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Whiplash Injuries in Motor Vehicle Accidents
Whiplash is one of the most common
motor vehicle accident
injuries suffered by drivers and passengers in the U.S.
every year. According to MayoClinic.org, whiplash occurs
when the head is jolted suddenly forward or backward,
“similar to the motion of someone cracking a whip.”
Because the extreme motions happen very quickly, it causes
a strain on the neck muscles and tendons that is beyond
the average range caused by controlled motion.
While mild whiplash can be treated with over-the-counter pain medication and ice treatments, severe whiplash may need to be treated with the assistance of a medical professional. In very severe cases, surgery, stabilization, and even physical therapy may be necessary. Many people who experience severe whiplash may even develop resultant chronic pain for several years to come, according to MayoClinic.org.
Because whiplash is one of the most common motor vehicle accident injuries, there are several people who attempt to take advantage of its diagnosis. Many times, passengers or drivers involved in an accident in which their car was not at fault may claim to have severe whiplash injuries, sometimes months after the incident. Drivers of the at-fault car may not even be aware that the injury occurred at the time of crash. According to the Daily Mail, there was one such incident in England in which a man hit a stationary taxi at a traffic light, noticed a small impact on the taxi bumper, and was later slapped with a £2,000 personal injury lawsuit. The incident spurred a reevaluation of several fraudulent whiplash claims in the country and revealed that several lawyers encouraged victims to claim injury even in the most minor of incidents.
Types of Bicycle Crashes in Chicago
Head injuries can be some of the most traumatic
transportation injuries sustained by any road-user across
the country. But in major cities like Chicago, where
bicycle use has remained at a steady incline in recent
years, the rate of head injuries caused in transportation
incidents has increased on par. Yet according to WBEZ
Chicago, the city’s National Public Radio affiliate, it
can be difficult to quantify just how
dangerous bike riding
really is in the city, when compared to other modes of
transportation and recreational activities.
According to WBEZ, the city began tracking specific types of bicycle injuries in April 2010, when reporters began to track the number of “dooring” incidents that occurred within the city limits. “Dooring” refers to an incident in which a cyclist is knocked off his or her bike by a car driver or passenger who opens the door of a parked car into a bike lane at the same time that a cyclist passes. In 2011, WBEZ reports, there were 336 dooring crashes in the Chicago area.
Accidents and Renting a Recreational Vehicle
Though the summer may be over, it could be the best time
to get away for a long weekend trip with your family.
Renting a
recreational vehicle
can be the easiest and most convenient way to do this if
you know what you are doing. Because RVs generally are
full-service vehicles that include places to sleep and
cook, you can save some money as well. According to CBS
Chicago, knowing the responsibilities of both the renter
and the rental company is paramount to taking a short
family vacation with an RV, as well as understanding the
renter’s liability. Being sure that you are aware of and
briefed on all costs is extremely important, as is
double-checking that either your personal car insurance or
rental insurance covers all possible incidents.
Yet there are several things of which to be aware if you are planning on renting an RV for your next adventure. A 2008 analysis conducted by KiroTV revealed that braking problems, collapsing walls, and poorly secured cabinets were the “RV industry’s deadliest secrets.” KiroTV also found that while the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration requires multiple crash and rollover tests for SUVs, trucks, and buses, several of the largest recreational vehicles on the consumer market are exempt from similar testing requirements.
Dram Shop Laws Rarely Enforced
If you have had a loved one injured or killed by a drunk
driver, it can seem as if there is no light at the end of
the tunnel. This is especially true if the person at fault
for the accident is no longer capable of being held
responsible for the action, or if for some reason he or
she was either found not guilty or given a highly reduced
sentence for the crime. The perpetrator of the crime is
not the only person, however, who can be held responsible
in the event of death or injury caused by
drunk driving. Dram shop laws were passed so that liquor stores or
bars that served visibly intoxicated people could be held
liable for such irresponsibility.
The first Dram Shop Act was passed in Illinois in 1934. For the Dram Shop Act to be held up in court, according to the State of Illinois, “the plaintiff must prove that intoxication was caused by consumption of liquor provided by a defendant and that the injury, property damage, or loss of means of support or loss of society was caused by the act of an intoxicated person.” Each year the monetary limits of compensation are adjusted for inflation, reports the State Legislature, but as of 1998 these were $45,000 for personal injury and property damage and $55,000 for loss of support or society.
Motorcycle Accidents on Rise as Other Accidents Decline
Safety measures and safer driving may have contributed
to the decline in number of injuries and deaths involving
motor vehicle accidents in the past decade in the
U.S., according to the Center for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC). In 2008, reports the CDC, the number of
accident-related deaths involving cars and trucks was at
the lowest rate in recorded history in the U.S. During the
same time period, however, motorcyclist deaths “reached an
all-time high, more than doubling between 1999 and 2008,”
reports the CDC.
In that decade, more than 34,000 motorcyclists were killed and more than 1.2 million people were taken to the emergency room for a non-fatal injury sustained on a motorcycle. Younger motorcyclists were far more likely to experience an accident than older motorcyclists—the highest rates of both death and injury were among 20-to-24 year-olds, while the next highest age group of death and injury was to 25-to-29 year-olds. The majority of injuries (approximately one-third) were to the leg or foot, though the next highest number of injuries (approximately one-fifth) were to the head or neck. Injuries to the head or neck were likely more severe.
When the CTA Could Be Held Responsible
On September 11, 2014, a
Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) accident injured seven people when a bus crashed into parked
vehicles in the Oakland neighborhood. CTA spokeswoman
Tammy Chase told the Chicago Sun-Times that a
southbound bus collided with two parked cars at
approximately three o’clock in the morning in the Oakland
neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago. Six passengers
and the driver of the CTA bus “suffered minor injuries in
the crash,” according to Chase and as reported by the
Sun-Times.
This is not the first multi-injury crash involving a CTA bus to have occurred this year in Chicago. In April, according to a different article in the Chicago Sun-Times, nine people were hurt when a van crashed into a CTA bus after running a red light. The difference between the incidents, of course, is that the April accident was not the fault of the CTA driver. According to the Sun-Times is was not necessarily the fault of the van driver, either—“the driver of the van attempted to stop,” reports the Sun-Times, “but there may have been a mechanical issue with the van’s brakes.” In August, according to the Chicago Tribune, at least eight people were injured in a CTA bus crash that involved a U-Haul. In this incident, at least six people were taken to area hospitals in fair-to-serious condition.
Airbags and Motor Vehicle Accidents
Every year new safety innovations are made for vehicles
that save lives in the event of an
accident.
One major change to what comes standard in cars, in the
past two decades, is the inclusion of airbags. Some
vehicles have several airbags in every model, which deploy
from various angles in the car, providing safety from
doors and steering wheels alike. While airbags do save
lives in accidents, there are several safety concerns
regarding airbags of which drivers need to be aware. One
major issue is the effect that a deployed airbag can have
on a child passenger.
The National Safety Council found that in 1998, airbags deployed in the case of an accident save more than 1,040 lives, reports DMV.org. Yet in that same year, nearly 100 kids were killed by the same airbags.
“The first rule for safe vehicle airbags is that frontal systems are not designed for youngsters,” reports DMV.org. This is why most states have enacted laws that require for children’s seats to be placed in the backseat. Infants and babies should ride facing backward in the child seat, while small children should be placed facing forward to avoid severe injury in the case of an accident. A young child should only wear the seatbelt across his or her waist—the shoulder strap can cause injury in the case of impact.
Spinal Cord Injuries in Motor Vehicle Accidents
Injury to the spinal cord in a car accident can be one
of the most devastating injuries that a person
experiences. When the spinal cord is injured, it can have
a direct effect either on the nerves themselves or on the
bones, soft tissues, and vessels that make up the
vertebrae. In many cases, a person who experiences a
severe spinal cord injury may be paralyzed or have brain
damage after the
accident
because of the of the spinal cord’s function as the main
information superhighway of the body.
Motor vehicle accidents are one of the most common causes of spinal cord injury. According to EverydayHealth.com, seat belts were developed as a major preventative measure against spinal cord injury in a car accident. Harry N. Herkowitz, chairman of orthopedic surgery at a Michigan hospital, told EverydayHealth.com that when a passenger or driver is not wearing a seatbelt, “there is the definite possibility of a person becoming a projectile or sustaining forced trauma to the spine.”
Minor Child Injury from an Accident Resulting from DUI
Driving under the influence carries strict penalties when
pulled over, no matter whether you have passengers in the
car or if it is a first-time offense. According to
Cyber Drive Illinois, a publication of
Illinois&s attorney general’s office, if a driver
fails chemical testing when pulled over for driving under
the influence, he will automatically have his driving
privileges suspended for six months. In addition to the
suspension, the driver faces the possibility of
re-invocation after one month, depending on the specifics
of the incident.
If a person is pulled over and fails chemical testing within five years after a previous offense, his driving privileges will be suspended for one full year, without the possibility of lessening the punishment at any point during that year. If a driver refuses chemical testing, he could have his license suspended for one year if it is a first-time offense and for up to three years if it is not the first-time offense. These laws may sound harsh, but are important. Deterring drunk drivers makes the roads safer for everyone.
GM Makes First Payments to Victims of Car Recall
General Motors (GM) recalled several
motor vehicle
models this year due to faulty ignition switches that
cause the car to fail and airbags not to deploy according
to ConsumerReports.org. The Center for Auto Safety
commissioned a report to review federal crash data and
found that a whopping 303 deaths could be attributed to GM
cars with un-deployed airbags. According to
ConsumerReports.org, “this recall has cast a spotlight on
serious, chronic failures in identifying
safety defects
in the vehicles we drive.” Some research alleges that GM
has known about the faulty ignition switch problem in
several of its vehicle models for years and failed to take
the appropriate action to fix it.
This year, according to a recent report from ABC News, GM recalled 2.6 small cars across the world in an attempt to fix the faulty ignition switch. An estimated 23 motor vehicle deaths in the United States have been linked to the malfunction. GM CEO Mary Barra told ABC that the company has stocked suppliers with enough parts to fix all the faulty switches currently installed, but only an estimated 1.1 million cars have had the repair made.
Contact a Lake County Vehicle Accident Attorney Who is Ready to Help You
If you or a member of your family has been injured in a motor vehicle accident, contact our office. Call 847-662-3303 to set up a free initial consultation at one of our four convenient locations. There is no risk because we only collect fees if you collect compensation. With offices in Libertyville, Waukegan, Richmond, and Chicago, we represent clients in Lake County, Cook County, DuPage County, and McHenry County.
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