Illinois Personal Injury Blog

It was bound to happen. After their fly-by-night deployment in dozens of cities across the country, dockless electric scooters are coming to Chicago. You’ll see them zipping around music festivals soon, though Lime, the scooter-sharing company, isn’t announcing which ones in advance. While the concept of scooter sharing is certainly novel, there are unanswered questions when it comes to safety.

A recent fatal accident once again underscores the tragedy that occurs when a young person, just starting out in life, is senselessly killed. Fatal car accidents involving teenagers are a significant concern. The latest collision took the life of an 18-year-old college student and seriously injured the passenger riding with her. 

At around 1 p.m. on a recent Sunday, the driver of a sedan crossed over the median of Interstate 57 into oncoming traffic, causing a head-on accident with a jeep. The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville student was driving the jeep. She succumbed to her injuries that day. Her 18-year-old passenger in the jeep was seriously injured and was airlifted to the hospital. The 25-year-old car driver and a passenger escaped serious injury in the crash.

A study done over a three-year period by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has once again confirmed findings relating to the safety of smaller cars. Car accidents in which small cars were involved led to the most driver fatalities. It has been documented that bigger cars offer greater protection to occupants than smaller car models.

While the findings may be worrisome for Illinois drivers of smaller cars, they can take solace in the fact that it was found that cars of all sizes performed better in the crash tests. According to the IIHS, this is a clear indication that there is a constant improvement in vehicle safety features. Unfortunately, there is only so much the improvements in design and safety technology of cars can prevent. While small cars do not seem to have a safety benefit, they do hold an economic benefit.

The legal estate of a former occupant of an Illinois care facility has filed a civil suit against the facility, claiming lack of care resulted in the death of the occupant. The lawsuit claims that the deceased became dehydrated and malnourished. She also developed a urinary tract infection. These symptoms are all indicative of a lack of care and constitutes nursing home abuse.

In the suit, it is alleged that the deceased was pale and weak, her heart rate was abnormal, and she was showing signs of diminished oxygen saturation. However, despite these signs and symptoms, the facility did not send her to an emergency room. Furthermore, in a period of five weeks between May and middle June, the patient lost 42 pounds, but no medical practitioner was consulted. At this point, the victim started complaining of abdominal pain and, within a week, found it impossible to eat. She died a few days later.