Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

Chicago Car Accident Lawyers Settle Case for $250,000

April 1, 2016 | By Dave Abels

The car accident attorneys at Abels & Annes, P.C. recently settled a case on behalf of one of our clients for the available insurance policy limits of $250,000.

The claim stems from a rear-end automobile accident that occurred in Alsip, Illinois, a village south of Oak Lawn in Cook County. Our client was driving his vehicle when traffic began to slow down. In response, our client slowed down as well but a motorist behind him failed to slow, causing a rear-end car accident to take place.

The force of the collision pushed our client’s car into the lanes of oncoming traffic where the vehicle was struck again. As a result of the collision and the multiple impacts, our client suffered significant injuries including fractured bones and cardiopulmonary damage which required immediate medical care. Following the crash, the at-fault driver was cited by local authorities and pleaded guilty to the charges that he caused the collision by failing to slow down for traffic.

Injuries Happen in School Bus Accidents Despite Safety Designs

March 31, 2016 | By Dave Abels

Many parents place their children on a school bus every morning, trusting that the driver of that bus will act in a manner that will ensure their children’s safety. And if their kids return home after school without incident, few will give a second thought to the school bus, the school bus company, the district that runs the bus, or other issues related to school transportation.

Unfortunately, though, every year school bus accidents take place and many of them cause injuries to the children on board. Others will cause harm to drivers and passengers in other vehicles, like a typical car, and yet others affect the lives of bicyclists and pedestrians. In 2014, 1,766 school bus crashes happened in Illinois alone, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation.

More Than 100,000 People are Injured in Truck Accidents Annually

March 30, 2016 | By Dave Abels

On some days, trucks seem like a constant presence on Illinois roadways, winding their way from one spot to another and keeping to themselves. They may inconvenience other drivers who get stuck behind them or who wish the truck would move a little quicker but mostly, they present a minor issue or annoyance. This can change in moment, however, if a truck accident takes place in Chicago or elsewhere in the state. In those cases, the lives of the motorists and passengers involved may be altered forever by the fallout from the collision and from any injuries that result.

Truck accidents are less common than car crashes but the harm that spreads from truck collisions may cause a greater amount of devastation. A typical truck is large, heavy, and difficult t slow or stop which means that it is capable of doing great damage to another vehicle – particularly if that other vehicle is smaller and lighter, like a car, truck, or SUV.

Why Are People Driving Drunk in Chicago?

March 29, 2016 | By Dave Abels

Now that it is 2016, it may seem like no one drives drunk anymore. After all, campaigns highlighting the dangers of drunk driving accidents have been getting publicity for decades now and each passing year increases the alternatives to drunk driving, including the recent addition of ride share programs like Uber in the Chicago area. Yet the fact remains that drunk drivers are on Illinois’ roads every day of the year, at all times of the day and in all types of weather.

Once a motorist is behind the wheel and drunk, it can be difficult to protect public safety. Instead, the most effective efforts to curb drunk driving stem from preventing drunk drivers from ever entering a driver’s seat of a car, eliminating their presence on public roadways and protecting not only their own safety but the safety of others. To do this, it is helpful to understand why people drive drunk in the first place.

85,000 Children Under Age 5 are Unintentionally Poisoned Annually

March 25, 2016 | By Dave Abels

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC”), an estimated 85,000 children under the age of five are unintentionally poisoned every year in the United States. It is a shocking statistic that all adults should know but that far too few understand, especially when considering the fact that more than 75 percent of all those poisonings occurred in the home.

Young children do not have a proper sense of what is safe and what is harmful, leading them to encounter substances which can be toxic or poison with disregard. It is critical that adults, including parents, caregivers, school teachers and school employees, and those who may share space with young children, understand that they must act appropriately in preventing access to these poisons to ensure that all kids remain safe.

According to the CPSC, the following are the top 10 products associated with pediatric poisoning:

Car Accidents Expected during Weekend Travel

March 24, 2016 | By Dave Abels

A large number of drivers in the Chicago area are making plans to be on the roads this weekend, traveling to see family for the Easter holiday or otherwise enjoying some time away from the hustle and bustle of the city. This means that area expressways, interstates, and even local roads are expected to be laden with motorists all trying to get to their chosen destinations at the same time, leading to hectic and potentially dangerous situations.

Gas prices are relatively low at the moment though they have increased in the last two weeks. This is another factor expected to contribute to high traffic with several million drivers nationally expected to travel more than 50 miles from home. Unfortunately, rain is expected in much of Illinois today and on Sunday as well which could lead to a heavy traffic load with poor visibility around the state: a recipe for car accidents and other collisions.

If you will be one of the thousands of drivers taking to the roads this weekend, keep the following tips in mind:

Blind Spot Technology Could Reduce Car Accidents

March 22, 2016 | By Dave Abels

Collisions between cars traveling in the same direction happen with far too frequently in Chicago. Often, these crashes occur on the interstates and expressways that surround us but the city’s many one-way streets, roads, and alleys also make for a scene where a side impact crash may happen.

Commonly, one vehicle traveling alongside another may not realize that the second vehicle is present, thereby attempting to change lanes when it is unsafe to do so. As all vehicles have some degree of a blind spot to the sides of the car, these crashes can happen even when motorists think they know what vehicles are nearby if a car or small SUV happens to be somewhere a driver cannot see readily with mirrors. This is one of the reasons it has been so difficult to reduce these car accidents over the years, but that may now be changing.

Gearing Up for Chicago’s Motorcycle Season

March 21, 2016 | By Dave Abels

If you are one of the thousands of motorcycle riders in Illinois, odds are that you have been patiently waiting spring’s arrival so you can get back outdoors and back onto your bike. Maybe the last few weeks have given you an opportunity to already do some riding, taking advantage of the warming weather and increasingly-present sun, or maybe you are still holding off until the final few days of 40 degree weather are finally gone before you take to the road.

Whatever you plans are, know that motorcycle season is rapidly approaching in Chicago and if you are thinking about participating, you should also give some thought to safety precautions before you ride:

Automatic Braking Will Be Standard by 2022

March 18, 2016 | By Dave Abels

Technology has been changing the way we drive for years now, and many new features have resulted in an increase in safety on American roadways. One such feature is automatic emergency braking, a system that combines sensors outside of a vehicle to detect potential hazards and then automatically triggers the brakes if the system determines a vehicle is at risk for a car accident.

Automatic emergency braking (“AEB”) is triggered when drivers fail to take appropriate action to slow or stop their cars, thus significantly reducing the number of rear-end accidents and other forms of collisions that happen every year. As rear-end crashes are the most common form of traffic accident comprising one-third to one-half of collisions, any significant reduction in these incidents is expected to save billions of dollars in economic damages, prevent thousands of injuries, and save countless lives.

Until recently, AEB has been an optional feature present mostly on high-end new cars, protecting some but still covering only a limited portion of drivers. Yesterday, though, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety announced that 20 automobile manufactures comprising more than 99 percent of the American auto market will introduce AEB as a standard feature on their vehicles no later than September 1, 2022.

Nighttime Driving: Is It Always Safe?

March 16, 2016 | By Dave Abels

There are nearly 13 million people living in Illinois, and of those, nearly three million people call Chicago home. That is a big population for a relatively small geographic area, meaning everything from our restaurants to our trains to our streets are crowded. A big city also means that something is happening at all hours of the day and night, leading people to move about in the early morning hours and even late into the evening.

As a result, Chicago residents often must drive in the dark. Most do so without a second thought, turning on their headlights and proceeding on their way. Few realize that simply being on the roadway when it is dark outside makes you more likely to be the victim of a car accident than you would be during the day, even if you operate your vehicle in a safe and reasonable manner.

Night hours bring a perfect storm of threats to drivers. The late hours mean that motorists are more likely to be tired or sleepy behind the wheel and that their reaction times will be slower as a result. Plus, the absence of sunlight has been proven to negatively impact depth perception, color perception, and a driver’s peripheral vision, meaning a decreased ability to perceive changing traffic conditions and obstacles that are oncoming.

If you need to drive at night, consider these following tips to stay as safe as possible: