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Steps You Can Take after a Car Accident to Help Your Claim
A car accident is a traumatic experience, and you are likely to have a lot on your mind in the immediate aftermath of an accident. Once you leave the accident scene and attend to your pressing medical needs, you may be wondering what you can do to ensure that your car accident claim moves smoothly.
The truth is that there are many things you can do following an accident that will assist you and your attorney. These actions include:
- Inform your insurer. Even if you do not believe that you were at fault, it is best practice to tell your insurer of the incident as soon as possible. Failure to do so could result in the denial of a later claim.
- Get a copy of the police report. If police came to the accident scene, there is usually a report. This report contains a lot of helpful information, including the personal information of the involved drivers, insurance details, and a summary of what transpired. The report may also include whether any traffic tickets were issued.
Why It Matters If the Person Who Caused Your Accident Was on the Phone
By now, all drivers should be aware of the dangers of distracted driving. According to the Illinois State Police, distracted driving is present in more than one million car accidents every year in North America. The economic impact of these accidents reaches nearly $40 billion annually, some experts estimate.
Distracted Driving is Likely a Factor in Your Accident
If you have been involved in a car accident, it is possible that the person at fault was distracted in the moments leading up to the accident. While there are many potential distractions, driving safety advocates have drawn attention to cellphone use. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:
Doctors, Lawyers Most Likely Professionals to Have Car Accidents
According to one study, members of some professions are more likely to get into a car accident. The results suggest that working a profession that requires more education does not make someone a safer driver.
Here are the professions with the greatest rates of car accidents, ranked from highest to lowest:
- Doctors
- Lawyers
- Architects
- Real estate brokers
- Enlisted military personnel
- Social workers
- Manual laborers
- Analysts
- Engineers
- Consultants
Experts say that professions that involve a lot of driving – like real estate agents and social workers – may increase the likelihood of accidents. Also, workers in demanding professions with long hours may be surviving on less sleep. Drowsiness is a huge risk factor for car accidents.
Semi-Truck Accident that Killed 5 Highlights the Need for Adherence to Trucking Regulations
A truck driver responsible for the deaths of five people was recently sentenced to 10 years in prison. The deadly truck accident occurred in northern Illinois.
The truck driver pleaded guilty to five counts of reckless homicide. He also pleaded guilty to falsifying logbook records tracking how many hours he had worked.
The 2014 accident occurred on Interstate 55 near Channahon when traffic slowed down in a construction zone. Four of the fatalities were adults, and one 11-year-old also died. In one car, the accident claimed the life of a father, but his three children survived.
During the sentencing hearing, some of the victims and family members called for more regulations on the trucking industry as the truck driver was blind in one eye.
Trucking Regulations Help Keep the Road Safe
Dennis’s Law Recognizes the Rights of Bicyclists
A law that recently went into effect provides that motor vehicles and bicycles are to receive the same rights on the road in right-of-way situations. The law went into effect on January 1, 2017. This is an important change that is meant to enhance the protections given to bicycles and may be helpful is bike accident lawsuits brought by cyclists.
Background of Dennis’s Law
The law is named after an Illinois resident, Dennis E. Jurs, who died in a bicycle-motor vehicle accident in 2015. The driver of the vehicle was issued a traffic citation for his failure to yield to the right-of-way to the cyclist.
A Kane County judge dismissed the citation, pointing to case law that held a bicycle does not fit the definition of a vehicle. The family members were upset by the decision and brought the issue to the attention of a state legislator, who drafted the revision. The bill was voted into law almost unanimously.
Preventing Accidents Between Bicycles and Motor Vehicles
When it comes to bicycles and motor vehicles on streets, Illinois calls itself a “Share the Road” state. Bicyclists have the same right to be on the road as drivers and must be treated with respect. A driver who injuries a bicyclist in an accident can be charged with a class 3 felony. A driver involved in an accident with a bicyclist may be at fault if the driver:
- Does not give the bicyclist at least three feet of space when passing;
- Recklessly drives towards a bicyclist;
- Attempts to intimidate a bicyclist; or
- Violates a driving law.
Shared Responsibility
A bicyclist can suffer catastrophic injuries if struck by a car and may be able to receive financial compensation if the driver is liable. However, the bicyclist’s personal injury case can be weakened if he or she was acting recklessly. Bicyclists must follow the same laws as drivers, but some break common road rules because bicycles are more maneuverable than cars and can squeeze through tighter spaces. A responsible driver may not be able to avoid an accident if the bicyclist is acting unpredictably. There are laws and safety guidelines you must follow to protect yourself when riding your bicycle alongside motor vehicles:
Driverless Cars May Change Nature of Personal Injury Cases
If you are injured in a car accident, you can seek compensation from another driver if he or she is at fault. What if the driver at fault is not a person but a computer? Accidents involving self-driving cars may be a problem of the future, but that future is near. Companies are already testing driverless vehicles in some states, and the Illinois legislature is considering a bill that would allow such vehicles here. Researchers are considering the legal ramifications of when accidents involving self-driving cars become more common.
Perfect Drivers?
A national study claims that 90 percent of all vehicle accidents are caused by human error. Scientists are developing self-driving cars because computers will not commit those errors. A computer cannot drive drunk or experience road rage. Developers can program the car to not drive at unsafe speeds. However, computer-controlled vehicles are not flawless drivers:
Pedestrian Safety Tips for Avoiding Injury
Drivers are required by law to yield to pedestrians at crosswalks and may face criminal charges and civil liabilities if they hit a pedestrian. For pedestrians, the consequences of being struck by a vehicle are more serious than who was in the wrong. Knowing you are not at fault may be little consolation to you if you are injured in the incident. Pedestrians share an equal responsibility with drivers in preventing accidents from happening.
The Rules
There are laws detailing whether a pedestrian or a vehicle has the right-of-way. In some cases, the pedestrian must yield to a driver, though the driver must attempt to alert or avoid any pedestrian violating the law. Illinois law states that:
- Pedestrians have the right-of-way within the area marked as a crosswalk, regardless of whether a traffic control device is present.
Recognizing and Preventing Driving While Drowsy
Did you know that 24 hours of sustained wakefulness has the same impairment on your driving skills as having a 0.10 percent blood alcohol content? While there are not the same laws in place for drowsy driving as there are for Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol, both are risky actions that can cause accidents with serious injuries.
Statistics
Studies show drowsy driving accidents most frequently:
- Occur between midnight and 6 a.m. or in mid-afternoon.
- Involve a male driving alone who drifts out of his lane or off the road.
Teens and young adults are particularly susceptible to drowsy driving because of inconsistent sleep schedules. However, adults that work long hours or multiple jobs are also vulnerable.
2016 Saw a Record Number of Fatal Car Accidents in Illinois
Bad news for drivers: car accident fatality rates in Illinois rose to their highest levels in years in 2016. Last year, there were a reported 1,055 deaths on Illinois roads. This is the first time since 2008 that the number of fatalities has risen over 1,000.
In 2008, there were 1,043 roadway fatalities. In 2009, there were 911 fatalities reported. This was the first time this figure was under 1,000 since 1921. In recent years, the death toll has crept up. In 2014, 924 fatalities were reported, and in 2015, that number jumped to 998.
Nationwide, fatalities have been increasing in recent years. In 2015, there were 38,300 deaths, which was an 8 percent increase from 2014. This increase was the largest annual increase in 50 years.
Why Are Roadway Deaths Up?
The Illinois Department of Transportation believes there are several causes for this increase.
From our office in Plainfield, Illinois, we serve clients in Will County, DuPage County, Kendall County, Kane County, Joliet, Naperville, Romeoville, Bolingbrook, Aurora, Lemont, Crest Hill, Shorewood, Lockport, Woodridge, Wheaton, Oswego, Yorkville, Homer Glen, Lisle, and surrounding communities.
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