Serious and fatal auto accidents happen nearly every day on I-294 and I-90 in Chicago. Drivers are often traveling at very high speeds, which only increases the severity of injuries suffered by accident victims. 

It can be very hard to think clearly in the immediate aftermath of getting hit by a careless driver. People react differently to frightening car accidents. Some people get angry at the at-fault driver. Others have panic attacks. Car accidents with injury are often very emotionally charged events. It can be tricky to remember exactly what you need to do. However, there are a few very important things that you must do immediately when you have been injured in a car accident. Taking the right steps quickly can protect you and preserve your claim. If you are severely injured and must be taken to the hospital by ambulance urgently, many of these steps can be carried out by a less injured passenger or a family member. The two most important things in this situation are that you get to the hospital and get in touch with a lawyer as soon as you are able to. 

Steps to Take as Soon as Possible Following a Crash

Generally, the most important steps you should take right after a car accident include: 

Bar fights can erupt out of nowhere, and for very silly reasons. You may have been injured by others involved in a bar fight without even knowing what the fight was about. It could be that someone took offense to an innocuous comment, or became irrationally angry about being bumped into in a crowded establishment. These chaotic altercations have a way of sucking in bystanders who want nothing to do with the violence. There are no rules in bar fights. Some drunken fighters may see anyone who happens to be in the bar as “fair game.” Combatants may pull out knives or use other weapons - especially broken beer bottles - exponentially increasing the odds of a serious injury. If you were injured in a bar fight that you did not start, you may be able to recover compensation from the person who hurt you, or from the bar itself under Illinois’ Dram Shop laws.

What You Must Prove to Recover Compensation for a Bar Fight

There are two different torts - legal reasons to sue - that often come into play in bar fight litigation. Battery means actually making physical contact with someone in a provoking, insulting, or harmful manner without their consent or legal justification. Assault means causing someone to believe that they are imminently going to be battered. If you have physical injuries, you are probably dealing with a battery, or both battery and assault.

You will also likely need to show that the person who injured you was the aggressor and that your part in the bar fight was simply self-defense. This generally means proving that the other guy started it. It can be difficult in a bar fight to sort out who started what, but there are ways a lawyer can investigate and look for proof.

When people choose to go live in a skilled nursing facility - or are placed there by a guardian - it is because they are no longer able to care for themselves at home. Nursing home residents are frequently completely dependent on staff for all their personal care and health care. When there are not enough caregivers there to give the care that residents need, harm can quickly come to people in this vulnerable population. The physical harm caused by understaffing can come on very quickly and lead to fatalities, like if someone’s call light is not answered while they are choking. Or, it can happen slowly. Bedsores can develop over time if there is not enough staff to turn immobilized patients at regular intervals. If your loved one was harmed due to understaffing in their skilled nursing facility, they may be entitled to compensation.

Skilled Nursing Facility Understaffing Can Injure Vulnerable Seniors in Many Ways

Understaffing is rampant in nursing homes right now. Like almost every other business, they are struggling to find the staff they need to stay on top of their responsibilities. Sadly, nursing homes that are operating with too many patients and not enough staff are putting our vulnerable elderly people in danger. Some ways that understaffing can lead to residents being harmed include:

• Delayed emergency response - Call lights cannot be answered promptly if there are not enough staff members around to respond. Quick response times are the key to protecting seniors who are experiencing an emergency, such as a fall or chest pains. This delayed response can be the difference between life and death, or between minor injuries and severe harm.
• Lack of routine care - Hygiene is very important, as many residents are immunocompromised. Seniors also have thinner skin, more prone to infection and issues like bedsores. If residents are not routinely helped with bathing and other hygiene care, they can quickly suffer skin breakdown or severe infections, particularly UTIs.
• Unaddressed issues - When a resident or one of their family members has a concern, it should be addressed thoroughly and promptly. A complaint that would be minor for a young and healthy person can be a serious threat to someone who is elderly and frail. When staff is constantly being rushed, they may not address potential problems promptly or at all. This can allow a health issue that should have been nipped in the bud to escalate.

Senior citizens in nursing homes deserve quality care. You may have recourse if your loved one is being neglected or abused in a nursing home. An attorney can help.

Little kids complain about a lot of things. Small children have very low distress tolerance and can become very upset about things that seem very minor to an adult. A toddler may cry because no one will turn the sun off for them. An early elementary-aged child may come home in tears because they did not get a turn to play on the swings at recess. Some of the complaints your child comes home from daycare with may be rather silly. Others, however, could be quite serious. It is important for a parent to keep their ears open for potential red flags when a child talks about their time in daycare. Children may lack the language and comprehension skills needed to plainly alert you to a safety hazard or an act of abuse. You may need an attorney’s help if your child has been injured or harmed.

Red Flags You Should Never Ignore When Talking to Your Kids

Some children have “the gift of gab” and can ramble endlessly about their day. Others are quieter and only respond to direct questions. Wherever your child falls along that spectrum, it is important to seek more information and take prompt action if your child mentions:

• Secrets - One thing children should not bring home from daycare is a “secret,” especially if the secret has to do with a “game” they played or is between them and an adult. It could turn out to be harmless, like a surprise Mother's Day gift, but it could also be a sign of sexual abuse.
• Missing adults - If your child complains that they could not find an adult when they needed one, this is a big issue. It likely indicates that your child is not being adequately supervised or that the daycare does not have enough caregivers for the number of children in its care.
• Odd punishments - A child who misbehaves may be put in time out, made to sit out a fun activity, or have you spoken to. If your child mentions any type of “creative” or unusual punishment, press for details. Some types of “discipline” amount to physical or emotional abuse. Not being allowed to eat at mealtime, being hit, being yelled at, or being shamed in front of others may rise to the level of abuse.
• Ignored bullying - Caregivers are responsible for keeping children safe, including from other children. Bullying should be addressed swiftly.
• Injuries - While accidents happen, if your child often reports that other children are getting hurt, it may be a sign that the daycare is not a safe place.

You know your child best. If they bring up any of these red flags, you should seek more information. If you suspect that your child has been harmed, it may be time to talk to a lawyer.

You probably hear a lot about serious car wrecks caused by drunk drivers. It is very true that drunk drivers are startlingly common and incredibly dangerous. Drunk drivers are ten to fifteen times more likely than sober drivers to cause an accident. Drivers who are high on cannabis are less dangerous than drivers who are drunk, but they are still twice as likely to crash as sober drivers. Sometimes it is abundantly clear that the driver who just hit you is under the influence of marijuana. A disturbing amount of drivers are willing to risk actively smoking cannabis while they are behind the wheel. In other cases, it may be less clear that cannabis use was a factor in the crash. While cannabis itself may be perfectly legal in Illinois, driving while high is not. An attorney may be able to help you further investigate to determine whether the driver who hit you was high.

The Negligence Per Se Rule in Illinois

When a law is enacted for safety reasons, and a person breaks that law and causes exactly the type of harm the law was trying to prevent, they are automatically liable for the harm they caused. Driving while intoxicated is illegal because intoxicated drivers tend to cause car crashes and hurt people. If a person who is high on marijuana decides to drive anyway and hits you, they are automatically declared negligent. This rule is called “negligence per se,” and it serves as a shortcut to establishing liability.

Is There a Way to Measure Cannabis Intoxication?

Measuring whether a driver is under the influence of cannabis is not as easy as determining whether they are legally drunk. The rule in Illinois is that a driver is under the influence if they have more than ten nanograms of THC per milliliter of a bodily fluid such as urine or saliva, or more than five nanograms of THC per milliliter of blood. However, this test is designed for the purpose of issuing DUIs, not proving liability in a car accident.