Posted on June 16, 2023 in Personal Injury

While every accident claim has the potential to be complex, those involving commercial trucks can be especially difficult to process due to the potential of multiple liable parties. Liability refers to legal responsibility for the accident and resulting damages. When a person sustains injuries in a truck accident caused by someone else, Illinois law allows them to pursue legal action against those who are deemed liable for the accident in order to recover financial compensation for the losses their injuries have caused them. The following are some of the most common at-fault parties in a truck accident.

Truck Driver

The truck driver is often the first party to be assessed for liability. Some of the more common behaviors or actions truck drivers engage in that result in crashes include distracted driving, speeding, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, fatigue, or violation of traffic laws.

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 Posted on June 07, 2023 in Car Accident

 Disregarding traffic laws can have serious consequences, including vehicle accidents, injuries, and legal penalties. Unfortunately, some drivers frequently neglect certain traffic laws, increasing the risk for themselves and others on the road. The following are some of the most commonly disregarded traffic laws that result in many of the crashes that occur on Illinois roads.

Speeding

Speeding is a prevalent traffic violation that many drivers disregard. Exceeding the posted speed limit reduces the driver's ability to react to unexpected situations and increases the likelihood of accidents. Speeding also contributes to more severe injuries and fatalities in the event of a crash.

Running Red Lights and Stop Signs

Ignoring red lights and stop signs is a dangerous practice that can lead to severe accidents. Failing to stop at these traffic signals increases the risk of collisions with other vehicles, pedestrians, or cyclists who have the right of way. Intersection accidents resulting from running red lights or stop signs can cause significant injuries and property damage.

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 Posted on May 30, 2023 in Car Accident

When it becomes clear that a defective auto part could lead to consumer harm, a manufacturer will usually recall the affected part on a voluntary basis. Although there are costs associated with a voluntary recall – and there are usually short-term public relations issues that stem from a recall announcement – the risk of harm-related liability is such that delaying recall efforts can leave a manufacturer particularly vulnerable to lawsuits and truly significant public relations issues if it does not act quickly to address a product-related concern that could lead to injuries or death.

Yet, some manufacturers choose to “roll the dice” and refuse to initiate recalls when reports of harm are brought to their attention. Usually, a manufacturer’s hope is that the cost of settling any harm-related legal action will be more cost-effective than initiating a recall. This is a truly dangerous approach, as – absent a formal recall – an untold number of consumers may remain unaware that a potentially injurious or deadly vehicle defect could be endangering their well-being.  

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 Posted on May 23, 2023 in Car Accident

The issue of whether it may be time for an ill, injured, or aging driver to hang up their keys is an unquestionably emotional and consequential matter. American car culture and the ways in which most cities and towns have been designed have made it so that owning personal, vehicular transportation is often associated with both freedom and independence. Yet, it cannot be denied that sometimes, despite all the benefits that driving affords, it is a far safer approach for certain drivers to hang up their keys.

Hanging onto one’s keys too long could result in a far-higher risk of a motorist causing a crash. That motorist may end up harming themselves or others. Conversely, insisting that someone hang up their keys when they remain a safe-enough driver to warrant driving privileges can result in diminished dignity, independence, and autonomy due to fear, not logic. As a result, it is very important to exercise objective reasoning when assessing whether someone should continue driving or not.

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 Posted on May 08, 2023 in Car Accident

On January 11, a final rule concerning rear underride guards for large commercial trucks went into effect. This rule was crafted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which is the federal agency that is tasked with preventing motor vehicle accidents from occurring. Rear underride guards help to prevent specific kinds of truck accident scenarios from unfolding. Now, the NHTSA is questioning whether a similar rule should be instituted concerning side underride guards.

The Function of Underride Guards

Due to the difference in size between large commercial trucks and passenger vehicles, there is a significant risk that rear-ending a large commercial truck could cause a following vehicle to become trapped under the belly of the lead vehicle. These crashes tend to be devastating, as they can shear off the top half of a passenger vehicle, exposing the vehicle’s occupants to catastrophic or fatal injury risks.

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 Posted on April 25, 2023 in Slip and Fall

It is well understood that falling from any significant height can result in injury. As a result, property owners, employers, and government agencies tend to take proactive steps to minimize the risk that individuals will suffer a fall from several inches to several feet off of the ground. Yet, less attention is paid to the kinds of injurious fall scenarios that occur with much greater frequency: same-level falls.

Same-level falls usually occur due to slip-and-fall or trip-and-fall risks. Challenges ranging from slippery substances on a retailer’s floor to uneven pavement in a parking lot can inspire bruising, broken bones, and even head trauma caused by same-level falls.

As a result of how common and how consequential same-level falls can be, it is generally a good idea for both residential and commercial property owners to fall-proof their property. Fall-proofing involves intentionally minimizing the risk of falls on one’s property. When property owners fail to engage in fall proofing, they could potentially be held liable for any harm that results if a visitor, a guest, or potentially even a trespasser slips or trips, falls, and is injured as a result of a preventable hazard.

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 Posted on April 18, 2023 in Slip and Fall

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020 and as it raged throughout 2021 and into 2022, hospitals were overrun with patients requiring urgent care. As the pandemic began to stabilize, hospitals were overrun with patients who needed medical treatment that had been put on the back burner for weeks, months, or even years so that healthcare providers could focus their limited resources on those who had particularly time-sensitive needs. Partially as a result of this imbalanced dynamic, it has been confirmed that more patients suffered harm during these chaotic years than in years past.

The question of whether this spike in patient harm – including a particularly notable uptick in patient falls resulting in injuries – has returned to pre-pandemic levels or whether it remains a particularly pressing concern.

Fall and Sentinel Event Rates Have Spiked

The Joint Commission is a non-profit organization that accredits healthcare facilities based on their approach to safe, effective patient care. In its latest report, The Joint Commission confirms that patient fall rates spiked last year, while sentinel event rates rose dramatically over the course of the pandemic. As defined by The Joint Commission, a sentinel event is “a patient safety event that results in death, permanent harm or severe temporary harm.”

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 Posted on April 10, 2023 in Slip and Fall

Millions of Americans suffer harm that is severe enough to require urgent medical care in the U.S. every year. As a result, if you have recently been injured after slipping and falling while you were shopping, you are certainly not alone.

Depending on the nature of your injuries and their severity, you may be facing significant medical bills, a lengthy period of rehabilitation, and you may even be missing time away from work while you heal. As a result of the fact that slip-and-fall injuries can be genuinely costly, it is important to seek legal guidance in the wake of your injurious fall. By doing so, you will be able to clarify whether you have cause to file legal action against the establishment where you were shopping and/or any third-party owners or managers of the retail property where you fell.

When Are Slip-and-Fall Injuries Legally Actionable?

Generally speaking, slip-and-fall injuries provide grounds upon which an injury victim can seek compensation if a property owner either knew – or should have known – about a hazardous condition on their property and failed to adequately mitigate the risk that someone would suffer harm as a result of this condition.

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 Posted on March 31, 2023 in Slip and Fall

Springtime in Illinois is more than a little magical. Not only does the world bloom before one’s very eyes, individuals who have long been stuck indoors start to venture out again. Although everyone perceives the burdens of winter to some degree or another, individuals who have limited mobility or who otherwise cannot easily travel on snow and ice tend to feel the brunt of the winter months more than most. As a result, these individuals tend to be particularly eager to get out in the spring. However, they need to take certain precautions to avoid slip-and-fall injuries when they do.

Slip and Fall Accidents Can Happen When Property Owners Are Negligent

Most people are cognizant of winter slip-and-fall hazards. However, less attention is given to the kinds of conditions that pedestrians and other non-motorized travelers encounter when moving from here to there in the springtime.

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 Posted on March 14, 2023 in Defective Products

Most federal employees work at government agencies that facilitate various interests which influence the American experience. Among these agencies are several that help to ensure that the raw materials, agricultural products, and goods that are sold to businesses and individuals are safe. Without the efforts of various safety-related agencies, the rates of non-fatal and fatal injuries resulting from defective products would skyrocket.

With that said, far too many defective and dangerous products do slip through the cracks of the system and ultimately need to be recalled in the interests of public safety. When auto parts are recalled, consumers receive a notice from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). When it is food or medication that has become hazardous, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) makes an announcement. For virtually all other products, it is the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) that sounds the alarm.

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