Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
Illinois auto accident attorney Gary Annes has resolved a claim on behalf of a Will County resident for $59,000. The claim arose out of an Illinois auto accident which took place in the area of Weber Road and Grand Haven Circle in Romeoville, on June 15, 2010 at approximately 2:24 p.m. The plaintiff was injured when the automobile she was driving was involved in a multiple car chain reaction rear end collision caused by a vehicle driven by a negligent motorist.
Our client was driving southbound on Weber Road. Traffic in front of the plaintiff came to a stop and she stopped for the traffic in front of her. There were vehicles stopped in front of her and a vehicle stopped behind her.
The defendant failed to stop and/or reduce the speed of his vehicle and rear-ended the vehicle stopped behind our client. The force of the initial impact propelled that vehicle into the plaintiff’s vehicle, and the force further pushed her car into the vehicle in front of her.
The Romeoville Police Department responded to the scene of the accident. After speaking to all the parties involved in the collision, the investigating officer placed the defendant at fault for the collision. He admitted to the investigating officer that the collision was caused because he did not notice that traffic had stopped in front of him until it was too late. The investigating officer issued traffic citations based on the drivers admission for driving too fast for traffic conditions and failure to reduce the speed of his vehicle.
The at fault driver failed to keep a proper lookout, failed to stop and/or reduce the speed of his vehicle to avoid a collision, was driving at an excessive rate of speed, and failed to exercise due care for the safety of those in the area.
Based upon the facts and circumstances surrounding the occurrence at issue, we argued to the defendant’s insurance carrier that it was clear that the sole proximate cause of the collision was the negligent conduct of their insured.
Following the collision, the plaintiff had an immediate onset of neck pain, back pain and chest pain. That same day, she was seen at the Edward Hospital‘s Emergency Department. There she complained of right sided neck pain, back pain, chest pain and pain in the iliac area. She was diagnosed with cervical strain, right iliac crest pain, and a chest wall contusion.
Over the next few days, her pain increased significantly. On June 21, 2010, she sought follow-up treatment at a chiropractic office. She was still having back pain and neck pain. She was also suffering from severe headaches, left leg pain and left ankle pain. She started therapy, which consisted of spinal adjustments, electric stimulation, and ultrasound. After three days of treatment, our cleint realized that her injuries were severe so she decided to get a second opinion from an orthopedic physician.
My client next treated with a medical doctor in Naperville in June 2010. At that time, she had complaints of neck pain, back pain, left leg pain, and left ankle pain. The physician ordered cervical and lumbar MRIs, as well as an MRI of her left ankle. The scans showed the plaintiff had sustained disc bulges at 2 cervical levels and one bulge at her lumbar level.
After receiving the MRI results, the client was next seen at a physical therapist’s office in July, 2010. At that time, she was still having complaints of neck pain, back pain, headaches, left leg pain, and left ankle pain, which caused very limited and painful mobility. A physical exam found that the lower back pain caused radiating pain to her left lower extremities as well as her posterior right thigh. At that time, she started a course of physical therapy that consisted of manual therapy, electric stimulation, ultrasound therapy and therapeutic exercise. She completed ten (10) sessions of physical therapy.
On July 20, 2010 the plaintiff was seen by another medical doctor. She was diagnosed with low back pain, lumbar radiculopathy, upper back pain, cervical radiculopathy and neck pain. The doctor recommended additional physical therapy and epidural injections.
She began an additional course of physical therapy. Her treatment consisted of manual therapy, therapeutic exercises, neuromuscular reeducation, ultrasound and electric stimulation. She attended twenty-one (21) sessions of therapy which ended on December 1, 2010. She also underwent several epidural steroid injections.
In addition to the $59,000 settlement, we were able to collect over $16,000 in medical payments from her own auto insurance policy, bringing her grand total to over $75,000.
If you have been hurt in an accident, contact the personal injury lawyers at Abels and Annes for free consultation. Call 312-924-7575 to speak to an attorney today.