Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

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.