Deaths That Occur Long After A Vehicle Accident

As seen in various vehicle accidents that have occurred in Will County and throughout Illinois, fatalities that result from injuries suffered in these crashes can occur either immediately (i.e. dead at the accident scene) or after some time period. These time periods range from hours after the accident to years after the accident.

A recent death resulting from accident injuries suffered in an August 28, 2016 Joliet crash is discussed in the October 17, 2017 Joliet Patch article titled “Bolingbrook WeatherTech Worker Died From 2016 Crash Injuries In Joliet.” As discussed in the article, the driver (Miguel Cruz) of a car involved in a loss of control crash on Jefferson Street recently died, and according to the Will County Coroner’s Office his death was from accident injuries suffered during that crash. According to the article, his injuries included head trauma (bleeding on his brain) and significant spinal cord injuries, which led to paralysis.

Additional details can be seen in the sources mentioned above.

For those accidents in which prolonged periods of hospitalization and/or other medical treatment (such as rehabilitation) is required, medical costs can be very substantial. Compensation for medical expenses is one of the primary reasons as to why people who have been injured during vehicle accidents choose to file a personal injury lawsuit if another person was at fault for the accident. There are many types of accident compensation, including the following:

Medical costs, including those incurred in the past, current and future)
Pain and suffering
Disability
Disfigurement
Loss of function
Lost wages
Loss of consortium
Other economic damages

For those accidents which result in a fatality, the filing of a wrongful death lawsuit may be appropriate.

A personal injury trial lawyer at the Elman Law Group can further explain the steps needed to file a lawsuit, as well as answer any questions you may have regarding the legal process. Tony Elman, Lead Trial Attorney of the Elman Law Group, can be called at any time for a free consultation. His phone number is (773) 392-8182.

Monetary Considerations As A Reason For Filing An Injury Lawsuit

When someone is hurt in an accident, it can cause a range of consequences. In addition to the actual injury and its ramifications for one’s health, there can be significant – if not substantial – medical costs, even if the person hurt has comprehensive health insurance. In addition, there can be other issues regarding money, such as wages lost because the person who was hurt is unable to work (either temporarily or permanently) due to the injury and the recovery period.

Because of these monetary issues, one of the primary reasons for filing a lawsuit is to get compensation for the accident injury. This compensation is typically needed to pay for medical bills, other expenses, lost wages, and other financial hardships and financial strains caused by the injuries.

A lawsuit has been filed against the village of Steger with regard to an alleged vehicle accident and injuries involving a Steger police officer.

The lawsuit was filed by Nicole Long in Cook County Circuit Court. It is discussed in the Chicago Sun-Times article of October 18, 2017, titled “Woman injured in crash with Steger police officer files suit.” An excerpt:

Long was driving a vehicle May 1, 2016 when a Steger police officer drove through a red light at Chicago and Steger roads and collided with her, according to the suit.
Long suffered multiple injuries from the crash, which have continued to worsen, according to the suit. Since 2007, Long had worked as a server at Iron Skillet. She did not have health insurance at the time of the crash and had to return to work despite considerable pain in order to make a living.

As further seen in the article, the lawsuit claims negligence and seeks a jury trial.

The allegations in the lawsuit with regard to the injury recovery is also notable. While many accident injuries heal after a period, there are others, including various types of traumatic brain injuries, that can either take a significant amount of time to recover from or become permanent in nature (i.e. permanent injuries). These permanent injuries often involve various permanent physical and/or mental impairments.

Will County Expressway Accidents Involving Injuries

There was a traffic accident early this morning on Interstate 55 (I-55) near Bolingbrook.

Details on the accident appear limited at this time. An excerpt from the October 18, 2017 Bolingbrook Patch article titled “Crash On I-55 Blocks Left Lane, Slows Traffic“:

An early morning crash on Interstate 55 near Bolingbrook has caused backups for miles in the northbound lanes. Reports from multiple Chicagoland traffic reporters on Twitter indicate the crash occurred in the left lane of the northbound lanes of I-55 between Route 53 and I-355.

It is unknown if there were any injuries in the accident, which occurred shortly after 6:00 a.m. As discussed in the article, the accident caused extensive traffic delays.

Will County has a variety of major expressways, and serious accidents occur on a regular basis. If you are hurt during a traffic accident, there are a number of steps that you should take to protect both your health as well as your legal rights. The Elman Law Group has provided a document titled “Steps To Take After An Auto Accident” in which 10 steps are described. It is very important that these steps be taken as soon as possible, as many are time-critical from both a medical and legal perspective. Elman Law Group offers a free legal consultation. Tony Elman, Lead Trial Attorney of the Elman Law Group, can be reached at (773) 392-8182 at any time.

As to what the best steps are to prevent accident injuries, there are many recommendations with regard to safe driving. Among the best injury prevention measure is for all vehicle occupants to wear seat belts (or in the case of a young child or infant, a properly-adjusted car seat.) The safety benefits of seat belt usage are more fully discussed on the “Seat Belts As An Injury Preventative Measure” page.

Among the benefits provided by seat belt usage is that the possibility of the driver or other vehicle occupant is ejected (i.e. partially or fully thrown from the vehicle) during the accident is substantially reduced. These vehicle ejections can occur during various types of accidents. Among the accidents in which ejections are most common are vehicle rollover accidents and head-on collisions.

Car Rollover Accident Involving Tire Blowout

On the “Tire Blowouts As An Accident Cause” page, various aspects of issue of tire blowouts are discussed. Tire blowouts have proven to be a very problematical issue as they often lead to vehicle instability, which in many cases can lead to a loss of vehicle control and/or an accident. As discussed on that page, there are various reasons as to why tire blowouts occur. There are various actions that can be taken to greatly reduce the possibility of a tire blowout from occurring.

There have been many fatal accidents in Illinois as well as nationally in which a tire blowout has led to a crash. One such recent accident, on September 25, occurred on I-65 in Northwest Indiana, is discussed in the post titled “Tire Blowouts As An Accident Cause.”

An August 4, 2017 Will County motorcycle crash on I-57 near Peotone, which also involved a rear tire blowout, led to an accident in which the motorcyclist was seriously injured.

Another recent accident apparently involved a tire blowout. This fatal accident happened in Illinois on Interstate 39 south of Oglesby on October 7, 2017. This accident involved a tire blowout which led to a rollover accident.

In this accident one person was fatally injured and three others were injured.

An excerpt regarding the crash, from the newstrib.com article of October 9, 2017, titled “Rutland woman dies in Interstate 39 rollover near Tonica“:

“Initial reports were that there was a blown-out tire,” state police Sgt. Richard Mullen said of the 2006 Pontiac Torrent, a type of crossover vehicle. “It started in the northbound left lane of traffic,” he said, adding that the definite reason for the crash had not been ascertained. “It entered the median, rolled and came to rest in the southbound lanes.”

Additional details regarding tire blowouts and the danger they present to traffic safety, as well as the recent crashes involving tire blowouts, can be seen in the sources mentioned above.