On July 22, the Chicago Tribune reported that a small experimental plane crashed near Chicago’s lakefront on the Southeast Side. Fortunately, the pilot – who lives in St. Joseph, Mich. – was able to stand and talk to emergency crews after the accident.

The pilot had taken off from Oshkosh, Wis., and was headed to Benton Harbor, Mich., when the crash occurred. He suffered head injuries and was transported to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in fair condition. No one else was inside the aircraft, which was intact, lying upside down in a marsh.

According to the Federal Aviation ...

A “track image recorder” may provide clues to the deadly accident that occurred when a Union Pacific train derailed on July 4 in Glenview, collapsing a bridge and then toppling over onto the car of a couple who were later discovered to have been crushed by the train. This, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, is being reviewed by the Federal Railroad Administration and the train company’s investigators.

The fact-finders are counting on the recorder to learn why the derailment happened and how it led to the fatal accident. For its part, Union Pacific is pointing to a preliminary ...

Supposedly a sport where the whole family can enjoy the thrill of zipping along in their all-terrain vehicles, ATV rides can instead turn from fun and togetherness into nightmares of injury and death.

MSNBC recently posted a video describing the fatal ride of a 14-year-old boy who died following an accident on an ATV that weighed 700 pounds.

The report cited these numbers: “In 2010, at least 55 kids younger than 16 were killed in ATV accidents. More than 28,000 were seriously injured, leading the American Academy of Pediatrics to warn... ATVs are dangerous to children, and the ...

When people go to a hospital, they assume the medical professionals there will treat their illnesses skillfully, and they will return home in better health than before they left.

Sadly, this is not always the case. In fact, sometimes patients not only leave with new ailments and must be readmitted, but an unfortunate number die from their hospitalization.

According to a 2010 government study, published by Consumer Reports, “mistakes and other medical harm contribute to an estimated 15,000 deaths each month. And that’s just among Medicare patients.”

The nonprofit ...

One day after a 16-year-old boy fell to his death from a second-floor window of the old Ravenswood Hospital, the owner of the vacant building said he received a permit “to secure or take down the fire escape that police said the boy used to sneak into the structure.” While a welcome development, it may be a case of too little too late.

In the Chicago Tribune report, Lycee Francais, which purchased the property in November 2011, also said it has applied for a permit to demolish the entire building.

The old hospital, at 1931 W. Wilson Ave. in Chicago, had been an eyesore and a danger since ...

A new national consumer safety law, first introduced in 2008, was finally passed on June 27 of this year. It is titled “Danny’s Law” in honor of the 16-month-old child who tragically died after a defective playpen collapsed on him.

Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., announced the new, stricter safety rules for children’s products. She was joined at the Capitol by Danny’s mother, Linda Ginzel, who, with her husband, Boaz Keysar, campaigned unrelentingly for the new law.

In 1998, little Danny was strangled at a day care center in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood while ...

When we think of life on the farm, our thoughts typically go to green pastures, grazing animals, and crops being harvested for market. But those green acres can also be scenes of deadly accidents.

Lest you think that farms are disappearing, think again. Illinois’ 76,000 farms cover more than 28 million acres -- nearly 80 percent of the state’s total land area. The average size of an Illinois farm is 368 acres, most of which is devoted to grain, mainly corn and soybeans. Nearly 10 percent have swine, with beef cows on about 23 percent of farms, and 3 percent have dairy cows.

Stop for a minute ...