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A man whose spinal cord was severely injured in a four-vehicle collision accepted an $11 million settlement out of Cook County Circuit Court. Alton Vaughns, then 54, was stopped in traffic while heading north on Interstate 55 in Chicago on Oct. 24, 2024. The accident occurred when a car, driven by Rigoberto Heredia, struck Jasmine McIlvenny’s…

Brian LaCien of Smith LaCien LLP Trial Lawyers was recently featured on Fox 32 Chicago’s ChicagoLIVE to discuss Ford’s massive recall of over 4.3 million vehicles due to a software defect affecting trailer brake functions, tail lights, and turn signals, a serious safety hazard for drivers and everyone else on the road. The recall affects…

When you are in the hospital for an illness, injury, or medical procedure, you’re put into a vulnerable position that requires you to trust that all staff members involved in your care uphold their legal duty to treat you at the medical community’s accepted care standards. Unfortunately, sometimes a provider breaches their duty of care,…

Prescription medications are powerful drugs with the potential to cause serious harm when incorrectly prescribed or dispensed. When a pharmacy dispenses the wrong medication, it’s medical malpractice. If you or a close family member suffered an injury or worsened medical outcome due to pharmacy medical malpractice, you have the right to seek financial accountability through…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CHICAGO-IL – (January 26, 2026) Chicago trial lawyer Todd A. Smith, a founding partner with Brian LaCien of Smith LaCien LLP, has been selected to the 2026 Illinois Super Lawyers lists and for the first time selected as a Top 5 Personal Injury Plaintiff in Illinois. The top 5% of the lawyers…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CHICAGO-IL – (February 13, 2026) – Smith LaCien LLP is proud to announce that founding partner Brian LaCien has been named to the Top 100 Illinois Super Lawyers list for the 5th year in a row. He has also earned placement on an Illinois Super Lawyers list for the past 16 years…

A child’s birth is one of a family’s most cherished moments, filled with the joy of welcoming a new family member and expectations for the child’s future. When parents begin to suspect that their child suffered a birth injury, their child’s future suddenly becomes uncertain. Sometimes a birth injury is immediately apparent, with signs like…

Cancer is a devastating and deadly disease. One of the most frustrating aspects of cancer is that it’s almost always curable when caught in its earliest stages. Once the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes and then to other organs in stages three and four, it is typically terminal. Unfortunately, even when an individual…