Articles Posted in Auto Accidents

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In a one-day trial in Tazewell County, Ill., a jury decided in favor of a plaintiff who suffered soft-tissue injuries to his neck and back. The plaintiff, Marshall Canfield, had no broken bones; however, in a straightforward trial, the jury awarded $46,074 made up of the following damages:
• $22,500 for pain and suffering;
• $5,000 for loss of normal life;
• $17,998 for medical expenses; and
• $576 for lost income.

In this case, defendant Justin Egan, driving a Village of Creve Coeur vehicle, rear-ended Mr. Canfield. The plaintiff alleged and proved that he suffered just soft tissue injuries to his neck and back. However, the defendant made no offer to settle the case before the trial. The plaintiff was represented by Michael T. Marincic of Peoria, Ill.

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The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), which is a division of the United States Department of Transportation, has requested that “black boxes,” electronic data recorders or electronic on-board recording devices found in trucks and cars, should have the capacity to monitor a truck driver’s hours behind the wheel.

The purpose of the black box device is to record data in case of a crash. The data found on the black box allows experts to review the events leading up to a crash and use that data in evaluating future safety issues.

Today cars have these “black boxes” to record events leading up to an automobile accident. The boxes record vehicle speed before the crash, deceleration rates and vehicle angles before and during the crash. They also detect whether seatbelts were used.

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In a close case decided by the Illinois Appellate Court, Third District, defendant Will County Washington Township was held responsible for injuries suffered by occupants of an automobile in an accident that was alleged to have been caused by Washington Township roadway construction.

In this case, Ricky Robinson Sr. allegedly lost control of his car after hitting a pothole and construction debris on a roadway that was being fixed by Washington Township in Will County. The Robinson car turned over, injuring Rick Robinson Jr., Mr. Robinson’s son, a passenger in the car.

A lawsuit was brought against the township on behalf of Rick Jr., who was a minor, by his mother, alleging that the township was negligent because:
•

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In this case, the defendant, Dale Levan, admitted liability for an auto accident that left a woman, Denise Ponto, injured. The verdict on damages was $585,174, but the defendant had only $100,000 in liability insurance. The plaintiff tried to collect the rest of the money from the city of Dixon, where the accident occurred. The jury had decided that the city was 35 percent at fault for causing the accident.

But the plaintiff’s error was that she did not try to add the city as a direct defendant within one year of the filing, as required under Section 8-10(a) of the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act. Dixon’s culpability was a question for the jury because the defendant promptly filed a contribution claim against the municipality when he was sued.

The trial judge concluded that the law barred Ponto’s claim against Dixon and the Illinois Appellate Court affirmed that ruling. Both the plaintiff and the defendant argued that a third-party defendant (in this case the city) who is more than 25 percent at fault is jointly and severally liable to the plaintiff for all damages, based on Section 2-117 of the Code of Civil Procedure. Section 2-117 specifies the rules on joint liability for all defendants found liable in tort cases involving bodily injury, death or property damage. Ponto reasoned that the reference to “all defendants found liable” meant that Dixon was jointly liable for her damages.

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Most of us assume that when we rent a car, the vehicle has been inspected and is safe for us to drive. Unfortunately, some car rental agencies have made cars available to customers even after these vehicles have been recalled for safety reasons. Now a move is under way in Congress to require rental agencies to repair autos that are under manufacturers’ recall before renting or selling them.

The fight for the proposed law is being led by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. She said Hertz has agreed to the pledge, but other major companies such as Enterprise, Avis and Dollar Thrifty, have resisted.

“Our families deserve a permanent commitment to safety,” said Boxer, who chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which oversees highway policy. “Until they sign the pledge, tell your families not to go to those companies.”

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A Chicago man has been awarded $558,474 by a Cook County jury stemming from an injury he sustained while a passenger in a vehicle that was rear-ended by another car. The impact was so great that the seat in which he was riding was broken in half.

The verdict was reported in the Cook County Jury Verdict Reporter.

On June 20, 2008, J.L. was a passenger in a car that was stopped at a red light on southbound Lake Shore Drive at Chicago Avenue. The vehicle was struck from behind by a car driven by defendant V.T. The plaintiff, who was wearing a seatbelt, experienced immediate back and neck pain and a burning sensation in his back.

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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued an advisory to pedestrians after statistics showed pedestrian fatalities rose by 4 percent in 2010 relative to their levels in 2009. The report notes that 4,280 pedestrians died in 2010, up from 4,109 in 2009. Another 70,000 pedestrians were injured in traffic crashes in 2010.

On average, a pedestrian was killed every two hours and injured every 8 minutes in 2010, the report states.

The total number of fatalities in Illinois was 927 that year. Of that total, 115 — or 12.4 percent — were pedestrian deaths, according to the report. That is a much smaller percentage, however, than other states. In the District of Columbia, for example, 54 percent of the traffic fatalities involved pedestrians in 2010, while in California, the percentage of car deaths involving pedestrians was 22 percent.

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All of us have seen ambulances speed through intersections, their sirens blaring and lights flashing in an effort to warn other motorists. Now the Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that an ambulance driver cannot be held liable if a collision occurs with another vehicle. Citing an immunity law, the high court ruled that government employees are protected.

The high court ruling stems from a 2004 crash in downstate Massac County, when ambulance driver S.T., responding to an emergency call, drove through a stop sign at an intersection. A minivan driven by plaintiff J.H. collided with the ambulance, causing injuries to drivers and passengers in both vehicles.

J.H. sued the ambulance driver and the Massac County Hospital District for negligence. Citing the hospital’s standing as a municipal corporation, however, the defendants in the suit claimed the immunity act freed them from liability.

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We once thought that the most dangerous behaviors among teen drivers were drunk driving or failure to wear seatbelts. Now we know that using a cell phone — either talking on the phone or texting — represents a similarly grave threat when teens get behind the wheel.

A recent study reveals a lot about teen-age drivers and how they use their electronic devices when they should be paying attention to the road.

The study, funded by Bridgestone Americas Inc., surveyed 2,012 young drivers and found that both boys and girls showed bad judgment while driving. A summary of the study says, “[o]nly one-third of respondents believe talking on the phone while driving is dangerous.” About one-third of drivers admitted to reading text messages at least occasionally while driving and one-fifth said they type text messages at least occasionally while driving.

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Eleven-year-old A.J. was injured in an automobile crash and was taken for treatment to St. Alexius Medical Center in Hoffman Estates. The bills that were sent by the hospital to the boy’s parents featured the crest of Alexian Brothers Catholic order and, in large font, the name “Alexian Brothers.” Below that was smaller print, which showed the name “St. Alexius Medical Center.”
A lawsuit was brought by the boy’s family that settled the auto accident for $30,000. The hospital hired a law firm in Deerfield to notify the family attorney that it was asserting a hospital lien for $11,638.

The family attorney then moved the court under §30 of the Hospital Lien Act to adjudicate the hospital’s lien. Section 30 calls for the hospital to receive “written notice,” which the boy’s family attorney did by certified mail, return receipt requested.

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