Recently in Car Accidents Category

Even though cruising Chicago's urban grid in the back of a taxi cab comes with its share of risks, as does automobile travel in general, that's just part of living in the big city. But the Chicago Sun-Times reports on the inadequate insurance coverage of taxi companies in the event of an injury from a taxi crash.

Simply stated, an unintended consequence of Chicago's actions to break up the cab monopolies in 1998 is what many critics say is a too-low insurance compensation limit.

While the $350,000 ceiling on insurance payouts for passengers injured in a taxi crash might seem high enough at first glance, it's chump change for some of the most serious accidents.

Last week's fatal train crash with Amtrak that resulted in the death of dance instructor Katie Lunn could have been prevented if safety mechanisms had not been deactivated, according to the Chicago Tribune. A Federal Railroad Administration spokesman confirmed that "the active warning system did not function" when Katie Lunn's SUV was broadsided at a railroad crossing and resulted in the fatal train crash. 

A more recent article in the Chicago Tribune reported that a Canadian National (CN) Railway technician who had been working at the site had tried to save the woman when he saw she was in danger, but didn't get to her in time. An investigator requesting anonymity was quoted in the article:

"[The technician] was traumatized as much as someone can be traumatized that he didn't get there in time, and that [Katie Lunn] was so innocent.''

While data supports the conclusion that motorists over the age of 80 have higher accident rates and are more likely than younger drivers (15-24 year-old drivers excluded) to die in a crash, according to a Chicago Tribune article, devising a policy around age requirements for drivers is no simple task.  

Case in point: An 86-year-old woman trying to park at a Cicero restaurant last weekend mistakenly pressed on the gas instead of the brake, injuring three teenagers. Traffic citations were pending as of press time, but it's possible Chicago injury lawyers might also get involved.

On March 24, another 86-year-old motorist crossed the center line and fatally hit 17-year-old Faith Dremmer, who was riding her bike with friends. In both cases it's quite likely the drivers are to blame for the injuries and the one death, but it raises another question.

Should these motorists have been allowed to drive in the first place? In other words, did the system fail them?

Bicycle commuters push pedals instead of pistons for any number of reasons, including exercise, environmental concerns, high fuel costs or simply for a little extra adventure during the morning (and evening) rush. Perhaps another reason to ride your bike to work in Chicago is CTA's 75-cent fee hike for the El. 

As the popularity of biking-for-transportion increases, however, so does the accident rate. Biking to work can be an invigorating way to start the day, but it's important to remember the vulnerability of bikers in a car-dominated society. 

Let's say you you've taken your shiny new Land Rover SUV in for a car wash. One of the first things you do is hand over the key to the smiling employee (or leave it in the ignition) before heading into the waiting room to watch soap operas or read back issues of "Car Wax Monthly."

Just as you get up for a cold cup of stale coffee, you hear a series of loud crashes, shrieking and general commotion. You soon realize that the car wash employee had lost control of your car, crashing into buildings and other cars and injuring a few people along the way.

Hopefully you have enough compassion that your first thought is not "Who's going to fix my beautiful Land Rover?!" Remember that people were seriously injured, as often happens with car accidents. But eventually you're going to wonder how this mess will be resolved and how it may affect your insurance premiums.

A $1 million settlement was reached (Sun-Times) in conjunction with a 2006 car accident that left Buffalo Grove resident Marissa Palmer with a head injury; road rash; a fractured spine, ribs and neck and a lacerated liver. But her once close relationship with the driver, Dana Horowitz, may remain unsettled.

This case illustrates how drivers can still be liable for injuries sustained in an accident partly caused by inclement weather if they fail to reduce speed or make other necessary adjustments.

What's worse than being separated from your car while it gets repaired? How about getting a loaner from the shop that is so poorly maintained as to be dangerous?

That's what Dana Thorsen says happened to her (Scribd) when she lost control of her alleged lemon of a loaner and ran into residential mailboxes and trees before coming to a stop in the ditch. She suffered serious injuries of an unspecified nature that left her disabled and traumatized, according to the complaint:

"[Thorsen] became sick, lame, and disabled, and so remained and will remain for a long period of time, during which time she suffered and will suffer severe pain and anguish in body and mind..."

Nearly one-quarter of all US car accidents occur when drivers run red lights, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Since placing cops at every intersection is unrealistic, many municipalities have installed cameras that are triggered whenever a car crosses the intersection when the light is red (How Stuff Works).

The violator is sent a ticket ($100 in the Chicago area), identified via license plate number, without the need for additional officers. Problem solved, right?

Not so fast.

Don't answer this question out loud, but have you ever gotten into a car driven by a friend who had been drinking, smoking a joint, or both? If you answered yes, how old were you? Probably a teenager with a limited understanding of your mortality, right?

Chalk it up to youthful indiscretion and count your blessings that you're still alive to look back fondly on those "crazy" days.

West Chicago teenager Cameron Godee wasn't so lucky (Kane County Chronicle) when his 18-year-old friend Onofrio Lorusso drove his SUV into a tree, killing Godee. Two other passengers were hospitalized, one of them (Chelsea Mertz) sustaining a brain injury and a fractured jaw. 

Nearly one year ago, police officer Dean Angelo was engaged in a high-speed chase where he allegedly was "speeding and weaving in and out of traffic and ran a red light." Just like in the Dukes of Hazzard, the cop rammed into the car of an innocent bystander.

Now the man whose car the police cruiser collided with, David Martinez, is suing both the city of Chicago and Angelo for negligence (Chicago Now).