Chicago Car Accident Lawyer Blog

A Chicago woman has been issued two citations in connection with a fatal car accident that occurred in May, in which a woman that was crossing the street with her two small children was killed. The driver in the car accident has been cited for failing to exercise due care to pedestrian and improper lane care. There is no evidence of alcohol or drug involvement or any mechanical or road problems that could have caused the fatal car crash. For more information on this car accident, click here.

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Posted In: Automobile Accident , Chicago Car Accident , Illinois Accident , Pedestrian Accident , Verdicts and Settlements

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On the morning of June 16th, a sports utility vehicle ran a light in a Chicago suburb causing a car accident. The SUV tipped over once the other car struck it. Luckily, no one was seriously injured. The driver of the car and 3 people from the SUV were taken to a local hospital, but only as a precautionary measure. The intersection where the car crash occurred was shut down for a little while but has since reopened. No citations have been issued in connection to the car accident at this point. For more information on this car accident, click here.

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Posted In: Automobile Accident , Chicago Car Accident , Illinois Accident , Verdicts and Settlements

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Last summer in DuPage County, a motorcyclist was killed after a minor car accident. Following this car accident in which a sports utility vehicle rear ended a motorcycle, the driver of the car did not want to stop and wait for police and kept driving away when the motorcycle driver tried to stop him. When the car eventually stopped in a driveway, the motorcyclist pulled up behind him to talk and the car driver put his car into reverse and drove over the motorcyclist causing a fatal skull fracture. The driver did not report the accident and a witness was the one that identified the car driver. Following this fatal accident, the state charged the car driver with reckless homicide. The driver just pled guilty to the charge of failure to report an accident involving death and received a five-year sentence and in exchange for this the state dropped the reckless homicide charge. For more information on this fatal accident and settlement, click here.

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Posted In: Automobile Accident , Illinois Accident , Motorcycle Accident , Verdicts and Settlements

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The daughter of the victim of a fatal accident victim has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the driver of the other vehicle, the actual car owner and the City of Chicago. The accident victim was involved in the fatal crash this past May when he was driving home, with the rest of his family, from visiting his son in the Cook County Jail. The driver of the other vehicle ran a red light and hit the victim’s car. The other driver was criminally charged by the State for reckless homicide and aggravated drunk driving when his blood alcohol level was found to be more than double the legal limit. The daughter of the victim has since filed this wrongful death suit. For the full story of this wrongful death suit, click here.

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Posted In: Automobile Accident , Chicago Car Accident , DUI/Drunk Driving , Illinois Accident , Verdicts and Settlements , Wrongful Death

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In November 2005, a 56-year-old woman died in a Chicago car accident when a police car blew through a stoplight at 60mph and collided with the SUV she was riding in. On May 11, her family finally saw compensation for the loss of their loving mother and grandmother. Chicago City Council approved a settlement of $3.5 million for the victim’s family. According to the family’s attorney, the police officer was driving too fast for conditions to back-up another officer in a minor incident. To read the full account of this Chicago car accident settlement, follow the link.

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Posted In: Chicago Car Accident , Illinois Accident , SUV/Van Accident , Survival Action , Verdicts and Settlements , Wrongful Death

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A jury awarded $113,000 to the victims of a January 2007 car accident in southern Illinois. The crash occurred when a True Value Hardware driver was speeding and not properly working his rear brakes. The personal injury lawsuit claimed that the crash caused injuries including hip damage in one victim and shoulder damage in another. Click here to read more about this car accident lawsuit.

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Posted In: Agressive Driving , Automobile Accident , Illinois Accident , Verdicts and Settlements

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The 17-year-old driver in a fatal car accident that occurred on July 8, 2008 has been indicted on charges of manslaughter. The high school student, who is being tried as an adult, could face 3 to over 12 years in prison. The teen failed to slow down at a curve and lost control of his Toytoa Tacoma truck, causing it to roll several times after going airborne and land on its rooftop. One of the passengers, another high school student, was pronounced dead at the scene. It is not yet known whether the passenger’s family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit. Read more about this fatal car crash.

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Posted In: Automobile Accident , Injuries to Minors and Children , SUV/Van Accident , Truck Accident , Verdicts and Settlements , Wrongful Death

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A jury recently awarded $1.85 million to a man who suffered serious injuries as a result of a motorcycle accident. He collided with an automobile after a delivery driver carelessly waved the vehicle into the path of the victim's moving motorcycle. As a result, the victim suffered significant injuries that required several surgeries. The lawsuit was brought against the company that owned the delivery vehicle.

During the trial, the victim’s attorney presented the case in front of a jury who found the company 100% responsible for the motorcyclists’ injuries. The jurors awarded the man for both past and future medical bills, as well as pain and suffering. Please follow the link to read more about this motorcycle accident.

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Posted In: Automobile Accident , Motorcycle Accident , Verdicts and Settlements

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A settlement amounting to over $500,000 was reached recently in a personal injury lawsuit filed on behalf of a man killed in a car accident in Champaign County, Illinois. The lawsuit claimed wrongful death because the allegedly intoxicated woman that collided with the victim had been previously been stopped by a police officer and friend who, according to the lawsuit, should not have allowed the woman to drive. After the woman continued to drive, she crossed the center line and hit the victim’s car, leading to his death. Read more on this car accident settlement.

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Posted In: Automobile Accident , Verdicts and Settlements , Wrongful Death

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A $28.7 million verdict was given in an automobile accident trial that left a four-year-old a paraplegic. The plaintiff was a four-year-old foster child who was a back seat passenger in the defendant’s vehicle when the defendant crossed the center line of travel and struck an oncoming vehicle. It was alleged that the defendant was failing to watch the road in front of him when the car accident occurred. The minor plaintiff was riding in the defendant’s car, returning home from their day car center. The four-year-old sustained permanent spinal cord injuries as a result of the automobile accident and was rendered a T-8 paraplegic. He is paralyzed from his ribcage down. The plaintiff now resides with his adoptive family and is bound to a wheelchair. The automobile negligence trial lasted two and a-half days and the jury found in favor of the plaintiff. To read the full story, click here.

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Posted In: Verdicts and Settlements

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A 24 year-old who received serious personal injuries in a car crash last year has settled his car accident lawsuit. The personal injury plaintiff’s arm was badly broken when a vehicle that he was a passenger in slammed into a utility pole.

For the full article.

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Posted In: Aviation Accident , Verdicts and Settlements

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A jury recently awarded a widow and her three children $11.5 million in damages against the drivers of the vehicle that caused the car accident. The car accident resulted in the wrongful death of a police officer. The driver failed to stop at a stop sign and attempted to make a left turn eastbound, causing the officer to swerve to avoid a direct impact.

For the full article.

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Posted In: Automobile Accident , Verdicts and Settlements , Wrongful Death

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The family of a 69-year-old woman run over and killed in a dangerous mid-block crosswalk by a Chicago firefighter driving too fast for the raining conditions received a $700,000 settlement by a City Council committee. The woman was crossing South Chicago Avenue when she was hit by a two-day-old Ford Expedition carrying the Fire Department’s 6th District deputy chief and his driver. The accident occurred two years ago on the 9200 block of South Chicago. The woman was dressed in dark clothing when she stepped off the center median and into the path of the SUV, which was not on an emergency call and did not have its emergency lights or sirens activated. The crosswalk has blinking lights, but they were not working at the time of the accident. City traffic engineers examined the crosswalk after the accident for possible safety improvements. Chicago Fire Department officials had insisted that the SUV was driving at or below the posted speed limit and the senior stepped right into the path of the oncoming vehicle. To read the full story, click here.

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Posted In: Verdicts and Settlements , Wrongful Death

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Two teenagers who filed a personal injury lawsuit after a car accident have recently settled their lawsuit against the manufacturer of the vehicle they were driving. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed, but were quoted to be satisfactory to both parties. In the personal injury lawsuit alleged products liability design default.

For the full article.

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Posted In: Automobile Accident , Verdicts and Settlements

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Steven Levin of Levin & Perconti and Stephen Gorman, Attorney at Law, have announced a recent settlement in a lawsuit in the Circuit Court of Cook County. Levin and Gorman filed a personal injury lawsuit on behalf of Anastasia Gadomski who was severely and permanently injured when Cater Minnis struck her with his car. The defendants settled for $1.85 million. Anastasia, or “Sissy” as her friends and family know her, was a vibrant and active woman who enjoyed spending time with her family and was always involved in her community. However, the accident has robbed her permanently of her former personality. Sissy was struck by Cater Minnis’s vehicle as he backed out of a parking garage while on business. Minnis is a State Farm Insurance agent based on Chicago’s south side. To read more, click here.

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Posted In: Automobile Accident , Levin & Perconti In the News , Verdicts and Settlements

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A Cook County jury awarded $2.5 Million to the family of a nonagenarian who was struck by a van while crossing the street. The verdict included $1 Million for pain and suffering because the woman was alive when she was dragged 25 feet by the van. At trial, there was a dispute as to whether the woman or the driver proceeded on a red light. However, the jury did not hear evidence of a ticket given to the driver for “failing to exercise due care to avoid striking a pedestrian.” In reaching this verdict, the jury was asked to consider the quality and dignity of the life the woman led and the strong relationship she had with her family. The verdict speaks to the necessity of the availability of punitive damages, suggesting that many of today’s proposed tort reforms will only harm the families of individuals such as this woman that suffer unnecessarily.

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Posted In: Automobile Accident , Verdicts and Settlements , Wrongful Death

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Numerous studies have shown that talking on a cell phone while driving a motor vehicle increases the risk of automobile accidents. In a recent wrongful death lawsuit, a jury awarded $21.6 million to a man who's wife was killed in a car accident by a driver talking on her cell phone. The defendant claimed that although the female driver was negligent, the accident was not caused because she was talking on her cell phone. The jury disagreed.

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Posted In: Automobile Accident , Verdicts and Settlements , Wrongful Death

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In February 2007, an elderly couple from Brookfield, Illinois was struck by a drunk driver while crossing the street. The woman was killed at the time of the pedestrian accident and her husband died days later from injuries sustained in the crash. Through her Illinois personal injury attorney, the couple's daughter sued the driver in a civil wrongful death lawsuit which recently settled for $500,000. The criminal trial is still going on in Cook County. An off-duty Chicago police officer saw the accident and apprehended the driver, who intended to leave the scene. He was charged with reckless homicide and aggravated driving under the influence. The couple's daughter said that the settlement provided some degree of closure noting that with less to worry about she could have time to grieve the loss of her parents.

Click here for the full article

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Posted In: Automobile Accident , Verdicts and Settlements , Wrongful Death

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The Illinois wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family of a 15-year-old in Southern Illinois has resulted in a $10 million ruling in Saline County Circuit Court. The teen was killed in an automobile accident after the car he was in was struck by a farm truck. The defendants admitted negligence; the truck failed to stop at an intersection, striking the victim's car and ejecting him and another passenger from the vehicle. The injuries sustained by the teen resulted in his death. Such a high award is uncommon in Southern Illinois, but in this case the court found that the survivors of the teen had incurred a significant loss of society and that the wrongful death warranted the compensation of $10 million.

Click here for the full article

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Posted In: Automobile Accident , Injuries to Minors and Children , Verdicts and Settlements , Wrongful Death

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A $1,400,000 settlement was recently reached that alleged wrongful death, personal injury and property damage on behalf of a 75-year-old woman who was killed in a car accident when the principal of a local high school returning from a school trip swerved into oncoming traffic. The woman's husband, also 75-years-old, suffered major injuries. Plaintiffs in the case also include the couple's 11 children. The Plaintiffs also received a $100,000 settlement from the life insurance policy of the principal, who also died in the accident.

Click here for the full article

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Posted In: Automobile Accident , Injuries to Minors and Children , Verdicts and Settlements , Wrongful Death

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The Illinois 1st District Appellate Court vacated a direct verdict for GM and remanded the matter for trial, finding that the plaintiff did present enough evidence of a design defect to warrant product liability. In 1999, the plaintiff sustained a severe burn injury after the rear seat of his van exploded into flames after trying to start the van for 10 minutes. At trial in the Cook County Circuit Court, the plaintiff alleged that the design defect rendered the van a fire hazard, but the jury found in favor of GM. The appeals court, however, ruled that GM should have tested the van in order to detect the defect and prevent automobile accidents, and the fact that the victim repeatedly tried to start the van was an act an ordinary consumer would perform without “expect[ing] the interior of the van to ignite.” The plaintiff’s expert presented sufficient evidence to support that specific industry standards of care were not met for the particular defects he identified.

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Posted In: Design Defect in Vehicle , Verdicts and Settlements

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