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Accident Liability: Is It the Fault of the Bad Weather or the Driver?
When wintry weather hits, the number of
car accidents
often spikes. Sometimes a driver in an accident will use
the defense that an accident was caused by the weather and
not the driver. Is it possible for the weather to be the
one at fault for a car accident?
Liability and Causation
Drivers are required to be careful and alert while driving and make sure they are being safe, given the circumstances on the road. Drivers are expected to slow down when the roads are slick and pay extra attention when the visibility is low. Weather may play a part in the causation of a car accident, but usually one or more of the drivers are primarily at fault.
Illinois uses a modified comparative negligence approach for determining the financial responsibility for an accident. As long as you are less than 50 percent responsible for the accident, you can collect damages from the other at-fault driver, however, your recovery will be reduced by the percentage of your fault in the accident. For example, if you were 10 percent at fault, your recovery would be reduced by 10 percent.
Understanding Why Some Auto Insurance Policies May Not Cover No-Fault Fatalities
Winter storm Goliath spread through Illinois and the rest
of the Midwest, leaving icy, snowy conditions in its wake.
Hundreds of crashes were reported throughout various parts
of the country, and at least 19 were killed. Sadly, some of
those fatalities may not be covered under the driver’s auto
insurance policy. Confused? You are not alone; most people
are under the misconception that their policy automatically
covers
no-fault fatalities
when, in fact, very few actually do.
Gaps in Collision and Comprehensive Insurance
Comprehensive and collision coverage are the most common
forms of auto insurance carried by drivers. Collision will
pay for damages to your vehicle if it is involved in an
accident with another driver or another object.
Comprehensive coverage protects you against loss from other
forms of damage, such as natural disasters, theft, or
vandalism. Neither pays for medical costs, but most states
have a minimum amount of medical coverage that you must
carry. Unfortunately, even with all of this coverage, there
are some surprising gaps in your auto insurance policy.
Death Benefits Separate from Medical Payments
Coverage
Death benefits, which cover accidental death during an
accident (including no-fault accidents) are separate from
your medical payments coverage. This type of coverage is
also an optional add-on, which means not all drivers
actually carry it. Some may be unaware it even exists, let
alone understand just how necessary it is to carry this
added form of coverage.
How Auto Policy Death Benefits Work
Covered under the optional personal injury protection (PIP)
available to vehicle owners, death benefits are paid to
surviving beneficiaries. Expenses that may be covered
include accidental death benefits, continuation of lost
earnings, periodic “pension” payments, or replacement
service payments. However, there are some exclusions to this
type of coverage, including:
- Death must occur within the specified time frame after an accident, and it must not be related to work or an illness or infection unrelated to the accident itself (note that the insurer may require an autopsy to determine cause of death);
Distracted Driving: Developers Hope New App Will Help Motorists "DriveWell"
![Illinois personal injury lawyer, Illinois wrongful death attorney, Illinois car accident lawyer,](images/easyblog_images/2016/01/distracted-driving1.jpg "Distracted Driving: Developers Hope New App Will Help Motorists "DriveWell"")
Over the past several years, the increase in how many
people use smartphones has also had a dramatic effect on
the increase in
car crashes
caused by distracted driving. Millions of drivers admit to
dangerous driving behavior, such as text messaging or
other activities on their phone. However, two MIT
professors have developed a smartphone app which can
actually help decrease the number of distracted driving
accidents.
The app, called DriveWell, collects data while running in the background of the driver’s smartphone, and is able to detect when driving begins and ends. According to the app’s description, it uses low-power sensing methods and therefore has a limited impact on the phone’s battery. (Users should keep in mind, however, that the app uses GPS, which may have an impact on the phone’s battery life.)
Pedestrian Accidents: How Can You Stay Safe?
According to statistics collected by the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), each year, almost
5,000 pedestrians are killed in motor vehicle accidents.
Another 76,000 are injured. These numbers mean that every
two hours, there is a fatal
pedestrian accident, and every seven minutes, there is a pedestrian injured
after being struck by a motor vehicle.
Although many people may believe that children are most at risk of being a victim of a pedestrian accident, the data shows that it is actually senior citizens who are the most vulnerable to pedestrian accidents than any other age group. Victims who are over the age of 65 account for approximately 20 percent of fatal pedestrian accidents each year. Another 10 percent account for those victims who are injured.
How a Minor Bump on the Head Can Turn into a Serious and Potentially Fatal Brain Injury
While most people are at least mildly familiar with
concussions and how they are caused, very few have even
heard of a subdural hematoma. Yet researchers estimate
that hundreds of thousands of people in the United States
suffer from this potentially
serious brain injury
each year. More than half of these brain injuries are
caused by automobile, bicycle, motorcycle, and pedestrian
accidents. Even more concerning is that victims, nor their
doctors, may end up catching it before the condition
becomes life-threatening.
Subdural Hematoma Causes
Very different from both traumatic brain injuries and concussions, subdural hematomas are insidious conditions that, over time, can become severe or even fatal. They are most common in elderly individuals because, as the brain ages, it begins to shrink and pull away from the dura, leaving the veins attached the dura more exposed and vulnerable. So much so, in fact, that even just a minor bump to the head or sudden jarring can cause injury.
Auto Accident Injuries: When a Minor Accident Leads to Major Injuries?
Thousands of
car accidents
happen every day. Sometimes after the initial shock of the
accident, you may not realize you are injured. The damage
to your car from the accident may not be severe, and you
may even be able to drive away after you have exchanged
information. But what happens when you later find out your
injuries are worse than you thought?
Hidden Injuries
Even seemingly minor accidents can trigger a shock response from your body. You may experience a jolt of adrenaline. This is your body’s way of protecting you and helping you get to safety. This reaction can mask the pain from injuries you have suffered, but not yet discovered. In some cases it can take hours, or even days, before your start to feel the pain from your injuries.
Making the Case for Wrongful Death
If a loved one has been killed in a traffic accident, it
can be difficult not to see any circumstance as one that
can be deemed a “wrongful death.” In a court of law, however, a wrongful death in the
event of a traffic accident is one determined by specific
legal metrics pertaining to the circumstances of the
accident. In a wrongful death case, the person responsible
for the accident must be considered liable for the
incident. If, for example, the driver was drunk behind the
wheel when the accident occurred, he or she can likely be
held liable for a wrongful death case. Conversely, if the
brakes on the car malfunctioned he or she will likely not
be considered liable in a wrongful death case.
The difference between a wrongful death and a reckless endangerment or vehicular manslaughter charge is subtle. A wrongful death case can be invoked if the court rules that a person cannot be held liable for manslaughter or unintentional death of another person. An easy rule of thumb to understand whether or not you have a case for wrongful death is to consider if the person would be able to recuperate damages in the event that he or she were still living. If the person could have sued someone and been entitled to a settlement, the chances are that his or her death can be considered “wrongful.”
Bill Looks to Lower CDL Age Requirements for Interstate Trucking
There is a bill currently sitting in the U.S. Senate
that could have a significant impact on the number of
tractor trailer accidents
which occur on the nation’s roads. The Commercial Driver
Act would allow establish a pilot program which allow
interstate commercial driver’s license for 18 to 20 year
olds.
The bill was filed in response to the nationwide shortage of commercial truck drivers. This shortage frequently results in overworked drivers, which often leads to tragic truck accidents. It is anticipated that shortage will continue to grow. Current shortage estimates are at 40,000 drivers, but with projected retirements and drivers leaving the industry, trucking companies will need to recruit 100,000 drivers every year over the next 10 years to keep up with demand.
Determining Fault in a Car Accident
One of the first questions that needs to be answered
after an
auto accident
is whose fault was it? This is especially true if there
were injuries incurred by any of the drivers and/or
passengers in the vehicles at the time of the incident.
The driver who is determined at fault is the one who is
legally responsible for any of the accident victims’
injuries and/or property damage.
Once accident claims have been filed with the insurance company, an adjuster will make the determination of who is at fault. There are several ways he or she will do this. One of the most important pieces of evidence the adjuster will examine is the police report. This report can provide valuable information in what caused the accident, including whether or not any parties received citations or were arrested at the scene. It is also not unusual for the officer filling out the report to state who they think was at fault and why.
Recovering Economic Damages from Car Accident Injuries
Once fault has been determined in a
car accident, victims can move forward to recover damages against the
negligent party. The point of awarding damages to the
victim is to “make the victim whole” again, or as close as
the victim was before they were injured. Victims can be
compensated for both economic damages and non-economic
damages.
Economic damages include items like medical bills and lost wages. Non-economic damages include emotional distress and pain and suffering. Non-economic damages can also be awarded for the wrongful death of a family’s loved one.
In order to recover money for economic damages, a person needs to keep succinct records of the funds they have lost or bills they have incurred.
Medical Bills
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.
