Articles Posted in Uninsured Motorist Claim

Drivers across the nation are more and more often letting their auto insurance policies lapse due to the poor economy, according to the Wall Street Journal. Hundreds of thousands of drivers decided to go without it this year.

As a Chicago car accident and personal injury lawyer, I am seeing evidence first hand that the Journal article is correct. My law firm has seen a drastic increase in the number of uninsured motorist claims that we are handling for our clients.

What does this mean to you? It means that the chances have gone up that the next time you get hit by car, the driver that hit you may not have auto insurance to cover the loss.

Illinois Injury Lawyers from Abels & Annes, P.C. have settled an uninsured motorist claim that arose out of an automobile accident which occurred on February 14, 2008. Our client was driving his vehicle eastbound on 167th St. in Orland Park, Illinois. Two of his family members were passengers in his car.

As our clients approached 167th and Wolf Road they had a green light for eastbound traffic and they entered the intersection. At that time an uninsured driver ran a red light for northbound traffic and hit the passenger side of the the plaintiffs’ vehicle with the front end of his car.

Our clients were taken from the scene of the crash to Silver Cross Hospital in Joliet by ambulance. Our clients suffered multiple soft tissue injuries, including back and neck injuries. All three clients sought follow up treatment with local doctors in the Chicago Area.

In Chicago, Illinois a teenager has been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol after he struck a 73 year old pedestrian on the Northwest Side of Chicago this past Wednesday night, according to the Chicago Tribune. The pedestrian was crossing the street in the 6700 block of West Addison Street when he was hit by the teen who was driving a minivan. The driver fled the scene of the accident and was later pulled over after being involved in a second accident in the 3400 block of West Belmont.

The victim was taken to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, Illinois. He sustained fractured legs and ribs, and internal bleeding.

The teen driver was also ticketed with driving without insurance, driving without a driver’s license, failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, and leaving the scene of an accident.

In Chicago, Illinois bicycle accident attorneys from Abels & Annes, P.C. have reached an insurance policy limits settlement for a local resident stemming from a March 2008 crash. Our client was riding to work southbound on Halsted Street near Division in a bicycle lane. He was hit by a car that was turning left / westbound. That is the last thing our client remembers until he woke up at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

The plaintiff sustained brain hemorrhaging and a sinus fracture as a result of the Chicago bike vs. car accident. He was inpatient at the hospital for several days. The defendant’s insurance company tendered their policy limits of $20,000 and our firm is pursuing an under-insured motorist claim against our client’s own insurance carrier for an additional $80,000.
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Illinois Auto Accident Attorneys from David Abels & Associates, P.C. have reached an uninsured motorist claim settlement with Erie Insurance for a client who was injured in August, 2007. The accident took place at Grand Avenue and Dileys Road in Waukegan, Illinois. The plaintiff was stopped at a red light for Eastbound traffic on Grand when the defendant hit her on the passenger side.

The defendant fled the scene after the impact, but then pulled into a nearby gas station. Our client followed the driver to the gas station where there happened to be a Lake County Sheriff’s Deputy. The plaintiff approached the Deputy, and when the defendant observed this he fled the gas station at a high rate of speed. The Sheriff’s Deputy jumped into his squad car, chased the defendant and caught him. The defendant was ticketed with no insurance and several other moving violations.

Our client sustained back, neck and shoulder injuries. She was treated that day at Midwestern Regional Medical Center in Zion, Illinois. She later had follow up treatment with a chiropractor in Riverwoods, Illinois.

Chicago Personal Injury Attorneys from David Abels & Associates, P.C. have reached a settlement on a UM claim for a client stemming from a 2006 auto accident that took place on the South Side at 79th and Lowe. Our client was eastbound on 79th Street when the defendant failed to yield coming out of a stop sign for southbound traffic on Lowe. The driver that hit the plaintiff did not have valid insurance at the time of the accident.

Our client sustained neck injuries and treated with his primary care physician in Oak Park, Illinois. His doctor also referred him to physical therapy.

Due to the fact that the defendant did not have insurance, we set up an uninsured motorist claim against our client’s own insurance company. American Family Insurance paid on the claim.
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Chicago pedestrian accident lawyers from David Abels & Associates, P.C. have reached an insurance policy limits settlement in an uninsured motorist claim for one of our clients. The accident happened in May of 2006 when the plaintiff was hit by a Cadillac on the South Side of Chicago at 1908 W. 74th Street just after he exited a CTA bus.

The plaintiff was taken to Holy Cross Hospital with a pelvic fracture. He stayed at the hospital for over a week and was then transferred to a rehab facility for several weeks. He incurred over $50,000 in medical bills.

The at fault driver did not have insurance for the Cadillac so we pursued an uninsured motorist claim on our client’s own auto insurance policy. The insurance carrier tendered the limits of the insurance policy on the claim.
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On Monday night an 8 year old child was hit and killed by an SUV on the South Side of Chicago just before 10 p.m., according to the Chicago Tribune and several other news outlets. The driver of the SUV, Theresa Alexander of Chicago, has now been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, negligent driving and driving without insurance. The SUV vs. pedestrian accident occurred in the 5600 block of Princeton Avenue in the Englewood neighborhood.

The boy, Tishaun Fields, reportedly was crossing the street when he was hit by a northbound Jeep Grand Cherokee. He was pronounced dead a short time later at the University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital.

The Chicago pedestrian accident was initially thought to be a hit and run, but the driver returned to the scene shortly after the collision according to police. The Chicago Police Department’s Major Accident Investigation Unit is handling the crash investigation. The driver is scheduled to appear in traffic court on May 15. There is no word yet if the charges will be upgraded to felonies.

A woman from Elgin was killed in a pedestrian accident on the South Side of Chicago early Sunday morning, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Ashley Brown, age 23, was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital and pronounced dead just before 2 a.m.

Brown was involved in an accident around 1:20 a.m. at 75th and State Street in Chicago. Brown and another woman were struck by a vehicle as they were crossing the street on foot, according to Chicago Police. Both were taken to Northwestern Hospital and the other woman reportedly suffered a broken leg.

The women were reportedly struck by a Dodge Magnum, which is a large sport wagon. The vehicle fled the scene of the Chicago accident. The Chicago Police Department major accident investigation unit is working on the case. The Dodge Magnum is not a common vehicle, and anyone with information regarding the accident should contact the Chicago Police Department.
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Cook County car accident lawyers from David Abels & Associates, P.C. have reached a $40,000 bodily injury settlement with USAA Insurance as a result of an auto accident that occurred in July of 2006. The car crash happened on the Southbound Edens Expressway near Willow Road, Northfield, Illinois when the defendant rear ended a car that was then knocked into our vehicle. The defendant fled the scene of the Interstate 94 auto accident.

The impact was not heavy and only caused about $300 in property damage, but our client sustained a shoulder injury when he was knocked into the steering wheel. Our client, who is actively serving in the military, was treated at the North Chicago VA Hospital and followed up for additional treatment at the Great Lakes Naval Base and Health South for physical therapy.

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