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Getting Your Life Back After a Car Accident Amputation Injury

Even in your most horrific nightmares, the car accident that you were actually involved in on the Stevenson Expressway, Edens Expressway, or another Illinois road was not something you could have imagined. The days and weeks following the crash were, understandably, full of pain and grief. The loss of an arm, hand or finger, or a leg, foot, or toe is physically and emotionally catastrophic. However, as you grieve, it is also important that you work toward rebuilding your life.

Three Things You Can Do to Reclaim Control of Your Life

Right after the accident, your life was full of surgeries and doctor’s appointments. Your medical needs are ongoing, but you want your life to be about more than going back and forth to the doctor’s office. It is possible for you to regain control of the quality of your life again by:

Being aggressive with your medical care. Get the care, rehabilitation therapies, and medical devices that you need.
Defining your goals. Decide what you want to do with the rest of your life and come up with a plan to make that happen.
Accepting help when necessary and being independent when possible. Remember that you don’t have to do all of this alone, but that you may be more independent than you think.

It is possible for your future to be filled with happiness and joy.

It Will Take Some Effort, But it Will Be Done

If someone else’s negligence caused you to lose your limb, you deserve the help of an experienced lawyer while you fight for your fair and just recovery. Don’t settle for less than your case is worth. Instead, understand your rights and possible recovery before you talk to an insurer about your case. Please watch our free videos and read the links in the related links box on this page to learn more today.

Category: Amputation Injuries

Video Monitors Could Help Reduce Truck Accident Fatalities

As a commuter from Naperville, a Chicago resident who regularly navigates the Loop, or a visitor arriving at O’Hare and traveling to the city on the Kennedy Expressway, you may be all too aware of the dangers posed by large trucks on the crowded streets of Chicago.

What if there was a way to save more than 800 lives a year, prevent 39,000 injuries, and eliminate about 35 percent of truck crashes caused by truckers?

What if There Was a Way to Keep Us All Safer?

New research from the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that installing video monitors on large trucks and buses could help significantly reduce the number of accidents caused by truckers. The idea is that the video monitor would capture the behavior of the trucker. If the trucker’s behavior was seen as risky by the safety managers who analyzed it, the trucker would receive training or coaching, as needed, to help change the behavior. It is estimated that the video monitors would cost $50-$75 per month per vehicle.

Not Everyone Agrees With This Idea

A representative of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association does not believe that video monitors would make much of a difference. He allegedly argues that the monitors do not capture all of the relevant information and that safety training should occur before a driver goes out on the road.

Have you, or someone you loved, been hurt in a Chicago-area truck crash? Do you support the idea of video monitors? We’d love to hear your thoughts. Please leave a comment on this blog and let us know what you think.

More GM Recalls Issued in May 2014: Why Now?

General Motors has been in the news a lot during the first part of 2014. From January 1, 2014 to May 20, 2014, GM issued 29 safety-related recalls. According to the Washington Post, that brings the current number of GM-recalled vehicles to approximately 13.6 million so far this year—a number that breaks previous recall records.

What’s the Problem This Time?

The May 2014 recall involved approximately 2.4 million vehicles. According to GM, there have been at least 18 crashes and one injury because of problems with seat belts in crossover models and issues with gearshift, air bags, and retention clips in other vehicles. The effected vehicles include:

More than one million Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse and GMC Acadia full-size crossovers from model years 2009 to 2014, and some 2009–2010 Saturn Outlooks.
More than one million four-speed automatic transmission Chevrolet Malibu and Pontiac G6 from model years 2005 to 2008.
More than one thousand Cadillac Escalades and Escalade ESVs from model year 2015.
About 58 Chevrolet Silverado HD and GMC Sierra HD full-size pickups from model year 2015.

If you have questions about the safety of your vehicle, please talk to your local GM dealer as soon as possible.

And Know What to Do If You’re Hurt

If you are hurt in a traffic crash on Stevenson Expressway, Lake Shore Drive, or anywhere else in the Chicago area because of a defect in your GM vehicle, then please contact us directly to discuss your options. We also encourage you to follow us on Facebook to stay up to date on important recall news.

Why Serious Truck Accidents Happen on Local Chicago Streets and in the Suburbs

The impact of the truck crash may be the same whether it happens in the Kennedy Express Lanes or on Davis Street in Evanston. A trucker’s negligence or a defective truck could leave you seriously injured, whether the accident takes place on a major highway or a local city road. For example, a distracted trucker, a drowsy trucker, or a truck’s mechanical problem could cause an accident on any kind of road.

Some Common Causes of Accidents May Differ Depending on Where You Are

Some of the following reasons for truck crashes may be more likely to occur on local, residential roads. Two important things to keep in mind are that tractor trailers, garbage trucks, box trucks, or other kinds of trucks may have:

Difficulty stopping quickly on city streets. There is a greater chance that a trucker is going to have to stop quickly and unexpectedly on a city street than on a highway. For example, a red light, an unexpected pedestrian in the road, or the proverbial child who follows his ball into the road can cause the trucker to slam on the brakes. Yet trucks often take longer to stop than passenger vehicles because of their size.
Difficulty seeing passenger vehicles on city streets. Traffic is closer together and moving more slowly on many city streets than on the expressways. It can be hard for a trucker to keep track of all the vehicles in his blind spots and he may change lanes without seeing the vehicle he is about to hit.

This list is not exhaustive and it is important to talk to a lawyer about your legal rights any time you’ve been seriously hurt in a Chicago or Evanston truck wreck. For more information, please request information via this website and learn how our team approach to truck accident cases can help with your recovery.

On Wednesday April 30, 2014, five lawsuits were reportedly filed against the Diocese of Joliet. Each of the lawsuits alleges that a priest in the Diocese of Joliet sexually abused children and that the diocese did not take appropriate actions to protect them.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, all of the abuse alleged in these lawsuits occurred decades ago and was committed by one of four priests. The paper identifies the four priests as Rev. Leonardo Mateo (deceased), Rev. Lee Ryan, Rev. Lowell Fischer (deceased), and Rev. Frederick Lenczycki.

Why the Diocese of Joliet Is Named in These Lawsuits

While the specific priests named above allegedly committed the abuse, the victims are suing the Joliet Diocese because they say that:

The church knew of credible allegations of child sex abuse by priests and failed to notify the police and parishioners.
The church protected priests who were violating the law.
The church failed to protect children from abuse.

The plaintiffs are asking the church to release all documents concerning the abuse of children by priests in the Diocese of Joliet. So far, the diocese has released 16 of 34 known files relating to the sexual abuse of children.

The diocese did not immediately comment on the lawsuits other than to say that it had not yet been formally served and that once diocesan officials had a chance to review the documents, they would respond in an appropriate forum.

Have You, or a Loved One, Been Abused by a Priest?

If you were sexually abused by a priest or anyone else, in any diocese in Illinois, it may not be too late for you to come forward, to seek justice, and to take steps to protect children. Please contact us today for a free and confidential consultation and please share this post with any of your friends or relatives who may have suffered this kind of inexcusable and intolerable abuse.

Significant Eye Injuries Possible in Illinois Car Crash

You couldn’t have anticipated that your car accident would happen as you traveled the Chicago Skyway. You couldn’t have known that an unsecured object in your vehicle would strike your eye, that the airbag would harm your eye, or that you would suffer a brain injury that impacted your vision. Yet, something happened to impair your eyesight and change your life.

What Happened?

A doctor will need to diagnose your specific eye injury. However, if you’ve been injured in a car crash, then you should be aware that you could suffer one of these serious effects:

Orbital Fracture. This occurs when the bone of the eye socket breaks. Any change in vision, swelling, or pain should be immediately reported to a doctor for prompt diagnosis and treatment. Serious changes in vision may occur.
Retinal Detachment. Retinal detachment is an emergency medical situation that occurs when the retina separates from the blood vessels providing it with oxygen. If you see floaters in front of your eye, flashes of light, or a shadow in your field of vision then you should get emergency care to prevent permanent vision loss.
Hyphema. Hyphema means that there is blood in the front of the eye. Without emergency medical care it could result in vision loss.
Traumatic Maculopathy. This is an injury to the macula located at the center of the retina. An injury to this area of the eye can also result in vision loss.
Traumatic Optic Neuropathy. Diagnosis and treatment of this type of accidental eye injury is often difficult. However, this injury can result in vision loss or the loss of color vision.

Other, more minor eye injuries, such as black eyes or corneal abrasions may also occur.

Think About Legal Help After You Visit a Doctor

If you have suffered a significant eye injury in a car accident on I-90, US-41, or any other Illinois road then we encourage you to find out more about your rights and your possible recovery. You can get started right now by using the live chat option on this website or by calling us directly for a free consultation.