Chicago Car Accident Attorneys Blog

According to the Daily Chronicle, a settlement has not yet been reached in the Illinois car crash deaths of 18-year-old Amanda Elkins, 18, and her 10-month-old daughter Jazmine Luciano in 2005. Their family believes that Elkins crashed her car into a semi-truck because the staff that administered medication to her did not advise that it would make her too drowsy to drive safely.

On January 26, 2005, Elkins, who was suffering from flu-like symptoms, went to the Dreyer Medical Center in Batavia. While she was there, the medical staff intravenously administered Phenergan to her. One of the side effects of this medication is drowsiness.

On her way home, Elkins drove her 2002 Kia Rio across the center line of Route 30 and crashed her vehicle head-on into a semi-trailer. She died at the Illinois semi-truck crash site. Her daughter Jazmine, who was in a car seat in the back of the car, was pronounced dead at a Dekalb hospital.

DeKalb County Coroner Dennis Miller says that a doctor who treated Elkins said during the coroner’s inquest that he did not realize that Elkins was planning on driving herself. Elkins’ mother, Molly Farrell, says her daughter would not have crashed her car if the doctor had told her not to drive. Following the accident, the clinic began requiring medical staff to tell patients when it is too dangerous to drive after taking certain medications.

Car Accident and Medications
Most medicines have side effects, some of which can impair a driver’s ability to drive safely. Certain medications can make a person drowsy, groggy, dizzy, confused, blur vision, and/or unable to react quickly. All of these reactions can make it hard for a motorist to pay attention, think clearly, and deal with emergency situations. Physicians can be sued for medical malpractice if they prescribed a drug that caused a Chicago car crash because they did not notify the patient of side effects. Another possible liable party is a pharmaceutical company that did not provide adequate warnings of risks involved with taking the drug.

Local family waiting on 'justice' from 2005 car accident, Daily Chronicle, April 2, 2011

Prescription Drugs May Impact Driving Performance, EMaxHealth

Related Web Resources:
Amanda and Jazmine Blog

CyberDrive Illinois

Helen Miller, a Lake Villa woman, is suing Vista Health System Surgery and Treatment Center for her Lake County, Illinois car accident injuries. Miller, 42, was driving in Lindenhurst last October when a tree fell on her car, causing one of its branches to crash through her windshield and impale her beneath her lungs and above her stomach. The medical facility is the owner of the property where the tree was located.

The dead tree fell on Miller’s car after gusts of wind over 50 mph caused it to snap. Although she was fortunate because none of her vital organs were hit when she was impaled, Miller had to be placed into a medically induced coma and she sustained serious and permanent injuries.

Car Crashes Involving Falling Trees
A property owner can be held liable for a Chicago car collision if there was a hazard on a premise that caused the accident to occur. Auto crashes caused by falling trees/tree branches are not as uncommon as you would think. Over the years there have been numerous vehicle crashes that have occurred because the owner of a property failed to properly maintain a tree, which ended up falling on a vehicle or a pedestrian. Fatalities have been known to occur as a result.

In February, a 41-year-old man died when a tree collapsed and fell on the pickup truck he was riding. Three other people who were with him were also hurt. In 2008, a woman died from injuries she sustained when a tree fell on her car. Her daughter was in the vehicle with her when the deadly accident happened. The year before, a 49-year-old man was killed when a tree fell on his van. His family sued for wrongful death and claimed the city did not make sure that the tree roots were cut properly.

Woman impaled by tree branch sues medical center, Chicago Tribune, April 20, 2011

Woman Impaled by Tree Branch Sues, NBC Chicago, April 21, 2011

Related Web Resources:
Car Accidents, Nolo

Car Accidents, Justia

More Blog Posts:
Chicago Injury Lawsuit Involving Boy with Brain Damage After He was Struck by Tree Branch is Settled for $1.55M, Chicago Injury Attorney Blog, February 7, 2011
Chicago Car Accident Risks Rise When There is Snow and Ice on the Road, Chicago Car Accident Attorneys Blog, December 21, 2010

Although the state has taken action to improve bicycle safety with new laws, the Active Transportation Alliance wants transportation officials to keep count of ‘dooring’ accidents. The safety advocates group says this type of crash is the most common type of Illinois bicycle accident. However, because these traffic incidents don’t involve moving vehicles, the Illinois Department of Transportation says that it doesn’t track them and is denying the safety advocates' request.

Getting “doored” involves a moving bicyclist getting hit by a car door that suddenly opens. Usually the car is one that is parked and the door that opens is the one on the driver’s side.

Dooring accidents can cause serious injuries. One rider, 22-year-old Clinton Micelli, died in a Chicago bicycle accident in 2008 after he was struck by an SUV door whose driver opened it while on North LaSalle Street. Micelli fell off his bike and was run over by another vehicle.

Considering that, per Illinois Department of Transportation statistics, about 3,500 Illinois bicycle crashes happen a year, causing over 3,300 injuries and at least 18 fatalities, it is important that safety officials do their part to help decrease the number of cycling collisions.

Bicyclists are so vulnerable to serious injuries and death during a Chicago car crash. Not only can some injuries be debilitating, disabling, and life-altering, but also, the costs of medical care and recovery can be very high.

Unfortunately, some people don’t even realize that they may be entitled to personal injury compensation or that they do have just cause to file a claim. Don’t jump to conclusions. Contact our Chicago car accident law firm and ask for your free case evaluation.

Bikers call for state to count 'dooring' accidents, Chicago Tribune, March 20, 2011

Why do Drivers Hate Cyclists, ChicagoMag, March 22, 2011

Related Web Resources:
Active Transportation Alliance

Illinois Department of Transportation

More Blog Posts:
Chicago Bicycle Accident Leaves Rider with Critical Injuries, Chicago Car Accident Attorneys Blog, September 30, 2010

Dolton Car Accident Kills Teen and Now Parents are Suing Village and Cook County for Fatal Police Pursuit, Chicago Car Accident Attorneys Blog, August 19, 2010

Preventing Illinois Bicycle Accidents: Governor Pat Quinn Signs New Safety Bills in Chicago, Chicago Car Accident Attorneys Blog, July 5, 2010

Police have charged David Maish with aggravated DUI and reckless homicide over the Lake County, Illinois car crash that killed a Round Lake man on February 6. The victim, Santiago Balderas, was walking on Illinois Highway 59 when the vehicle that Maish was driving hit him.

According to the Lake County State’s Attorney’s office Drug Prosecution Division, Maish’s blood alcohol was .142 at the time of the Antioch, Illinois pedestrian accident. He also had the painkiller hydrocodone in his system.

Drunk driving and texting while driving are activities that when done separately can prove deadly. Place a cell phone in the hands of a driver who is drunk and operating a motor vehicle at the same time and the chances of involvement in a car crash causing serious injuries and fatalities goes up.

It doesn’t matter whether or not a motorist who was negligent intended to harm anyone. What matters is that they did and that it caused great harm and suffering.

If this has happened to someone you love, you should speak with an experienced Antioch, Illinois car accident lawyer immediately.

Recently, the estate of Louis Johnson filed an Illinois wrongful death lawsuit against Ranada Ridenhour. Johnson, 71, was killed in a traffic crash last November when her car hit his car, which was then hit by a truck. The complaint contends that Ridenhour was texting while driving and under the influence of drugs.

Spring Grove man faces reckless homicide charge, Northwest Herald, April 8, 2011

Fatal southwestern Ill. crash prompts lawsuit, Chicago Tribune, April 7, 2011

Officials: Antioch man texting, intoxicated when he struck pedestrian, Triblocal, April 8, 2011

Fatal Crash Prompts Lawsuit, CBS, April 7, 2011

Related Web Resources:
Distracted Driving, US DOT

Cyber Drive Illinois

More Blog Posts:
Should Illinois Texting While Driving Ban Also Prohibit Internet, Facebook, and Twitter Use?, Chicago Car Accident Attorneys Blog, March 11, 2011

Illinois Court of Claims Awards $8M to Family of Uhl Sisters Killed in 2007 Car Crash Caused by State Trooper Accused of Speeding, Texting, and Cell Phone Driving, Chicago Car Accident Attorneys Blog, January 20, 2011

Cook County Cell Phone Accident Causes Serious Injuries to Berwyn Pedestrian, Chicago Car Accident Attorneys Blog, September 24, 2010

Continue reading " Antioch Man Involved in Fatal Lake County, Illinois Car Accident Was Allegedly Text Messaging and Drunk " »