenger in the Infiniti received treatment at Advocate Christ Medical Center and survived the accident.  Tests revealed that the driver of the Infiniti was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims' families and friends.