Here in the United States, underage drinking continues to be a serious safety threat. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 30 percent of high school students admit to consuming alcohol. Every year, more than 4,300 teens die due to alcohol consumption. 

If your child was consuming alcohol at another person’s residence, the adults present are in direct violation of social host liability laws. Perhaps nothing can hurt a parent more than finding out that their child has been injured or killed in an alcohol-related accident. 

When a motorist drives on a state-sponsored road, there are several factors that he or she may take for granted. The fact that the road is a safe place for motor vehicles, of course, is one of them. If you are in a car accident due to a defect in a state-sponsored thruway in which a person was gravely injured, you may be eligible for compensation. The same goes for defective automobile equipment that led to the cause of injury or death, such as a defective car seat or tire.

The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration’s SaferCar.gov is an agency responsible for not only cataloging defective roads, but also for registering vehicle complaints “to ensure [drivers and passengers] stay safe on our nation’s roads and highways.”

The Department of Transportation catalogs types of deficiencies in the nation’s roads that can lead to accidents. There are five main types of road distresses for which the DOT is responsible. These distresses include: cracking; patching and potholes; surface deformation; surface defects; and miscellaneous distresses. Each has its own unit of measure for which to measure the defect, and the DOT lists each to ensure that drivers are aware of potential issues. Each category is further broken down into types.

Property owners generally understand that they are responsible for the safety of the guests they welcome onto their property. Owners are liable for any unsafe or dangerous conditions, if they know, or should have known about the condition, and, subsequently, failed to fix it or warn their guests. Nonetheless, premises liability also extends beyond residential property.

Illinois property owners may be interested in a recent law passed regarding landowner liability for land used for recreational or conservation purposes. The governor signed a bill into law that upped the liability protections for landowners who allowed public access onto their property for things like biking, hiking, fishing and bird watching.

The new law was meant to mirror the premises liability laws in other states. As of seven years ago, Illinois was the only state that restricted liability protections for property owners who invited the public onto their land for recreational use. Over the course of time, this restriction slowly limited the number of recreational opportunities for outdoor enthusiasts across the state.

It must be true what they say about man&s best friend. Two former neighbors in Milton Township, Illinois were friends for 17 years but after a recent fight between their two dogs, the two are siding with the dogs. The incident occurred when one neighbor&s 13-year-old akita escaped through the front door and ended up in a fight with the other neighbor&s shih tzu. The shih tzu lost his right eye in the fight.

The owner of the akita paid for the shih tzu&s medical bills through her insurance company. But the shih tzu&s owner is not satisfied. The owner is a magician and uses the shih tzu in his acts and he says that the injury impacts his business.

The incident is still under investigation. Authorities in DuPage County are somewhat limited in what they can do but if a dog is found "dangerous", they can force owners to muzzle the animal and keep it on a short leash when off property. The next step is to make a "vicious dog" declaration, which means a dog has received three findings of being "dangerous."