Chicago Accident Lawyer Blog

September 26, 2009

“Due Care” and Bicycle Accidents

A driver that struck and fatally wounded a five year old girl in Chicago on September 6th was ticketed for the bicycle accident. The five year old was riding her bike on Sacramento Ave when she was struck by a 64 year old woman coming out of an alley and passing onto the road. The young girl was taken to Saint Francis Hospital in Evanston and pronounced dead shortly after six o’clock Sunday evening.

The driver was issued two citations. She was cited for not stopping when emerging from an alley and for not providing “due care” for a pedestrian in a roadway. The Chicago Police are big promoters of the idea that “Bikes Belong” according to the Chicago Bicycle Program.

“Due care” is often discussed during bicycle accident cases and personal injury cases in general. It means that the defendant is required to operate a vehicle or truck, etc. with the same “ordinary care” that a reasonable person would do in the same situation. Negligence cases often come down to the reasonableness of the defendant. The police and courts take into account the relative reasonableness of the defendant in making citations or negligence decisions. “Due care” is about responsibility including the responsibility you have when operating a vehicle knowing that there are other cars and bikes and trucks on the road.

September 12, 2009

Driver Fatigue: A Factor in Illinois Truck Crash?

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

A semi truck accident that blocked the northbound lanes on I-55 for more than two hours on Tuesday morning may have been caused by driver fatigue. According to Illinois State Police, the driver of the truck lost control of his vehicle as he was crossing the Des Plaines River bridge in Channahon, Illinois. An initial investigation by Joliet District Illinois Police has determined that drowsiness caused the driver of the truck to lose control and crash. The driver was also cited for failing to reduce speed to avoid an accident and improper lane usage.

Driver fatigue significantly increases the risk of a truck driver being involved in an accident. A study conducted by a research team at Penn State found that the crash risk for truck drivers was more than three times higher in the last hour of an 11-hour day of driving than it was for the first hour. Reseachers also found that multi-day driving schedules (over seven days) were associated with significant crash risk increases.

A coalition of Consumer, Safety, and Labor groups has filed the initial legal brief in the third round of litigation which seeks to overturn longer truck diving and work hours which the Bush administration imposed in 2003. The hours-of -service rule increased the number of hours a trucker can drive to 11 consecutive hours each shift. In addition, the new Bush rules allow truckers to operate up to 17 more hours a week. Drivers can be on the road 77 hours a week instead of the 60 hours they were limited to under the old, pre-Bush rules. The Bush hours- of service rule also expands driving and work hours by reducing off-duty rest time at the end of the week from a full weekend (50 hours or more) to as little as 34 hours off-duty.

September 6, 2009

Illinois Boating Safety

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

Illinois Department of Natural Resources Conservation Police officers (CPOs) will be increasing their enforcement efforts on Illinois waters this Labor Day weekend, September 4th through the 7th. Illinois Conservation Police will be watching for boaters operating under the influence of alcohol or drugs. They will also be checking to make sure that proper safety equipment is present on boats, especially personal floatation devices (PFDs) or lifejackets.

Illinois boaters who are caught operating under the influence (OUI) face severe penalties. Under Illinois laws, operating under the influence (OUI) is a Class “A” misdemeanor for the first offense. It is punishable by a maximum of six months to one year in jail and/or up to $2,500 in fines.

According to IDNR Chief of Law Enforcement Rafael Gutierrez,” Accidents and fatalities on Illinois waters usually come down to a couple of things- people not wearing their life jackets or people who operate carelessly or recklessly… We cannot stress enough how important it is to wear your life jacket and to have a designated driver onboard.”

September 2, 2009

Product Liability in Illinois

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

Product liability is when defective or dangerous products cause serious injury or even death. Thousands of people in the US are injured every year by these. Product Liability Law is different than other forms of injury law and can sometimes make it easier to recover damages. The manufacturer or seller of these products is held responsible or liable for distributing these dangerous products. In layman’s terms a product must live up to the ordinary expectations of a consumer or it does not meet the requirements of the law. Each state sets its own laws about product liability.

On May 1, 2009, the FDA recalled fourteen Hydroxycut products after reports of effects on consumers such as liver damage and failure, heart problems, muscle damage and in some cases kidney failure. The product liability here rests on the manufacturers and distributors. The manufacturers should have known that their product was unsafe and never should have distributed it in the first place. The manufacturers and distributors did not properly warn consumers of the drug’s dangers. The Hydroxycut company may be held liable for manufacturing defects or marketing defects in this case.

In such cases there is something known as ‘strict liability’. This means that the consumer does not need to show that the manufacturers or distributors were actually negligent. There are three guidelines that determine liability here. The first is that the product had an “unreasonably” dangerous product that caused injury. The second is that the product was used by the consumer in the way the packaging/instructions detailed. And the third rule is that the product had not been substantially changed from the condition it was meant to be sold in.

August 31, 2009

Chicago Launches Program To Reduce Nighttime Pedestrian Accidents

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

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.

August 29, 2009

Illinois Bicycling Safety

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

On August 20, 2009, a bicyclist was hit by a car on a busy southwest highway at about 3pm. He died later that day at about 8pm. The Chicago cyclist was not wearing a helmet when he was thrown into the windshield of a car and then out onto the pavement. Could this have been avoided?

About 1,000 deaths each year are attributed to bicycle accidents. Three fourths of them are from brain injuries. And besides death, accidents have caused hundreds of brain injuries. One way to prevent this is to wear a helmet. There are lots of lame excuses not to wear one – you’ll get hat head, it’s too sweaty, it doesn’t look cool, etc. – but how lame is it to suffer a permanent brain injury if you don’t wear one? Be sure you get one that has been tested and recommended by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). Make sure the helmet fits right. Be sure that when it is on it can’t be moved easily from side to side or back and forth. Be sure it sits level on your head and that when the straps are on it cannot possibly come off your head.

Other things to think about with helmets is to be sure to replace them if the helmet has experienced an impact after a fall, etc. You should also replace it every five years as the foam can become brittle.

August 26, 2009

Nightime Motor Vehicle Fatalities in Illinois

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

Data released by the Illinois Department of Transportation’s Division of Traffic Safety shows that more people are killed in motor vehicle accidents that occur between midnight and 3 a.m. than any other time of the day. Illinois law enforcement officials blame drinking drivers and drivers who don’t buckle up their safety belts. Data for the years 2005-2008 shows that 73 percent of drivers who died in late-night motor vehicle accidents were not using their seat belts.

Illinois law enforcement is mounting a campaign to crackdown on alcohol impaired drivers, and drivers who are not using their seat belts. These efforts will be ongoing through Labor Day. Illinois State Police will be joined by over 300 local law enforcement agencies in conducting 200 roadside safety checks. Law enforcement agencies will be conducting alcohol impaired driving saturation patrols and night safety belt patrols. Illinois motorists should be aware that impaired driving or not wearing their seat belts could lead to an arrest or a traffic ticket.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ( NHTSA ) estimates that 13,250 lives were saved in 2008 because people in passenger vehicles were using their seat belts. Across the nation, over 75,000 lives were saved during the 5-year period from 2004 to 2008. According to NHTSA estimates, 391 lives were saved in Illinois in 2008 by proper seat belt usage.

August 23, 2009

Illinois Trucking Accidents

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

In April of 2008 a semitruck was speeding when it crashed into a Chicago train station. The accident killed two people and injured 21 more. Eleven people were critically wounded. Witnesses say the truck came off the freeway and hit a bus stop before slamming under a train overpass and then crashing up several steps of the train platform escalator.

While trucking accidents only account for one out of every nine traffic accidents as a whole, because of their size and weight, they account for 5,350 fatalities and 133,000 injuries (statistics from 2001). 94% of occupants of the cars and trucks in these accidents are either injured or killed. So as shown by the example of this accident a traffic accident involving a commercial truck can be much more dangerous than a car accident. Today there are over two million more trucks on the road than a decade ago which increases the likelihood of an accident.

There are many reasons why trucking accidents happen and why they are so much worse than the average traffic accident. Their freight can be one reason they are so dangerous. They may be carrying very heavy freight or it could be toxic/hazardous in some way. Truckers also work on deadlines. Like most people on a deadline they work faster to be sure they arrive on time which could result in an accident. Also truckers can get very tired from driving long periods of time. They get stressed and don’t pay enough attention to the road. Also large trucks have blind spots behind and to the sides of them so they can’t see other cars. The truck could also be overloaded. Plus there all the usual reasons for an accident like bad weather or mechanical failure.

August 19, 2009

Bicycle Safety in Chicago

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

A recent article in the Chicago Sun-Times: ” Chicago’s Lakefront Trail: A path to danger” has pointed out the need for bicyclists to exercise caution when riding on bikepaths and multi-use recreational trails. Statistics show that bicycle collisions happen almost three times as often on paths as on streets. Chicago’s Lakefront Trail is one of the busiest multi-use trails in the United States. The trail is used by bicyclists, runners, beach-goers, in-line skaters, sightseers and even Segway riders. The crowded trail can be hazardous to bicyclists.

Other dangers on the Lakefront Trail that bicyclists need to be aware of include intersections where motorists who are entering lakefront parks fail to yield to trail riders, narrow sections of the trail that can become choke points, sharp turns, some of which are difficult to see around, and sand, ice, or snow on the trail. Riders should slow down if they encounter any of these situations.

Bicyclists should wear a helmet every time they ride. Seventy-five percent of all bicycle-related injuries and deaths involve the head, In a crash, helmets can cut the risk of head injury by up to eighty-five percent.

August 17, 2009

Boating and Alcohol in Illinois

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

On August 15th two boats on the Nippersink Lake near the village of Fox Lake crashed and threw three boaters into the water. One had injuries that brought them to the hospital that Saturday night. Police suspect that both boat operators had been drinking. Lake County sheriff’s Sgt. Ed Harris said that a preliminary investigation has shown that the alcohol use by both driver’s played a factor in the collision. The boating accident is still under investigation.

This year alone there have been three deaths and over 1,000 tickets for operating a boat under the influence have been written over the past five years. Illinois’ current law states that anyone with .08 blood alcohol content is considered under the influence. This includes minors. Some states, including Wisconsin, have legislation that requires minor boaters to be completely sober to operate any recreational vehicles. Violations of this law leave the operator with a fine and that’s all. Illinois’ lakes and rivers seem to be getting out of control.

Senator Chris Lauzen and Representative Kevin Joyce have already pushed a bill through the Senate to help crack down on drinking and driving boats. This new legislation would tie DUI’s from boating and other recreational vehicles to the operators driver’s license. Police have been concerned that people who have been using alcohol and boating get into their cars and then drive home drunk. Officer Al Frank has found that many of the people he cites for violating boating laws also have active DUI’s on their record for driving.