Felony charges added in death of trucker in Marengo accident

Prosecutors in McHenry County recently announced their plans to upgrade DUI charges to felony charges in an Illinois drunk driving auto accident which claimed the life of a truck driver.  Last April, the truck driver had parked his semi and gotten out to get a cup of coffee at a convenience store in Marengo when he was hit by a drunk driver.  The accident occurred on April 11, but the truck driver did not pass away until April 18.

There are a number of take-aways from this case:

1.  The family of the truck driver who was killed is likely entitled to Illinois worker's compensation benefits.  Leaving the wheel of the truck to get coffee generally will not be enough to take someone out of the scope of their employment.  Given the likely size of the medical bills in this case as well as the amount of the benefits that they would be entitled to, the family of this man would do well to contact a lawyer about receiving worker's compensation benefits.

2.  The family also has a right to pursue a civil action as well.  The most obvious one would be against the drunk driver, but they also would have a right to pursue the bar(s) where the man was drinking also.  It is important for this aspect of the case that they act quickly because there is a one year statute of limitations on the dram shop act claims that they have against the bars that were involved.

3.  They will also want to consider whether to look into an uninsured or underinsured motorist claim through the insurance policy on the truck that he was driving.  Commercial trucks often have large liability policies, and if there is underinsured motorist coverage on the tractor trailer available in an equal amount, this could provide significant compensation for the family of the truck driver.  This is frequently a complex kind of case to pursue, and I would strongly recommend that this family hire an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer to look into this for them.