Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

There are approximately 8.8 million licensed drivers in the state of Illinois, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation, and on any given day, any one of those drivers can be involved in an accident. In addition to those behind the wheel, the passengers in a vehicle are also at risk for being involved in a crash as are those who are riding their bicycles or walking in the area. Even the safest driver in the state may be the victim of an accident if that driver becomes a victim of the negligence of another.

Car accidents in Chicago are often serious and routinely cause injuries that require medical treatment. In fact, tens of thousands of people receive injuries in automobile accidents every year in Illinois alone. When a crash leaves you or your loved one injured and in need of relief, you should know that you may be able to bring a claim for your losses, including any medical bills you have or will incur. These claims can be brought against the person at-fault for the crash or even against your own insurance company if the other driver was never found or did not have valid insurance at the time of the crash.

In some cases, it can be difficult to know what exactly led to a crash and whether one or more drivers is to blame. Authorities, including police officers and emergency crews, often conduct an investigation into accidents to determine the factors that led to an impact but even then, it can be confusing to sort out the relevant information. Speaking with an injury lawyer who regularly represents the victims of car accidents in Chicago is often the best way to learn about your legal rights and whether you may be entitled to relief for your damages.

Police have reported that a one vehicle crash on I-90 yesterday morning proved fatal, claiming the lives of two men and leaving a third person injured. When police arrived, they were able to determine that the vehicle involved, a Toyota Corolla, left the expressway’s surface and collided with a pole near Barrington Road. The incident happened at about 7:45 a.m. with emergency crews responding shortly thereafter. The two men who were killed were reportedly both in the front seat and were both pronounced dead at the scene.

The individual who survived the wreck was transported to Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Elk Grove Village with an unknown current condition though that individual was expected to survive. Parts of I-90 were closed while crews inspected the scene and cleaned up some debris and they were later reopened to passing traffic.
Continue reading

Winter driving can be challenging and can lead to dangerous conditions for all drivers. Whenever snow or ice are present on a road’s surface, a hazardous situation may result. Bad weather makes it more difficult to slow or stop and can lead to collisions between drivers.

Chain reaction crashes are common when the roads are slippery and when drivers do not leave enough distance to stop. Often, these crashes turn deadly, like the recent Indiana chain reaction crash that left four people dead.

Several chain reactions occurred on Monday in Will County on I-55 and the incidents may have started with icy roads. Police believe that two vehicles hit ice on I-55 and lost control, leaving the roadway’s surface and stopping in the center ditch. Traffic began to slow and stop in response to the two vehicles and led to long delays in the area. Several approaching cars were not able to maintain control of their vehicles and caused rear-end collisions.

One of the drivers unable to stop was in a semi truck and rear-ended an SUV before striking a small car. A second car struck the first and then was hit by a third with several of the cars ending up off the road. In a separate chain reaction, a different semi truck struck a different SUV before colliding wiht a second semi, causing the metal being hauled by the second semi to spill on the road. In all, at least six people were injured in the chain-reaction crashes on I-55 and needed medical help.

The wreckage left portions of I-55 closed for a short period of time while crews tried to remove debris and open lanes for traffic to pass. The current conditions of the victims of the crash are not known but all were expected to survive.
Continue reading

Whether you drive in Chicago, in the suburban cities, or elsewhere in Illinois, there is always a potential risk of being involved in an accident. Even the safest, most cautious driver in the state can become a victim if another motorist is driving negligently or fails to pay attention to the road. Many car accidents are minor and fortunately involve only damage to the vehicles involved, leaving the occupants of the cars unharmed. Not every accident turns out this way, though, with many leaving drivers, passengers, or even others on the road hurt or killed as a result of a crash.

Injury lawyers who represent the victims of car accidents understand that these collisions are often not mere accidents but rather are caused by one or more drivers. Failing to drive in a safe and reasonable manner may lead to a crash and it may also lead to liability on the part of a negligent driver, who may face traffic and criminal charges as well as personal injury claims brought by the victims of the accidents. State laws allow injury victim to seek their own relief so that they can obtain proper and fair compensation for their damages, including their injuries and the expenses they have been forced to incur.

Often, it is not immediately apparent what led to a collision between two or more vehicles and it may take trained experts some time to sort out the details. That may be the case with an early morning accident in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood that left eight people injured.

Around 5:30 a.m., police responded to the area of Kimball and Fullerton where they determined that two vehicles had collided, seriously injuring several people involved and leaving both vehicles with substantial damage. One car had three people inside that had to be removed from the vehicle. It is unclear whether there were others in that car that were able to escape on their own power.

All eight people involved were transported to area hospitals including Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Mount Sinai Hospital, and John H. Stroger Hospital of Cook County. All victims were described as adults but their ages and their current conditions remains unknown.

Cook County has more car accidents every year than any other county in the state. The reasons for that include the large population, especially in Chicago, and the large number of drivers that take to the roads every day. Additionally, many who drive in Cook County are not familiar with the areas they travel, a factor that can lead to a large number of accidents.
Continue reading

Every year, there are approximately 280,000 car accidents in Illinois, nearly 30 percent of which result in injuries to those in one of the cars or others involved in the crash. Unfortunately, in addition to the injuries caused by these accidents, many individuals lose their lives as a result of a car accident. In fact, in 2011 alone, 918 people were killed in car crashes, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation.

Some of these collisions are the result of bad weather or otherwise cannot be avoided. But a large number of car accidents are due to the negligence of one or more drivers involved in the incident. Whether it is speeding, driving in an unsafe manner, being distracted behind the wheel, or even being under the influence of alcohol or drugs, negligence while driving is costing those in Chicago millions of dollars and the lives of loved ones.

When negligence causes an accident that leaves a victim injured or killed, the laws allow the victim or the victim’s family to seek relief against the at-fault driver. Generally, this relief can be sought through a civil claim for financial damages. These claims are separate and distinct from any traffic or criminal charges that may be asserted against a negligence driver and often exist even when an at-fault driver does not receive a ticket in the crash. Speaking with a personal injury lawyer in the greater Chicago area is the best way to understand the legal implications of an accident and to determine whether you may be entitled to seek relief.

Often, the cause of an accident is not immediately known and local authorities must investigate the circumstances to determine whether one or more parties was to blame for a crash. At this time, that appears to be the case with a car accident that happened in Barrington on Thursday morning between two vehicles traveling in opposite directions.

At this time, police believe that a 21-year-old woman was driving northbound on Ela Road when her vehicle crossed the center dividing line and entered a lane for southbound traffic. A second car was in the southbound lanes at the time and a collision between the two vehicles occurred. The 21-year-old driver died as a result of her injuries and was pronounced at the scene. At least one passenger in the second vehicle was injured and was transported to an area hospital for medical assistance where her condition remains unknown.
Continue reading

Winter weather is to blame in many car accidents that happen every year. Ice and snow can cause a vehicle to lose traction and to spin, possibly causing a collision with another car or with a fixed object. These collisions can be serious and often involve multiple cars in a chain reaction or even a pile-up crash. Though it is still early in the investigation, officials believe that winter weather could have been a factor in the deadly I-94 pileup that occurred yesterday in Indiana.

Crews are still on the scene today, attempting to tear apart the involved vehicles so that they can be removed piece by piece. The damage done to the cars involved was too severe to remove the cars individually and local authorities caution that as they remove debris, more cars may be found, meaning the potential for more victims.

A 17-year-old car passenger witnessed the start of the pileup in a rear view mirror and believes that the incident may have begun by a semi truck that jackknifed across the road and collided with a second semi. Several other semis were involved in the collision as were numerous passenger cars. At the present time, police have counted 46 vehicles involved, including 19 semi trucks. The damage was extensive.

In addition to the damage done to all vehicles involved, at least three people lost their lives. A couple from Michigan was killed as was a Chicago man who was traveling with his dog, who was also killed. The Chicago man was on his way to a family’s summer home to check on it, according to his daughter.

Another 20 people were injured in the crash with many of them needing emergency medical treatment. Some were transported by air ambulance to local hospitals due to the severity of their injuries. The conditions of the victims are not currently known.

Emergency crews were on the scene shortly after the 2:00 p.m. collision about 60 miles outside of Chicago. When they arrived, they discovered that they could not access some of the victims until vehicles were removed. Eastbound lanes of I-94 have been closed since the crash and will remain closed until all debris can be removed.
Continue reading