Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

Halloween is right around the corner and as our little witches and zombies prepare their costumes for the big night, parents are urged to talk with their little ones about the dangers they'll face on this spooky night. Have fun, but stay safe. It's important to remember that your child is four times more likely to be involved in a pedestrian accident in Chicago on Halloween night than during any other night out of the year.

As children make their rounds through our neighborhoods collecting candy, motorists are asked to be extremely careful on our roadways. Our Chicago car accident attorneys understand that young children are oftentimes unable to understand the dangers they face on our roadways. It is up to adults to make sure that these little goblins make it back to their haunted house safely this Halloween.

Drivers should keep a heads up, drive slowly through neighborhoods and curb all distractions to help keep our trick-or-treaters safe this year.

Here are some simple tips from the Rush University Medical Center to help keep all little monsters safe during this year's Halloween adventures:

-Make sure everyone is wearing comfortable shoes.

-Alter costumes so that they're not long enough to cause a trip and fall hazard. The National Safety Council reports that falls are the number one cause of unintentional injury on Halloween.

-Make sure your costume is flame-retardant. All loose ends should be removed to help prevent a fire.

-Try to avoid a costume with a sword or a knife, but if you're going to carry one with you all night make sure that it's soft enough to not cause injury.

-You should wear face makeup or paint instead of a mask. Masks are dangerous because they can obstruct a person's line of vision and could potentially lead them into the line of danger.

-When purchasing costume makeup, be sure to get the kind that's marked hypoallergenic makeup. Parents are urged to test makeup on a small portion of your child's skin before covering their face.

-Wear light-colored clothing while trick-or-treating to help make sure that motorists can see you.

-All small children should either carry a flashlight or wear reflective tape on their costume.

-Young children should only be allowed to trick-or-treat under the supervision of a responsible adult.

-Feed your child dinner before going out to trick-or-treat. This way they're less likely to snack on candy that you haven't inspected.

-Once you're all home, inspect everyone's treats. Throw away any candy that has been opened or appears to have been tampered with.

-Make sure your child knows not to go into a stranger's house or get into a stranger's car.

-Remove all candies that may be a choking hazard for your small child.

-Motorists are urged to be extra cautious when pulling into or backing out of a driveway. Children are overlooked in these circumstances all too often.

-If you're dropping off a child, always to do on the curb side of the sidewalk. Never let someone out of your vehicle on the traffic side of the car.

Our Illinois injury attorneys and the staff at our law offices would like to wish you and your family a safe and Happy Halloween!

Continue reading " Have a Happy and Injury-Free Halloween! -- From Our Chicago Injury Attorneys " »

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), its 5-star safety rating system will soon have tested virtually every new make and model car on the road.

The administration began new testing last year that uses a 5-star rating system and a combined rating that reflects the overall results of a trio of safety tests. The ratings help tell how well a vehicle would protect an occupant in the event of a car accident in Chicago and elsewhere. The new rating system also looks at available crash avoidance technologies.

The test ratings will be conducted 80 percent of the new 2012 model vehicles that are expected to hit U.S. roadways. Our Chicago car accident attorneys encourage consumers to pay attention to rollover risks of vehicles as well. This test is a new portion of the program and will be testing more than 90 percent of all new model vehicles.

There were 74 new model vehicles that will be put through the new, rigorous testing. The test will examine the safety features of about 42 passenger cars, more than 20 sport utility vehicles, two vans and nearly 10 pickup trucks. The new tests will also calculate a single safety rating for each vehicle which will allow consumers to narrow their search by considering the one overall score before looking into individual ratings.

Some testing has already begun. The NHTSA has already tested vehicles that have carry-over designs from the 2011 to the 2012 models. These ratings are already available to you online at www.SafeCar.gov.

"Our 5-star ratings program is a critical resource to help consumers make the best possible decisions about the cars they want to buy," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

LaHood says that this program is so important because it helps set the bar for vehicle manufacturers. Consumers should remember "More Stars -- Safer Cars!"

In addition to the new overall rating, the NHTSA will also be adding "crash avoidance" to its safe car checklist. For the new model vehicles, about 68 come equipped with this technology. The technology is available as a lane departure warning (LDW) or a forward collision warning (FCW) or as both in one. Last year there were less than 50 vehicles that had this technology. Now that the NHTSA is including it in its inspection, nearly 70 vehicles come equipped. More specifically, a dozen have the LDW, nearly 20 come with the FCW and about 40 vehicles have both.

Consumers have been using the 5-star rating system for more than 30 years now. This rating has a big effect on how well a vehicle is going to sell. As the program continues to strengthen its requirements and its rating standards, vehicle designers will have to come to the table with even more features to help avoid a car accident and to keep vehicle occupants safe in the event of one.

Drivers are urged to pay attention to these types of ratings as the vehicle you drive can mean the difference between life and death in the event of an accident. Residents are urged to check out the same website to learn about recent recalls. Even after these safety ratings are completed, a vehicle can hit the recall list because of malfunctioning equipment. Stay on top of your car's maintenance and your car's recalls to help ensure the safety of you and your passengers on our roadways.

Continue reading " New Rating System to Decrease Risks of Injury during Car Accidents in Chicago and Elsewhere " »

Rahm Emanuel and Gabe Klein, Chicago's new transportation head, continue to push their views on a bicycle-friendly transportation policy and city infrastructure, according to the Huffington Post. The new plans are expected to make traveling more convenient for residents and to help to prevent bicycling accidents in Chicago.

Year after year, the city of Chicago ranks as a "silver" designation for being a bike-friendly city. In the 2011 League of American Bicyclists Bicycle Friendly Community Rankings, our area was ranked the same Austin, Denver, Washington D.C. and New York City. With the promises from local officials, the city is expected to join the ranks of areas like San Francisco, Portland and Minneapolis, where bicycling is used as a safe and vital tool for many urban residents.

Our Chicago bicycle accident attorneys understand that there were roughly 600 cyclists killed in traffic-related accidents in 2009 in the U.S. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there were more than 50,000 additional bicycling injuries during the year. About 2 percent of all of the traffic-related accidents in Chicago were made up of bicycling accidents in 2008. In the state of Illinois, there were hundreds of injured bicyclists and 2 fatalities during that year. Many of these accidents could have been prevented if more bicycle-friendly roadways were available.

The state's current bicycle infrastructure in Chicago from CDOT's Bicycle Program, according to Grid Chicago:

-More than 120 miles of on-road bike lanes.

-More than 30 miles of marked shared lanes.

-Half a mile addition of car-separated bicycling tracks (Kinzie Street).

-Fifty miles of paved, off-road trails (The Lake Shore Path).

-Nearly 12,500 on-street racks for bicycles.

-A bicycle parking corral, located on Milwaukee near Damen.

-Six kiosks for bike-sharing.

Back in July, the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) announced the expansion of the Kinzie. This car-separated track is now 2 miles long. According to Active Transportation Alliance, CDOT will be installing more protected bike lanes on 18th Street from Elston Avenue and Clark and Canal and from North to Milwaukee. This project will complete nearly 4 miles of protected biking lanes. Only 96 more miles to go in the next four years to make Emanuel's promise of 100 more miles of biking lanes a reality.

Back in September, Chicago announced that it will be launching a new bike-share program. This project is to focus on regular commuters and residents instead of tourists. This program is planning on installing roughly 300 stations and roughly 3,000 bikes for residents to rent and use. The program is also expected to install an additional 200 stations and 2,000 bikes by the end of the summer in 2012.

In 2009, there were nearly 1,500 bicycling accidents in Chicago. Of these accidents, six people died. In 2010, there were more than 1,600 bicycling accidents reported to Chicago officials. During this year, 5 bicyclists were killed. The intersection of Grand/Milwaukee/Halsted has been named as the third most dangerous intersection on Milwaukee Avenue as it has reported the highest number of car-bicycle accidents. Still officials have done virtually nothing to improve this area. Safe biking advocates hope that the newly released stats of bicycling accidents in Chicago will be used to determine which areas need the most work done to make bicyclists safe.

With all of these bicycle plans, and many more in the future, Chicago is expected to one day become ideal for all travelers among our roadways; bicyclists, cyclists and motor vehicles.

Continue reading " Big Plans from CDOT to Control Bicycling Accidents in Chicago " »

A woman from Riverdale has been criminally charged with driving under the influence of alcohol after she drove her vehicle into a Chili's restaurant on the south side, according to Fox news. The car caught on fire after the Saturday night Illinois car crash and several restaurant patrons were injured.

The Chili's is located at 1750 W. 119th Street in the Morgan Park neighborhood. The alleged DUI motorist drove a green four-door Chevy Impala into the front corner of the restaurant. The building itself also caught on fire after the accident.

A total of eight people were injured in the accident, including the driver. There were no passengers in the vehicle. All of the injured inside the restaurant were adults. Four people were critically injured.

The Chicago Fire Department responded to the accident scene. They were able to extinguish the fire quickly and put into place what fire officials refer to as a EMS Plan 1, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

The driver, age 23, resides on S. Tracy Ave. in Riverdale and has been charged with DUI, damage to public property, failing to reduce speed to avoid an accident, driving with no insurance and driving with a suspended license.

Two of the critically injured were taken to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County. The other two people critical were taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.

Three of the others injured were taken to Metro South Medical Center in Blue Island in serious but stable condition. The last person was transported to Little Company of Mary Hospital and Health Care Center in stable condition.

As of Sunday afternoon the restaurant remained closed. The specific evidence of the at fault driver's impairment (field sobriety testing, breathalyzer, etc.) has not been disclosed.

It has not reported if a Chicago pedestrian accident lawyer is involved in the case yet. Once lawyers get involved, due to the fact that the DUI driver had no insurance, they will look to set up uninsured motorist claims against the victims' own auto insurance policies. There the plaintiff and his or her lawyer can pursue an injury claim against pedestrian's own policy of insurance.

Hopefully each of the restaurant patrons who were critically injured in the accident possess significant auto insurance policies. That way there will be enough coverage to compensate them for their injuries and losses.

In the year 2010, according to IDOT there were just over 5,000 pedestrians injured in accidents with motor vehicles in Illinois. 115 pedestrians were killed. Approximately 97% of the accidents occurred in Urban areas

Continue reading " Chicago pedestrian accident - Motorist drives into Chili’s restaurant " »

As we've recently reported on our Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer Blog, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, made a promise to residents and to cyclists to construct 100 miles of shared bike lanes. He's coming through on his promise so far as he's been focusing efforts on the Kinzie bike lane. This is the bike lane that was constructed to keep bicyclists safe from accidents with motor vehicles. The bike lane has already attracted a large number of cyclists and has been able to reduce rush hour motor-vehicle traffic significantly.

He's continuing on with his promise. Emanuel says that he wants to make Chicago one of the best places to bike in the U.S. once again. The advocacy for safer biking conditions actually started back when mayoral candidate Carter H. Harrison II, campaigned as "the cyclists' champion" in the 19th century, according to BikeRadar. Surprisingly though, once Harrison was elected into office, he grew the city to its current size and turned it into a modern metropolis -- an area ideal for motorists, not bicyclists.

The previous mayor, Richard M. Daley, was also an advocate for bicyclists in the area. He spent more than 22 years in office and provided the city with more than 100 miles of biking lanes, in part to help prevent car-bicycle accidents in Chicago. Emanuel is carrying on the promise with his vow to provide the area with more than 100 miles of additional bike lanes. He's also backing the new bike-sharing program that will allow residents to use some of the 3,000 bikes in the program.

"I think he has done a great job of mentioning the things that need to be done," Julie Hochstadter, who serves as vice president of the Chicago Cycle Club.

According to the Gabe Klein, the Transportation Commissioner, the additional bike lanes are going to cost the city somewhere around $30 million. He states that the city has already applied for federal funding from the clean air program and has combined the bike-lane project with some maintenance construction for nearby roads.

Programs like this could potentially keep Chicago residents from moving to the suburbs, says Hochstadter. She also says that creating more protected boulevards could prove a way to offer residents with alternative ways to travel for daily commutes. She brings up the recent study that was conducted by the Transportation Commissioner's office that concluded that more than 20 percent of the rush hour traffic on Milwaukee Avenue is made up of bicyclists anyway.

To help accommodate bicyclists even more, the Chicago Department of Transportation recently announced the arrival of new bike racks. Back in September, crews hit the city to install new bike racks. As of now, roughly 150 of the 750 bike racks have already been installed. CDOT is planning on finishing this installation project by the end of October. The project will bring nearly 2,500 bike racks to the city. The funds for this project were provided by the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) program.

In addition to these bike racks, the city's Bicycle Parking team recently launched its efforts to remove bikes that have been abandoned throughout our city. The team has collected about 100 bikes so far and has donated then to charity.

Continue reading " Mayor Emanuel Pushes Effort to Reduce Risks of Bicycling Accidents in Chicago " »

Chicago priest abuse attorneys are taking note that a grand jury in Missouri has indicted Kansas City Bishop Robert Finn and the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph for not taking steps to notify authorities about child pornography discovered on a priest's computer. The Bishop and the diocese pled not guilty to the charge of failing to report suspected child abuse, a misdemeanor, according to USA Today.

This criminal charge makes Finn the highest ranking Catholic official in the United States to be charged with trying to cover-up possible sex abuse of minors by a priest. Under Missouri law, church officials are required to report any form of suspected child abuse.

The indictments come from a grand jury convened in Jackson County after the U.S. Department of Justice charged Rev. Sean Ratigan earlier this year with child pornography possession. The prosecutor handling the case has stated that the fact that the charge is a misdemeanor should not lessen the importance of this case. The Bishop could face up to a year in prison and a $1000 fine. The highest fine for a corporation is $5000.

A spokesperson from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has stated that this is the first time they can recall a Bishop being indicted on this type of charge. The charge also represents a major setback for the Vatican in their effort to try to put sex abuse scandals behind them, according to the Washington Post.

According to the indictment issued on October 6, the Bishop and diocese had reasonable cause to believe that the Rev. sexually abused children.

The Post is also reporting that by 12/16/2010 school officials have notified supervisors of concerns about the Priest's actions with children, and church officials located hundreds of photos of children, some sexual in nature, on his computer. Finn has reportedly admitted that he was told of the inappropriate photos last year.

But despite this knowledge, the church did not report to local authorities until May 2011, according to prosecutors. That same month the priest was charged with possession of child porn.

It has not reported if Ratigan continued to have ongoing contact with children during the period of time where the Bishop and diocese failed to report the suspected sexual abuse to local police.

CBS News is reporting that an internal memo was written in May of 2010 stating that several people had complained about Rev. Ratigan taking pictures of children, allowing them to sit on his lap and reach into his pocket for candy. This memo was reportedly given to a Monsignor, who also served as the diocese's vicar general. The Monsignor then talked to Ratigan about setting appropriate boundaries with children, and then allegedly gave the Bishop a summary of the memo and his meeting with the priest.

CBS goes on to report that months later a computer technician working on the priest's laptop found the inappropriate images of children, most of them fully clothed but focusing on the crotch area. There was also a set of photos of a 2 to 3-year-old girl with her genitals exposed.

The computer was turned over to the diocese, and church officials allegedly failed to report the collection of photos to the police, and the laptop was actually later returned to a relative of the priest.

Continue reading " Kansas City Bishop Indicted In Child Pornography, Sex Abuse Case " »

A recent Illinois car accident in Effingham County took the life of a 3-year-old when the SUV she was in crashed on Interstate 57, according to The Effingham Daily News. According to the County Coroner, the little girl was pronounced dead at the scene just an hour after it happened.

The accident happened at mile marker 168 when the SUV ran off the road. Once it left the roadway, it flipped a number of times and finally came to a stop in the ditch. Emergency responders reported that the little girl died from traumatic head injuries and the news article claims that she was not properly restrained in a child's car seat.

These are always tragic cases. Our Chicago child injury lawyers know the importance of properly buckling children during every single car ride. Car seats have been proven to save young lives. As a matter of fact, parents and guardians of children in Illinois are required by state law to keep children under the age of 8 properly buckled into a child restraint. If you're caught by an officer with a child who is not buckled in properly, you could face a $75 fine, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association.

The driver of the vehicle was transported to St. John’s Hospital in Springfield. There were seven other passengers in that SUV. They were all transported to the Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and it's recently released FAQ page, traffic accidents are the number one cause of death for children who are 3-years-old and older. There were more than 1,000 children under the age of 13 who were killed in traffic accidents in 2009. Nearly 800 of these fatalities were child passengers.

To determine which seat your child should use, review the following:

-Infants and toddlers should be placed in a rear-facing car seat in back seat until they're at least 2-years-old or until they've reached the seat's height and weight requirement.

-Children who are 4- to 8-years-old should ride in a harness-equipped front-facing child seat for as long as they can until they exceed the seat's height and weight requirements.

-Children who are over the age of 8 should be seated in a belt-positioning booster seat until they're able to fit properly in an adult seat. Once a child is 4'9" or at least 80 pounds, they should be moved to an adult seat with a seat belt.

Child seats are difficult for some people to use. The NHTSA reports that from 2002 to 2003 there were approximately 70 percent of children who were improperly placed in child restraints. You can visit one of Illinois' Child Seat Inspection Locations to have a certified technician look at your car and your child's seat to make sure that everything is properly installed. We urge all residents to properly buckle in children during every car ride. A properly used seat can mean the difference between life and death in the event of an accident.

Continue reading " Effingham Car Accident Kills 3-Year-Old Chicago Passenger " »

Texting and driving is bad enough. But texting and cycling?

The Chicago City Council recently passed an ordinance that prohibits bicyclists from texting while riding. Bike riders have also been banned from making phone calls while riding a bike unless they're using a hands-free device, according to the Chicago Tribune. This ban will start in November. These regulations are being put on the books to help reduce the risks of bicycle accidents in Chicago.

Our Illinois bike accident lawyers understand that distractions are causing a lot of people serious accidents. Cell phones and text messaging devices are causing accidents among motorists, pedestrians and now bicyclists. Under the new ordinance, if you're busted using a hand-held cell phone while riding your bicycle in Chicago you could face a fine of $20 for a first-time offense. Every time you're busted, the fine increases with a $100 fine for a third-time offense. If you cause an accident because you were texting or using a hand-held phone while biking, you could be slapped with a $500 fine.

According to sponsoring Ald. Margaret Laurino, 39th, this is an issue of fairness and safety. Since motorists in the city are already banned from these activities, bicyclists should be banned as well -- the risks are the same.

"This ordinance basically levels the playing field between motorists and bicyclists," said Laurino.

Some bicycling advocates are backing the new ordinance. Adolfo Hernandez, the director of outreach and advocacy with the pro-cyclist Active Transportation Alliance, says that the new ban makes perfect sense. He says that if bicyclists want to be treated equally on the roadways, they should have to follow the same rules. He continues on to say that officials should keep their focus on enforcing this law among motor-vehicle drivers -- distractions contribute to far more accidents among motor-vehicle traffic than bicycling traffic.

Chicago officers say they're going to stop cell phone-using bicyclists just like they would stop any other person on the roadway.

The Active Transportation Alliance says that its concerned that the new rule will take attention off of the ban that prohibits drivers in Chicago from using a cell phone or a text message device. Chicago officials say no way! They report that the number of cell phone citations has increased every year since the ban first started. There were nearly 3,000 violations recorded in 2008, nearly 11,000 in 2009 and nearly 20,000 in 2010.

The new ban comes after the city's announcement that approximately 300 bicycle renting stations were being installed. These stations will offer roughly 3,000 rental bikes to residents and visitors of Chicago by next summer. Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s is also keeping up with his promise to install about 100 miles of protected bike lanes over the next four years.

As the bicycling community continues to grow, local officials try to keep up with accommodating these individuals. Motorists are still the biggest threats to bicyclists in the area so we ask that all motor-vehicle traffic keep an eye out for our two-wheeled travelers.

Continue reading " Cyclists Banned from Cell Phone Use to Avoid Bicycling Accidents in Chicago " »

A Chicago woman was driving her Envoy Excel at about 25 miles per hour when suddenly the airbags deployed. Now, the woman suffers not only from a swollen arm, but also is enduring hefty bills for a rental vehicle while her SUV is being looked at to determine what happened, according to FOX Chicago.

The car's manufacturer reported that the investigation could take a few weeks to a few months. But the driver believes the company is trying to stall, and hiding what could be another case of recalled vehicles in Illinois and elsewhere.

Our Chicago car accident attorneys understand that the woman had her vehicle towed to the nearest GMC dealership so that they could get to the root of the problem. The service manager said he was instructed by corporate management not to touch the vehicle.

"We're sitting there trying to figure out what happened. There's no malfunction, nothing's broken nothing hit us, we hit nothing the road was clear,” said the driver of the Envoy Excel. She also says she has owned the vehicle for six years, but after this incident she never wants to drive a GMC again.

Reports indicate that the dealership has seen this problem before, but is not authorized to release any information regarding these incidents. The Envoy Excel has been the subject of several recalls, including faulty ball bearings and malfunctioning door latches.

GMC has agreed to pay for the reimbursement of the car rental only if the incident is proven to be their fault. Until then, the Chicago woman is stuck footing the $200 a week rental bill.

Typically how it works is the registered owner of a vehicle will receive a recall notice once a manufacturer has discovered dangerous and malfunctioning issues with a vehicle. Unfortunately, sometimes vehicle owners don't get these recall notifications in time, if ever. We have reported here before on the strides the industry has made in vehicle safety. But we have also reported how new technology can create hazards.

Sometimes those hazards involve in-car technology such as navigation and entertainment systems. And sometimes those hazards can result from vehicle defects.

The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act allows the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to issue specific vehicle safety standards to help vehicles up to par and to keep motorists safe. These standards require vehicle manufacturers to recall vehicles that have not met federal safety standards or have been found to have safety-related defects. Since this act was enacted in 1966, the auto industry has recalled more than 400 million vehicles, nearly 50 million tires, more than 65 million pieces of motor vehicle equipment and more than 40 million child car seats.

Here are some recent major recalls:

-Suzuki Recalling Grand Vitara, XL-7 SUVs: Accelerator Cable.

-Ford Escape Recall: Seat Belt.

-Volvo Recall: Fuel Leak.

-Chrysler: Jeep Liberty

-Ford Recalls: 2001-2003 Windstar Vans.

-Nissan Recalls: 2.5 Million Units.

-Honda: Ignition Flaw.

-Subaru Recalls: 2004 Models.

-Toyota Tacoma Pickups: Fuel Leak.

You are urged to visit safecar.gov to ensure that you or your family's vehicle has not been issued a safety recall. This website allows you to search for any recalls regarding your specific car through the make, model and year of manufacture.

Continue reading " Defective Airbags Cause Financial Headache and Injury in Chicago " »

Back in 1997, the very first Walk to School Day was launched in Chicago. It was called 'National Walk Our Children to School Day.' During this first event, our city joined students, parents, law enforcement officers, school personnel and city officials on our students' walk to school.

Since then, the event has turned into International Walk to School Day and countries across the world are now participating. In 2002 more than 3 million people participated and in 2005 legislation was passed to award states with federal grants to help reduce the risk of pedestrian accidents.

Our Chicago pedestrian accident attorneys invite residents to participate in this year's event which will be held on October 5th. All day, parents, students, law enforcement, school employees and government officials will be walking to help raise awareness about the need for pedestrian-safe roadways for walkers of all ages. This event is also used to encourage our young ones to get out and get active as well as to encourage more to walk to reduce roadways traffic. There will a number of events and walks throughout the state to celebrate the occasion.

Pedestrian accidents in Illinois and elsewhere took the lives of more than 1,300 child pedestrians under the age of 15 in 2009. Another 179,000 young pedestrians were injured in these accidents, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.

Schools in Chicago that will be participating in this year's events include:

-Disney Ii Magnet School

-Peterson Elementary School

-Philip Rogers Elementary School

-Sauganash Elementary School

-St. John Berchmans School

-Sutherland School

Since the start of the program, nearly 11,500 schools in all 50 states have received federal funding through the 2005 legislation. The event went 'international' back in 2000. Event organizers believe that 2010 was the largest celebration of the event and the campaign as nearly 4,000 events were registered through the website. Many more unregistered events were also held.

According to Transportation for America, there were nearly 2,000 people killed in traffic-related pedestrian accidents from 2000 to 2009 in Illinois. These accidents cost the state more than $7 billion. Illinois ranks right in the middle for pedestrian-safe roadways in our country, sitting at 27th out of all 50 states.

Parents are urged to get out there and join their little ones on the way to school on October 5th. Remember to continue to talk with your child about safe-pedestrian habits. These skills can be used for the rest of their life and may be able to help prevent them from being the victim of a fatal pedestrian accident. Getting out walking also can help them to get healthy, gain self-confidence and become more independent and responsible.

Continue reading " International Walk to School Day Celebrates another Year in Chicago " »

There were two serious Illinois auto accidents on the Dan Ryan Expressway this past weekend, according to the Chicago Tribune.

One of the collisions involve a fatality. The crash occurred on Saturday around 9:30 AM in the area of 89th St. in the southbound lanes. The incident involved three vehicles and one person was killed, while three others were injured.

The victim fatally injured, a 45-year-old Chicago man who resides in the 2600 block of E 76th Street, was taken to Roseland Hospital and pronounced dead a short time later. Two other people involved were rushed by ambulance to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, both in critical condition. The other person injured was also critical and was transported to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital, according to fire department officials.

The motorist killed was driving a 2001 BMW SUV when he was reportedly changing lanes. Unfortunately, the driver of a 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix changed lanes at the same time, and the two cars collided with one of them striking a 2011 GMC Yukon. The victim's BMW drove across all of the lanes and slammed into a concrete barrier before flipping. The Yukon also hit the wall.

The Illinois State Police are handling the crash reconstruction, and their investigation is still ongoing.

Click here to read the story as reported by the Chicago Sun-Times

The above accident was unfortunately not the only role over on the Dan Ryan this weekend. Early Sunday morning around 3:15 AM a suspected DUI motorist flipped her car over when trying to exit the Dan Ryan at 18th St. moving southbound. State police handled this accident as well.

Four people were injured in the rollover, with one person being ejected from the vehicle. Luckily, none of the injuries are reportedly life-threatening. Paramedics from the Chicago fire Department took all of the injured to local hospitals in serious to critical condition.

The alleged intoxicated motorist had two warrants outstanding for her arrest.

It has not been reported if there is a Chicago injury lawyer involved in either of the above accidents yet, or if any civil lawsuits have been filed.

Just before the weekend started, another Illinois auto accident resulted in injuries to a 31-year-old Chicago resident. He remains in serious condition due to his Ford Explorer getting trapped under a semi truck that reportedly attempted an illegal turn in Rosemont on Thursday. The driver had to be extricated by rescue personnel and was taken by ambulance to Lutheran General in Park Ridge.

The crash occurred by the Lee Street exit ramp coming off of the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway around 7:50 AM. The truck driver, a 32-year-old Riverdale resident, was not hurt. Investigating police officers ticketed him with failure to yield while making a left turn. The Rosemont police handled the investigation.

The location had to be closed to through traffic for five hours during the crash investigation.

Continue reading " Deadly weekend for Chicago car crashes on the Dan Ryan and elsewhere " »

As we recently discuss on our Chicago Car Accident Lawyers Blog, the city constructed the Kinzie bike lane to help ensure the safety of cyclists on our roadways and to help reduce the congestion of traffic through the city. Mayor Emanuel previously promised a 100 new miles of shared bike lanes. Kinzie is a new breed of separated bike lanes that officials believe will further reduce the risk of a serious or fatal accident.

Such lanes are meant to significantly decrease the risks of bicycle accidents in Chicago in areas that are congested and dangerous. Approximately 20 percent of the traffic on Chicago roadways is made up of cyclists.

The Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) completed the construction of the Kinzie Street Protected Bike Lane in July.

According to a recently conducted study on resident's reviews on Kinzie Bike Lane:

-Of surveyed bikers, nearly 90 percent of them state that they feel safe or very safe on the bike lane.

-Nearly 50 percent of those who were surveyed reported that they feel that motorist's behavior has improved since the installation of the Kinzie bike lane.

-Bicycling traffic during rush hour is up nearly 60 percent since completion.

-A study from the CDOT reported that more than 40 percent of surveyed individuals admitted to changing their routes in the city to now take the new bike lane.

-CDOT reported that currently bicyclists account for approximately 55 percent of eastbound traffic and more than 30 percent of all traffic.

-Westbound traffic during the morning rush hour from Wells to Milwaukee has decreased.

-Rush hour during the evening hours has decreased in both directions.

-The project is still making more changes to the area. Some of the changes that are planned include increasing access to the lane and installing new signage and red-flashing beacons.

CDOT says that it will be continuing to seek the public's opinion on the new Kinzie bike lane to help make further improvements. Residents are urged to contact CDOT with and questions, comments or concerns regarding the Kenzie bike lane or any other transportation issues.

It’s about making sure that every dollar we spend is focused on building a city that works for all of its residents,” says Mayor Emanuel.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were are more than 700 people killed and more than 500,000 people that are injured because of traffic-related bicycle accidents in the U.S. each year.

Continue reading " CDOT Officials Survey Public Regarding Kinzie Bike Lane, Traffic Improvements and Risks for Bicycling Accidents in Chicago " »