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On a test track in Pittsburgh, an 18-wheel tractor-trailer rounded a curve. No one is behind the steering wheel. The truck’s sensors spot a trash can blocking one lane and a tire in another. In less than a second it signaled, then moved into the unobstructed lane and passed the obstacles. The self-driving semi, outfitted…

A federal lawsuit against L’Oreal, Revlon, Dark & Lovely and other companies alleges that the businesses that sell hair straightener products, knew, or should have known, that the use of the dangerous chemicals in the products would increase the risk of cancer. They marketed and sold them anyway without so much as a warning label.  …

CHICAGO, IL, February 26, 2024 – Carla Colaianni, a plaintiff’s trial lawyer and co-chair of the medical negligence practice area at Smith LaCien LLP, was named by Crain’s Chicago Business to its 2024 Notable Women in Law. She was featured in the Feb. 20 issue of the weekly magazine. The 141 lawyers who were selected practice…

Large Malpractice Verdict Amounts Against Physicians Increase  A surge in large medical malpractice awards targeting physicians and hospitals is part of new data released on February 2, 2024, by the global reinsurance company TransRe. In 2023, a record number of 57 medical malpractice verdicts of $10 million or more were recorded in U.S. Of these,…

CHICAGO, February 2, 2024– Brian LaCien, a founding partner of Smith LaCien LLP – Trial Lawyers, has been named by Super Lawyers as one of the “Top 100” Illinois lawyers. The state has more than 94,000 attorneys. LaCien has been recognized as a Super Lawyer every year since 2016 and was a Super Lawyer Rising Star from…

CHICAGO, January 24, 2024 – Chicago trial lawyer Todd A. Smith, a founding partner with Brian LaCien of Smith LaCien LLP, has once again been named by Super Lawyers as one of the “Top 10” Super Lawyers in Illinois. The state has nearly 97,000 licensed attorneys. Smith has been on the Illinois Super Lawyers list since its inception in 2005…

Illinois was one of 16 states that did not allow for the recovery of punitive damages in wrongful death cases – until now. Last year, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law HB 219, which amended the former law to allow punitive damages to be recoverable in wrongful death cases. The new law makes Illinois the…

A sharp rise in deaths from heavy truck crashes, which are up almost 50 percent in the last 10 years, has federal officials more eager than ever for solutions. Many know what needs to be done and have a federal Administration willing to cooperate, but a lack of consensus prevents any real movement forward. The…