Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

Cell phones have made it easier for people to stay connected and to access data while on the go. However, cell phones can cause car accidents, whether the driver is using them to talk or to text. And while many states, including Illinois, have passed bans on the use of cell phones while driving, doing so has not been able to halt the use of cell phones while driving.

Consequently, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is looking for other strategies to halt the use of cell phones while driving. Last week it suggested that insurance companies could help limit this widespread problem if they simply refused to pay out for accident claims caused by drivers texting or talking on their cell phones.

And while the NTSB's idea makes sense and even seems like it could work, insurance companies are not jumping on board. To explain their reluctance to adopt the NTSB's suggestions, insurance companies explained that one of the main reasons to have insurance is that insurance companies will cover the cost of injuries even if the auto accident is caused by careless or even reckless behavior. And as an insurance specialist and spokesperson for the Consumer Federation of America said, “An accident is an accident.”

Continue reading "Texting, Driving, and Causing Accidents is Still Insured" »

A judge's job is to enforce the letter of the law. However, every so often a judge is presented with a case that whose law is not laid out in prior statute or case law. Take for instance the personal injury case of Gayane Zokhrabov v. Jeung-Hee Park, etc., 2011 IL App. (1st) 102672. The unique case facts meant that there was no clear legal precedent, leaving it up to the Illinois Appellate Court to establish a new precedent.

Zokhrabov arose out of an Illinois train accident in which Hiroyuko Joho was killed after being struck by a train. The plaintiff in the personal injury lawsuit, Gayane Zokhrabov, was standing on the train platform when Joho was hit by the fast-moving train. Zokhrabov was injured after being struck down by one of Joho's body parts; she then sued Joho's estate for her fractured wrist, legs, and shoulder.

The theory of liability in the Illinois personal injury lawsuit was that Joho's negligence caused Zokhrabov's injuries and that his estate should be liable for those injuries. Because the fact pattern in Zokhrabov's was unique and unprecedented, the Cook County judge handling the case relied on a similar Illinois lawsuit to make his ruling - Cunis v. Brennan, 56 Ill.2d 372, 308 N.E.2d 617 (1974).

Continue reading "Illinois Appellate Court Opens Waiting Passenger's Lawsuit Against Estate of Teen Killed by Amtrak Train" »

The Illinois Appellate Court recently affirmed a trial court's exclusion of photographs during a Cook County trial. The issue in Sylvester Scales v. Joseph Benne, No. 1-10-2253 (2011), was whether or not the photographs were barred from evidence because the plaintiff's attorney had not produced them to opposing counsel prior to the start of the trial.

The personal injury lawsuit involved a pedestrian accident in which the parties were disputing whether the defendant's car had struck the plaintiff, or whether the plaintiff had walked into the defendant's car. At the time of the car accident, Joseph Benne's car was in the left-turn lane at the intersection of North and Clybourn Avenues and Sylvester Scales was walking in the same area. At trial, Benne testified that he heard a "thud" on the side of his car; the assumption being that this noise represented the impact with Scales.

Benne also testified that the the turn-lane at the North and Clybourn intersection was long enough to accommodate six cars and that at the time of the car accident his vehicle was fourth or fifth in line. This testimony is significant because vehicles only owe pedestrians a duty if they are within the crosswalk. So if the defense can show that the pedestrian accident occurred four or five car lengths southeast of the crosswalk, then it can show that the defendant driver did not owe a duty to the pedestrian.

In order to refute this testimony, Scales's attorneys intended to use two photographs of the intersection taken from GoogleMaps and MapQuest and a photograph depicting the make and model of Benne's car taken from Autotrader.com. However, Benne's attorney moved to have the photographs excluded on the grounds that Scales's attorney had not produced them until that point. The judge granted the defendant's request and the plaintiff was unable to use the three photographs. The Cook County jury went on to enter a verdict in favor of Benne; Scales's attorney appealed this verdict based on argument that the outcome would have been different if the court had allowed the use of the three photographs at trial.

Continue reading "Photographs for Cross-Examination Are Excluded When Not Produced Prior to Trial - Scales v. Benne" »

The Illinois Appellate Court clarified the duty owed to pedestrians who are outside of set crosswalks in the personal injury lawsuit of Amanda Jimolka v. Chicago Transit Authority, et al., No. 1-10-2894 (2011). The court held that motorists only owe a duty to pedestrians who are within the limits of an identified crosswalk. As a result, the Jimolka matter was dismissed based on evidence that the plaintiff was not within a crosswalk at the time of her injury.

The bus accident at issue occurred in August 2001 near the intersection of Belmont Ave. and Clark St. in Chicago. The plaintiff, Beverly Longo, was walking across the street when she was hit by a CTA bus. Although Longo was outside the crosswalk when she was hit, her guardian alleged that the CTA and its bus driver were still at fault in the pedestrian accident.

Longo's attorneys contended that she was not in the crosswalk because of heavy pedestrian traffic and also blamed a bike rider who was making a delivery for a sandwich shop. Longo claimed because of these impediments, she was unable to walk in the crosswalk and was forced to walk in other areas. Longo also accused the bus driver of speeding and claimed that if he had been driving at a normal speed that the bus accident could have been avoided.

Continue reading "Illinois Appellate Court Affirms That Walking Outside of a Crosswalk is Pedestrian Negligence- Longo v. Chicago Transit Authority" »

An Illinois plaintiff's request for a new trial was recently affirmed by the Illinois Appellate Court. The appellate court held that a new trial was necessary because the defense attorney had made too many statements in closing argument thought to be prejudicial to the jury. The court ruled that the defendant's lawyer's argument crossed the line of fairness and affirmed the grant of a new trial in Michael Lynn v. James L. Miller, No. 1-10-2799.

The original Cook County trial involved the personal injury case filed by the plaintiff Michael Lynn. In 2006, Lynn had been standing at the Chicago intersection of Wentworth Avenue and 33rd Street when he was hit by a car driven by defendant James Miller. In his complaint, Lynn alleged that Miller was driving at unreasonable speeds and had failed to keep a proper lookout, warn Lynn that he was approaching, or keep his car under control.

However, Miller denied that he was negligent or in any way responsible for the Chicago pedestrian accident. Instead, Miller pointed to a bicyclist as the sole proximate cause for the accident. As Miller was approaching the intersection where Lynn was standing, Ional Pusca was riding his bicycle through the intersection. Miller had to swerve to avoid hitting Pusca, which in turn caused Miller to hit Lynn. Given these circumstances Miller contended that it was Pusca and not himself who was responsible for the collision with Lynn.

Continue reading "Chicago Pedestrian Granted New Jury Trial After Defendant Attorney Disregards Motion Barring Evidence Relating to A Third-Party" »

There's an old saying that goes "never kid a kidder." Well, there should also be a saying to "never hit a lawyer," because if you do, chances are you are in for a lengthy and expensive legal battle. No one knows this better than Chicago cab driver Nick Papadopoulos who ran into a Chicago lawyer who was walking in a crosswalk. In the trial that arose out of the Chicago pedestrian accident, a jury entered a $594,245 verdict against Papadopoulos and his cab company employer, an amount that actually exceeded the defendants' insurance policy limits.

In December 2007, Bartholomew Sojka was out jogging with his dog in Chicago's Streeterville neighborhood. As Sojka continued to jog through an intersection at Inner Lake Shore Drive and Ohio Street, he was hit by Papadopoulos's cab. The twenty-eight year-old lawyer sustained a herniated lumbar disc as a result of the pedestrian accident. While Sojka has not yet undergone surgery to correct his back injury, his treating physician testified at trial that he is a surgical candidate for a lumbar laminectomy. However, the plaintiff stated that he is putting off the surgery due to professional obligations.

The resulting case was filed as Bartholomew Sojka v. Nick J. Papadopoulus, Alexander the Great Express, Inc., 09 L 1663. At the recent Cook County trial, both parties claimed that the other was responsible for the intersection accident. The plaintiff attorney accused the Papadopoulos of stopping at the stop sign. In addition, because Sojka was in the crosswalk at the time of the car accident, the plaintiff attorney was also able to make claims that Papadopoulos failed to yield the right of way to a pedestrian in the crosswalk. This would have been a much more difficult case to make if Sojka had been hit while crossing the street in the middle of a block.

Continue reading "Chicago Cab Driver Hits Lawyer - $594,245 Verdict Exceeds Cab Company's Policy Limits in Sojka v. Papadopoulus, et al." »

When we get into a train, plane, or cab, we expect that the person operating the vehicle will keep us safe, that it is their duty to us as passengers. Yet at what point do we actually become passengers? Is it when we begin to board the vehicle, or when we are inside and seated in the vehicle? The Chicago personal injury lawsuit of Daphne Franks v. Chicago Carriage Cab Corp., Chicago Elite Cab Corp., et al., 09 L 596, hinges on the question of when a person truly becomes a passenger.

The Cook County injury lawsuit involves 40 year-old Daphne Franks, who was talking to a cab driver in the early hours of the morning. At the time the cab was stopped about eight to ten feet from the curb and was partially blocking the flow of traffic. The plaintiff was leaning both her head and shoulders inside the front passenger window as she carried on a conversation with the cab driver.

Meanwhile, Stephen Nuter was driving down the street towards the stopped cab, which was blocking traffic. Nuter ended up rear-ending the cab while Franks was leaning inside the window. The impact from the car accident caused Franks to hit her head on the cab's window frame as she fell to the ground. Franks not only lost consciousness, but sustained several cuts to her face and a fractured bone. In order to repair the damage caused by the Chicago car accident, the bartender/waitress underwent two plastic surgeries.

Continue reading "Chicago Pedestrian Suffers Head Injury After Rear-End Car Crash - Receives $110,000 Verdict in Franks v. Chicago Carriage Cab Corp." »

When we are young our parents tell us to look both ways before crossing the street, and in driver's ed we all learn to use caution when approaching intersections and to look both ways. However, as we become more and more used to approaching intersections we forget these simple lessons. The case of Felis Aspera v. Raul Munoz, RSJM Restaurant, Taqueria Atotonilco #1, Ltd., 07 L 9236, serves as a reminder of how dangerous intersections can be.

In 2007, 61 year-old Felis Aspera was crossing the intersection at Kedzie Avenue and 26th Street. Ms. Aspera was already in the crosswalk as Raul Munoz's truck was approaching the same intersection. However, Munoz failed to see Ms. Aspera as he made a left-hand turn directly into her path, running right into Ms. Aspera. As a result of her pedestrian-car accident, Ms. Aspera suffered multiple fractures to her left arm and leg and sustained a mild brain injury.

Due to the severity of her injuries, Ms. Aspera required open-reduction surgery on her left femur and required hardware inserted into her left radius and ulna. In addition, Ms. Apsera now walks with a noticeable limp despite the assistance of her newly acquired cane and has limited use of her left hand and is unable to grasp objects.

Continue reading "Cook County Pedestrian Crosswalk Accident Results in $300,000 Jury Verdict - Aspera v. RSJM Restaurant" »

While Illinois is amending its motor vehicle laws to offer more protection to bicyclists, an advocacy group is petitioning for additional safety measures. The Active Transportation Alliance (ATA), an organization whose mission is to make Chicago streets safer for bicyclists, motorists, and pedestrians, is campaigning to increase the public's awareness regarding the dangers of bicyclist and car door collisions.

A bicycle-car door collision occurs when a driver opens his or her car door without first checking whether any bicyclists are coming; the bicyclist typically does not have enough warning to avoid the car door and ends up crashing into it. According to the ATA, car door accidents are the most common manner in which Chicago cyclists are injured; however, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) does not maintain records on the number of bicycle-car door accidents in Illinois.

Illinois averaged over 3,500 crashes between bicyclists and motor vehicles each year from 2005 to 2009. According to IDOT, 18 to 27 of those crashes result in cyclist's deaths and over 3,300 injuries every year. However, IDOT does not currently track the number of bicycle accidents in which a motor vehicle’s door is thrown open in the path of a moving bicycle. Without official records documenting the degree of the problem it is difficult for advocacy groups like ATA to raise motorist awareness and effect change in driver habits. In addition, a spokesperson for ATA stated that excluding dooring accidents from Illinois crash reports could decrease Illinois's vehicle-bike accident report statistics by 15 percent.

Continue reading "Illinois BIcycle Accidents - The Dangers of "Dooring"" »

While crossing a Chicago west side intersection with her sister, an 18-year-old woman was struck by a bus. The woman’s estate filed suit against the bus driver and the private bus company for the wrongful death of the decedent.

In any wrongful death case certain criteria must be met. Negligence must be established on behalf of the defendant and the death must be determined to be the result of the defendant’s actions. Furthermore, if the decedent left behind dependents and the dependents suffered monetary damages as a result of the death, then a wrongful death case may be filed.

In Illinois, and in many other states, a pedestrian in the crosswalk always has the right of way. This means that drivers must always stop for pedestrians in crosswalks, even if the light is red and the pedestrian is walking against the light. Therefore, it is important that the driver of any vehicle exercise due care while crossing an intersection and be cautious and mindful of any pedestrians attempting to cross the street.

Continue reading "Fatal Chicago Bus Accident Reaches Settlement in Wrongful Death Case" »

Intersections are prime spots for Illinois car accidents. As drivers and pedestrians you should be extra cautious at intersections and crosswalks. A recent Chicago car accident illustrates just how dangerous intersections can be.

On the evening of January 10, 2010, an Illinois driver ran a red light on Chicago's Southside and struck another vehicle. While the driver was cited for his negligence by the Chicago police, the Chicago car crash left two individuals from the second car in critical condition.

Unlike other areas of the roadway, where drivers are driving in similar directions, at intersections there are many different directions of traffic that converge. For example, in the above Illinois car crash, the driver running the red light struck the other car who was attempting to make a left-hand turn. Presumably when the driver was looking to turn left he was looking to make sure that oncoming traffic was clear and not for any drivers that were potentially disobeying the traffic signals.

While it is always a good idea to be a defensive driver and aware of your surroundings, this is even more important at an intersection. When auto accident victims are interviewed they often say that the other driver came out of nowhere. This could be attributed to the fact that there are so many factors to be aware of in an intersection yet our eyes cannot be looking everywhere at once. Therefore, when a driver comes from an unlikely source, e.g. from running a red light, it might seem that they appeared out of thin air. So please practice extra caution when driving or walking in intersections and make sure to always obey all signals and rules of the road in order to avoid potentially deadly Illinois auto accidents.

Continue reading "Dangers of Illinois Intersection Car Accidents Highlighted By Recent Chicago Auto Accident: Two South Suburban Cook County Motorists Left in Critical Condition" »

Common sense tells us that anytime a car accident involves a pedestrian that the results are not going to be good. Pedestrians are no match for the steel and speed of a moving vehicle. However, with immediate medical attention a fatal outcome may be averted. Unfortunately, a west-side Chicago woman was not offered this chance; she was a victim of a hit and run.

Late this evening an 82 year-old woman in Chicago's Austin neighborhood was walking across the street when she was struck by a car. The motorist not only failed to report the Illinois automobile accident, but also fled the scene. Police were able to apprehend the driver thanks to eyewitness reports.

The automobile driver has been charged with failure to report an accident involving death and for leaving the scene of an accident involving an injury or death. The individual was also cited for operating his motor vehicle without insurance and failure to give the right of way to a pedestrian.

Continue reading "Chicago Hit and Run Accident Results in Woman's Death" »

In 2003, a 12 year-old boy was attempting to hitch a ride on a moving freight train when his foot was severed and eventually amputated. The now 18 year-old man was awarded $6.6 million by a Chicago circuit court judge as a result of his personal injury.

The plaintiff had been with a group of friends at the railroad track near a Chicago Ridge park and had attempted to board the moving Burlington Northern Santa Fe freight train several times. On his third try the boy managed to grab hold of the bottom rung of a ladder on the side of the box car. However, he then fell backwards with his left foot landing on the rail, which was then run over by the train. Doctors were unable to repair his foot and the boy required a below the knee amputation and now uses a prosthetic leg.

The main issue of the case revolved around plaintiff's argument that the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad knew that children typically trespassed in this area and yet had failed to fence off the railways. According to the plaintiff there should have also been a pedestrian crossing over the railroad tracks.

Continue reading "Freight Train Incident Results in Leg Amputation: Cook County Jury Awards $6.6 Million" »

Results from a new study show that deaths associated with forklift accidents are rising. Data was collected over a 15-year period by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) under their Traumatic Occupational Fatality surveillance system.

The study showed that forklifts, or powered industrial vehicles, were involved in a significant number of deaths in the workplace. According to the study several different factors contributed to the cause of the Illinois construction site accidents, including the nature of the injury and the decedent's age, gender, race, occupation, and industry.

Many of the fatalities resulting from forklift overturns might have been prevented if the operators had been restrained with lap or shoulder belts. Careful consideration should be given to separating pedestrian and forklift traffic and restriction of use of forklifts near time clocks, exits and other areas where a large number of pedestrians pass through in a short time.

Continue reading "Forklift Accidents Fatalities On the Rise According to National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health" »

New Year's Eve is a time to celebrate the coming of 2009. Restaurants and bars in Chicago and nationwide are lively as many celebrate the holiday and the arrival of the new year with drinks and merriment. It is easy to imagine that New Year’s Eve is a risky time for drivers and pedestrians in Illinois and the rest of the states.

Holidays in general are the most hazardous times for drivers due to sharp increases in traveling and drunken driving. And when it comes to New Year’s Eve, research offers sobering statistics.

From 1986 to 2002, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has researched accident data in the United States, New Year's Day ranks fourth in terms of most accident-related fatalities on a given day. Coming in at first and second are the 4th and 3rd of July, followed by December 23rd. Based on these statistics New Year's Eve and Day are not the riskiest days of the year to be out celebrating.

Yet a closer examination of the statistics reveals something peculiar. While it might not be the deadliest day for those in vehicles, it is the deadliest day of the year for pedestrians. According to the IIHS study, New Year's edged out Halloween as the having the highest incidences of pedestrian deaths. On New Year's a large majority of these deaths can be attributed to the increase in drinking and celebrating. Half of the deaths involved alcohol impairment and 58% of the pedestrians who were killed had a high blood-alcohol concentration.

So this year when you are out celebrating the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009, please remember to be safe and responsible. Happy New Year from the staff at Kreisman Law Offices.

Continue reading "Is New Year's Eve The Most Dangerous Time of the Year to Be On the Road? What About for Pedestrians?" »