On May 12, 2023, a Cook County jury returned a verdict of ten million one hundred and fifty-three thousand dollars against the City of Chicago and two police officers engaged in a highspeed chase in a residential part of Chicago on June 24, 2017. The car they were...
The attorneys at Zane D. Smith & Associates obtained a victory on behalf of our client, Ms. Quatanya Seals, against the pharmaceutical giant, Walgreens. In this case of a terrible medication error, we helped to ensure our client secured justice. A long fight...
Once you have won your case, received a judgment, and all of the post-trial motions are completed, the question becomes “how do I get my money?” In general, there is a misconception that once you win the lawsuit, the judge leans over the bench and hands you a check for the amount of money you’ve won. Unfortunately, it does not…
Common legal questions about bike riding in Chicago. With the proliferation of bicyclists in the city of Chicago, and the city’s very conscious effort and policy of encouraging everyone to ride to work, here are the most popular questions about bike law. Q: What road laws do bicyclists have to follow? A: Bicyclists have to obey the same rules of…
On many occasions when handling medical malpractice cases, attorneys will face the question of how long a medical institution must preserve slides, specimens, tissues or biopsies. The state of Illinois has what is referred to as the CLIA laboratory certification program. This is part of the code of federal regulations CFR 42 Part 430 that refers to federally required record…
Lessons in Detecting Fraud There has been a tremendous increase in fraudulent check schemes involving attorneys and their escrow accounts. Our firm has been the target of at least 3 scam attempts this year alone. The cases involve a person, who appears to be a legitimate client, attempting to use the attorney-client relationship and the attorney escrow account to steal…
The divorce of billionaire Kenneth Griffin and his spouse, Anne Dias Griffin has focused a lot of news attention on prenuptial agreements in Illinois. Engaged couples typically want to talk about the possibility of entering into a prenuptial agreement and are seeking advice as to what should be considered before executing one. Here are three rules that all couples should…
How do you divorce your business partner? Many times I am asked by clients for advice regarding the dissolution of a business relationship. It is always unfortunate to me that the timing of the clients request for advice is at the end of the relationship rather than at the beginning. The general rule in any partnership is that while you…
Jurisdictional Questions The question of jurisdiction comes up when determining which country is the proper venue to file a lawsuit. In general terms, the lawsuit should be filed in the county in which either the transaction occurred, injury occurred or defendant resides. Usually no consideration will be made as to where plaintiff resides. Jurisdictional questions are very complex. There are…
In determining how much your case is worth, there are many factors to consider: Do you have the funds to pursue or defend this matter? Is it covered by my insurance policy or policies? How much will I actually end up getting or paying after all the fees and expenses are considered? How long will this take to complete? What…
