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Recent Blog Posts
Can I Recover Damages if I Slipped on Snow or Ice in Illinois?
Wintertime can be fun for fans of winter sports, such as skiing, ice skating, and sledding. However, these sports are not without their risks. In Illinois, the temperatures can be extreme, including sub-zero days. Blizzard-like conditions may also bring heavy snow, sleet, and ice. Even just walking outside can be hazardous under some circumstances. When precipitation freezes, it creates slippery surfaces on pavement, wooden stairs, or decks. These areas can include private homes or public places such as restaurants, office buildings, or stores. If patrons, guests, or visitors slip and fall on slick walkways, they can sustain serious to life-threatening injuries. If you were hurt in this way, an experienced attorney can help you hold a negligent property owner or manager accountable.
Significant Injuries
Trying to walk in deep snow can be difficult, causing pedestrians to lose their balance. In addition, walking on ice may make a person slip and fall, landing on a hard surface. The sudden force of the impact can lead to debilitating consequences, requiring hospitalization, surgery, rehabilitation, or assistive care.
How Speeding Can Lead to Catastrophic Injuries in Illinois
The global pandemic that is COVID-19 has impacted many aspects of our lives this past year. Non-essential businesses have been temporarily closed throughout the country in efforts to stop the spread of the virus. Numerous essential employees who work in the corporate world have found themselves working remotely at home. The majority of people have been spending most of the past year at home. Although the roads are less crowded than they normally are, the rates of fatal car accidents have gone up.
According to reports from Top Driver, the fatality rate per mile driven increased despite many Illinois residents driving less due to stay-at-home orders. In the Chicago area, there has been a 14 percent increase in speeding, part of a dangerous trend of driving behavior during the coronavirus crisis. One reason for these statistics is due to the fact that some motorists feel as if they can speed now that there is not much traffic on their usual routes, including Interstates 90 and 294. However, traveling at faster speeds can increase the severity of injuries in the event of a collision.
Are Slip-and-Fall Accidents More Common in the Winter?
Anyone who lives in the Midwest knows how brutal the winters can be. Illinois residents in particular have likely experienced blizzards that dumped several feet of snow in relatively short periods of time. Along with snow comes wind, ice, slush, and sleet during the winter months. Although tripping or slipping and falling outside can occur at any time, the likelihood of this type of accident is usually higher in bad weather. Just as it can be dangerous driving during a snowstorm, walking outdoors can pose its own risks, too. However, Mother Nature may not be the only one to blame. In some cases, any injuries suffered may be due to the negligence of a property owner.
Cold-Weather Maintenance
Inclement weather can wreak havoc on road pavement. That is why the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) sends fleets of snowplows out during snowy days and nights. Clearing streets is crucial to prevent cars from sliding and drivers losing control and colliding with other vehicles or even pedestrians. Likewise, it is imperative that property owners take the necessary precautions during the winter months in order to keep their guests or visitors safe. This may include plowing parking lots, shoveling sidewalks, putting salt down on icy walkways, and more. If they do not perform this type of maintenance, they may be held liable for any injuries suffered on their grounds.
Can Car Accident Reconstructionists Help Determine Liability?
Motor vehicle collisions occur for many reasons, such as speeding, disobeying traffic laws, driving under the influence (DUI) of drugs or alcohol, distracted driving, inclement weather, or poor road conditions. Determining liability in a car accident may not be as easy as it seems. In some cases, an objective third party can help establish who was responsible for causing the accident and who should pay for medical expenses related to any injuries. Accident reconstruction can assist with determining liability in a vehicle crash. In addition, a knowledgeable personal injury attorney can hold those negligent parties responsible.
Examining Evidence at the Scene
In some accidents, there may be multiple vehicles involved, which can make it difficult to identify the at-fault driver. For example, if one motorist loses control of his or her car, it can cause a chain reaction, in which several vehicles hit each other, resulting in a multi-vehicle pileup. Injuries to drivers and occupants can range from minor to serious and even fatal.
How Can Background Checks Prevent Daycare Center Injuries?
You may have heard that raising children “takes a village.” That saying often refers to the fact that parenting is hard work and parents sometimes rely on the help of others in caring for their family. If both parents work, they typically need to find childcare. This can come in the form of relatives, neighborhood friends, private caregivers, or daycare centers. Workers at a daycare center typically must go through a background check before being hired. This process reveals important information by verifying that an individual is who they claim to be, level of education, employment history, and if they have a criminal record. A background check helps ensure that an employee is not only qualified but trustworthy as well, which can protect children who are in their care. Sadly, accidents or abuse may still occur, but a personal injury attorney can help parents pursue compensation if their child was harmed at a daycare center.
Recent Accident on I-294: An Example of the Dangers of Speeding
It is fairly common to be cruising along an Illinois highway, going a few miles per hour over the speed limit, only to be passed by an out of control, fast-moving vehicle. Despite posted speed limit signs, many Illinois drivers significantly pick up their speed as soon as they hit the highway. Without frequent stop signs or signals to keep them at bay, these drivers can weave in and out of lanes as they seemingly glide past the other cars on the road. These speedy drivers often feel on top of the world, only to find themselves the cause of a life-threatening accident an instant later. Despite a promising six percent drop in speeding-related deaths in 2018, a total of 9,378 people still lost their lives to this driving hazard, many of which were victims of other drivers’ speeding tendencies.
A September Speeding Accident
This past September, a six-vehicle crash left one person dead and at least three others injured on I-294. According to an ABC7 report, a Chevy Impala was allegedly driving at a high speed in the southbound lane when it lost control and swiped a car in the next lane over. The Impala then went airborne over the highway barrier, striking three other cars in the process. One of the injured passengers—a 64-year-old woman driving a Honda CRV—died after being transported to a nearby hospital, and four others suffered both major and minor injuries.
How Can Nursing Home Violations Lead to Personal Injuries?
There comes a point in some people’s lives where they can no longer care for themselves. In these situations, many elderly individuals move to a nursing home or assisted living facility. In order to provide high-quality care, these long-term care centers must adhere to certain safety standards. However, not all of them may follow the required regulations, and these violations can lead to accidents and injuries among patients. According to ProPublica and the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, hazardous conditions are the most common violation in nursing homes across the country. Other violations can also result in negligent care and endanger residents.
Common Hazards That Cause Harm
Any type of medical facility has a duty of care to keep patients safe and secure while under their care. This includes maintaining clean and sanitary conditions, but it also involves building maintenance to make sure it is a safe environment regardless if a resident is mobile, confined to a wheelchair, or bedridden.
How Serious Are Side-Impact Car Accident Injuries in Illinois?
If you are involved in any type of car accident, it has the potential to wreak havoc on your life. For instance, you may have the inconvenience of finding yourself suddenly without transportation and having to rent a vehicle while yours is in the repair shop to get to and from your job. In other scenarios, you can suffer serious injuries that require surgery or physical therapy to recover. Rear-end and head-on collisions can cause severe damages, and so can side-impact crashes, which are often referred to as “T-bone” accidents. These types of collisions can result in life-threatening to even fatal consequences even when traveling at slow speeds due to the location of the impact. In many cases, another driver may be held liable for causing a side-impact car accident due to his or her negligence.
T-Bone Crash Injuries
The most common body parts that victims of side-impact crashes hurt are the chest, head, abdomen, and pelvis. Since the impact of T-bone crashes occurs in close proximity to the driver or passenger, the impact can jerk the body around at a force strong enough to cause internal organ damage. In certain cases, signs and symptoms may be immediately noticeable, while it may take days or weeks to feel the full effect of an injury.
What Are Common Signs of Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect in Illinois?
Statistics show that people are living longer in these modern times. However, this means many elderly citizens reside in assisted living or nursing homes once they reach a point in which they cannot live independently. Medical professionals at such facilities have a duty of care to keep your loved one safe and healthy. Unfortunately, cases of injuries sustained by residents due to abusive or neglectful behavior by staff members occur more often than you might think. Several reasons may exist for this, including understaffing or inadequate training by management. Regardless of the causes, if your family member has suffered any kind of injury while living in a long-term care facility, he or she may be entitled to compensation through a personal injury claim. A knowledgeable attorney can help you recognize the signs of nursing home abuse or neglect.
Physical Injuries
The mistreatment of nursing home patients or assisted living residents may be difficult to notice at first. If someone is bed-ridden, visiting relatives may not initially see signs or symptoms of abuse or neglect. For example, bruises or bedsores may be covered by clothing or blankets. When medical staff fail to do rounds or to check on residents or bathe them on a regular basis, they can develop serious to life-threatening infections.
How Can I Seek Compensation for a Hit-and-Run Accident in Illinois?
Although nobody expects to be involved in a car accident when they get into their vehicle, crashes can occur for many reasons. In some cases, inclement weather and a negligent driver who is going too fast may cause a collision with one or more vehicles. Illinois drivers need to pay attention in order to avoid becoming a statistic. The Chicago-area roadways include Interstates 294 and 90, which are busy with residents traveling in and out of the city. Traffic is typically heavy, although with COVID-19 restrictions in place, many area residents are working from home. However, the state has seen an increase in motor vehicle fatalities due to reckless driving behaviors. In certain situations, a driver may leave the scene of an accident in an attempt to avoid a traffic violation. A skilled personal injury attorney can help you pursue damages if you or your loved one is the victim of a hit-and-run accident.
Quinn Law Group, LLC
847-232-7180
350 S. Northwest Highway, Suite 300, Park Ridge, IL 60068
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