Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

As we recently reports on our Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer Blog, 9 students were hospitalized after a school bus accident in Illinois. According to the Daily Herald, the school bus crashed near Sugar Grove as it rolled over onto its side and slid into a nearby field. Come to find out, this accident may have been prevented had the busing company taken the numerous complaints that had been filed against this particular bus driver more seriously.

One of the students injured on the bus that day had previously filed a complaint about the bus driver who had a history of drowsy driving. The passengers on the school bus that day were between the ages of 4 and 20. They were heading from Sandwich to Napperville, a 30 mile journey. The bus transporting these passengers was owned by Illinois Central School Bus. The busing company agrees that the accident was caused by a drowsy driver, which they say was the first time something like this has happened, despite numerous previous complaints.

The busing company states that the driver was punished after complaints about his performance. Officials with the school said that all they could do was pass along the complaints because they were not the ones who contracted the bus company. That wasn't enough though because the driver stayed behind the wheel, endangering students.

“He started the route in September, and within days, some of us started to notice a regular pattern of him nodding off and swerving erratically,” said one complaining witness.

A teenage school bus passenger reportedly sent in a number of complaints with her grandmother. They both say that the complaints were just ignored.

On the morning before the accident, students report that the driver was falling asleep at the wheel, as had become the norm. The bus driver was allegedly woken up by the bus aide who was screaming.

One student said that she wasn't buckled in that day by a seat belt. She says that the bus driver's assistant was screaming at the sleeping bus driver. Within seconds of the yelling, the bus veered to the right and was thrown on its side. Nearby motorists pulled over to assist the young children.

According to officials with Kane County, an investigation is ongoing and information will not be released until the investigation is over. Lt. Patrick Gengler says that the department is awaiting the results of toxicology tests.

Illinois Central is conducting an internal investigation of its own.

Officials with Little Friends, Inc., who operates the two Naperville schools where the students were being taken, say that they knew about the complaints that had been filed against that particular driver and had made previous attempt to intervene but they weren't able to do much because they aren't associated with the company and were not in charge of contracting the bus for these rides.

The witness says that she is just upset that her complaints were not acknowledged. She says her concerns, as well as the concerns of the other passengers, could have helped to prevent this accident.

Continue reading "Numerous Complaints Filed Against Driver accused of Causing Bus Accident in Illinois" »

An Illinois bus crash in north suburban Evanston resulted in the hospitalization of 20 students and one adult on Tuesday morning, Tribune Local is reporting. One school bus rear-ended another after one of the bus drivers was momentarily distracted.

The students were from Rowe elementary school and were on a field trip at Northwestern University. The collision took place around 11:15 AM as the 2 school buses were heading northbound on Chicago Ave. near Davis Street. There were a total of 50 students on the two buses.

Evanston police are stating that the at fault bus driver may have been looking in his side view mirror at the time of the accident.

The injured students were taken to Evanston Hospital, Rush and St. Francis Hospital. Ambulances from several communities, including Winnetka and WIlmette assisted. None of the injuries were reportedly life threatening. One child had neck & back injuires while another had chest pain.

The uninjured students continued on with the field trip.

Read the story as reported by ABC News and ABC News here.

A Chicago area school bus accident has resulted six children being injured and hospitalized, according to Tribune Local. The collision occurred Tuesday morning in North Suburban Vernon Hills, and all children have since been released from Advocate Condell Medical Center.

It is being reported that a vehicle was trying to avoid hitting a school bus that veered into its lane when it slid on a snow-covered highway and struck the bus. The school bus involved was from District 73 and was carrying approximately 20 students to Aspen Elementary School. The incident took place around 7:40 AM.

Police are stating that the bus driver may have entered the other driver's lane to avoid a snow pile. The Vernon Hills Police Department and the Countryside Fire Department responded to the scene of the accident. In addition to the six children transported to the hospital, three kids were treated and released at the scene. Both drivers involved in the Illinois bus crash were reportedly uninjured.

The police investigation is ongoing. It was not reported if any traffic citations were issued.

Illinois accident attorneys at Abels and Annes have signed on to represent a teenage student that was recently injured in Chicago area bus crash. The collision occurred at the intersection of Oakwood and 197th Street in Lynwood Illinois on December 9, 2010 at around 6:45 PM.

Our client was riding in a school bus that was moving northbound on Oakwood. At that time the driver of a southbound Ford Escape sideswiped the driver side of the school bus. The Lynwood Police Department handled the accident investigation and witnesses confirmed the above version of events.

Shortly after the accident, our client started experiencing severe neck, head and back pain. She was seen at the Ingalls Memorial Hospital emergency room the same day. Over the next week her pain did not resolve and the teenager is now undergoing further medical care with an orthopedic physician in the Chicago area.

If your child is been injured in an Illinois school bus crash, contact the Chicago personal injury lawyers at Abels & Annes for a free case evaluation. Call 312-924-7575 to speak directly to an attorney.

A Chicago area school bus crash has resulted in injuries to two students, according to the Lagrange Patch. The Illinois bus accident took place Friday morning just before 8 AM in Western Springs.

The school bus was rear-ended by a Chevy van after the bus stalled at the intersection of Howard Avenue and 40th St. The vehicle was from Lyons Township and was transporting 24 students from LTHS North Campus to the Technology Center of DuPage. Two students were injured and sent to an area hospital.

The injured children sustained back injuries in the accident and were taken by ambulance to Adventist Lagrange Memorial Hospital. They were released later the same day. None of the other students were reportedly injured.

The driver of the van that caused the accident was ticketed for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident. The Western Springs Police Department handled the crash investigation.

Click here to read the story as reported by the Chicago Breaking News Center.

We encourage parents to take the Safe Routes to School survey offered by the Chicago Department of Transportation as safety advocates attempt to reduce the risk of Chicago bicycle accidents, pedestrian accidents and school bus accidents.

Our Chicago child injury lawyers frequently talk about the dangers children face -- traffic accidents are the leading cause of death for kids ages 3 to 14, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

State traffic statistics show that more than 5,500 kids under the age of 14 were injured in traffic accidents last year. Illinois pedestrian accidents injured nearly 1,000 students, while bicycle accidents injured nearly 700.

Many students choose to walk or bike to school. In other cases, they walk or ride a bicycle to a bus stop. Tragically, many Chicago school bus accidents occur to bicyclists or pedestrians who are preparing to load or unload from a school bus. Last year, a total of 1,537 Illinois school bus accidents were reported. Two people were killed and 482 were injured, including 78 bus drivers and 164 bus passengers.

As winter weather approaches, now is a good time to remind your child about the importance of bicycle and pedestrian safety, as well as school bus safety.

Here you can find more information on Illinois' Safe Routes to School program.

The Chicago Safe Routes to School Survey is available here.

Continue reading "Safe Routes to School survey aims to reduce Chicago pedestrian accidents, bicycle accidents, school bus accidents" »

Illinois injury attorneys at Abels & Annes have signed on to represent a 10-year-old minor that was injured in a Chicago area SUV vs. school bus crash. CBS news reported that the collision took place around 3 PM at hundred 147th St. and LaGrange Road on September 30, 2010.

The school bus was carrying around 20 students when a Cadillac Escalade may have ran a red light and struck the front end of the school bus. A total of nine students, including our client, were injured and taken to area hospitals. The bus was traveling with 3rd, 4th & 5th graders from High Point Elementary School in Orland Park.

Our plaintiff was transported to Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn. She sustained right ankle, head and neck injuries in the collision. Her pain has been ongoing since the accident, and she has been treating with her pediatrician in Palos Hills, Illinois.

If your child has been injured in an Illinois school bus accident, contact a Chicago personal injury attorney at Abels & Annes for a free consultation. Call 312-924-7575. There is no attorney's fee unless a financial recovery is made for your child.

Nine people were hospitalized after a Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) bus accident on Friday morning, ABC 7 News reported.

Police say the accident happened when a car rear-ended the bus at Roosevelt and Central Park. Five ambulances were called to the scene shortly after 8 a.m. Nine passengers were injured when the No. 12 Roosevelt CTA bus was rear-ended by a car while at a stop on South Central Park.

Our Chicago accident attorneys continue to report on frequent accidents involving buses in Chicago and the surrounding area. Several serious accidents have occurred in the last several months, involving multiple victims.

-In July, the No. 53 Pulaski bus was involved in a crash near Chicago Avenue. Nine people were transported to area hospitals.

-In June, 11 people were sent to area hospitals and 12 others refused treatment after a CTA bus was involved in an accident with a car at the six-corner intersection of Milwaukee, Damen and North Avenues in the Wicker Park neighborhood.

-In May, seven people were hurt in a bus accident on North Pulaski on the Northwest Side of Chicago. A separate accident sent a dozen people to the hospital when a CTA bus crashed into a building in the Humboldt Park neighborhood.

-In April, a wrongful death lawsuit was filed by the family of a 53-year-old man who was run over by a CTA bus.

The Illinois Department of Transportation reports that 3,932 bus accidents occurred in 2008, killing six motorists and injuring 626. A total of 2,445 Illinois school bus accidents killed six other motorists and injured 349.

The Chicago News Center report is available here.

My FOX Chicago's report is available here.

The Chicago Personal Injury Law Firm of Abels & Annes has filed a civil lawsuit against a 67-year-old Gompers Junior High School bus driver and First Student Bus Company, in connection with the December sexual assault of a female student.

CBS2 reported Wednesday that the driver was working at First Student despite being dismissed from his job as a Joliet Township bus driver. A police reported from that 2004 incident cites "complaints by student females for sexual harassment."

The 67-year-old bus driver was charged in December with battery of a 14-year-old girl after being accused of offering the girl candy, touch her chest and buttocks and giving her $3 not to tell.

Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer Dave Abels and his partner Gary Annes filed a civil lawsuit against the driver and First Student Bus Company.

"I think that any parent would be shocked, horrified to hear that First Student is allowing people to, with these types of backgrounds, to drive their children," said Annes. Another police report says the defendant offered a girl candy, adusted his miror to stare at her and repeatedly asked for hugs.

"Someone dropped the ball here," Abels said.

Four other First Student drivers were in trouble with the law last year: One was arrested for exposing himself to a female student; one was caught with child pornography; and another driver was shot and killed by police after a high-speed chase in Riverdale.

The fourth driver was arrested for child endangerment and DUI after losing control of his bus on the Edens Expressway. That driver had been hired despite being fired from a previous job for driving erratically and failing a drug test, according to CBS2.

"I think private citizens have to stand up and say, 'Enough is enough. We're not going to allow our children to be subjected to this sort of danger,'" Annes said.

Continue reading "Chicago Injury Firm of Abels & Annes appear on CBS News for filing a sexual abuse lawsuit against Illinois school bus company" »

One person was critically injured in a Chicago bus accident involving the congressional campaign bus of Republican Robert Dold, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Dold was not aboard the bus when it crashed in Glenview late on Friday, January 29th. He was the eventual winner for the nomination in Illinois' 10th Congressional District, which stretches from Chicago's northern suburbs to the Wisconsin border.

Glenview police reported that the bus was eastbound when a westbound BMW turned into its path. The driver of the BMW was taken to Advocate Lutheran Hospital in Park Ridge. Cause of the Illinois bus accident remains under investigation.

The bus is rented to the campaign and was returning home for the night. No one from the campaign was involved in the accident, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

While initial reports are that the car turned in front of the bus, and perhaps caused the accident, commercial buses and bus drivers are heavily regulated because of the danger an accident poses to other motorists. Getting into an accident with a bus can be as serious as being involved in a Chicago trucking accident.

Statistics on Illinois school bus accidents in 2008 show that 2,418 crashes claimed six lives and injured 341 people. All six deaths occurred outside the bus, including three occupants of other vehicles, and three pedestrians.

A total of 136 large trucks and 12 buses were involved in fatal crashes in Illinois during 2008, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Another 3,337 were injured in Illinois trucking accidents while 963 were injured in accidents involving buses in Illinois.

The federal government issued tough new federal guidelines this week, making texting illegal for all commercial truck and bus drivers.

As the Chicago bus accident lawyers and the Illinois trucking accident attorneys at Abels & Annes reported last fall, the new ban is the outcome of a federal distracted driving summit.

The prohibition is effective immediately, according to CNN. While new Illinois state law already prohibits texting for all drivers, the federal ban targeting commercial truck and bus drivers in important because of the large numbers of out-of-state commercial drivers on Illinois roads.

In 2008, fatal Illinois trucking accidents claimed 136 lives, making Illinois one of the deadliest states in the nation for semi accidents, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

"We want the drivers of big rigs and buses and those who share the roads with them to be safe," said U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "This is an important safety step, and we will be taking more to eliminate the threat of distracted driving."

Truck and bus drivers who text while driving commercial vehicles face fines of up to $2,750.

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, a driver's eyes are off the road for 4.6 seconds out of every six seconds while texting and texting drivers are 20 times more likely to get into an accident.

Continue reading "Federal texting ban could reduce Illinois trucking accidents, Chicago bus accidents " »

As children go back to school after the holidays, motorists are cautioned to watch for stopped or turning school buses, children waiting at bus stops and pedestrians in crosswalks.

The Chicago bus accident attorneys and Chicago pedestrian accident lawyers at Abels & Annes have published safe winter driving tips on our Chicago Car Accident Lawyers blog.

Chicago school bus accidents can be caused by either a negligent bus driver or oncoming drivers. Not only is there a serious risk of injured children, but passengers in vehicles involved in an accident with a school bus often suffer very serious injuries, similar to those injured in Chicago trucking accidents.

More than 2,400 Illinois school bus accidents killed 6 people and injured 341 last year, according to statistics released by the Illinois Department of Transportation.

The vast majority of Illinois school bus accidents occur in urban areas, including Chicago. A total of 2,158 city school bus accidents occurred in 2008, compared to 260 that happened in rural areas.

IDOT reports three people in other vehicles were killed in accidents with Illinois school buses last year, while one school-aged and two other pedestrians were also killed.

Illinois State Police offer a brochure on school bus safety, available by clicking here.

Police report the majority of children injured or killed in school bus accidents are outside the bus and are struck by motorists who fail to stop for the red flashing light. Illegally passing a school bus comes with a three-month license suspension -- a subsequent offense with a one-year suspension and a mandatory minimum fine of $500.

Continue reading "Winter Chicago school bus accidents a concern as kids head back to classes" »

In Lostant, Illinois several students were injured Wednesday night when a chartered bus was involved in a motor vehicle accident with a truck, according to the Associated Press. The accident happened on an icy highway in northern central Illinois. At least 36 people were sent to hospitals.

The truck vs. bus accident happened on Interstate 39 when the tractor-trailer jackknifed in in front of a bus carrying students and the two vehicles impacted. The students were taken to three different area hospitals. Thirteen students were taken to St. Margaret's Hospital in Spring Valley and twenty-three students were taken to Illinois Valley Community Hospital in Peru.

The bus was returning from Chicago and all the students were from Dunlap High School in Dunlap, Illinois. Dunlap is a small town located on Illinois 91 in Peoria County, Illinois, with a population of around 1,000.

The interstate was shut down until the vehicles were cleared from the road.

In LaSalle County, Illinois it is being reported that there were no serious injuries to the 22 children or the 2 drivers involved in Tuesday's school bus vs. truck accident, according to the Daily Chronicle. The accident happened near the intersection of 42nd and Hoxey Roads in Northville Township. All parties involved were treated and released from area hospitals by yesterday afternoon.

The students on the bus were from Serena High School. They were taken to Valley West Community Hospital in Sandwich and Ottawa Regional Hospital & Healthcare Center in Ottawa.

The bus vs. truck accident is being investigated by the LaSalle County Sheriff’s Department. The driver of the truck has reportedly been ticketed with failure to yield at a stop/yield intersection.

Continue reading "LaSalle County, Illinois School Bus Accident Results In No Serious Injuries" »

CNN is reporting that a school bus has collided with a van in LaSalle County, Illinois. Video has been shown on the network of the bus on its side. They are reporting that 15 children were on board at the time of the school bus crash. No details have been reported of what caused the crash or the severity of the injuries.

Most of the students were taken to area hospitals in LaSalle and DeKalb Counties, according to CBS News. An emergency services box alarm was used after the accident that automatically sent fifteen ambulances to the crash site as a precaution.

In west suburban Downers Grove, Illinois several passengers were injured yesterday when a PACE bus was rear ended by a school bus. The accident took place at the intersection of 63rd and Woodward. The Pace bus was stopped at a red light for southbound Woodward traffic when the school bus failed to stop and hit the PACE bus. Over ten passengers on the PACE bus were injured and taken to area hospitals such as Hinsdale Hospital, Edwards Hospital and Good Samaritan Hospital by ambulance.

David Abels & Associates, P.C. has agreed to represent one of the injured PACE bus passengers in a claim against the school bus company. Our client was taken to Hinsdale Hospital with back and neck injuries. She is still complaining of severe pain and plans on seeking follow up treatment with a physician in Bolingbrook, Illinois.

Chicago, Illinois motor vehicle accident lawyers from David Abels & Associates, P.C., working in conjuction with the firm of Elman & Elman, have reached a bodily injury settlement with Laidlaw Transit, Inc. as a result of a school bus accident that occurred on Bryn Mawr Ave. in Chicago, Illinois in May of 2005. Our clients are an adult and two minor passengers that were riding on a Laidlaw bus that was rear ended by another Laidlaw bus on the North Side.

Our clients were taken to local area hospitals in Chicago with soft tissue back and neck injuries. They also had follow up treatment with their own doctors as well. The case was resolved against the the bus company for a combined total of $46,000 after a lawsuit was filed and the case was proceeding through discovery in the Circuit Court of Cook County.

Continue reading "Chicago Personal Injury Attorneys Reach School Bus Accident Settlement" »

A Chicago, Illiois school bus driver that caused a bus accident that left one pedestrian dead and injured eight others was sentenced to 6 years in prison for reckless homicide and aggravated DUI. He admitted drinking prior to the crash and his blood alcohol limit was nearly 3 times the legal limit, according to the Cook County State's Attorney's Office. The accident was earlier this year on May 21.

The driver in the bus crash was Jerry Moncrease, 71, and the victim was Antoine Bolden, 22, a father of 3. Moncrease was employed by Bryden Transportation. Cook County prosecutors said the school bus was traveling as fast as 70 m.p.h. when it hit an SUV on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois at the intersection of Garfield Boulevard and Wentworth Avenue. The crash involved multiple vehicles and Bolden was a pedestiran killed as he was crossing the street.

Bolden's family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in the Circuit Court of Cook County seeking damages in excess of $50,000 against Moncrease and Bryden Transportation. My clients have inquired in the past as to why "an amount greater than $50,000" is asked for in many lawsuits. That is the minumum amount to file your case in the Law Division of the Court. Even though this lawsuit may be worth millions, the complaint will usually only ask for an amount greater than $50,000.

At the time of the fatal accident, Bolden was on his way to see his 7 month old twin boys at a hospital who have health problems and were born 3 months premature. Bolden also had a 21-month-old daughter. While any accident that causes a death is a terrible event, these circumstances are particularily tough. It is likely that Bolden was the provider of income for his three children.

Sometimes auto accident deaths may be worth millions of dollars, but in reality the at fault party may only have a small amount of insurance. An individual driver in Illinois is only required to carry an insurance policy of $20,000 per person and $40,000 per occurrence. In this event, we are dealing with a bus company, so it is likely that there will be millions in insurance coverage. This type of money will be badly needed for the family to survive over the many, many years to come without their father.