One of the most serious laws you can break when you are behind the wheel of a car is driving while you are under the influence of drugs or alcohol. If a police officer spots you while you are driving and thinks that you may be under the influence, he or she will immediately pull you over. Before the officer even walks to your vehicle, they will be assessing you and your behavior to determine whether or not you are intoxicated. They may ask you to step out of the vehicle to perform field sobriety tests. If you do not do well with them, they may request that you blow into a Breathalyzer so they can determine your blood-alcohol content (BAC) or they may arrest you and request that you complete chemical testing at the police station. Can you refuse to take that chemical test?

Implied Consent Laws

Illinois law states that any person with a state driver’s license who is in actual physical control of a motor vehicle is deemed to have given their consent to have their blood, breath or other bodily substance tested to determine their BAC or whether or not there are any drugs or intoxicating compounds in their system. You do not even have to be conscious to have a chemical test performed on you because you are deemed to have already given your consent. Illinois law states that a person who is dead, unconscious or otherwise unable to refuse to perform a chemical test is not deemed to have revoked his or her consent.

Consequences for a Refusal

Can you refuse a chemical test, despite the implied consent law? The answer to the question is yes – technically. You have the right to refuse a chemical test, but you will face negative consequences for doing so. In Illinois, the first time you refuse to take a chemical test will result in your driving privileges being suspended for 12 months, though you will be eligible to apply for a monitoring device driving permit. You will face a suspension of your driving privileges for three years for the second or subsequent time you refuse to take a chemical test within five years of your first offense.

Get Help From a Cook County DUI Defense Attorney Today

Getting pulled over for any reason is never fun, but it can be especially bad if you are pulled over for suspicion of driving under the influence. You can face serious repercussions if you are asked to take a chemical test and you refuse, but a Tinley Park DUI defense lawyer may be able to help. At the Fotopoulos Law Office we can help you fight the administrative actions that will take place after you refuse the chemical test. Call our office today at 708-942-8400 to schedule a free consultation.

Sources:

Illinois Compiled Statutes

Nobody expects to go to work and become injured, but that is why they are called accidents – you do not know when they are going to happen. All employers in Illinois are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance, which helps both employers and employees if an employee is injured while on the job. Workers’ compensation will cover medical costs related to things such as doctor’s visits, medication, physical therapy, surgery, and hospital stays. In the event that an employee is unable to work during their recovery from their injury, workers’ compensation can provide workers with disability benefits.

Types of Disability Benefits

If you are injured while you are working and are unable to work or do the same work you were doing before, you may be eligible to receive disability benefits during your recovery time through workers’ compensation. There are four types of disability benefits provided by workers’ compensation:

1. Temporary Partial Disability: This type of benefit is for employees who have been injured but are still permitted to work light duty on a part-time or full-time basis during their healing period. Because employees who are on light duty may not earn as much as they did prior to the injury, temporary partial disability (TPD) benefits are two-thirds of the difference between their average weekly wage before the injury and their average weekly wage after the injury.
2. Temporary Total Disability: Temporary total disability (TTD) benefits are available to workers who are not able to do any work under doctor’s orders or who are capable of light-duty work but their employer is unable to accommodate them. TTD benefits are two-thirds of the employee’s average weekly wage and have set minimums and maximums, as set by the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission. Until January 14, 2020, the maximum amount you can receive for TTD is $1,529.84 per week.
3. Permanent Partial Disability: Permanent partial disability (PPD) benefits may be available to workers who have a permanent disability or illness from their workplace injury that renders them unable to do the job they had before but are still able to work. The amount you can receive from PPD benefits and the length of time you can claim those benefits depends on the type of injury that you suffer. Currently, the maximum amount you can receive if you did not suffer an amputation or the loss of an eye is $813.87 per week.
4. Permanent Total Disability: Permanent total disability (PTD) benefits are for employees who either have lost the use of both hands, arms, feet, legs, eyes or any two body parts or employees who are completely disabled to the point that they are unable to do any work. Until January 14, 2020, the minimum weekly amount you can receive for PTD is $573.69 and the maximum weekly amount is $1,529.84.

Have You Been Hurt on the Job? Call a Will County Workers’ Compensation Attorney Today

At the Fotopoulos Law Office, we know how much a workplace injury can affect your life. Not only is it physically and emotionally stressful, but it can also be financially stressful, especially if you have had to take time off during your recovery. Our skilled Tinley Park, IL, workers’ compensation lawyers will help you fight for the benefits that you deserve. Call our office today at 708-942-8400 to schedule a free consultation.

Sources:

Handbook on Workers’ Compensation and Occupational Diseases

A good criminal defense lawyer will always tell you two things: Never voluntarily answer police questions – remember, you have the right to remain silent – and never consent to a warrantless search of your car. If you are pulled over on a traffic stop, you must provide the officer with your license, registration, and insurance information. But you do not have to answer any questions, even something basic like, “Where are you going?”

Defendant Faces 12 Years in Jail After “Routine” Traffic Stop

Remember, police are trained to be suspicious. Even in the context of a routine traffic stop, officers are looking for any possible sign of criminal activity, such as DUI or drug trafficking. Mere suspicion, however, does not justify an arrest or even a search of your vehicle.

However, your own statements can negatively impact you. For example, a man was recently sentenced to 12 years in prison after police found more than 27 pounds of marijuana in his car. What makes this case notable is the defendant actually consented to the search of his vehicle after the police officer completed a routine traffic stop and told him he was free to go.

The officer initially stopped the defendant for speeding. The defendant volunteered that he was traveling from Arizona to Michigan. This made the officer suspect drug trafficking. The officer questioned the defendant further about his travel plans, and the defendant continued to volunteer information.

After about 15 minutes, the officer completed the traffic stop and told the defendant was “free to go.” After a few moments, the officer “asked [the] defendant if he could ask him a few more questions,” according to court records. The defendant again volunteered additional information – and again, the officer said he was free to leave. During this time, another officer arrived at the scene, at which time the officers asked the defendant if they could search his car. The defendant agreed, whereupon the officers found the marijuana. They arrested the defendant and charged him with felony cannabis trafficking.

At trial, the defendant moved to suppress the search as a violation of his constitutional rights. The judge denied the motion and the defendant was ultimately convicted. The Illinois Third District Appellate Court upheld the conviction by a 2-1 vote.

The majority noted the defendant “was unequivocally told he was free to leave.” Instead he chose to remain on the side of the road and “eventually consented – twice – allowing [the officer] to search his vehicle.” The officer, according to the majority, did nothing to unduly prolong the traffic stop or coerce the defendant into consenting to the search.

The dissenting judge had a slightly different take. He noted that “any reasonable person, evaluating the totality of these circumstances, would have realized that the stop had not ended and would have concluded, despite [the officer’s] representations to the contrary, that he or she was not free to leave.” As this judge saw it, the officer’s “show of authority” rendered the defendant’s consent “mere acquiescence.”

Are You Facing Serious Drug Charges?

Even if the dissenting judge’s view of what happened in this case was correct, the defendant probably did himself no favors by talking with the officer in the first place. When the police tell you that “anything you say can and will be used against you,” they mean it. Your best course of action is almost always to say nothing. If you are detained or arrested, contact an experienced Orland Park drug crimes defense attorney. Call the Fotopoulos Law Office, today if you need immediate legal assistance.

Most drug crime cases in Illinois involve police searches, and the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution requires the police to obtain a warrant for most searches. In its broadest terms, the Fourth Amendment protects our right to privacy. However, this presumes that we had a reasonable expectation of privacy in the first place.

For example, if a police officer walks into your house and starts looking around, that would clearly be a violation of your privacy. Yet suppose you live in an apartment building and an officer searches the lobby, which is unlocked and accessible to the public. Illinois courts have said such searches of “common areas” do not require a warrant because there is no reasonable expectation of privacy.

Still, even within an apartment building, there are limits to how far the police can go. In a 2016 case, the Illinois Supreme Court held that police could not conduct a warrantless search outside an apartment door that was “located within a locked apartment building.” The court said the fact that public access was restricted to the hallway leading up to the defendant’s door was critical.

Court Finds Search of Door frame Illegal, Reverses Drug Conviction

More recently, an Illinois appeals court examined how this same principle applies to a duplex, i.e. a split-level building converted from a single-family home. The building at issue in this case was owned by the defendant’s mother. She lived in a separate apartment on the first floor. The second-floor unit was typically vacant but her son stayed there occasionally, including the night of his arrest for drug possession.

An undercover narcotics officer observed the defendant retrieving what he believed to be drugs from a bag hidden within the inside door frame of the duplex. This was an outer doorway that led to two interior doors, one for each of the duplex units. The officer subsequently searched the outer door frame, without a warrant, and found the bag which later tested positive for heroin.

A Cook County judge found the defendant guilty of possession of a controlled substance and sentenced him to five years in prison. But, the Illinois First District Appellate Court overturned the conviction, holding the officer’s search of the doorframe violated the defendant’s Fourth Amendment rights. The Court said the entire building should be treated as a “single-family home, which includes the area above the inside door frame.” In other words, the fact that the mother used the building as a duplex did not convert the outer doorway into a “common area,” and the police could not cross that threshold without a warrant.

Getting Help Fighting Illinois Drug Charges

As crazy as it sounds, this case illustrates how the type of building that you live in can determine the scope of your constitutional rights. Indeed, a federal court recently observed that Illinois rules may discriminate against African-American and Hispanic defendants, who are more likely to live in multi-family apartment buildings where there are more common areas. This is why, regardless of who you are or where you live, it is important to have experienced representation from an Orland Park criminal defense attorney. Call the Fotopoulos Law Office, at 708-942-8400 if you have been charged with a crime and need to speak to a lawyer right away.

Sources:

The People of the State of Illinois, Appellant

Illinois Official Reports

For most people, the most difficult thing they will have to deal with at some point in their lives is the loss of a loved one. The most tragic deaths are those that occur to people before their time or at the fault of another person. In some of these cases, Illinois gives family members the right to file a wrongful death claim, which can help recover some of the expenses associated with an unplanned death and the loss of the deceased from their lives. Though no lawsuit can bring back a loved one, a wrongful death lawsuit may be able to help lessen the financial burden that the family may be facing.

What is a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?

When a person commits a negligent or intentional act that causes another person to die, this is called a wrongful death accident. A wrongful death lawsuit is a claim that the deceased’s representative or family member files in order to recover money from the person who caused the accident. Typically, wrongful death lawsuits award damages to the deceased’s family that the deceased would have been able to recover in a personal injury case if he or she was alive.

Filing the Lawsuit

Illinois law states that a “personal representative” of the victim is the one who can file a wrongful death claim. The personal representative can be a spouse or child of the deceased. In the absence of a spouse or children, a parent or sibling of the deceased may be eligible to file the claim. As with any legal action, there is a deadline by which action must be taken, known as the statute of limitations. The statute of limitations in Illinois for a wrongful death claim is two years from the date of the death, or five years if the death was caused by violent and intentional conduct.

Recoverable Damages

There are many different types of damages that can be claimed in a wrongful death lawsuit. Most of the time, damages that are awarded in a wrongful death lawsuit are monetary damages, though non-monetary damages can also be claimed in some cases. Damages that you may be able to recover in a wrongful death lawsuit include:

• Medical expenses prior to death;
• Funeral, cremation or burial expenses;
• Loss of financial support;
• Loss of companionship, parental guidance, care or protection;
• Loss of benefits, such as insurance from the deceased; and
• Pain, anguish or mental suffering by the survivor.

A Will County Wrongful Death Attorney Can Help You and Your Family Move on

The untimely death of a loved one can send ripples through your family, especially if your loved one died because of the negligence or carelessness of another. At the Fotopoulos Law Office, we can help you file a wrongful death lawsuit so that you can claim compensation in your loved one’s name. Our skilled Joliet, IL, wrongful death lawyer has more than 18 years of experience helping families obtain favorable verdicts and settlements for their loved one’s deaths. Call our office today at 708-942-8400 to schedule a free consultation.

Sources:

Illinois Compiled Statutes