Articles Posted in Pedestrian Accidents

The Pedestrian Accident Attorneys of Zneimer & Zneimer P.C. take note of a concerning problem that continues to plague those that travel by foot in the Chicago area-crosswalk safety. According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, pedestrian fatalities in Chicago were more than double the nationwide average in 2012. Many of these fatalities occurred at pedestrian crossings. As Accident & Injury Lawyers, we find this highly troubling, particularly given the 2010 revisions to right-of-way laws in Illinois, which many expected would have significantly enhanced the safety of pedestrians throughout the city.

As suggested by an article in the Chicago Tribune, failure to comply with pedestrian crossing laws can at least, in part, be attributed to drivers’ unawareness of the law, as it was revised in 2010. Under the old law, drivers were only required to yield to pedestrians. However, in finding that this yield-only requirement was a law that was difficult to interpret, as well as difficult to enforce, the state amended it in 2010 to include a provision requiring drivers to both stop and yield at crosswalks. The 2010 revisions to Illinois Vehicle Code regarding ‘Pedestrians’ right-of-way at crosswalks,’ as set forth in 625 ILCS 5/11-1002(a), provides that:

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The Pedestrian Accident Attorneys of Zneimer & Zneimer, along with community activist groups and friends and family of the victim, mourn the loss of an Englewood toddler killed at the hands of a drunk driver. The accident occurred at the 5700 Block of South Morgan Street in Englewood on September 20, 2013. As 2-year old Ja’Mya Love walked to daycare with her great-grandmother, the toddler was tragically struck by a motor vehicle. Kellen Bledsoe, is said to have caused the accident after running through a stop sign as the victim and her family approached the intersection. After striking the child, Bledsoe continued driving where he subsequently collided with a parked vehicle. Thereafter, Bledso exited his vehicle and began to flee on foot. Fortunately, authorities were able to take him into custody shortly following a brief pursuit.

According to officials, Bledsoe had an astounding blood-alcohol-level of .252, which represents a level exceeding the legal limit (.08) by more than three times. In addition, officials report that the 27-year-old driver had never been issued a driver’s license, which is likely the reason for his failure to carry insurance coverage as well. Bledso was held in lieu of a half a million dollar bond, where he was later charged with reckless homicide in a construction zone; aggravated DUI in an accident causing death; aggravated DUI in accident by driver without driver’s license; operating a vehicle without a license; and operating a vehicle without insurance.

The Englewood Personal Injury Attorneys of Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C. offer their condolences to the family members of little 2-year-old Ja’Mya Love. Having witnessed far too many preventable accidents throughout our City, the toddler’s death serves as reminder of the dangers of sharing Chicago’s roadways with reckless drivers.

A 50 year old Chicago man from the Northwest Side side neighborhood of Lawndale was struck by a hit-and-run driver while crossing Pulaski Ave Sunday morning the Chicago Sun-times reports. Witnesses say the man was hit by a gold or orange Pontiac traveling approximately 50 mph. The vehicle failed to stop. The man was thrown 30 feet as a result of being hit. The man was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital and is in critical condition.

Hit-and-run accidents are a common occurrence in the city of Chicago. 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 know 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.

Chicago pedestrian accident attorneys of Zneimer & Zneimer p.c. read in the Sun-Times that pedestrian deaths due to pedestrian accidents with cars have risen from 2012 to 48. There were 35 pedestrian deaths in 2011, 30 in 2010 and 31 in 2009.

A city of Chicago study found that 80 percent of vehicle-pedestrian accidents occur at intersections and mostly involve pedestrians walking in the 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 to pedestrians. Drivers in Illinois are required by law to come to a complete stop when a pedestrian is in a crosswalk. (625 ILCS 5/11-1002)

Distracted drivers has been suggested as a possible culprit in the up-tick in pedestrian deaths. Both drivers and pedestrians are texting, on the cell phone or listening to music on their phone or I-Pod and are not paying attention to road hazards. Chicago injury lawyers, Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.have handled cases where the defendant who caused the injury to the plaintiff was on a cell phone or was yelling at children in the car and was distracted when the accident occurred.

Our Chicago car accident attorneys read proposed standards of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for electric and hybrid vehicles to make noise. These vehicles are much quieter at low speeds than traditional gas or diesel powered vehicles making them harder to detect by pedestrians and bike riders.

NHTSA Administrator David Strickland stated: “Our proposal would allow manufactures the flexibility to design different sounds for different makes and models while still providing an opportunity for pedestrians, bicyclists and the visually impaired to detect and recognize a vehicle and make a decision about whether it is safe to cross the street.”

The NHTSA proposal would require electric vehicles traveling under 18 miles per hour to make sufficient noise so that pedestrians and bicyclists could detect them even when factoring in street noise and background noise. Each make and model would be required to emit the same sound.

Our Chicago pedestrian injury lawyers learned that a Chicago man was critically injured Saturday morning when he was struck in a pedestrian accident, while attempting 95th Street at 95th and Jeffery Boulevard on the South Side. The victim was crossing in the crosswalk when he was struck, according to the police. The man who struck the pedestrian with his vehicle stayed on the scene until the police came. The pedestrian was listed in critical condition and taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.

A city of Chicago study found that 80 percent of vehicle-pedestrian crashes happen at intersections and involve pedestrians walking in a crosswalk. The CDOT study also found that the number one cause of pedestrians being hit by a motor vehicle is the motor vehicle fails to yield the right of way. There are over 3,000 vehicle pedestrian crashes a year in Illinois. Illinois law states that a motorist must stop, not just yield for any pedestrian who has already entered the crosswalk. Anyone living in Chicago knows that motorist rarely stop or yield for pedestrians in a crosswalk.

The Chicago law firm of Zneimer & Zneimer P.C. litigates many cases of pedestrians getting hit by motor vehicles while crossing in the crosswalk. Many of these crashes cause serious injuries such as traumatic brain injury and broken bones. The Chicago personal injury law firm of Zneimer & Zneimer will work for you to make sure that the injured plaintiff recovers the maximum compensation for their injuries.

The city of Chicago unveiled its first ever pedestrian safety plan according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The “Zero in Ten” program would identify high risk intersections and then would implement safety changes to try to bring down pedestrian deaths down to zero. Safety changes could include “lagging” lanes for left turns which would make the cars wait for pedestrians to cross a street before a car could make its left turn. Red light cameras could also be added. Other changes include adding count down signals to intersections and increasing the amount of time to cross a street near hospitals and nursing homes.

Gabe Klein, commissioner of the city’s Department of Transportation has set the goal of eliminating all pedestrian deaths. “We want to set an aggressive goal that forces us in every element of our job to look at pedestrian safety and make it everything we do….If at the end of the day, two people are killed, heaven forbid, vs. zero, I will still feel like we made huge, huge progress.”

The personal injury law firm of Zneimer & Zneimer P.C. handle many cases for injured pedestrians who were crossing in the cross walk with the light and were still injured by motorists who made left turns into them or made right on red turns into them. Even more sadly a high percentage of our case are minors going to or coming from school or going to or from a friend’s house. More needs to be done to protect pedestrians. One easy way would be to eliminate right on red turns. The law firm of Zneimer & Zneimer is currently handling cases for seriously injured pedestrians where the motorist is looking left for cars to attempt a right on red turn and never looks right to watch for pedestrians crossing from the right. When the motorist sees no cars coming from the left, he or she accelerates right into the pedestrian right in front of his or her car crossing from the right.