Chicago Accident Lawyer Blog

October 14, 2012

Chicago Unveils Pedestrian Safety Plan

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.

October 7, 2012

Chicago Bicyclist Killed On Wells Street

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that a Chicago lawyer by the name of Neill Townsend was riding his bike southbound on Wells on Friday morning when a parked driver opened his car door in the path of his bike. Neill Townsend attempted to avoid the door by swerving out of the way and fell or was pushed by the door into the path of a south bound truck. Mr. Townsend died at the scene.

The man who opened the car door for opening a car door in the path of a bicyclist which is against the law in Chicago.

According to the Illinois Department of transportation, Division of Traffic Safety in data obtained by WBEZ, there have been 577 reported doorings in Chicago between 2009 through September, 2012. According to the map, doorings are particularly common on Milwaukee and Lincoln Avenues, two streets that have heavy commuter traffic.

September 25, 2012

Taxis Involved In 1 Out Of 4 Pedestrian Crashes In Chicago Loop

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

Chicago pedestrian injury lawyers, Zneimer & Zneimer noted an article in the Chicago Sun-Times that reports that according to Chicago Department of Transportation, more than 3,100 pedestrians were injured in downtown Chicago since 2005. Of those, more than 400 of those or about 13 percent suffered serious injuries or fatal injuries. Strikingly, one out of every four pedestrian crashes involved a taxi cab.

According to the same article, so far this year, there have been 31 pedestrian fatalities in Chicago.

The same article also noted that in the highest crash areas in downtown Chicago, more than half of the pedestrians were hit while walking in a crosswalk with the signal. In the central business areas of Chicago nearly 28% of the crashes involved taxi drivers.

August 8, 2012

DREAMers, Childhood Arrivals, and the Need for Competent Legal Representation

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

Senator Dick Durbin and Congressman Luis V. Gutierrez have taken an extraordinary position in advising against hiring an attorney. This statement is ill advised, irresponsible, and harmful.

Immigration law is extraordinarily complex. With “only a small degree of hyperbole, the immigration laws have been termed ‘second only to the Internal Revenue Code in complexity’.” E. Hull, Without Justice For All 107 (1985); Castro-O’Ryan v. U.S. Dept. of Immigration and Naturalization, 847 F.2d 1307 (9th Cir. 1988). The Ninth Circuit described immigration law as a “labyrinth almost as impenetrable as the Internal Revenue Code.” Escobar-Grijalva v. I.N.S., 206 F.3d 1331, 1334 (9th Cir.2000).

For Senator Durbin and Congressman Gutierrez to state that the childhood arrivals (Dreamers) can file and qualify without an attorney shows that both either do not understand the issues or are misguided in their attempt to protect vulnerable immigration population.

August 2, 2012

Chicago Ordinances Address Dangerous Dogs

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

July 26, 2012

Illinois Traffic Deaths On The Rise

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that traffic fatalities are up 9% over this time last year. So far this year in Illinois there have been 533 traffic fatalities on the streets, roads and highways of Illinois. Of these, 156 were killed in alcohol related crashes. In 143 of the fatal crashes, a seat belt was not used. In 110 of the fatal crashes, drivers were involved who were without a valid drivers license or no license at all.

According to Illinois Department of Transportation Secretary Ann Schneider: “distracted driving is playing a role.” Schneider notes that despite attempts to make the public aware of the dangers of distracted driving, about 10 percent of the state’s traffic deaths are linked to distracted driving such as texting and driving.

Adding to the number of traffic fatalities was a 70% increase in motorcycle fatalities. The spike in motorcycle fatalities is a nationwide trend that many experts link to the abnormally warm weather during the spring that brought more riders out. To decrease motorcycle deaths, the Illinois State police have announced Operation Rogue Rider which target reckless motorcycle riders on the highways and asks motorists to call police if you spot reckless motorcycle drivers.

July 22, 2012

Spouses Find Pieces of Broken Glass in Their Dessert on a Flight

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

Jay Caldwell, a physician living in Tucson, Arizona, and his wife, Diana, a retired professor of English, were flying first-class from Chicago to Tucson on American Airlines Flight 1521 on June 13.

On the flight, they were fed well. He said his meal was amazing, consisting of four courses: a salad, an appetizer, a choice of entree and a dessert. The dessert was an ice cream sundae with cheesecake crumbles and raspberry syrup.

While he was eating his delicious dessert, he had a crunchy feeling in his mouth, but he did not know what it was at first. “I couldn’t have broken a tooth,” he thought. “I’m not chewing anything.”

July 21, 2012

Dog Bite Hospitalizations Increase 86 Percent

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

Chicago dog bite lawyers, Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C. are not surprised by a study by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, found that the number of people admitted to hospitals for treatment for a dog bite increased 86 percent from 1993 to 2008. In 2008, there were a total of 82,518 dog bite-related visits to the emergency room for an average of 866 emergency room visits a day. An Average of 26 people per day were admitted to the hospital for treatment for their serious dog bite injuries.

According to the study, seniors and young children were the most likely groups to be admitted to the hospital, each with about 4 hospital stays per 100,000 people. Children are more likely to suffer head and facial injuries from dog bites since children’s heads are closer to the ground.

Alarmingly, the AHRQ study found that 43 percent of people hospitalized for dog bites required treatment for skin and underlying tissue infection. Anyone bit by a dog should seek immediate medical treatment, even if the bite seems minor given this very high rate of infection.

July 21, 2012

Correctional Officer killed in a Car Accident While Going to Work in Chicago

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

Nikkii Bostic-Jones, 38, was struck while crossing California Avenue near 29th Street just before 11 p.m. Wednesday. According to police sources, she was hit by a navy blue van with stolen license plates and knocked into the path of a sheriff’s squad car, which pinned her underneath it.

After the occurrence, police issued an alert for the van, described as a navy blue full-size conversion van, possibly with blue and white stripes. The alert said the van may have damage to the headlights, front end, and right side.

Late Thursday afternoon, police found a van matching the description and took a 55-year-old man into custody. The man, who has a history of traffic violations, lives near the jail, a source said.

July 18, 2012

Road-Rage Incident Leads To Death In Naperville

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

The Chicago Tribune reported that a road-rage incident in Naperville, Illinois led to the death of a motorcyclist who was not involved in the road-rage argument. Micheal J. Moreno and the passenger of a 16 year old’s car became engaged in an argument. Moreno and the 16 year old driver then continued chasing each other and cutting each other off. This reckless driving continued for a half a mile until Moreno made a sudden left turn and struck the motorcycle driven by Gerald W. Puglise, who died at the scene. Martin attempted to flee from the scene but was caught by police a short distance from the scene of the crash. Moreno was charged with aggravated DUI, aggravated reckless driving and leaving the scene of an accident involving death. Moreno’s bond was set at $750,000,00.

Road-rage injuries are more common than most people are aware. A study conducted by the American Automobile Association found that almost 13,000 people were injured in road rage incidents between 1990 and 1997. Strikingly, out of the almost 13,000 incidents, only 413 involved female drivers. The typical aggressive driver is a younger male with a poor education and a history of criminal activity, and drug and alcohol problems according to the study.

AAA recommends that if an aggressive driver tries start a fight, do not make eye contact and try not to acknowledge the hostile driver. If the aggressive driver continues to chase you, go to a place with lots of people and call the police.