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Though the city of Chicago has a large population, the number of people in the city during the working hours is much large as so many people choose to work in the city but live in the suburbs. To make this possible, many commuters drive themselves, carpool, or take public transportation into and from the city everyday, allowing them to make the journey to work and back with little hassle.

One of the most popular ways to travel into the city remains the system of commuter trains, many of which run out from the city in one direction and provide return trips. These lines are heavily utilized with daily ridership running between a few thousand and over sixty thousand passengers. Some lines have multiple trains running at a given time in each direction and can have express and local trains sharing the same areas.

With so many trains and so many riders, unfortunately there are occasional train accidents involving the pedestrians surrounding the street level crossings and/or the train station platforms. It appears that one such collision happened on Friday morning in Buffalo Grove.

Police have reported that they received reports of a body lying on the tracks used by the North Central Service Metra line, a commuter line that averaged about 5,400 passengers each weekday during 2010. When emergency crews responded, they determined that in fact a body of a 49-year-old female Buffalo Grove woman was found on the tracks with trauma consistent with a train collision. The woman was dead by the time authorities arrived.

What remains unclear is which train struck the woman and why that train crew did not alert police to the incident and call for help for the victim. The incident is currently under investigation by local police and Metra police who will try to determine exactly what happened.
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Workers in Illinois are protected by laws that require workplaces to be safe and free of hazards but unfortunately, not all workplaces are as safe as they should be. Work injuries occur every day in Illinois and leave thousands of workers hurt every year. Some of these workers even die from their injuries.

When a workplace accident causes you harm, the law also provides for the possibility of a claim against an employer or supervisor for the damages sustained, including any medical bills incurred and pain and suffering. Unlike many other areas of the law, these types of claims generally do not revolve around who was at fault but rather are designed to protect any injured worker as long as he or she was engaged in work at the time of the incident. Injury lawyers often represent these work victims in an effort to help them obtain a financial settlement in the worker’s favor.

But when an accident claims the life of an employee, no amount of compensation can make up for the loss felt by the victim’s family, friends, and loved ones. These cases can be frustrating and it can be difficult to determine exactly how the accident occurred and why it was not prevented.

A terrible work accident occurred at O’Hare Airport on Thursday morning as a contract crew was doing work on the roof of the terminal. It is not clear exactly what happened by witnesses stated that a 59-year-old worker fell approximately 35 feet from the roof to the ground, landing on his back. Emergency crews responded but the man’s injuries were too severe and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

The worker was an employee of an unidentified contractor doing work on O’Hare and at this time, the investigation into the incident continues.
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For the second time in the past week the personal injury lawyers at Abels & Annes have settled an uninsured motorist claim for one of their clients. This time for a North Side woman who was injured at the top of Lake Shore Drive.

The crash took place on March 22, 2013 at approximately 9:00 a.m. There was plenty of light, the road was straight and flat and visibility was good.

Our client was driving eastbound in the far right lane of Hollywood where Hollywood becomes Lake Shore Drive. The defendant, an uninsured driver was traveling southbound on Sheridan Rd. and attempted to make a left turn onto Hollywood/Lake Shore Drive.

The uninsured driver drove through orange cones marking the lanes in the roadway and struck the vehicle next to the plaintiff in the left lane of eastbound Hollywood/Lake Shore Drive. The force of this impact pushed that vehicle into her vehicle. The force of this car crash pushed her vehicle off of the roadway onto the sidewalk area.

The impact of the uninsured motorist’s vehicle was heavy and caused the plaintiff’s vehicle to be pushed off of the roadway. She had immediate complaints of neck pain, back pain and left arm and shoulder pain and tingling. An ambulance was called and she was transported to Weiss Memorial Hospital.

 

 

At Weiss Memorial Hospital’s Emergency Department a history was taken, she was examined and diagnostic tests were performed. She complained of neck pain, back pain and left arm and shoulder pain and tingling. A cervical CT showed a disk injury at C6-7 and a suggestion of muscle spasm with evident straightening of the normal lordotic curve. Pain medication was prescribed and Susie was instructed to seek follow up medical treatment.

Over the next few days our client’s pain and discomfort worsened. She sought follow up treatment at Swedish Covenant Hospital’s Emergency Department with complaints of back pain and severe neck pain causing headaches and vomiting. Again, a history was taken, she was examined and diagnostic tests were performed. She was prescribed pain medication, muscles relaxants and instructed to seek follow up medical care.
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Every year, safety experts try to determine what factors lead to and cause collisions between cars across the nation with the belief that understanding the cause of crashes can help us eliminate accidents, reducing the number of people who are injured and killed every year as a result. This is a challenging task where officials must sort the details of each car involved in a collision and determine the sum total of the factors and determine which ones were at play.

The factor that is deemed responsible in almost 50 percent of all crashes is excess speed.

When an accident occurs and one or more people are injured, the law provides those accident victims with the possibility of a financial recovery to compensate them for their damages. In most cases, this can provide payment for medical expenses and time a victim must miss from work as well as providing for other damages incurred. These claims are generally made against the driver deemed to be at-fault for the crash and can be available to anyone injured as a result, whether the injured person was in the same car as the responsible driver, another car, walking as a pedestrian, or even on a motorcycle or bicycle. An injury lawyer can help you learn whether you have a claim for your losses after a car accident.

Unfortunately an accident occurred on Monday in California that claimed the lives of two men, one of whom has been reported as former NFL linebacker Thomas Howard. Known for his defensive prowess, Howard spent five years with the Oakland Raiders, two with the Cincinnati Bengals, and part of this season with the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons released Howard last week.

Police in Alameda responded to the scene of a highway collision between two vehicles on Monday and determined that Howard was speeding and traveling between 100 and 110 miles per hour. Authorities believe that Howard struck a semi truck which caused him to lose control of his car. His car rolled over and crossed the center median, entering the lanes designated for traffic traveling in the opposite direction and directly colliding with a second vehicle. The impact was described as severe and both Howard and the man in the second car, a 64-year-old California resident, were killed.
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Illinois law is very clear – after an accident, a motorist must remain at the scene of the crash until cleared by local authorities, with some limited exceptions for things like medical emergencies. Yet despite these requirements, every day injury lawyers receive phone calls from accident victims who report that the other driver not only caused the accident but also fled the scene without speaking to police and without calling for help.

Often, these accidents seem to be worse than a typical crash because another driver does not show remorse for his or her actions. Further, fleeing the scene can turn deadly if those involved in the crash were injured and unable to call for help. If the only able-bodied adult leaves the scene of the collision, emergency authorities may not be notified for some time, decreasing the chances of survival for those who have been seriously injured.

Many victims feel there is no one to help them after a hit-and-run crash and that there is no claim to be had against the responsible driver. But in many cases, this is not true. Following a collision, the fleeing driver often is identified and may be criminal charged for the actions that led to the crash. When this happens, an accident victim may be entitled to a financial recovery against that driver that will provide compensation for medical bills, pain and suffering, and lost wages.

In other cases, the other driver is never identified and the victim does not learn who caused the collision. Even in these cases, it may be possible for a victim to be compensated for his or her losses. Often, a car accident lawyer can help set up a claim against the victim’s own insurance company known as an uninsured motorist claim. This is a type of car insurance carried by most Illinois residents and it provides for coverage in the event another driver does not have insurance or cannot be located after a crash. The victim’s own insurance company steps into the shoes of the defendant and provides payment for the damages that stem from the crash.

In some cases, money cannot adequately compensate a family for what they lost in an accident. That is the case in a Gurnee crash on Saturday morning that left a man dead and his dog seriously injured. Police believe that the 31-year-old male victim let his dog outside after returning home from work. The man was concerned about the dog’s location and started looking for him near the area of Skookie Highway around 3:30 a.m. when an unknown motorist approached.
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I’ve said it before and I’m saying it again. It is more important than ever to protect yourself with a good auto insurance policy with uninsured motorist coverage before you hit the roads in Chicago. This is due to the fact in part that so many drivers are driving without insurance. The attorneys at Abels & Annes handle UM claims on a regular basis.A perfect example is the case below, where our client was hit by negligent driver who had no insurance. The plaintiff luckily had an auto insurance policy with protection if he was ever injured by an uninsured driver, and due to this fact we were able to obtain a $50,000 settlement on his behalf.

This claim arises out of an automobile collision which took place on January 9, 2012 at approximately 9:48 p.m. Our client was driving southbound on Harlem Avenue in North Riverside, Illinois. He was stopped at a red light at the intersection of Harlem Avenue and 25th Street. The uninsured driver was also traveling southbound on Harlem Avenue when she failed to stop as she approached 25th Street, and struck the rear-end of the plaintiff’s vehicle with significant force. As a result of being struck by the uninsured driver, his head flipped forward and hit the steering wheel. This also caused his head to snap backwards after impact.

After the accident, investigating police officers determined that the other driver was at fault for the accident.

Following the collision, the client immediately began experiencing pain. He hoped this pain would resolve, but when he awoke the next morning his pain was even worse. He sought treatment at Swedish Covenant Hospital’s Emergency Department.

 

 

In the emergency room, he complained of dizziness, nausea, and pain in his head, neck, back, and shoulders. A history was taken, he was examined and diagnostic tests were performed. He underwent a CT scan of his head. He was diagnosed with a concussion, and muscle strain. He was prescribed pain medication and muscle relaxants, and was instructed to seek follow up care.
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Train accidents can happen anywhere a train runs and can involve only one train or multiple trains. Other vehicles, like cars and buses, may be involved in an accident as can foreign objects on the tracks. Of all of the types of train-related collisions, one of the most severe is when a train collides with a pedestrian. These instances almost always lead to serious injuries, or often, to the death of the pedestrian.

Many pedestrian-involved collisions happen in highly populated areas with a lot of train traffic and a lot of foot traffic crossing train tracks or intersections. In Illinois, this means that many of these collisions happen in Chicago and the surrounding areas and involve either city CTA trains, commuter Metra trains, or other long distance trains, like Amtrak or commercial carriers of freight.

Injury lawyers know that these accidents can be devastating and it can be difficult for victims to obtain the relief they deserve. It can also be hard to determine who is at fault and whether any safety malfunctions contributed to the crash.

Unfortunately police have confirmed that a collision between a Metra train and a pedestrian occurred this morning in Tinley Park though it is not yet clear if that collision happened at the Metra station located in the village. Right now, officials can only confirm that a train hit a pedestrian and that the train and two inbound trains to Chicago were stopped as a result.

The condition of the victim is not currently known, nor is it clear if that person survived the initial impact.

Police and Metra officials are beginning their investigations to learn why this crash happened and whether negligence on the part of any party lead to the collision between the train and the pedestrian.
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With nearly three million residents in Chicago and with many more in the surrounding communities, there are people constantly traveling and commuting, whether by train, car, or bus. Hundreds of thousands use the expressways daily and the majority of these individuals have a safe, uneventful ride. But unfortunately, car accidents occur every day on these roads, leading to serious injuries or even death in some cases.

The Dan Ryan expressway is one of the most traveled routes into Chicago and can experience heavy traffic at any time of day. Heavy traffic can increase the chances that an accident will occur, as can other factors, including drivers who are distracted, overly tired, unfamiliar with the area, or under the influence. Yet in some cases, it can be difficult to determine exactly what lead to a crash.

Injury lawyers know that accidents on expressways usually involve high speeds which can make injuries very likely. In the case of an accident that causes damages to another, a lawyer may be able to help the victim make a recovery from the at-fault party.

Police are still investigating what caused a Wednesday morning collision on the Dan Ryan that left one driver dead and six people in another vehicle at risk of injuries. It appears that a 41-year-old man from Calumet Park was driving an SUV shortly after midnight when he struck the rear of a car in front of him, causing a collision that forced the car to spin and strike a concrete barrier. The SUV left the road’s surface and rolled over, leading to injuries that claimed the SUV driver’s life.

The car had six people inside at the time of the impact and it appears that none of them were seriously injured in the crash.

Car accidents happen but when one or more people are to blame for a collision, a victim may have a legal right to make a recovery for his or her damages, including the injuries incurred and any medical bills that need to be paid. These claims can be made against a driver, an owner of a car, a city or municipality, or even a corporation that owned the vehicle at the time of the collision. The facts of each accident determine if a claim is possible, and, if so, who may be legally responsible for the damages sustained.
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Driving while tired can be just as dangerous as driving under the influence of alcohol yet drowsy driving gets relatively little attention, with many drivers every day choosing to drive tired even though they may never consider driving drunk. With similar risks, including a greater chance of causing a collision, drowsy or tired driving is a hazard to all of those on the road.

This can be particularly true in the case of those who drive long distances for a living, like taxi drivers, long distance commuters, and truck drivers. Though laws may exist to limit the time any professional driver spends behind the wheel, every year there are truck accidents that result from a driver being too tired but still unwilling to take a break.

Lawyers who represent victims of these Chicago-area crashes understand that the large size of a semi truck means that it is even more dangerous than a passenger car when a driver loses control, including inattentiveness caused by drowsy driving. These accidents can be severe and, unfortunately, often turn fatal.

It now appears that an accident in March was caused by a truck driver that fell asleep behind the wheel of his rig, leading to a collision with a police trooper’s vehicle and costing that officer his life. This week, officials announced that the truck driver was being charged in the incident for falsifying documents and driving in violation of regulatory laws that limit a truck driver’s time behind the wheel.

The accident occurred on I-294 near Willow Road, the location where an Illinois State Police Trooper was pulled over and stopped on the shoulder of the road. As the semi approached, officials believe the truck’s driver fell asleep, causing the truck to continue on its own and veer off the road surface and onto the shoulder where the trooper’s vehicle was stationed. The resulting collision between the two vehicles caused a significant fire, injuring both drivers and leading to the death of the officer. The truck driver recovered from his injuries and now is facing allegations that he was driving while fatigued, drove more hours than legally allowed in a 14 hour period, and falsifying his hour log that recorded his driving activities. As truck driver conduct is governed by applicable state and federal laws, these violations are crimes that could lead to a prison sentence of up to three years.
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It is a very common but often ignored safety threat to Chicago motorists and those across the nation: drowsy driving. Studies continue to show that thousands of drivers every year take to the roads when they are tired, drowsy, or exhausted and should not be driving. But it appears that the biggest danger of all is the believe among tired drivers that they are not a danger and that they can safely operate even though they are experiencing serious signs of fatigue.

Drowsy drivers can be as dangerous as those who drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs, meaning they are more likely to be involved in an accident and more likely to injure another as a result. Armed with this knowledge, the National Sleep Foundation established a Drowsy Driving Prevention Week, an annual event designed to heighten awareness and increase discussion about drowsy driving and the dangers it presents.

This year, Drowsy Driving Prevention Week occurs between November 3 and November 10, 2013 and seeks to get citizens talking about their sleep and driving habits. With a new study reporting that motorists age 17-24 are most likely to drive while drowsy, there is a heavy emphasis to pass the message to that age group, known to stay up late at night while also waking up early in the morning, thus limiting the sleep each driver receives.

Perhaps surprising is the revelation that senior citizens are the least likely segment of the driving population to operate while drowsy. Increasingly, these drivers choose to drive during daylight hours only and with fewer demands on their time, like employment, there seems to be less exhaustion in this population.

But how are you supposed to know if you are too tired to drive? Experts say that you should monitor your driving ability and take note of warning signs, including heavy eyelids, excessive yawning, trouble holding up your head, difficulty maintaining position within your lane, repeatedly drifting towards rumble strips or the shoulder/median of a road, daydreaming, and a forgetfulness that prevents you from remembering the last several miles you drove.

If any of these signs of drowsiness appear, you should pull over and stop driving. Rest if possible or let another adult take over for a while while you nap.
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