Posted on October 17, 2013 in Car Accidents

Car accidents can happen at any time.  Stephen Dewart was walking on a sidewalk in the Gulf Coast neighborhood in Chicago when his life changed forever.  It was a beautiful day on May 21^st in 2011 and it will not be forgotten by Dewart for a long time.

City driver Dwight Washington is the main reason the Dewart will remember.  He had an open bottle of brandy when he drove his city issued pickup truck into a crowd of pedestrians at the intersection of Cedar and Rush.  The accident caused injuries to seven total people.  After the accident, Washington had a blood alcohol content level of over two times the legal limit.

Dewart was downtown to help his wife with a photo shoot for her company.  His parents were also in the neighborhood and stumbled on their son after the horrible crash.  Dewart recounted the accident during his personal injury case against the city of Chicago.  “I first heard screeching tires.  Then, out of the corner of my right eye, I see this white pick-up barreling toward me at a high rate of speed.  I heard the engine accelerate and realized there was nothing I could do.  I was frozen.”

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 Posted on October 02, 2013 in Car Accidents

In recent years, technology has become a larger and larger part of our everyday lives. With this increase come many benefits, as well as consequences. One of these consequences is the number of car accidents caused by drivers using cell phones behind the wheel. According to the Illinois State Police, using a cell phone while driving can increase your chances of getting into an accident by a whopping 400%.

Beginning January 1^st of next year, Illinois drivers will face a $75 fine if they are caught using a cellphone without a hands-free device behind the wheel. Gov. Pat Quinn believes that this new law will dramatically decrease the number of deaths and injuries caused by distracted driving accidents each year. Illinois will be the 12^th state to prohibit using hand-held cellphones while driving.

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 Posted on September 24, 2013 in DUI

We were retained to represent  a woman who was pulled over and ultimately charged with DUI.

The arresting officer had his on-board video camera turned on to show our client's alleged erratic driving, and to record the audio and video from the questioning and field sobriety tests  that were administered at the scene.

The officer testified at trial that our client had failed all of the field sobriety tests, but that she had refused to take the alcohol breath test.

Initially, our client admitted to consuming two beers earlier in the night.  After further questioning at the scene, our client told the officer that she had not only consumed more than two beers earlier, but she had also had mixed drinks.  The officer charged our client with DUI.

Before the case went to trial, we filed a Motion to Suppress our client's statements regarding the additional drinks she had consumed over and above the two beers.  We argued that before the additional questioning, the officer should have read our client her Miranda rights.

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 Posted on September 07, 2013 in Cook County personal injury lawyer

It might come as a surprise to some people, but slip and fall accidents are incredibly dangerous.  The National Floor Safety Institute estimates that falling accidents account for 21.3 percent of visits to hospital emergency rooms or around eight million, which is the leading cause of visits.  Slip and falls are responsible for one million trips to the ER.  The injuries can vary from fatal or merely nuisances such as a sprained ankle.

The possible causes are all around you.  Most accidents occur due to one of the following situations:

• stairways that are damaged, narrow or damaged
• handrails in need of repair
• flooring that is uneven or wet
• cluttered floors with cords, hoses, wires, floor mats and boxes

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 Posted on August 21, 2013 in Boating Accidents

Driving and biking safety are often discussed at large in the media, but in many cases, boating safety is not addressed, although it is just as important. The Recreational Boating Industry has made a few suggestions to help keep you safe while out on the water this summer.

Just like when driving a car, drinking alcohol while driving a boat is NOT safe. Statistics show that when alcohol is involved, your chances of being involved in a boating accident double. Be smart and save your alcoholic beverages for when you’re safely on land.

Pay attention to the environment around you, including the weather. Before departing, it is important that you check your weather conditions. If chances of storms or rough winds are high, it may be best to go out on the water another day.

One of the most important pieces of boating safety is to take a boating course. No matter what your experience level is- beginner or advanced- a refresher course never hurts. Each state has its own requirements in regards to boating courses. In some states, just completing one boating course is required before heading out onto the water, but that’s not always the case. These courses will help you prepare for anything that may happen while you are out boating.

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 Posted on August 05, 2013 in Car Accidents

Recently, Illinois authorities set up truck safety checks to prevent accidents. The three-day truck inspection, part of the National Roadcheck 2013 Enforcement Program, cited one truck driver with 32 violations. Inspections like these communicate safe traveling practices for truck drivers and remove unsafe vehicles from the roadways. The effort was the result of a partnership between the State of Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) and the Illinois State Police (ISP).

“Safety is our top priority here at IDOT and these roadside inspections will help us keep Illinois roads safe by making sure commercial trucks and buses are working properly and ensuring the drivers are following regulations,” said Illinois Transportation Secretary Ann L. Schneider. “We want to thank the many truck drivers who go the extra mile to do their part to be safe and would like to ask all motorists to be mindful of trucks on the roads.”

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 Posted on July 13, 2013 in negligence

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 Posted on June 25, 2013 in Car Accidents

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 Posted on June 14, 2013 in Car Accidents

Driving a car is very dangerous activity.  For example, in Illinois during the first six months of 2012 there was a 17 percent increase in car-related fatalities compared to the previous year. Most accidents can be linked to certain dangerous driving behaviors which may not be illegal.  Being aware of the how your habits can cause accidents may help you avoid injury or death.

Speeding

Though drunk driving is the leading cause of traffic deaths, the second leading cause is speeding.  This is because it creates less time to react to other drivers on the road.  It can also require more erratic driving like lane changes or other dangerous decisions to avoid traffic.

Driving Tired

Operating a motor vehicle while being tired is a common occurrence for young men, shift workers, and people with sleep disorders.  The tendency is to push the envelope to sleep at the destination but sometimes that doesn't occur.  Falling asleep while driving is very dangerous because it doesn't allow the operator to react to an impending accident.

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 Posted on May 26, 2013 in Uncategorized

Richard Madison, 54, of Palos Hills “was pulled over by authorities after driving [under the influence] nearly two dozen students to a prom site for Oswego East High School,” according to the Chicago Tribune. The incident has led to a proposal in the Illinois state legislature to toughen punishment for DUI. “Under the measure,” according to the Tribune, “drivers could be charged with a felony for driving under the influence and carrying one or more passengers of any age while on duty as a driver.” As it currently stands, the state law only cites bus drivers with an aggravated DUI if the passengers are under 18.

According to the Tribune, aggravated DUI is a Class 4 felony, “punishable by up to three years in prison.” Any random drunk driving charge can carry a sentence of up to a year in jail, but House Republican leader Tom Cross told the Tribune that that punishment wasn’t strong enough for someone who was hired to safely deliver children, and who was putting those kids at risk.

This area of Chicago is no stranger to teen tragedy—in 2007, an alcohol-related car crash killed five teenagers who would have graduated form the same high school these prom-goers attend. The introduction of Cross’s measure, according to the Tribune, “came on the same day the National Transportation Safety Board in Washington called on authorities to reduce the legal limit to 0.05 percent from the 0.08 standard used in all 50 states.” 

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