Chicago Accident Lawyer Blog

As you walk through the streets of Chicago, everywhere you look fellow pedestrians all have on ear buds or head phones. This is especially true with joggers. These people may want to turn their music down next time they go for a jog or walk because according to University of Maryland researchers, use of iPods and other MP3 players make people much less aware of their environment, including oncoming traffic. This is particularly startling because almost everyone has a smart phone these days which have MP3 player capabilities. It’s as if people are deafly walking through the streets, unaware of all the impending dangers the city has to offer. The Chicago accident and injury firm Zneimer and Zneimer p.c. handle cases related to pedestrian injuries, whether caused by car, truck, or slip and fall. Please contact their office with any questions.

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The pedestrian crosswalk from Buckingham Fountain to the Chicago lakefront is open again after 6 years. The city removed the chains that blocked pedestrians from crossing Lake Shore Drive to reach Lake Michigan at Queen's Landing. The crosswalk was originally installed in 1988 after a 13 year old girl was stuck and killed by a car attempting to cross Lake Shore Drive to reach Queen's Landing. In 2005 the crosswalk was closed and chains were put along the sidewalk to speed traffic on Lake Shore Drive. People still crossed Lake Shore Drive at that location to reach the lake. Two young festival goers were seriously injured during Lollapalooza when they attempted to cross Lake Shore Drive at that location and we hit by a car.

Luann Hamilton, CDOT deputy commissioner stated in the Chicago Tribune:"Traffic flow is important. But pedestrian safety is No. 1 priority and we have to make sure this location is safe for all users."

The move is part of Mayor Emanuel's goal of making the city of Chicago safer for pedestrians and bicyclists. Chicago's first protected bike lanes were opened this summer on Kinzie Street downtown.

A 6 year old Chicago girl was killed on Saturday when she was hit in a crosswalk while attempting to cross Loomis with her 16 year old sister. Diamond Robinson died at a local hospital after the accident. The accident happened around 8:20 p.m.

The driver, Thomas Young who was headed south bound on Loomis Ave. in Chicago at the time was cited by police for failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk, driving too fast and driving without insurance.

Relatives say that Diamond Robinson who was a first-grader at Brownell Elementary School enjoyed school and received an award for perfect attendance.

A man who lives close to the accident site, Eddric Tolliver, noted to the Chicago Sun-Times reporter Mitch Dudek that "cars come flying down this street doing damn near 50, sometimes 60 miles per hour. There are accidents all the time at that corner. They need a stop sign there, or at least a speed bump, or something."

Chicago injury attorneys, Zneimer and Zneimer handle many pedestrian injury cases and the vast majority of the time, the pedestrian is hit by a car while attempting to cross a street in a crosswalk. Currently, the law requires drivers to yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk. Residents of Chicago know, however, that drivers rarely yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk in Chicago. Residents of Chicago also know that there are no consequences since the law is rarely enforced. Chicago police vehicles do not even yield the right-of-way to pedestrians in a crosswalk.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has proposed an ordinance that would require drivers to to stop at a crosswalk when pedestrians are attempting to cross. It is hard to see how the change would make any difference unless police actually enforced the law.

Two elderly women were run down in Chicago's Jefferson Park Neighborhood on Sunday, killing one woman on her 82nd birthday. The second hit-and-run victim remains hospitalized at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge. The hit-and-run vehicle was described as a dark blue or black Ford-150 with a ladder in the rear.

The Chicago Department of Transportation reports that 41% of vehicle-pedestrian collisions that are fatal involve hit-and-run drivers in Chicago, which is twice the national average. Chicago averages two hit-and run collisions with pedestrians involving injury or death everyday. Even though there is a law on the books in Chicago requiring drivers to stop for pedestrians preparing to cross in the crosswalk, the law appears never to be enforced. Chicago personal injury attorney Peter Zneimer witnessed at least fifteen cars fail to stop at the crosswalk as he attempted to cross Belmont Avenue near Leavitt Street in Chicago on Sunday even though he happened to be standing next to a mother with a baby stroller who was also waiting for the cars to stop at the crosswalk. No car stopped. When a gap in traffic finally presented itself attorney Peter Zneimer and the mother with the stroller practically had to run to avoid the on coming traffic that did not appear to even slow down. This crosswalk is about 3 blocks from the Belmont police station. Until Chicago police start enforcing the crosswalk laws in Chicago and start obeying the crosswalk law themselves when they are driving, Chicago will remain one of the most dangerous cities in the country for pedestrians and will continue to have more pedestrian injuries than the national average.

An 87 year old Chicago man was struck by a hit-and-run driver and was left in critical condition the Chicago Tribune reported. Chicago police report that the accident happened at 3:50 p.m. near 4400 West Fullerton in Chicago. The hit-and-run driver drove a green Jeep Cherokee that then drove to a gas station near North Kostner Avenue and jumped out of the vehicle and fled on foot. The critically injured pedestrian was taken to Illinois Masonic Hospital.

A recent study by the Chicago Department of Transportation found that there there are an average of two hit-and-run pedestrian accidents that cause injury or death to the victim occurring every day in Chicago. Hit-and-run crashes account for 33% of all vehicle-pedestrian crashes that occur in Chicago. Additionally, hit-and run crashes account for 41% of the fatal vehicle-pedestrian crashes in Chicago which is twice the national average.

Chicago Transportation Commissioner expressed his concern: "I think we have this culture of speeding and reckless driving." As Chicago personal injury attorneys, the law office of Zneimer & Zneimer handle many such cases. Many times the injured pedestrian has no insurance to cover his or her hospital visits so the victim is not only stuck with a devastating injury but also devastating medical bills.

A study commissioned by the Chicago of Transportation has found that Chicago averages two hit-and-run crashes that cause injury or death everyday. Hit-and-run vehicle-pedestrian crashes account for 33% of all vehicle-pedestrian crashes according to this study. The Chicago personal injury law firm of Zneimer & Zneimer has seen first hand the damage these hit-and-run drivers do. Many injured pedestrians do not have any insurance coverage so they are not only hurt by the hit-and-run driver but they are also stuck with the medical bills and the consequences of not being able to work while they recover. Hit-and-run drivers are a major problem in Chicago with 5,534 incidents of hit-and-runs over a five year period resulting in 3,683 injuries or deaths according to the study.

Another striking finding was the study found that cabdrivers were involved in 28% of motorist-pedestrian crashes in Chicago, with most of these crashes occurring in downtown Chicago.

A new city of Chicago study shows that 80 percent of vehicle-pedestrian crashes occur at intersections and mostly involve pedestrians walking where they are supposed to, in a cross walk. The study also shows the number one cause of pedestrians being hit by cars is drivers failing to yield the right-of-way. Most pedestrians are hit by turning vehicles while the pedestrians are attempting to cross the street in the crosswalk. There are about 3,000 vehicle-pedestrian crashes a year in Chicago. The pedestrian always gets the worst of such an accident and some end up with serious injuries . The Chicago injury law firm of Zneimer & Zneimer handles many cases of pedestrians being injured while in a cross walk. Many of these crashes involve serious injuries such as broken bones. Unfortunately, many drivers are only carry the minimum insurance coverage of $20,000.00 or, even worse, no insurance at all so the injured person is forced to pay his medical bills out of his own pocket if he or she does not have health insurance.

New Chicago Transportation Commissioner Gabe Klein has suggested a number of ways to make streets safer for pedestrians in Chicago. He has suggested reducing the number of right on red intersections, giving pedestrians more time to cross the street, narrowing streets and reducing speed limits. Another idea he suggested is to have all directions of motorist traffic stop for 14 seconds every other cycle to allow pedestrians to cross. The goal, of course, is cut down on pedestrian injuries in Chicago and to give as much consideration to pedestrians as is given to motorists. The Chicago personal injury lawyers of Zneimer & Zneimer are aware of the fact that many pedestrians are injured after being hit by drivers making a right turn on a red light because of the injured pedestrian cases we handle. The Mayor's office plans a big pedestrian safety initiative to begin later this summer. The program will include an education outreach and intersection crash analysis to determine which intersections are most dangerous for pedestrians.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has proposed changes in Chicago ordinances in an effort to make streets safer for pedestrians. Currently the law requires motorists to "yield" to pedestrians in a crosswalk. Mayor Emanuel proposes changing the ordinance language to require drivers to "stop" for pedestrians in the crosswalk. The goal is to make it 100 percent clear what a driver is supposed to do when a pedestrian is in a crosswalk. The Chicago injury lawyers of Zneimer & Zneimer have handled numerous cases of persons hit and injured in crosswalks by motorists that did not yield the right-of-way. Anybody living in Chicago probably knows that motorists do not yield to pedestrians in crosswalks and any who assumes that a car will stop for them as they cross in a crosswalk risk serious injury or death. Police vehicles will not even stop for pedestrians. The only way a new ordinance can work to change motorists habits is if police enforce it and to give tickets to drivers who do not stop.

In a new study conducted by Transportation for America, the Chicago-Naperville-Joilet area ranked 41st most dangerous for pedestrians out of 51 cities studied. The top five most dangerous areas for walking were Orlando, Tampa, Miami and Memphis. The fact that Orlando is number one is probably no surprise to anyone who has been there. Even though there are tons of tourists walking around many areas around hotels do not even have sidewalks so people are forced to walk on the side of the road.

The Illinois Department of Transportation reports that in 2008, 52 pedestrians were killed and 3,225 were injured in Chicago pedestrian accidents. As Personal Injury attorneys in Chicago, Zneimer & Zneimer can testify from experience that auto against pedestrian accidents almost always produce injuries to the pedestrian. We also see many of the same types of accidents over and over again. One of the most common pedestrian accidents in Chicago is where a left turning vehicle plows into a pedestrian in the crosswalk of the street that the driver is turning on to. Drivers are probably looking for on coming cars and forget to look for pedestrians.

A hit-and-run driver cut through a gas station on Chicago's south side on Monday to avoid a traffic light when he hit a pedestrian and fled according to WGN news. The pedestrian accident occurred in the 6200 block of South California at about 10:15 pm. The hit-and-run vehicle was a red SUV with a roof rack and it was headed north bound.

As personal injury attorneys in Chicago, the law firm of Zneimer & Zneimer has noted that this type of accident is common in Chicago, unfortunately. It is all too common for drivers to cut through gas stations, putting pedestrians who are either walking in the gas station lot or on the side walks adjacent to the gas station at risk. Chicago police should do more to end this practice. One idea is to stake out gas stations where this activity is common on certain days so offenders know the police are cracking down on this dangerous and stupid behavior.

In a consolidated case that involved six drivers that drove cars that were insured by Founders Insurance or Safeway Insurance, the issue was whether Founders and Safeway should pay for injuries caused by a driver that drove the car without a license. Founders and Safeway argued that they did not have to pay because their policy excluded drivers who do not have a drivers license. Five of the drivers had no license, while the sixth driver had a suspended license.

The Founders insurance policy had several exclusions to its liability coverage. One of the exclusion stated that coverage does not apply “to bodily injury or property damage arising out of the use by any person of a vehicle without a reasonable belief that the person is entitled to do so." Founders argued that a person without a drivers license or a person with a suspended drivers license cannot have a reasonable belief that they are entitled to use the vehicle.

The Safeway insurance policy had a similar exclusion. The policy excluded any person "operating an automobile without a reasonable belief that he or she is entitled to do so.”

In the case of Founders Ins. Co. v. Munoz, 237 Ill.2d 424 (2010), the Illinois Supreme Court agreed. The Court stated "The policy provision at issue here precludes liability coverage when the person using or operating the vehicle does not have a “reasonable belief” that he or she is “entitled” to do so. Based on this language, Founders and Safeway argue that a person who has not been issued a driver’s license, or whose license has been suspended or revoked, cannot have a reasonable belief that he or she is entitled to drive merely because he or she owns the vehicle or was granted permission to use the vehicle..."

***
The court began with the language of the policy and, in particular, the word “entitled." The court looked up the word in a dictionary for its plain meaning and noted,

"Under both policies, an “insured person” includes the named insured and any person using the owned vehicle with the permission of the named insured. As Founders and Safeway note, unless the person qualifies as an “insured person,” the coverage exclusions never come into play because the person is not covered by the policy in the first instance. This means that the term “entitled,” as used in the subject exclusion, cannot refer to entitlement based on permission or ownership because the issue of whether the person using the vehicle has a reasonable belief that he or she is entitled to do so only arises after issues of permission or ownership have been satisfied."

"The question remains whether the “average, ordinary, normal, reasonable person” for whom these policies were written ... would understand that the exclusion applies to unlicensed drivers. We agree with Founders and Safeway that the answer is “yes.” Illinois law with respect to driving privileges is clear. With limited exceptions not relevant here, no person shall drive a motor vehicle in this state unless such person has a “valid license.” 625 ILCS 5/6-101(a), (b) (West 2008). A person driving on a revoked or suspended license is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor. 625 ILCS 5/6-303(a) (West 2008). Irrespective of whether a person owns the vehicle, or is a permissive user, without a valid license, a person cannot have a reasonable belief that he or she is entitled to drive in this state. Without a valid license, a person has not been given the “right” to drive; has not been “qualified” to drive; has not been “furnished with proper grounds” for doing so..... Accordingly, each of the six drivers at issue here, who either never obtained a license or whose license was suspended, could not, as a matter of law, have a reasonable belief that he was entitled to drive simply because he owned the car or was given the keys."
***

The decision of the Illinois Supreme Court will leave many accident victims without compensation for their injuries, if the driver that caused the accident had no license or had a suspended license and had an insurance with a similar exclusion. There are insurance companies that sell insurance policies to persons who do not have drivers license. It is essential to review the provisions of your policy for any exclusions to protect yourself and others on the road.

While we do not dispute the Illinois Supreme Court's observation that a person without a license is violating the law by driving, the reality is that many people drive without a license because they are undocumented This decision will leave taxpayers to pick up the tab for medical expenses for injured victims. We urge the legislators to act to prevent this from happening.

A man in his late teens or early 20's was struck by a motorist early Sunday morning in the the Logan Square neighborhood in Chicago.

The man had been struck by a black SUV around 4:40 a.m. while he was walking near the 2400 block of North Ridgeway Avenue in Chicago. The SUV did not stop.

As a personal injury attorney in Chicago, I have had more than one case of pedestrians being hit by motorists in vans or SUVs late at night with the van or SUV then speeding away. Walking in alleys is especially dangerous at night. Some of the hits almost seemed to be intentional in that there was no horn sounded and no attempts to stop. So it is prudent not to trust the drivers of any vehicle driving around late at night or in early morning hours in Chicago.

A new law has just passed the Illinois Senate that would require drivers to come to a complete stop if a pedestrian enters a crosswalk. The old law only required drivers to slow down or stop only when necessary. In 2007, 172 pedestrians were struck in crosswalks in Illinois prompting the Illinois state legislature to act. This is welcome news for Chicago pedestrians who are aware that no one even slows down at cross walks, not even the police. It will be interesting to see if the police actually enforce this law.

Chicago Illinois is a major city, and like most large urban areas, tend to have a vast amount of auto accidents. Chicago’s Michigan Ave. seems to be a hot spot for, not just auto accidents, but accidents that involve personal injury.
A recent Chicago Sun-Times article highlights such accidents and injuries:
“Four people were critically injured in an auto accident on Michigan Avenue near Grant Park early Sunday.
At 4:10 a.m., police responded to an auto accident involving at least three vehicles at 450 S. Michigan Ave., according to police News Affairs Officer Hector Alfaro. Several people were injured, he said, but it was not immediately known how many.
At 4:20 a.m., fire personnel were notified and responded to an auto accident at South Michigan Avenue and East Congress Parkway, according to Fire Media Affairs Chief Kevin MacGregor.
An EMS Plan 1 was called for the accident, he said. Four people were critically injured and several refused treatment.
Two people were taken in critical condition to John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County; one was taken in critical to Mount Sinai Hospital; and one was taken in critical to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, MacGregor s”
Driving in a city the size of Chicago, or any city, can be a hazardous activity, but when injuries tend to be common there needs to be some action taken. Whether it be, slow down, stricter traffic laws or compensation for personal injury, some action needs to be taken. When injured in an auto accident reporting such injury and seeking legal counsel is imperative to gaining the compensation deserved.
Accidents will always happen, drive safe, follow all traffic laws, and pay attention to other drivers. When all steps are followed and you have inevitably gotten into an accident, seek legal counsel, know your rights, and follow through with the steps to hold others accountable for their failure to do the same.

Chicago's Department of Transportation (CDOT) is teaming up with the Chicago Police Department to implement a new nighttime pedestrian accident reduction program. This innovative effort will focus on areas of the city that have had a high number of pedestrian accidents.

Analysis of Chicago nighttime pedestrian accident data for 2005-2007 found four areas of the city with high numbers of accidents: River North, Austin, Wrigleyville, and 79th Street (Ashland to the Dan Ryan Expressway). Several factors were involved in these accidents including speeding, alcohol use, and inattentive drivers. In the Wrigleyville neighborhood, alcohol use and driver inattention were the two main factors in pedestrian accidents. These four areas of the city will be targeted in the nighttime pedestrian accident campaign.

Efforts to reduce the number of nighttime pedestrian accidents include increased speed limit enforcement, education outreach to bars, restaurants and taxi companies, and continuation of the crosswalk enforcement initiative. Undercover police officers posing as pedestrians will be making sure that motorists yield to pedestrians in crosswalks as required by law. Motorists who fail to yield to a pedestrian in crosswalk can face fines from $50 to $500. Pedestrian safety-related improvements include speed humps and curb bumpouts to slow vehicles, pedestrian-countdown signals that let a person know how much time they have to finish crossing the street, and new pavement markings.

The nighttime pedestrian accident reduction program is being conducted in conjunction with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Western Michigan University (WMU). The program is being paid for with federal funds received by WMU. The program will use off-duty police officers and will be ongoing through the fall.

A Chicago jury awarded plaintiff, Martha Aguado $227,201 in her case against the City of Chicago for a broken patella she suffered as a pedestrian as a result of falling in a pothole in a crosswalk at Western Ave. and Foster Ave. in the City of Chicago. The plaintiff claimed that a puddle covered up the hole. When the jury was asked whether the condition of the City of Chicago's crosswalk/sidewalk presented an unreasonable risk of harm on the premises, the jury answered "yes".

This week Chicago police will begin pulling over drivers who do not yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk. Moving-violation ticket fines range up to $500.00. The city will use plainclothes police officers posing as pedestrians at intersections without stop signs to implement the sting operation.

Additionally, legislation has been introduced in the Illinois Senate that will require Illinois drivers not only to yield but to come to a full stop when pedestrians are in a crosswalk. Violators would face a minimum $150.00 fine.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics show that there have been more than 6,000 auto-pedestrian crashes in Illinois, with more that 3,000 of these accidents occurring annually in the city of Chicago.

It would help if Chicago police vehicles would take the lead and set an example and stop for pedestrians in crosswalks. Any resident of Chicago can attest to the fact that Chicago police vehicles simply do not yield to pedestrians in crosswalks and if a pedestrian was foolish enough to to walk in front of a Chicago police vehicle, he would likely add to the statistics.

An Arlington Heights man was killed today as he walked through a commercial strip near his home. Arthur Tidd was a pedestrian walking across Algonquin road when he was struck by a Jeep Wrangler. The driver stopped after the accident. Rolling Meadows paramedics took Mr. Tidd to Northwest Community Hospital where he died a short time later.

71 pedestrians are killed and 930 are seriously injured every year in Chicago according to a Chicago Suntimes article published today. Nearly one-third of the pedestrian accidents are hit-and-runs.

Anyone who lives in Chicago knows that drivers do not stop at crosswalks in Chicago like they do in other cities. For example, on trips to Santa Fe, Sarasota, and Salt Lake City, I was surprised that drivers actually stop for pedestrians waiting at cross-walks in those cities.

The city of Chicago has been trying to step-up enforcement by operating stings this June in which undercover officers pretend to be a pedestrian using the crosswalk. The police issued 101 warnings to drivers who failed to yield to pedestrians in less than two hours. What is ironic about the Chicago Police trying to enforce laws requiring drivers to yield is that Chicago Police in squad cars almost never yield for pedestrians waiting at cross-walks. Maybe the Chicago Police should lead by example.

In his new book "Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do" Tom Vanderbilt uncovered a lot of surprising information by digging into driving studies. For example:

- Drivers honk less on weekends.

- Pedestrians on cell phones take longer to cross the street, and look at traffic less often

- More people are killed legally in crosswalks than jaywalking.

- Half of all traffic fatalities happen at impact speeds of less than 35 mph.

- 350 people die every year entering the freeway the wrong way; at least 50 are killed by cars in driveways

- "Children at Play" signs do not reduce speed or accidents

- Car drivers drive closer to helmeted cyclists (and further from cyclists who appear to be
women).

Northwestern Memorial Hospital emergency room in Chicago sees about one pedestrian accident victim a day because they or someone else was walking and texting at the same time according to Dr. James Adams, the hospital's chair of emergency medicine.

Distracted texters fall down stairs, run into objects, and it is not unheard of for bicycle riders and rollerbladers to end up in the emergency room after crashing while texting.

Facial injuries are common since a texter is typically using both hands to text and is less likely to break his or her fall with their hands according to Dr. Adams.

Source: Monifa Thomas, Chicago Sun-Times, July 28, 2008