Wandering nursing home resident killed in hit and run accident

A nursing home resident was killed last month in a hit-and-run accident after she wandered from a nursing home where she was residing.  The nursing home was equipped with a door alarm to alert staff that a resident was leaving the facility, but apparently no one responded to the noise made by the alarm.  The nursing home resident wandered onto a nearby busy street where she was hit by a motorist who fled the scene.

One of the common reasons that families decide to admit loved ones to nursing homes is a tendency of the senior citizen to become confused, exercise poor judgment, and to wander.  Wandering is a serious risk for some senior citizens due to confusion, poor judgment, and physical frailties that out them at risk for falls, pedestrian accident, and becoming crime victims while they wander. 

Nursing homes a required to make regular assessments of the residents risk of wandering and to put interventions into place to eliminate wandering.  The most common intervention is to put a sensor on the wrist band or elsewhere in the resident that sounds a door alarm when the resident goes out the door.  The alarm alerts the staff that a resident who is a wandering risk is outside the facility and needs to be brought back.  Of course, for that to work (and it is pretty simple), the staff has to respond to the alarm.

Pedestrian killed by hit-and-run driver

Victims of hit-and-run accidents are covered by the uninsured motorist coverage on their own car even when they are pedestrians.

Evanston woman dies two weeks after car accident

A 71-year old woman from Evanston was pronounced dead last Wednesday after being hit a car while a pedestrian on October 27.  She was crossing the street on the 1900 block of Sheridan Road.  The car was traveling within the posted speed limit, but rainy weather and darkness are believed to be factors in causing the car accident.  The driver of the car not ticketed.

There are a few points that come to mind after hearing about this story:

1.  The fact that the driver was not ticketed does not mean that there was no liability for the accident.  Drivers of cars still have a legal obligation to yield the right of way to pedestrians.  A jury would never hear that she was not ticketed, so that is hardly determinative of the outcome of a later civil case.  In fact, the law in Illinois is that a jury only gets to hear about a traffic ticket after a car accident when the driver who receives the ticket pleads guilty to the charges in traffic court.

2.  The fact that the driver was within the speed limit does not mean that she was not at fault for the accident.  Not only was she required to yield the right of way to a pedestrian, but the Illinois Motor Vehicle Code also requires drivers to reduce their speed when conditions require it.  Dark, rainy nights require a slower speed, and simply obeying the posted limit does not meet the requirements of the motor vehicle code.

3.  Because the accident victim lived for two weeks, there are both survival and wrongful death claims as part of the wrongful death car accident suit arising from this accident.  A survival claim is one for the conscious pain and suffering the victim experienced prior to death, while a wrongful death claim compensates the surviving next of kin for their losses.

There are a number of good reasons why the family of the accident victim in this case should hire an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer to assist them with this matter.  First, given that no ticket was issued to the driver, there is a reasonable chance that the driver's insurer will dispute liability in this case.  Second, because there are both wrongful death and survival claims in this case, medical proof to support the survival claim must be offered in connection with this wrongful death suit.  Finally, you want to be sure to identify all of the possible sources of insurance coverage and compensation.

Child delivered after death of mother also dies from injuries from car accident

Last week, there was a story in the news about a pregnant mother who was hit by a car while she was crossing the street.  Paramedics and doctors were able to keep the mother alive long enough to deliver her child by emergency c-section before the mother died.  Sadly, the child only lived for a few days before she also passed away as a consequence of the auto accident.

All of the media accounts I have seen regarding this story indicate that the driver of the car had no valid license and did not have any liability insurance.  He faces a raft of criminal charges from this Chicago car accident and will likely end up doing some significant jail time in light of his history as a traffic scofflaw.

This family has suffered losses beyond comprehension with the loss of a wife, a mother, a sibling, a child.  They will also have significant financial needs as well as the mother was a valuable contributor to the household as the mother of five.  Given that the man who killed her and the baby had no insurance and will have no income because he is going to jail, this is the kind of uninsured motorist accident which causes me to recommend to everyone that they obtain uninsured motorist coverage with their auto liability policy.

As an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer, I have spoken to and met far too many families who have left themselves with nothing by not buying this coverage.

Group of junior high cheerleaders injured by hit and run motorist

Last week outside of Pittsburgh, a group of 4 junior high cheerleaders were walking from the library to a game when they were struck by a car while crossing the crosswalk.  The driver did not stop in this hit and run accident.

We have covered several times that the law is that hit and run accidents are uninsured motorist claims in Illinois.  We have also covered the fact that you can still make an uninsured motorist claim on your own insurance policy even if you are injured as a pedestrian in a hit and run accident.

This accident underlines the importance of maintaining uninsured motorist coverage on your car insurance policy as a means of protecting your family.  There were four girls all injured in the same accident.  If the family of one of the girls did carried liability insurance only on her vehicle, then she would not be able to get any compensation for her injuries. 

Similarly, if the amount of coverage was inadequate, you can end up with the skewed result that a girl who was less seriously injured than one of the other girls ended up getting a higher settlement for her injuries than a girl whose family carried uninsured motorist coverage, but at low limits.

The bottom line is this:  uninsured motorist coverage protects your own family. With ever increasing numbers of drivers on the road going without adequate insurance coverage when they buy any at all, this is an ever more important coverage for you to have.

Bicyclist injured in hit and run accident

A Florida boy suffered head injuries last week when he was thrown from his bike when he was struck by a hit-and-run driver.  Authorities suspect that based on the physical evidence, the boy was hit by a mirror off a van or pick-up truck.

We have covered in some of our other blog posts that when you are the victim of a hit-and-run accident in Illinois, you can make a claim on your uninsured motorist coverage for your vehicle, even when you are a pedestrian.  You can also make an uninsured motorist claim when you are riding a bicycle and are injured by a hit-and-run driver.

The key point to the law in Illinois that everyone should be aware of are: (1) you, and all of the relatives living in your household, are covered by the uninsured motorist coverage on your auto insurance policy -- even when you are not in the car (this is why you can make a claim for injuries sustained while a pedestrian or while riding a bike) and (2) the law in Illinois deems hit-run drivers as uninsured motorists for the purpose of allowing people to make Illinois uninsured motorist claims.

As an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer, one thing that I urge my clients to is to make sure that when they buy or renew their auto insurance coverage, they make sure to buy as much uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage as their carrier will sell them.  It is cheap coverage, and directly benefits you and your family in the event of a car accident with an uninsured driver or a driver who does not have adequate insurance coverage for the damage he causes.  This is especially important in these tight economic times where more drivers are electing to go without adequate insurance coverage, when they buy insurance at all.

Flossmoor girl injured in hit and run near school

A Flossmoor girl was injured yesterday when she was struck by a hit-and-run driver.  The girl was crossing the street near her school when the hit-and-run vehicle disregarded the crossing guard and hit the girl while she was in the crosswalk.  Authorities are still seeking out the hit-and-run driver.

Many parents are unaware that their own automobile insurance policy could provide compensation to their child if they are hurt in a hit-and-run accident like this.  When you buy full coverage on your car insurance, you get a coverage called uninsured motorist coverage.  It is a coverage which applies in Illinois when there is a car accident involving a family member with a hit-and-run vehicle.  The thing that most people do not realize is that you do not need to be in the covered vehicle for the coverage to apply.  You can make an Illinois uninsured motorist claim when you are injured by a hit-and-run driver as a pedestrian.

Most people are unaware of the availability of this coverage and what must be done to insure that a child who is injured by a hit-and-run driver in this kind of car accident is properly compensated.  The parents of this child would do well to hire an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer.

Study shows suburbs with most car-pedestrian accidents

The Chicago-based Active Transport Alliance released a study showing the suburbs that had the highest rate of car-pedestrian accidents for the years 2004-07.  In 2007, there were 6,000 pedestrians hit by cars in crosswalks, leading to 170 deaths.  The ten suburbs that had the highest rate of car-pedestrian accidents were:

1.  Hopkins Park (4.22 per 1,000 residents)
2.  Oakbrook Terrace (1.31)
3.  Harvey (1.12)
4.  Markham (1.03)
5.  Countryside (1.00)
6.  Oak Park (0.96)
7.  Rosemont (0.95)
8.  Summit (0.94)
9.  Calumet Park (0.94)
10.  Midlothian (0.91)

Some of the reasons the reasons that the authors found were causes of Chicago area pedestrian-auto accidents were: busy arterial roads, absent or poorly marked crosswalks, absence of sidewalks, and lax law enforcement.  Many of the suburbs with the highest rates of accidents were lower income communities, leading the authors to believe that a lack of resources for pedestrian safety may contribute to the high rate of accidents.

California man injured in hit-and-run accident

A California man suffered a broken leg and head injuries when he was struck by a vehicle which then fled the scene.  The man was a pedestrian when he was hit by the car.

One thing that many people do not realize is that they are covered by their uninsured motorist coverage in situations like this:

1.  Under Illinois law, a hit-and-run vehicle is considered an uninsured vehicle.  When you are involved in a car accident in Illinois with a hit-and-run vehicle, you can make an Illinois uninsured motorist claim under your own policy under the uninsured motorist coverage.

2.  Your uninsured motorist coverage applies even when you are not in a car, such as in situations like this, when you are hit by a car while a pedestrian.

Uninsured motorist coverage is one of the coverages you get when you buy full coverage.  It provides protection to you and your family in the event of an accident, so it is coverage which you really should buy.  Also, uninsured motorist coverage is very cheap coverage, so you should not skimp on it when you are buying or renewing your automobile insurance policy.

Man killed in hit and run accident in Homan Square neighborhood

A pedestrian was killed by a hit and run vehicle on Friday.  The man was walking in the Homan Square neighborhood on Chicago's west side when he was hit by a car which fled the scene.

Many people are unaware that when you are involved in a hit-and-run accident, you are entitled to pursue an uninsured motorist claim through your own insurance policy.  Uninsured motorist coverage is one of the coverages you obtain when you purchase full coverage on your car.  This coverage applies to all hit and run accidents, including ones that take place when you are a pedestrian.

Further, even if the man did not have uninsured motorist coverage himself, he may still be covered under the policies of other members of his household, as uninsured motorist coverage usually also covers "resident relatives".  This means that is his parents or siblings lived with him and had uninsured motorist coverage, they would be able to pursue a hit and run wrongful death claim under a policy held by another member of the household.

Identifying potentially available uninsured motorist coverage can be a complicated issue, and anyone having difficulties with this should consult an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer to make sure that all of the potential coverages are found.

Pedestrian hit and killed by CTA bus

A Chicago man was killed last night when he was hit by a No. 14 Jeffrey CTA bus on the 2000 block of East 95th Street.  The early news reports indicate that the bus was pulling away from a bus shelter when it struck and killed the man.  The bus driver claims that he was neither boarding or getting off the bus.  The Chicago Police Department Major Accident Investigation unit was still investigating.

There are a number of points that people should be aware of when a serious CTA bus accident occurs like this:

1.  Many CTA buses are equipped with a fairly elaborate video security system, and when a serious accident like this occurs, the recordings are preserved as a matter of course by the CTA claims department.  One thing that an experienced CTA bus accident lawyer will do is issue a letter to the CTA requesting that they preserve the security videotape.  That way, if the tape is later destroyed, the CTA nay be subject to court sanctions for the destruction of evidence.

2.  The issue of whether he was getting on or off the bus is an important issue in this case.  Operators of buses such as the CTA are considered common carriers with regard to their passengers, and the law imposes a responsibility on them to exercise the highest degree of care for the safety of their passengers.  This duty goes from the time that they start boarding the bus until they reach a place of safety after getting off the bus.  Anytime the accident happens right around the bus (especially while the passenger is getting off the bus), the issue of whether the CTA still has the same obligations to the passenger as a common carrier can be crucial in determining the liability of the CTA.

3.  Regardless of whether the CTA is still considered a common carrier of the person who was hit by the bus, the CTA still owes a duty of ordinary care to behave safely toward the man who was hit, just as you would have a responsibility to not hit a pedestrian with your car.  To support a claim that the bus driver was negligent, one thing that would have to be considered is evidence of the CTA's own internal rules and regulations, which includes steps that the bus driver must take to prevent accidents with pedestrians or other vehicles.

This unfortunate accident was one which probably could have been prevented through ordinary safety precautions.  You can be sure that the CTA has done a thorough investigation of this accident, and gathered any evidence that will be favorable to them.  We recommend that anyone who is involved in this kind of accident hire experienced Chicago personal injury lawyers as soon as possible.