Chicago Injury Lawyer Blog

As a Chicago personal injury lawyer, I am amazed by driver and passenger apathy towards seat belt use. Over the years, it has been proven that the seat belt is most important safety device in a vehicle. Despite the overwhelming evidence that seat belts save lives, many drivers choose not to use them. Doing so puts them at a greater risk of serious injuries or death should a car accident occur. How many times have we heard, if only they had been wearing a seat belt?

Seat belts save lives and prevent serious injuries upon impact, simply stated by Chicago car accident lawyer David Nemeroff. Study after study on seat belt use have concluded that wearing a properly secured seat belt reduces the risk of serious injury or death. What amazes me is the apathy that parents have regarding seat belt use in children. How many times do you drive next to a car filled with young children moving about in the backseat? It is obvious that they are not secured or wearing a seat belts. Numerous studies have concluded that seat belt use among children under the age of four years reduces the risk of death from a Chicago car accident in half. Yes, that is by over 50%.

As of January 1, 2012, all backseat passengers in Illinois are required to wear a seat belt. The exceptions are passengers traveling in buses, emergency vehicles and taxi cabs. This law is meant as an additional safety feature for front seat passengers. According to the Illinois State Police, backseat passengers can be projectiles. Rear seated passengers that are not wearing seat belts can be a danger to passengers in the front seat. Serious injuries and fatalities have occurred to front seat passengers who were struck by rear passengers not wearing seat belts. Seat belt use can prevent passengers from being ejected, decreasing the risk of catastrophic injuries or death. Examples of catastrophic injuries are spinal cord injuries or traumatic brain injuries.

The new law requires all rear seat passengers 16 years of age and older to wear a seat belt. The current law requires all children ages 8-15 to wear seat belts. Children under the age of 7 must be in a car seat or appropriate booster seat. Failure to do so will result in a ticket. The fines for violating the new rear seat belt law start at $25. Will it take a $25 fine to increase seat belt use?

No matter what the dollar amount of the fine, wearing a seat belt can save your life. Car accidents are among the leading causes of death in children. Improper or lack of seat belt use can contribute to the mortality rate. It is estimated that five children are killed each day in auto accidents. An additional 500 children are injured daily in car accidents. The number one cause of death is improper use or lack of seat belt use.

A slogan sticks in my head: buckle up, it's the law. Seat belts save lives!

Every driver fears ice on the road. Many of us can relate to driving during a dangerous weather condition. Once your tires make contact with the frozen surface, the ability to control your car is diminished. Then the feeling of relief that was felt when it was over. As an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer, I understand that hazardous weather conditions such as ice on the roadways increase the probability of a car accident from occurring.

Frank Caruso survived an icy highway accident on the Eisenhower Expressway this weekend. He was killed minutes later as he sat safely in a parked Illinois State trooper's patrol car. An alleged drunk driver rear-ended the state trooper's parked car. Prior to the fatal rear-end crash, Caruso was able to move his disabled car to the shoulder of the expressway. He was then approached by an Illinois State trooper who offered him shelter in his squad car. It was reported that the trooper used his car and lights to block two lanes of traffic. Caruso and the trooper waited inside the patrol car for a tow truck to arrive.

As they sat in the trooper's patrol car, another vehicle rear-ended the patrol car. This crash killed Caruso and seriously injured the trooper. The driver of the second vehicle, Daniel Clark, of Chicago was charged with two counts of aggravated driving under the influence. According to reports, Clark admitted to having five glasses of wine before driving on the expressway. His blood alcohol level was .249, greater than three times the legal limit.

As an experienced Chicago personal injury attorney knows, often times a rear-end accident is referred to as a fender-bender. The term fender bender makes one think that it was not a serious car accident. It often times negates the severity of the injuries that can result from a rear-end accident. In many rear-end accidents, severe injuries can cause life-long permanent injury or death. If you are a driver or a passenger in a car that is involved in a rear-end accident even at a slow speed, your body can lunge forward quickly and cause catastrophic injuries. These severe injuries could be to the neck, head, upper torso, shoulder region and spine.

Passengers involved in a rear-end collision have the right to seek compensation for their injuries. Typically in a rear-end accident, the driver in the rear is found to be at fault for the car accident. When this occurs, the driver's insurance company may contact you immediately and offer you a settlement. The settlement may appear to be a large amount of money. In some cases, accident victims will be tempted to take the settlement offer and avoid contact with a lawyer. When a car accident victim accepts a settlement from an insurance company, they forfeit the right to seek future compensation. This may not be in the victim's best interest, as many times injuries can be more serious than they appear, requiring additional surgery or medical treatment.

Car accident victims should take the time to meet with an experienced Chicago car accident attorney. They can give you an in depth explanation of the insurance claims process in Illinois. They can also help you determine the value of the case.

Four people were killed on Monday, in a fatal car accident on I-80 in Hazel Crest. The accident was the second wrong-way accident this year that involved a drunk driver. As a Chicago personal injury lawyer and DUI crash victim, many of my readers know that I am passionate in all matters regarding drunk drivers. I am passionate about keeping drunk drivers off our roads and passionate about helping drunk driving victims. I became a lawyer after suffering my own personal injuries as a result of a drunk driving crash. I have dedicated my career to assisting victims of drunk drivers receive compensation for their injuries or loss.

The tragic drunk driving car crash occurred on Interstate 80 after 2:00 on Monday morning. According to reports from the Illinois State Police, the driver of a 1996 Infiniti was driving the wrong-way on the highway's westbound lanes. The car struck a 1999 Ford killing the driver instantly. The head-on collision ignited both vehicles. Several of the victims were burned beyond recognition. Three of the four passengers in the Infiniti were killed in the fatal accident. A third passenger in the Infiniti was treated at a local hospital. According to police reports, test results showed that the driver of the Infiniti was under the influence of alcohol when the fatal crash occurred.

One of the most serious types of car accidents is a head-on collision. Injuries resulting from a head-on collision can be catastrophic or can result in death. Under normal conditions, a head-on collision is unavoidable. They happen in a split second, and usually there is no way to avoid it. The causes of a head-on collision can be varied. A driver could cross over several lanes of traffic. The driver could be distracted, texting or talking on their phone, falling asleep, or driving while intoxicated or under the influence of drugs.

Cars that are involved in a head-on collision are generally hit at a higher rate of speed. The sudden and severe impact can cause your body to lunge forward and back quickly. This can lead to catastrophic injuries to the head, neck, shoulder and torso. Today's cars are equipped with front and side impact air bags. When a head-on collision occurs, the airbags will automatically deploy, preventing some types of injuries or prevent death. It is not guaranteed that this will occur. Sometimes the opposite happens and people are injured from the impact of the airbag. Head-on car accidents can cause many types of injuries, including traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injuries, fractures and burns.

For over two decades, I have been involved in the fight against drunk driving. Whether it was speaking for MADD, educating their victim advocates or helping with community service programs. I served on the Board of Directors for the Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists (AAIM) for over three 3 years. I have educated hundreds of future drivers on the consequences of drinking and driving. Let us all remember, that crashes involving a DUI should not be labeled as a car accident.

This fatal wrong way drunk driving car crash could have been avoided, if the driver chose not to drink and drive.

How many times do we see drivers ignoring the sirens of a fast approaching emergency vehicle such as a fire truck or ambulance? Most often we see this at busy intersections. Perhaps the drivers are too nervous to remain in the intersection? Maybe they are trying to pass through or beat the emergency vehicle through the intersection? There could be multiple reasons for the driver's failure to yield to an emergency vehicle. As an experienced Chicago failure to yield accident lawyer, I have represented many injured parties in these types of automobile accidents.

Over the weekend, a failure to yield to an emergency vehicle crash revealed that the 18-year-old driver of the passenger car involved was drunk. The crash involved a Chicago Fire Department truck and sedan passenger car. According to police reports nine people were injured in the failure to yield crash. It was reported that the Chicago fire truck was responding to an emergency, when the collision occurred at the intersection. Five passengers in the car were hospitalized in serious to critical condition. Four Chicago firefighters were taken to a local hospital. They are all reported in good condition.

The driver of the car was an 18-year-old Dolton man. He was cited for failure to yield to an emergency vehicle and failure to stop at a stop sign. He was also charged with misdemeanor felony aggravated DUI. In addition, the driver was cited for driving without proof of insurance. According to witnesses at the accident scene, the driver stated that he did not hear a siren. He did report seeing flashing lights as the fire truck entered the intersection. A failure-to-yield accident occurs when a vehicle operator fails to give or yield to the vehicle or party that has the right of way. The majority of failure-to-yield accidents occur due to distracted drivers. In today's world of mobile devices, drivers are talking, texting or reading mobile devices while driving a vehicle. It's a rare occurrence today to drive and not see another driver using their mobile phone in some form while driving.

As an experienced Chicago car accident lawyer understands, the key to successfully handling a failure to yield accident claim is to determine which vehicle involved in the failure to yield accident had the right of way when the crash occurred. Many times this involves obtaining eyewitness accounts and securing intersection videos from the cameras that many municipalities have installed. The red-light cameras can prove conclusively that the at-fault driver failed to yield the right of way at an intersection.

If you have been involved in a failure to yield car accident, it is important to meet with an experienced Chicago personal injury attorney. They can explain the insurance claims process in Illinois and help you to determine the value of the case. Injured passengers involved in accidents have the legal right to seek compensation for their injuries. A lawsuit can be filed even when the driver of their car is found at fault. According to the law, the driver could be named as a defendant in a Chicago personal injury lawsuit filed by the cars passengers. Most injured passengers are hesitant to file a lawsuit against the driver of the car, as they usually have a personal relationship with the driver.