Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
Memorial Day is a national holiday dedicated to the memory of those who lost their lives while serving in the American armed forces. Unofficially, Memorial Day also marks the beginning of the summer season in much of the Midwest, including Chicago, and is a time that tens of thousands of people choose to take to the roads and travel with friends and family. Many people have a long weekend to celebrate the holiday and they will opt to do so in a variety of ways, but if you plan on using alcohol during your celebrations, several departments of local police want to remind you to refrain from driving after you have been drinking.
Everywhere in the State of Illinois, it is a crime to drive while under the influence of alcohol, yet drivers do so every day and they risk their own safety and the safety of others while they are impaired. Traditionally, Memorial Day has a large incident of drunk driving accidents and incidents that affect the lives of victims for weeks, months, or years after the crash happens and also causes harm to those in the victims’ lives leading police officers to initiate steps to reduce such collisions.
Officers with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Waukeegan Police Department, and Gurnee police are some of the agencies that have confirmed they will be taking affirmative steps to identify and stop drunk and impaired drivers this weekend. Officials confirm that procedures including increased enforcement, planned safety stops, and others will be utilized in an attempt to spot those motorists who are a hazard and to prevent them from causing accidents or other harm. The agencies annually make similar announcements before crackdowns to discourage drivers from operating drunk in the first place.
According to Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (“MADD”), nearly 300,000 drunk driving trips occur every day in America and yet only 4,000 arrests for DUI are made. This means that the vast majority of impaired drivers remain on the roads to cause devastation to others, including innocent victims who happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
If you become the victim of a drunk driving accident in the Chicago area, nothing can erase the pain and suffering you endure but local and state laws may enable you to seek help. The personal injury attorneys at Abels & Annes, P.C. are standing by 24 hours a day, seven days a week to take your call and to help you understand what options may be available to you.
In a typical accident, a victim who is injured may be able to seek monetary relief for the totality of their losses which can include medical bills and expenses, pain, permanency of injuries, and lost wages. These claims can be brought against anyone responsible for the crash and often are available against multiple defendants. Ensuring you bring claims against those legally to blame can help you get the relief you need to move forward after an accident.
If you are injured or if your loved one is hurt or killed, call Abels & Annes, P.C. now and let us provide you with a free case consultation without obligation. We can be reached toll free at (855) 529-2442 or locally at (312) 924-7575 and we will work around your schedule, taking your call whenever it is convenient for you. If we represent you in your case, we will never charge you a fee unless we make a recovery on your behalf and everything discussed during the case consultation will be kept confidential.
Prior Blog Entry:
Failure to Yield Causes Fatal Bicycle Accident, Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer Blog, published May 20, 2015.
Resource:
Several DUI, seat belt checkpoints set through Memorial Day, by News-Sun Staff, Chicago Tribune, published May 21, 2015.