Chicagoland Traffic Accidents: North Suburbs

Category: Car Accident Cases

Chicagoland Traffic Accidents: North Suburbs

If you or your loved ones have been impacted by a Chicagoland traffic accidents, contact an Chicagoland traffic accidentsexperienced Chicago auto accident lawyer today so that we can focus on protecting your rights while you recover. Ensure that you and your family are protected from the lingering damages of medical bills, insurance costs, and property damage.

This year alone, Chicago has already experienced over 500 fatal crashes. This follows a trend of traffic accidents and related injuries and fatalities rising in Chicago. Read below for updated coverage on Chicagoland traffic accidents in the North Suburbs covering July and August.

Evanston

Car crashes into Evanston Dunkin’ Donuts Injuring 4: On July 30, a man accidentally drove into a local Dunkin’ Donuts. Three patrons had minor glass-related injuries. Another customer was hospitalized with an ankle injury.

Semi truck crashes into car: On Dempster and Dodge in Evanston, a car and a semi truck collided. Although no other vehicles were involved, initial injuries were reported.

Multiple Rollover Crashes: No major injuries were report in two rollover crashes on August 7 and August 8. Each accident closed down Dempster and Ridge respectively.

Lake Forest

Semi tire crashes into car: No injuries reported after a semi tire slammed into a car windshield on I-94 near Lake Forest. The tire shattered the windshield. The origin of the tire is unclear.

Wilmette

Stolen car hits tree: Wilmette police and Kenilworth Police were in pursuit of a stolen vehicle on Hibbard Road on July 2, when the driver lost control of the car and struck a tree. Five people fled the scene and four people were arrested.

Fatal accident July 11: A 21-year-old driver hit a pedestrian who may have been crossing against traffic. The victim died in the hospital from severe blunt trauma. While officers do not believe drugs or alcohol were involved in the accident, they are waiting toxicology reports.

Skokie

Car crashes into Best Buy: During the Fourth of July, thieves drove a car through a Skokie Best Buy’s window. Police found the vehicle at 3 a.m. Wednesday morning with no driver at the scene. Another vehicle belonging to the thieves struck a police car at Niles Center Road while fleeing.

If you were involved in a crash, contact our Skokie car accident lawyer now.

Highland Park

DUI on Skokie Valley Road: On July 20, a man driving under the influence was in a two-car accident near Skokie Valley Road. No injuries were reported.

Accident on Half Day Road: A driver was arrested for driving under the influence on July 21 after police responded to an accident on Half Day Road. No injuries were reported.

Glenview

Driver strikes woman in parking lot:  A man struck an elderly woman in a Glenview parking lot on July 26. The driver fled the scene while the 85-year-old woman was taken to the hospital for treatment of her injuries.

Have you or a loved one been injured in an auto accident? Suffered loss of wages, property damage, or emotional distress? Contact Chicago Legal Group today at 847-305-4105 to speak with an experienced auto accident lawyer.

We will help you with pursuing compensation from the defendant’s and your own insurance company. Learn more about our experience with auto accidents and what you can immediately do in my YouTube video. Let our team of auto accident lawyers help you during this difficult period. Call for a free consultation at 847-305-4105.

Injured as a passenger in a car accident – Who do you sue?

Quite often I get calls from people who were injured as a passenger in a car accident. They always ask, who do you sue? The quick answer is it Car Accidentdepends upon who was at fault for the accident. If you were injured as a passenger in a car accident, call our office today for a free consultation at 847-305-4105.

Injured as a passenger in a car accident

Who was at fault for the accident?

First, most likely you won’t have to “sue” anyone. But certainly, the question will arise which driver’s insurance company you should file a claim with. If the driver of the other vehicle was at fault, there is no issue. You will have the same rights as the person driving your vehicle.

But what happens if the driver of your car was all or partially at fault for the accident? If that’s the case, it could be very complicated as in most of the cases I’ve seen like this, the driver of the car or motorcycle is often the parent, significant other, friend or colleague of the injured party. Filing a claim against their insurance could cause friction in your relationship with that person.

Example

For example, a while back I worked on a motorcycle accident case. My former firm represented a woman who was riding on the back of a motorcycle driven by her male friend. As they tried to make a turn, the motorcycle hit some gravel and went down. Our client filed a claim against her friend’s motorcycle policy.

The driver seemed fine with the claim at first until it came time to settle her case. He heard how much money we demanded and he angrily called our office and told us he was not at fault for the accident, the gravel was. However, his insurance company had already accepted liability for the accident.

Our client was also upset as she did not want to anger her friend. We advised our client that if the driver was not at fault for the accident, then there would be zero recoveries. In the end, our client agreed to continue to pursue the case and she recovered nicely from her injuries.

As an aside, as a passenger, if you are injured as a passenger in a car accident, you are also entitled to utilize the driver’s medpay insurance through his/her own insurance policy to pay for some of your medical bills.

Taxi, Uber and Lyft accidents

I have received several calls in the past couple years from people who were Injured as a passenger in a car accident involving an Uber driver. I generally support the rideshare concept but have noticed that often when I see a car driving erratically it often is a rideshare vehicle.

If you are injured as a passenger in the back of an Uber, you can recover for your injuries. The issue again will be who caused the accident, the Uber or Lyft driver or the driver of the other car. I have handled cases where a passenger was injured by a third party while driving in an Uber and I have also represented Uber drivers who were injured by others while driving.

Uber uses James River Insurance Company to handle their driver’s claims. Clicking here will take you to the page to file a claim for injuries suffered as a passenger in an Uber.

Bus accident

The same rule applies if you are injured as a passenger in a bus accident. I’ve represented bus accident victims before and we deal with trying to figure out who is responsible for the accident, the CTA or other bus agency or the driver of the car the bus crashed with.

Solo vehicle accidents

I recently received a call from a very nice woman who was involved in a solo vehicle accident. She admitted to the insurance company that she crashed her vehicle when she bent down while driving to pick something up. Her car flipped and she and her 2 small kids were injured.

In that situation, the woman has no claim as she caused the accident. However, both of her children have a claim to file against their own mother for their injuries. Fortunately, the mother knew she was at fault and her auto insurance rates were going to increase regardless. As such, she had her kids file claims against her own policy.

Conclusion

If you are Injured as a passenger in a car accident, call our office at 847-305-4105 for a free consultation. This situation can get sticky and often times it’s better to have an outside party like a personal injury attorney make the call for you.

Illinois Car Accident Attorney

My name is Barry Zlotowicz and I am an Illinois car accident lawyer. Our law firm represents people injured in car accidents throughout the

car accident lawyer in illinois
Car Accident Lawyer in Illinois

state of Illinois. We have traveled the state from Glenview to Zion, representing car accident victims (motorcycle, bicycle and truck accident victims as well). If you were injured in an Illinois car accident, call us today for a free consultation at 847-305-4105.

According to the Illinois Department of Transportation crash data, as of January 27, 2018, there have already been 66 fatalities as a result of Illinois car accidents in our state. Around one third of the fatalities were the result of a seatbelt not being used or being improperly used.

As a car accident lawyer in Glenview, I’ve worked with countless accident victims to help them recover for their injuries and damages. One of the things I tell my clients all the time is:

Focus on Your Health – Not Your Case

What I mean is, there likely is no amount of money that is going to adequately compensate you for your injuries. If you suffer a back sprain that causes pain indefinitely, or you suffer a serious injury like a compound fracture, for example, the pain and discomfort you suffer from cannot and will not be remedied entirely by money. That’s why, I always tell my clients to focus on their health, not their case.

This often comes up when our clients ask if they should get additional medical treatment.  So, for example, let’s take a not so-hypothetical situation. A client signs up an Illinois car accident lawyer to represent them for injuries suffered in a car accident. They suffered a sprained neck in the accident. They treat for eight weeks post-accident, ER visit, primary care physician and physical therapy, then stop treating.

Six months later, the lawyer receives a call from their client who states that they’re suffering significant neck pain. It would seem obvious. The client should go back to the doctor. So, why is this an issue? The reason is that there is now a significant “gap in treatment”  – the amount of time between their last medical treatment and their potential new treatment. This is an issue for an Illinois car accident lawyer because an astute insurance adjuster will capitalize on the gap in order to diminish your claim.

In these cases, we will tell our clients to forget about their case and focus on their health. If they’re having neck pain, get the treatment they need. We may still be able to tie the treatment to injuries suffered in the collision. And even if we do not, our client will have taken steps to remedy their physical condition and that is what is truly important.

Recent Car Accident In Illinois Settlement

Barry Zlotowicz recently obtained a recovery on behalf of an NIU college student for injuries suffered in a car accident in Illinois.

The accident, which occurred in Lee County in 2012 occurred on a snowy day on the interstate. Our client was the passenger in a car heading southbound when he was rear ended by an 18 wheeler/tractor trailer. Our client was spun around and collided with a third automobile. Our client was thrown back and forth within the car hitting his shoulder and other extremities on the interior of the car. Our client sought immediate medical care at an emergency room for injuries including a shoulder strain, laceration on his leg, eye contusion and back pain.

After our investigation was complete and our client obtained sufficient medical care including treating with an orthopedist, obtaining a MRI and completing physical therapy, our office obtained a recovery on his behalf that paid off all his medical bills, paid his attorneys’ fees and still left him with a significant recovery to assist in paying his educational expenses.

The settlement did not end our participation in the matter however. Most victims of a car accident in Illinois do not realize that the medical providers who provided medical assistance and/or the insurance company that paid for medical bills want to be reimbursed for their expenses. As such, in this case as in most cases, our office spent a considerable amount of time negotiating our client’s medical bills and the subrogation claim by the insurance company by one-third. That resulted in substantial savings for the client.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident in Illinois, you may be able to seek compensation for your injuries and damages. While it’s no guarantee of recovery, our office has had great success in recovering on behalf of our personal injury clients.

Managing auto accident cases can be confusing. Sometimes, your Glenview auto accident lawyer will give you the information you are not ready for or didn’t expect. For an honest and frank discussion about how to handle your car accident case, contact our office at 847-305-4105 for a free consultation.

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