Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

Boy Injured After SUV Drives onto Basketball Court

July 3, 2015 | By Dave Abels

Parents are focused on protecting their children year-round, no matter the activities in which the child is engaged. Some regular functions involve a level of risk that most parents are aware exists – the best example of this remains the use of a vehicle, like a car, in traveling. When children are passengers in a car, there is always a risk that a collision will occur and that the child will become an innocent victim, forced to endure pain and suffering that comes with injuries caused by the crash.

Yet other activities should never pose a threat to the safety of a child if the adults around that kid are acting in a safe and reasonable manner. Despite the perceived safety of these types of activities, though, children in Chicago are injured every year and sustain a range of injuries from cuts and abrasions to broken bones and even death.
Continue reading

Crash Near Illinois Border Leaves 1 Dead

July 2, 2015 | By Dave Abels

Car accidents are such a serious and pervasive threat to the safety of motorists in America that the trends associated with them are monitored closely. Numerous federal and independent agencies record data related to car crashes so that the data can be reviewed and new safety procedures implemented, all in an attempt to prevent future collisions and to save lives that otherwise may have been lost in those accidents.

One such agency, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, reports that 32,719 people were killed in traffic-related accidents in 2013 alone in the United States. Though much of the devastation caused in a collision cannot be measured monetarily, the best estimates of the financial harm caused by those crashes is $242 billion. Chicago saw its fair share of accidents in 2013 and collisions continue to strike in the city every day. As a result, citizens are left in need of medical care, forced to miss time from work as they recover, and sustain other damages like pain and suffering.
Continue reading

Celebrate Safely over 4th of July Weekend

July 1, 2015 | By Dave Abels

Every year, thousands of visitors flock to Chicago over the 4th of July weekend to celebrate the anniversary of America’s independence in one of the greatest cities in the nation. With the world-class fireworks display at Navy Pier and the abundant selection of food and culture throughout the weekend, it is no wonder that so many choose to make Chicago their home-away-from-home on one of the biggest holiday weekends of the summer.

These tourists, coupled with those who call Chicago home, contribute to the electric atmosphere that reverberates around the town and that infuses the city with life and with fun. Most of those who will celebrate 4th of July here will do so safely and without issue, creating memories that will last for years to come. However, not everyone will be that lucky as there are always incidents that lead to injuries and, sometimes, that cause death over the weekend. Whether it is a pedestrian accident, bicycle collision, or a car crash, everyone who plans to spend time in Chicago should be aware of looming dangers and should attempt to avoid them when possible.
Continue reading

Abrupt Lane Change Causes Fatal Accident on I-80

June 30, 2015 | By Dave Abels

Do you drive in the Chicago area? If so, do you think about your safety each and every time you get behind the wheel? If you possess the traits of a typical motorist, your actions may be on autopilot when it comes to safety checks while driving. Sure, you always put on your seat belt and you always wait to proceed until you have the right of way. But those actions are so ingrained in your driving skills that you perform them out of habit – you do not conduct a running check list in your mind of the actions you must take to act safely.

Yet even if you are always a safe motorist and if you always are aware of your surroundings, you still are at a very significant risk for being the victim of a car accident if you drive in Chicago or if you ride in a car as a passenger. Tens of thousands of collisions occur within the city’s limits annually and far too many of those cause serious injuries or even death.
Continue reading

2 Dead After Motorcycle, 3 Cars Involved in I-290 Crash

June 29, 2015 | By Dave Abels

Many people operate under the mistaken belief that they will never be involved in a motorcycle accident in Chicago because they do not own a motorcycle. At first blush, that may seem like a logical conclusion but in reality, it fails to account for numerous passengers on motorcycles who are injured annually as well as pedestrians, bicyclists, and those in passenger vehicles that are involved in a collision with a motorcycle.

Chicago is not the only place where bikers face a threat as the rest of Illinois continues to see collisions as well. In 2013, the Illinois Department of Transportation recorded 2,699 bikers with injuries in accidents in the state and 152 motorcyclists that lost their lives in 3,464 collisions. While motorcycle crashes were responsible for only 1.2 percent of all traffic accidents during 2013, they were to blame for 13.7 percent of all fatalities in the state – a stunning disparity illuminating the extreme risks faced by bikers when a collision does take place.
Continue reading

Collision on Kennedy Expressway turns Fatal

June 25, 2015 | By Dave Abels

A typical semi-truck hauling a trailer is up to 20 times the size of a standard passenger car, taking up additional room and posing a significant risk to cars if a collision should occur. In Illinois, statistics prove that truck accidents pose a disproportionately large threat to anyone involved who is in a much smaller vehicle: in 2011 alone, 84 percent of the people who lost their lives in collisions with trucks were in vehicles other than the truck itself.

While truck crashes continue to happen in the Chicago area, victims will continue to be injured and may even be killed, leaving behind loved ones who will never be able to recover from that loss. When a crash happens, the laws of the state are on the side of victims and are designed to help victims financially by enabling those who are hurt to seek financial compensation against an at-fault driver, company, city, or insurance company. However, victims must take the required steps to seek this relief and must do so within a time period specified by law or all rights will be lost. For these reasons, it is wise to speak with a personal injury attorney if you are involved in a Chicago truck accident and you are injured or hurt.
Continue reading

Head-On Crash near Grayslake Leaves One Dead, Several Injured

June 24, 2015 | By Dave Abels

Experts consider head-on car accidents to fall into one of two broad categories: those that occur at intersections and those that do not. Both types have the potential to cause extreme devastation to the drivers and passengers involved but the types of crashes often stem from varied causes, making classification helpful.

At an intersection, drivers collide in a head-on manner most often when a motorist fails to yield the right-of-way or obey a traffic light. Other crashes may happen if one driver attempts to make a turn when oncoming traffic is present or if a motorist fails to navigate the intersection appropriately, especially when an intersection involves the crossing of more than two roads. Perhaps more common, collisions that involve head-on impacts which occur away from intersections are very dangerous and typically involve medium or high speeds. These tend to occur when a driver is distracted and crosses the center line or runs off the road. Alternatively, they occur due to some intentional action by a motorist like trying to pass on a two-lane road when it is not clear to do so.
Continue reading

Palos Heights Car Accident Injures 6

June 23, 2015 | By Dave Abels

Weekends pose a high risk for car accidents in the Chicago area. Though it may seem like a collision is just as likely to occur at any time, statistics prove that certain days of the week and certain times of the day see a greater number of crashes than others.

Among these, weekends and rush hours are known to carry an extra risk of car accidents for different reasons. During the weekends, the incidence of driving under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol increases on Chicago’s streets and those impaired drivers are more likely to crash. During rush hour, congestion and rushing drivers fail to mix well, potentially leading to accidents like rear-end collisions. While these reasons explain some of the increase, other collisions continue to happen during weekends and rush hours and cannot be explained by impairment or congestion.
Continue reading

Teenage Drivers Pose Serious Safety Risk in Chicago during Summertime

June 22, 2015 | By Dave Abels

Summer is here. Chicago is alive and booming with people, festivals, and events that spread from one end of the town to another. Kids are out of school and tourists are flocking to the Windy City and to the downtown area, adding to the congestion and to the overall atmosphere of a bustling metropolis.

If you talk to people who live in Chicago, you may hear that many of them live for the summers. Wintertime can be rough but the summers in the city are so great that they make winter bearable. While so much surrounding summertime is positive in Chicago and in Illinois, though, there are some negatives that everyone should be aware of as public safety may be at risk.
Continue reading

Massive I-55 Crash Possibly Caused by Sleeping Truck Driver

June 19, 2015 | By Dave Abels

It is an unfortunate fact of driving that a motorist can only control so much of his or her safety. While driving with care and caution is extremely important, anyone can become the victim of a car accident or a truck accident in Chicago if another motorist fails to act in a similar fashion. It only takes one driver becoming distracted, failing to pay attention to the changing traffic conditions, driving too fast, or even driving while intoxicated to threaten the safety of dozens of people and, potentially, to cause a collision.

This morning, police responded to the scene of a crash in Summit that they believe was caused by a semi-truck driver who fell asleep behind the wheel. The incident occurred on I-55 in the northbound lanes near First Avenue prior to 4:00 a.m. and involved at least 10 cars in addition to the truck, according to officials.
Continue reading