Car Pushed Into South Side Building in Chicago Car Accident

Auto accidents where vehicles strike stationary objects are all too common in Illinois. Passengers cars run into everything from trees and street signs to fences, cement walls, and light poles. In the majority of cases, the driver of the vehicle involved in the crash is the party that is held liable for the resulting damage (as well as any injuries to bystanders or passengers).
But sometimes, the blame in these auto-object collisions cannot be placed on the driver of the wrecked vehicle. One example of this occurred this past weekend in Chicago.

On Sunday morning around 10am, an elderly woman was driving her Hyundai on West 79th Street between Halsted Street and Auburn Park on the city's South Side. A truck then rear-ended the Hyundai and sent it crashing into a storefront located on 79th between Emerald and Union Avenues. The car barreled through the brick exterior of the building and into the front room of a small medical center. No one was injured inside the business, but the driver of the Hyundai had to be transported to a nearby hospital with injuries.

The exact cause of the rear-end collision has not yet been determined by investigators. However, it appears that the driver of the truck will be held responsible for the crash and the injuries to the elderly woman. If that is indeed the case, the victim could file a personal injury lawsuit against the truck's driver in order to recoup the costs she spent on medical bills, ambulance charges, and hospitalization expenses. If her injuries are serious enough to keep her away from her job, the woman could also receive compensation for any wages she would have earned at work had the accident not occurred. (The article does not say whether the truck was a personal vehicle or owned by a business. If the latter is true, the business owner could also be named as a defendant in the lawsuit.)