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Wrongful Death Lawsuits after a Car Accident
If you have experienced the death of a loved one because
of someone else’s negligence, you will likely see a long,
daunting road to emotional recovery. Couple this with the
unexpected financial burdens of the death of a loved one,
and it can seem like an impossible recovery. Funeral costs
alone can be enough to make a family suffer terrible
financial hardship — the average cost of a traditional
funeral can be upwards of $10,000, including embalmment,
casket, and cemetery services. While a life insurance
policy may defray some of these costs, if the person died
because of another person’s negligence, the surviving
family may be eligible for a
wrongful death
lawsuit.
One example of when a wrongful death lawsuit may be applicable is after a car accident. Wrongful death lawsuits can have large payouts for surviving family members. In one recent lawsuit settled in California, a 13-year-old girl was awarded $150 million after she watched her family burn to death in a highway crash. The accident, which occurred in 2009, was ruled to be the fault of a truck driver who had illegally parked on a highway shoulder. The young girl, then 9, watched her family burn to death after the SUV they were in got trapped under the rig.
Bicycle Accidents: Chicago’s Bicycle Culture Expands, Signifies Importance of Road-Sharing Safety
Chicago has risen in the ranks of being one of the most
bike-friendly cities in the country. Based on an article
published by RedEye Chicago, the city moved up five spots
to the number fifth ranking for Bicycling Magazine’s 2012
best 50 U.S. cities for cycling list. The rankings are
determined by a number of city factors including:
- The number of bike lanes and facilities per square mile of the city;
- The number of local businesses that are bike-friendly; and
- The ratio of residents to bike-share bikes.
Despite Chicago’s bustling metropolis and heavy traffic flow, Chicago has improved its efforts to embrace the cycling culture and its community. With that comes a responsibility for cyclists to follow the same safety regulations that drivers and pedestrians abide by to keep the roads safe and avoid bicycle accidents from occurring.
The Price of Spinal Cord Injuries in Car Crashes
There are many risks of severe, debilitating injury
after a serious car accident. Injury to the spinal cord is
one of the most serious injuries that a person can sustain
in a motor vehicle accident, and can be one of the most
costly to not only treat. Not only will a
spinal cord injury
most likely require a long hospital stay and oftentimes
surgery, it will usually also require that the patient
take physical therapy for several months to come, and
sometimes for life. This is because a spinal cord injury
affects the brain’s ability to transport messages to all
parts of the body. Many spinal cord injuries result in a
complete loss of sensation and mobility below where the
injury occurred. The group most at risk for spinal cord
injury are young men between the ages of 15 and 35 who
were otherwise healthy at the time of trauma.
Illinois Inattentive Driving Laws: What You Need to Know
Everywhere you look, people are digitally connected. The
increase in mobile devices over the past few years,
especially the surge in smartphone use, have led to a
change in driving laws nationwide to help prevent
car accidents
due to inattentive driving. The state of Illinois bans:
- Cell phone use for bus drivers and novice drivers;
- Texting for all drivers;
- Cell phone use when driving in a school zone or construction zone; and
- Talking while holding a cell phone.
The last ban went into effect on the first of last year and a violation of the law can result in a fine. Talking on a handheld device while driving is considered a moving offense and three violations in one year could mean a driver license suspension. Exemptions that allow drivers to use their handheld devices occur when:
Jaywalking Leads to Pedestrian Accidents
Despite both nationwide and statewide policies meant to
curb the number of pedestrian deaths,
pedestrian accidents
remain a serious and grave traffic safety issue. In 2012,
according to the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA), nearly 5,000 pedestrians were
killed and an estimated 76,000 were injured. This means
that a pedestrian was killed every two hours and a person
injured every seven minutes in accidents involving motor
vehicles. For these purposes, the NHTSA defines a
pedestrian as anyone who is outside of a motor vehicle at
the time of crash, though incidents that occurred on
private property—including parking lots and driveways—were
not included for the purposes of these statistics.
Older pedestrians were the most likely to be killed in an accident with a motor vehicle in 2012: older pedestrians accounted for 20 percent of all pedestrian fatalities that year. Children aged 15 and younger, conversely, accounted for only 6 percent of all pedestrian fatalities. Bad weather did not affect the likelihood of a pedestrian accident, but the time of day did: nearly 70 percent of all pedestrian accidents occurred at night.
Three Most Common Moving Violations that Cause Car Crashes
Auto accidents are the result of a variety of factors
that can result in injuries and unexpected costs to
victims. When on the road, drivers should not only be
concerned about their driving capabilities, but be aware
of other drivers on the road.
Traffic safety is legally enforced to protect drivers and passengers, but unfortunately thousands of driving moving violations occur each year, many of which result in car crashes. Three of the most common reasons crashes occur are:
- Inattentive driving;
- Fatigued driving; and
- Driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Inattentive driving is a hazard that has begun to occur more frequently due to the advancements in technology. People take their eyes off the road to look at their mobile devices and in a second, an accident can occur. According to the National Occupant Protection Use Survey, an estimated 660,000 U.S. drivers are using mobile devices while driving at any given daylight moment.
Preventing School Bus Accidents: Violation of School Bus Traffic Laws Result in Hefty Fines
In late February, ten Chicago-area students were hospitalized after a grisly school bus accident in suburban Montgomery. The crash, which occurred between a car and the bus, occurred early in the morning, and 31 students were on the bus at the time of accident. None of the students had injuries that were considered life-threatening. The students were on their way to Boulder Hill Elementary School.
There are several motor vehicle laws in Illinois regarding school buses, likely put into place to avoid tragic incidents like the recent one in Montgomery. One of these is that drivers are required to stop, and not pass a stopped school bus. According to a report from the Illinois State Police, the majority of students are injured or killed in school bus transportation accidents when they are outside of the bus. On average, according to National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration statistics, a school bus is the safest way for children to get to and from school in the morning, though an average of 33 children die every year in school bus-related crashes. Most of these killed are pedestrians five to seven years of age.
Dram Shop Liability in Illinois
If you were hurt by a
drunk driver, the negligent motorist may not be the only person
responsible for your injuries.
The Liquor Control Act of 1934 has a dram shop liability section that affects the people who sell alcohol, like bartenders and restaurant owners, and the person or company that owns the building. These potential defendants may be liable for both personal injury and property damage. Any person or entity that provides alcohol can be liable; a 1992 case held that as little as two cans of beer can trigger responsibility.
Elements of a Claim
A plaintiff must generally prove a case by a preponderance of the evidence, or more likely than not. Imagine two equal stacks of paper side by side. If one sheet is moved from the left to the right, that is the picture of preponderance of the evidence. In a dram shop case, the plaintiff must prove:
Cycling Deaths: Safety in Numbers
It may come as no surprise that the more people there
are out riding bicycles, the more
bicycle fatalities
occur. According to Forbes, the number of cycling
deaths increased from 621in 2010 to 722 in 2012, most
likely as a result of more people commuting to work by
bicycle. Yet despite this seemingly fated statistic for
cycling advocates, a recent report from the Organization
for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has found
that when a country has more people cycling, there tend to
be fewer cycling deaths.
The simple fact for this is likely that an increase of cyclists means an increase in motorist awareness. In Holland and Denmark, two of the most cycling-friendly countries in the world, the number of people on bikes killed per 621 million miles ridden is only 10.7 and 14.6 respectively. The disparity between these numbers and those in the United States can probably be traced to the simple fact that these countries have been “cyclist-friendly” for many years—motorists have developed awareness over generations, rather than the decade in which cycling has been surging in popularity in the States.
Seat Belt Use and Teen Drivers
The National Safety Council ("NSC") has reported that
auto accidents are the number one cause of death for
teenagers in the United States. In fact, the summer season
is considered by the NSC to include the "100 deadliest
days for teen drivers." Recent studies suggest that the
main cause for these heartbreaking fatalities is the
absence of seat belt use by young adults. In a study
conducted by Safe Kids Worldwide and funded by the General
Motors Company, it was discovered that in 2012 over half
of the almost 2,500 teens who were killed in car accidents
were not wearing seat belts. The automotive accident
attorneys here at Salvi & Maher, LLP believe that many of
these fatal
motor vehicle accidents
could have been prevented if teenagers received more
education about the importance of seat belts and other
precautions.
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.
Results listed are not a guarantee or indication of future case results.
