Contact me at markploftus@aol.com

Congratulations to John Edwards for roaring to a second place finish in Iowa. And people say trial lawyers aren't lovable.

Filing a case tomorrow for a young kid who got injured. My client is a 12 year old kid living in a rural northern Illinois county. Near his house is an empty lot where local kids congregate. There are well-worn bike paths and foot paths on the lot and kids use it as a short-cut to a local convenience store. Some indication that older kids were building bike "jumps" on the path by strategic placement of logs. And other rumors that neighbors had circulated at least one petition to have the area fenced because of worries about kids getting hurt.

My client had been there one other time before he got hurt. He and a buddy are riding bikes one day and decide to go to the convenience store. My guy is riding over the path when he suddenly realizes that there is a group of logs stuck in the path. He flips, falls, and lands on his hip, suffering a severe fracture. Ultimately has a lot of hardware put in the hip. His activities will likely be greatly curtailed for the rest of his life.

So, does he have a case? Some of my colleagues have suggested he was a trespasser and deserves what he got. Thankfully in Illinois there is something called the "attractive nuisance" doctrine, where under certain conditions, landowners are liable for dangerous conditions on their property when they know children frequent the property and the owner knows or should know about the dangerous condition. Insurance companies really fight these cases, so I anticipate a number of Motions to Dismiss. I will report further as the case evolves.

Quick celebrity note: McDonald's announced that their contract with Kobe Bryant has expired and it won't be renewed. Yeah, those rape allegations probably never even entered their mind.