Chicago Car Accident Lawyers Blog

A pedestrian was hit and killed by a car in Chicago last Saturday while walking across the street near his Chicago home, according to Chicagobreakingnews.com. The victim was Berthel Walters, 69, a South Side resident who lived on the 800 block of East 46th Street.

The accident occurred at approximately 6:30 a.m. when the pedestrian was walking in the area of the 3000 block of South Moe Drive. He was hit by a 2000 Dodge Ram pickup truck. The pedestrian was taken from the scene of the accident to a local Chicago area hospital where he was pronounced dead at approximately 11:00 a.m.

The driver of the pickup truck was also a Chicago resident. As a result of the accident, she was cited for striking a pedestrian in the roadway. Under Illinois law, drivers have a duty to use due care to avoid hitting pedestrians.

This accident occurred just days after our law firm reported that pedestrian deaths in Chicago, Illinois are on the rise. In 2008 there were 56 pedestrian deaths in Chicago, which increased from 49 in 2007.

If you are a pedestrian who has been hit and and injured by a motor vehicle, or if you have lost a loved one who was killed in an automobile collision, please contact attorneys at Abels & Annes for a free consultation.

An Illinois State Police Trooper was injured yesterday on the Stevenson Expressway in Chicago, according to chicagobreakingnews.com. The officer's patrol car was struck during a traffic stop in the southbound lanes of Interstate 55 near Ashland. The car crash involved 3 other vehicles and it blocked all but the left lane of traffic during the morning's rush.

The officer and one other were taken by ambulance to Rush University Medical Center and Stroger Hospital of Cook County. What caused the accident has not been reported and the injuries are supposed to be none-life-threatening.

This type of accident reminds us that being a police officer can be a very dangerous job for many reasons. Routine traffic stops can become hazardous. It is bad enough that the officer has to worry about the driver he has pulled over, he also has to worry about other negligent drivers on the road.

The U.S. Department of Labor reports that between 1992 and 2001, police officers suffered 1,448 workplace fatalities (compared to 437 firefighter deaths). The Department also reports that of all government employees killed in the U.S. during said time period, more than half of the fatalities were transportation related.

If you have been injured in a car accident by a negligent driver, contact Abels & Annes for a free consultation.

In the Chicago area suburb of Bartlett, Illinois, a DUI driver has caused a six car accident, according to Chicagobreakingnews.com. The accident occurred at the the intersection of Illinois Route 59 and Army Trail Road on Saturday night as the defendant weaved in and out of traffic moving southbound in a 1995 Nissan Maxima.

The at fault driver fled the scene of the accident on foot. However, he was quickly apprehended by Bartlett police not far from the accident. He now faces criminal prosecution for felony aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol, driving with a suspended license, unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia, leaving the scene of a property damage accident, operating an uninsured motor vehicle, and failure to reduce speed to avoid and accident. The defendant was taken into custody and transported to the DuPage County Jail in Wheaton, Illinois.

Often, hit-and-run drivers do not have valid and/or adequate car insurance. If you are the victim of a hit-and-run car accident in Illinois or if you have been hit by a driver who did not have valid automobile insurance, you may still have an opportunity to recover damages caused by the car accident.

In unfortunate situations such as this, you can make an uninsured motorist claim against your own insurance policy. When you are the victim of an automobile accident caused by someone without valid car insurance, your insurance company will pay on your claim to recover for damages and/or personal injuries caused by that automobile accident.

Personal injury lawyers from our firm can initiate an uninsured motorist claim and attempt to negotiate a settlement on your behalf . If a satisfactory settlement cannot be obtained, under the terms of your policy the next step would most likely be to resolve your case in arbitration.

Attorneys from Abels & Annes, P.C. often handle and successfully resolve uninsured motorist claims. If you are the victim of a hit-and-run accident, or if you have been injured by an uninsured or under-insured driver, please contact Abels & Annes at 312-924-7575 for a free consultation.

A Chicago resident has been killed in a car crash that occurred at Racine and Garfield Blvd. on the South Side, according to the Chicago Tribune. The collision occurred on February 8, 2009 at around 9:30 am.

The victim, age 65, was driving southbound on Racine when his car was struck by a driver that was westbound on Garfield who allegedly ran a red light. The impact caused the victim's vehicle to hit a pole.

The at fault driver, a Hoffman Estates resident, was ticketed with running the light and failure to yield. The accident was investigated by the Chicago Police Department.

In this type of case, the family of the victim has the right to bring a civil claim against the at fault driver. Hopefully the defendant has a significant insurance policy, as this was a terrible accident that resulted in the death of a driver.

Unfortunately, most drivers do not carry enough insurance to cover a serious loss. The State of Illinois only requires drivers to have $20,000 in auto insurance, which is not nearly enough to help the family of a victim to start to recover from a difficult loss.

The best way to protect yourself against a driver with minimal insurance, or no insurance, is to acquire a good auto insurance policy for yourself and your family members. You might be surprised to find how little it may cost to go from a smaller insurance policy to a larger one with significant uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage.

If you or a loved one has been involved in a serious accident, contact Abels & Annes for a free consultation.

A woman who hit a Chicago pedestrian and fled the scene has been located and cited by police. According to CBS 2, the driver was driving through the South Side at around 2 a.m. on Nov. 30 when a 71-year-old man emerged from between two parked cars. She hit him and fled the scene, but was found just an hour and a half later by police. The man died about a half hour later at the hospital. She was cited for multiple traffic violations, including failure to reduce speed, disregarding a traffic signal, driving without insurance and reckless driving, as well as failure to report an accident.

This accident is a good example of why it never, ever pays to hit and run. As you can see from the article, it took the police very little time to locate this woman, which suggests that there may have been a witness or a camera nearby.

Hitting and running can also make things much worse for drivers who are hit with a Chicago auto accident lawsuit. Leaving the scene of an accident doesn’t necessarily mean that a driver is responsible for the crash, but it looks bad in court. Juries are not sympathetic to defendants who seem to refuse to take responsibility for their own actions. If they are caught, hit-and-run drivers who have caused serious injuries are likely to be cited or criminally charged, which is also considered damaging in any related lawsuit. I can see how a person might panic in the heat of the moment and flee, but leaving the scene almost always makes things worse in the long run.

In my practice as an Illinois auto accident lawyer, I’ve discovered that very few drivers realize the risk they run from hit-and-run drivers. If the driver isn’t caught, his or her insurance (if there is any) can’t be used to cover the victim’s injuries and property damage. This sticks victims with the bills for injuries that were the irresponsible driver’s fault; essentially, victims are victimized twice. Uninsured/underinsured motorist insurance should cover a hit-and-run, if the victim has it, but not everyone does -- and many of those who do find that their insurers aren’t interested in paying fairly, if they can find an excuse not to. Our office handles uninsured motorist & hit-and-run claims against insurance companies. If you’ve been hurt in an auto accident in Illinois and would like to learn more about your options, please contact us for a free consultation.