The Illinois Personal Injury Weblog of Schaeffer & Lamere P.C.

Housing Cools in St. Louis

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: " Home construction cools in area," by Eric Heisler--

Construction of new homes slowed this year, especially along the region's long-dominant western fringe, according to a new report on housing construction.

The report shows two important trends: a cooling of last year's torrid pace and a continuing shift that's tilted housing growth more toward the region's urban core and the Metro East area.

--Posted by Edwardsville Illinois workers compensation attorney T. Evan Schaeffer of Madison County Illinois work comp law firm Schaeffer & Lamere, P.C.

Get Your Post-Christmas Deal

From the Alton Telegraph: "Shoppers look for post-Christmas deals," by Cynthia M. Ellis--

The nation’s shoppers headed back to malls early Monday for post-Christmas deals as retailers wooed them with even deeper discounts, expanded shopping hours and fresh new merchandise in an effort to salvage sales in a season that’s turning out to be only ho-hum.

This year, shoppers waited even longer than last year to do their holiday shopping, creating more angst among retailers. Now, merchants are relying even more on the post-Christmas season, hoping that consumers will snap up discounted holiday leftovers as well as new regular-priced merchandise.

--Posted by Vioxx lawyer T. Evan Schaeffer of the Brighton Illinois personal injury law firm of Schaeffer & Lamere, P.C.

Whooping Cough in MadCo

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "Madison County tries to counter spike in whooping cough cases," by Terry Hillig--

The Madison County Health Department is trying to reverse a big spike in reported cases of whooping cough.

Thirty cases have been reported in the county since mid-October. Only eight were reported in 2003 and 2004 combined.

St. Charles and St. Louis counties have also reported recent increases in whooping cough cases. Nationally, there have been outbreaks in California, Kansas and Ohio.

--Posted by Edwardsville Illinois PI attorney T. Evan Schaeffer of Madison County Illinois personal injury law firm Schaeffer & Lamere, P.C.

Illinois Might Ban Junk Food in School Vending Machines

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "Illinois may take junk food out of school vending machines," by Georgina Gustin--

Starting next school year, vending machines in elementary and middle schools across Illinois could dispense a lot more good-for-you granola and a lot less sugar-filled soda.

A proposal under consideration by the Illinois State Board of Education could ban high-calorie, high-fat drinks and non-nutritious snacks during the school day and before school. If approved, the ban will make Illinois one of at least a dozen states to limit access to junk food and soda in schools, a trend supported by national and state health organizations concerned about growing obesity in children.

--Posted by Edwardsville Illinois PI attorney T. Evan Schaeffer of Madison County Illinois personal injury law firm Schaeffer & Lamere, P.C.

Mistrial in Vioxx Case

From the North Jersey Media Group,  "Legal road ahead is more difficult for Merck,"  by Theresa Agovino --

Merck & Co. goes into the next slated Vioxx trial facing plaintiffs armed with stronger cases, a winning lawyer and new evidence against it.

But Merck's general counsel, Kenneth C. Frazier, said the drug maker is undaunted, repeating his statement that the company acted responsibly and remains committed to trying each case individually.

-- Posted by personal injury lawyer Andrea Lamere of the Godfrey, Illinois personal injury law firm of Schaeffer & Lamere, P.C.

Smoking Ban Unlikely in Southern Illinois

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "Smoking ban is a nonstarter here," by Kevin McDermott--

Cities and towns all over northern and central Illinois are pondering whether to ban smoking in public places like bars and restaurants starting next month, when a new state law will give local municipalities that option. But there's been hardly a whiff of discussion in the Metro East area or in Southern Illinois.

It's a regional political oddity that may have the simplest of explanations, and the most disturbing, to health advocates: The southern half of the state just smokes more.

--Posted by Missouri personal injury attorney T. Evan Schaeffer of Illinois and Missouri personal injury law firm Schaeffer & Lamere, P.C.

Merck Accused of Hiding Data about Vioxx

From Forbes: "New England Journal Charges Merck Deleted Vioxx Study Data," by Amanda Gardner--

The editors at one of the world's leading medical journals have accused researchers and Vioxx manufacturer Merck & Co. of withholding key heart risk data that showed up in one of the first large trials of the now-withdrawn arthritis painkiller.

Specifically, the editors of the New England Journal of Medicine charged that a major study published in November 2000 was submitted to the journal after information about three heart attacks among Vioxx trial participants was deleted by Merck, which funded the study.

--Posted by Illinois Vioxx attorney T. Evan Schaeffer of Madison County Illinois PI law firm Schaeffer & Lamere, P.C.

Southern Illinois Hunter Bags and Elk

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "Hunter kills wild elk on farm in S. Illinois," by Paul Hampel--

Illinois conservation officials confirmed Tuesday that the kill was the first known shooting of an elk in the wild in the region since 2001, when a hunter bagged one in Calhoun County that had escaped from a nearby preserve.

But Sachtleben, and his father, Doug Sachtleben, 39, a real estate appraiser, suspect that the elk shot Saturday was about 2-years-old and the offspring of animals that escaped a nearby preserve that closed down in the early 1990s.

If that's true, it would mark the first known self-sustaining population of elk in the wild in the region in almost 200 years.

--Posted by Illinois Vioxx attorney T. Evan Schaeffer of Madison County Illinois PI law firm Schaeffer & Lamere, P.C.

Online Security Is a Must

From the Las Vegas Review-Journal: "Stay secure while shopping on the web"--

With the holiday shopping season in full swing, it's time for some common-sense safety reminders for Internet buying. For many of you, this is old hat, but with cyberspace holiday shopping projected to increase as much as 25 percent from a year ago, even the veterans out there need to be careful.

One of the most important things to look for while completing a Web order form is a secure connection. Look for the closed padlock symbol in a corner of your browser. Users of the Firefox browser will notice the Web site address line changes from white to yellow as an additional method for recognizing secure connections.

--Posted by Illinois PI attorney T. Evan Schaeffer of Madison County Illinois personal injury law firm Schaeffer & Lamere, P.C.

Driver Charged

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "Driver is charged in fatal crash," by Bill Bryan--

A passenger in a car that caused a fiery fatal crash just south of downtown has identified the driver and said he was going 120 mph on a busy city street moments before the impact.

Officers arrested Darren Walters, 22, based on a tip - and obtained a second-degree murder charge against him after crafty detective work led to the passenger.

--Posted by Illinois pi attorney T. Evan Schaeffer of Alton Illinois personal injury law firm Schaeffer & Lamere, P.C.