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.