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Seven Practical Things to Do After a Car Accident

You aren’t going to get a settlement on the side of the Stevenson Expressway and you aren’t likely to get the other driver to admit fault on the side of the Eisenhower Expressway, but there are still important things that you can do to protect your rights after a car accident.

Seven Things to Do If You are Physically Able

Your car crash recovery may start at the accident scene and continue for many months after the moment of impact. Accordingly, it may be important for you to:

Call 911. Police and first responders should be dispatched to the scene of your accident.
Accept emergency medical help and follow-up medical care. You want to manage your pain and begin recovering from your injuries.
Take pictures of the accident scene. This may be important evidence in any legal action.
Get the names and contact information of witnesses. They may be useful to your recovery.
Notify your employer. You may be out of work, depending on your injuries.
Watch what you say and whom you say it to. Now is not the time to update your Facebook status or to become best friends with the other driver.
Call a lawyer. Let your attorney worry about what to do next to protect your financial recovery while you concentrate on your physical recovery.

Of course, every accident is unique and you shouldn’t panic if you are unable to do everything on this list. You may still be able to make a fair recovery.

Want to Be Prepared?

Things can quickly become confusing at the scene of an accident. It is hard for anyone to remember what to do in a stressful situation. For that reason, we encourage you to download our FREE car accident app to your smartphone. Keep it with you and open it if you are involved in an accident. It will walk you through the steps that you need to take and remind you of what you can do to stay safe.

Is Now the Right Time to Make the Call to the State of Illinois?

Is now the right time to make the call to the Illinois Department of Children & Family Services (DCFS)? Do you have enough evidence that a child was sexually abused by a camp counselor in Arlington Heights, a youth group advisor in Northbrook, or another trusted adult anywhere in the Chicago area?

You Don’t Need to Be 100 Percent Sure

Regardless of whether you are a mandatory reporter, you may want to report alleged child sex abuse to the authorities. The DCFS estimates that about 70 percent of all abuse cases (not just sexual abuse cases) are not reported and that an abused child tells an average of seven adults before a report is made.

It doesn’t have to be this way. The DCFS encourages you to trust your instincts and to report alleged abuse—even if you are not absolutely certain it occurred. The DCFS has trained social workers screen calls and investigate alleged cases of sexual abuse to determine if a child is, in fact, being hurt. However, in order to do this important job, they need to know about the suspected abuse.

Act Without Delay

This is true regardless of the victim; however, if it is your own child who has been hurt, you need to take action right away. Do not let your child continue in the activity or in the care of the person who think maybe, could have, or possibly committed sexual abuse. Instead, remove your child from the situation and find out if your child was hurt. This may require the help of a pediatrician, a counselor, and an experienced attorney.

Please follow us on Facebook and subscribe to our monthly newsletter to stay up to date on important information facing Illinois child sex abuse victims and their families. We hope to make this difficult time a little bit easier for you.

It is hard to find any good that comes from a horrific truck crash. Someone is suffering—whether the accident involves a celebrity on the New Jersey Turnpike or your loved one on the Chicago Skyway. Someone is in pain or has been killed because a truck driver was too tried to drive safely.

There May be a Way to Prevent Drowsy Driving Truck Accidents

The technology exists to equip each tractor-trailer with an onboard electronic logging device. This device, which would be similar to the black box found on an airplane, would record the hours driven. Those who support this use of technology argue that it would make trucking companies keep accurate logs and encourage compliance with federal hours-of-service regulations.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) supports onboard electronic logging devices for large trucks. However, there are no regulations in place that require the use of these instruments.

Perhaps, serious truck crashes that gain national attention such as the one that hurt Tracy Morgan on the New Jersey Turnpike last month can help raise awareness and rally those interested in improving truck safety throughout the country.

Have you been hurt, or have you lost a loved one, on I-90, I-94, or another Chicago-area road? What have you done to help prevent future crashes? Please leave a comment in the space below and let others know how they can get involved in the fight to keep our roads safe and please contact your Illinois Representatives and Senators to let them know of your concerns.

Illinois law requires many people to report suspected sexual abuse of children to the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the following people are mandatory reporters in the state of Illinois:

Physicians, residents, interns, hospital administrators and personnel, surgeons, dentists, dental hygienists, osteopaths, chiropractors, podiatric physicians, physician assistants, or substance abuse treatment personnel
Funeral home directors or employees, coroners, or medical examiners
Emergency medical technicians, acupuncturists, or crisis line or hotline personnel
School personnel, including administrators and employees, educational advocates, or truant officers
Personnel of institutions of higher education
Members of a school board or the Chicago Board of Education
Members of the governing body of a private school
Social workers, social services administrators, or domestic violence program personnel
Nurses, genetic counselors, respiratory care practitioners, advanced practice nurses, or home health aides
Directors or staff assistants of nursery schools or child care centers, recreational or athletic programs, or facility personnel
Early intervention providers, as defined in the Early Intervention Services System Act
Law enforcement officers or probation officers
Licensed professional counselors, psychologists, psychiatrists, or their assistants
Field personnel of the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, Juvenile Justice, Public Health, Human Services, Corrections, Human Rights, or Children and Family Services
Supervisors and administrators of general assistance under the Illinois Public Aid Code
Animal control officers or Department of Agriculture Bureau of Animal Health and Welfare field investigators
Foster parents, homemakers, or child care workers
Members of the clergy
Commercial film and photographic print processors or computer technicians

Additionally, Illinois law encourages anyone who has reasonable cause to believe that abuse has occurred to report the abuse.

Yet, according to the DCFS, many cases of child sexual abuse go unreported, even with these reporting laws.

Don’t Let This Happen to Your Child or a Child You Know

If you have reason to suspect that child sex abuse has occurred, report it and let the professionals investigate what happened. Let the child get the help she needs to recover, and let justice be served.

If you have a child, or know a child, who goes to church in Des Plaines, plays sports in Arlington Heights, is involved in scouting in Berwyn, goes to school in Chicago, or is otherwise out of his parent’s care, please share this post on Facebook. Help raise awareness about the Illinois reporting law so that more people speak up on behalf of all of our children.

Category: Child Sex Abuse

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Fourth of July Safety Tips: How to Avoid Common Injuries

It’s a day of celebration. It may be one of the days that you look forward to all year. You are ready to get outside and enjoy the Fourth of July on Lake Michigan with your friends, at a backyard barbeque with your family in Skokie, or at a block party near your Oak Brook home.

You should get out and celebrate this important American holiday that marks our nation’s independence. However, it is important that you do so in a way that won’t limit your personal independence by leaving you seriously injured.

Four Tips for Staying Safe on Independence Day

As you get ready to celebrate, please:

Supervise your children. Not only can swimming and fireworks be dangerous, but so too can the heat. Make sure that everyone stays well hydrated, stays away from spoiled food, and is supervised in the water and around fireworks.
Stay sober. Do not drive a car, boat, or other vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Grill safely. Hot grills can be dangerous. Make sure that precautions are taken to keep the person grilling and all those around him safe. It is also important to have a plan in place in case there is an explosion or a fire.
Be mindful of your pet and other dogs in the area. Fireworks, heat, and parties can be stressful for animals. Be aware that a dog may bite when it is anxious and avoid getting too close to a potentially dangerous animal.

These actions may prevent some serious Fourth of July accidents in the Chicago area, but it is important to remember that serious accidents are sometimes unavoidable.

What to Do If a Fourth of July Accident Leaves You Hurt

If you have been injured in an Independence Day accident on the road, at someone else’s house, at an amusement park or other public place, or because of a defective product, it is important to take the actions necessary to maintain your independence. More specifically, it is important to see a doctor and to consult with a lawyer as soon as possible.

Please share this blog post on Facebook so that your loved ones can take the necessary steps to prevent a tragic Fourth of July accident this year and in years to come.

Category: Catastrophic Injury

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Who Is at Fault if a Truck Overturns on a Chicago Highway?

On June 9, 2014, a tanker truck overturned on the New Jersey Turnpike leaving one person dead and several other people injured. The cause of the wreck was under investigation in the days immediately following the crash. While the cause was unknown, a few things are clear:

Investigators will work hard to determine the true cause of the overturned truck accident.
One person’s life was cut short and that person’s family was left grieving.
Other people were hurt in the crash.

Overturned Truck Wrecks Happen for Different Reasons

We won’t speculate on the cause of the June 9 tanker truck crash on the New Jersey Turnpike. However, when a client comes to us after being hurt or losing a loved one in an overturned truck wreck on I-88, I-90, I-94, or another road, we work hard to find out what caused the crash. We may investigate, for example, whether:

A mechanical problem caused the accident.
The driver made a mistake such as speeding or braking too quickly.
The truck was improperly loaded.
Other factors led to the accident.

You can be confident that we will find out the cause of the crash.

You Can Be Confident That We Will Fight for Justice

We work hard to get truck accident victims the recoveries they deserve whether it was the trucker, trucking company, mechanic, or manufacturer who caused the crash. For more information about the investigation of your own accident, please fill out our online contact form or contact us directly to schedule a free initial consultation.

Category: Truck Accidents

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