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.

An accident reconstructionist is a professional with extensive knowledge of physics and engineering as it relates to a crash scene. He or she may also have a law enforcement background with specialized training. Reconstructing the accident can reveal factors that led up to a collision, including weather and pavement conditions, visibility, as well as the vehicles’ speeds. These professionals will conduct their investigation starting with the final resting place of the vehicles. However, they will look at all pieces of evidence including damage to the vehicles and the passengers.

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.

History Can Repeat Itself

A comprehensive background check must include a fingerprint check of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) database to ensure that the daycare provider does not have a history of convictions that could potentially put a child’s health and safety at risk. As an example, a person who has anger management issues with a previous arrest for assault may be likely to repeat that behavior again. In some situations, if an unstable worker becomes frustrated, he or she may take it out on the children under his or her care. Similarly, an individual who has a substance abuse problem may come to work under the influence of drugs or alcohol, negatively affecting his or her reaction time or judgment, causing a child to suffer an injury under his or her watch.

Certain background checks for employment can reveal criminal offenses at the county, state, and federal levels. A few of the types of crimes that may be uncovered include:

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.

Some of the most common dangerous conditions found in nursing homes, rehabilitation, or assisted-living homes may cause an individual to slip, trip, and fall. In other instances, building code violations can result in severe burns or electrocution due to exposed electrical currents. They may include but are not limited to the following:

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.

What Are the Consequences of Speeding?

According to data retrieved by the National Safety Council, those between the ages of 15 and 20 years old have the highest percentage of speeding drivers in fatal crashes, with males showing a higher tendency to speed. Because younger drivers have less driving experience and a higher tendency to speed, they are the ones who often experience these consequences first-hand. Driving over the speed limit is considered breaking the law, and depending on how fast the driver was moving among other circumstances, their penalties can range from a minor ticket to time behind bars. Aside from the legal repercussions that speeding drivers can face, there are a number of consequences that driving at high speeds can have on the driver and those around them, including the following:

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.

Here are typical injuries that occupants suffer when the vehicle in which they are riding is struck on the side: