Posted on June 28, 2011 in Articles

It may soon become illegal not to wear a safety belt while sitting in the back seat of a vehicle in Illinois. The Illinois Senate sent the legislation to Governor Pat Quinn on May 27th to be signed into law.

Current laws in Illinois only require passengers under 19 years of age to wear seat belts in the back seat. All occupants in the front seat must wear seat belts. If the bill is passed, there would be exclusions including the back seats of limos, taxis and emergency vehicles.

The legislation became important to sponsor State Representative Michael Tryon (R-Crystal Lake) when he heard the story of a local widow, Paula Doren.

Paula's husband Larry Doren was killed in a 2006 crash that occurred while he was driving with his co-workers un-belted in the back seat of his Honda CRV. Paula claims that her husband's death was partially caused by the injuries sustained when the back seat passengers' flew forward and struck him.

Supporters of the measure feel that the law will prevent injuries and fatalities in motor vehicle accidents. "We're going to save lives and serious injuries, which in effect saves taxpayers a lot of money," explained State Representative Mark Beaubien.

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 Posted on June 24, 2011 in Articles

Illinois State Police have been targeting distracted drivers in a campaign called Operation Safe Star. The campaign was declared May 6th, a year after state trooper Starlena Wilson was struck and almost killed by a woman who was reading a text message while driving.

Operation Safe Star is in honor of Starlena Wilson's injuries, and an effort by troopers to reduce the number of motor vehicle accidents on Illinois roadways. Starlena Wilson is also one of the founders of the recent campaign "Drive Now. Text Later." Illinois officials claim that the idea for the campaign came to them after an online survey showed that 40 percent of drivers on the state's tollways were not aware that e-mailing and texting while driving in Illinois are illegal.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nationwide there are over 800,000 drivers on the road using a hand-held cell phone at any time during the day.

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 Posted on June 21, 2011 in Articles

In the final hours of the spring legislative session, the Illinois House passed legislation overhauling Illinois' workers' compensation system.

Reform of Illinois' workers' compensation system had been an issue of debate for quite some time. After passing in the Senate, the workers compensation package initially failed in the House by a 55-39 vote, but after significant political lobbying the measure surprisingly passed 62-43.

The Background of the Controversy

For years, businesses have lamented the stifling effect they believe Illinois' expensive workers' compensation setup is having on local economic growth. Illinois has the second highest costs for treating injured employees in the country, and according to some, this means many businesses are choosing to create jobs elsewhere.

Businesses wanted to see a crackdown on workers' comp fraud and abuse, as well as more stringent requirements for proving an injury actually occurred on the job. Employers also wanted caps put in place regarding how long workers could receive benefits based on their pay, and safeguards in the system to prevent patients from seeking out doctors who would give the most favorable diagnoses for workers' comp claims.

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 Posted on June 16, 2011 in Firm News

A few weeks ago, the Illinois Legislature passed changes in the Workers' Compensation law. The bill has not been signed by the Governor yet. The goal of the changes was to lower costs and deal with fraud. No one is against stopping fraud but the changes will significantly hurt legitimate claims, especially smaller claims and those involving older workers.

The big changes give employers / insurance companies more control over what doctor an injured worker can see; the power to second guess treatment decisions made by the injured worker and his/her doctor; lowers compensation for serious injuries and substantially cuts payments to doctors which will cause many good doctors to stop treating injured workers.

Call the Governor and urge him to veto the bill.

Springfield

Office of the Governor
207 State House
Springfield, IL 62706
Phone: 217-782-0244
TTY: 888-261-3336

Chicago

Office of the Governor
James R. Thompson Center
100 W. Randolph, 16-100
Chicago, IL 60601
Phone: 312-814-2121

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 Posted on May 26, 2011 in Firm News

After two fatal bus accidents this spring involving commercial tour buses, lawmakers and regulators are taking action to improve the safety of buses.

In early March, a World Wide Travels tour bus crashed in New York killing nearly half of its passengers. Although the cause of the accident is still under investigation, some reports indicate the driver fell asleep behind the wheel. Just days after the New York accident, a Super Luxury Tours bus crashed in New Jersey. Both carriers had previously been cited for numerous violations.

Public outcry regarding the incidents prompted Congress to convene hearings on the issue of bus safety. Lawmakers ultimately criticized the Department of Transportation for its lack of progress on bus safety reform.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) held a forum earlier this month as part of the federal agency's response to Congressional concerns about progress in this area. During the two-day event, safety stakeholders discussed various topics, including driver safety, crash mitigation, carrier oversight and crash avoidance technologies. In addition to other proposed reforms, the NTSB recommended technological safety improvements including adaptive cruise control, warning systems and electronic stability controls.

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 Posted on May 17, 2011 in Firm News

Bicyclists know the danger "dooring" - when the door of a parked car suddenly opens and blocks the path of a bicyclist who otherwise would be passing by - but not all drivers are aware of the hazard they may create when getting out of their cars. Therefore, to raise awareness of the issue and reduce the number of these bicycle accidents, Illinois is tracking dooring accidents as crashes on Illinois law enforcement crash forms for the first time.

Dooring can cause crashes that result in severe injury to bicyclists. When announcing the change, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn said, "Anyone who rides a bike can tell you that dooring is a serious issue." Quinn also stated that, "One of the best ways we can increase public safety is by making sure we've got the best and most comprehensive data possible" on dooring accidents.

Previously, the Illinois Department of Transportation excluded dooring accidents from data collection because the motor vehicles involved in the accidents were not moving at the time of the collision, reported the Chicago Tribune. Now, however, dooring accident data will be included in the IDOT's annual traffic accident summaries.

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 Posted on April 26, 2011 in Firm News

As the Midwest slowly breaks from winter's icy grip and embraces the welcome return of spring, motorcyclists who have been eagerly awaiting the melting snow and the return of warmer temperatures begin to prepare for another summer of riding.

To help all riders prepare for the upcoming motorcycle season the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) has teamed up with organizations such as Gold Wing Road Riders Association (GWRRA) and A Brotherhood Aimed Towards Education (ABATE), among others, to present the "Gear Up" campaign. Gear Up will present riders with free rider training and promote the proper use of safety gear.

The Gear Up campaign offers the following safety tips to motorcyclists:

• Never drink alcohol and ride
• Obey the laws of the road
• Do not ride beyond your ability
• Wear proper gear - a helmet, safety goggles/glasses, long pants, a jacket and close-toed shoes
• Make sure the motorcycle is properly tuned
• Review safe riding techniques or participate in a free training program presented by IDOT

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 Posted on April 19, 2011 in Car Accidents

Traffic deaths in 2010 dropped to historic lows. A variety of factors are likely responsible for the decline including improved technology, increased public awareness about safe driving practices and improvements in road engineering.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2010, 32,788 individuals were killed in motor vehicle accidents. This is the smallest number since 1949, and a decrease of three percent from 2009. Although even one life lost on the road is too many, the decline in auto accident fatalities is an encouraging trend.

Ray LaHood, National Transportation Secretary, applauded the news, but indicated there were still improvements to be made, "We will continue to do everything possible to make cars safer, increase seat belt use [and] put a stop to drunk and distracted driving."

Car design and technological improvements have likely played an important role in decreasing traffic deaths. Advancements such as air bags, anti-lock brakes and stability control have served to both prevent accidents and increase the survivorship of those involved in collisions. New technologies that alert drivers if they drift out of their lane or closely approach another vehicle will hopefully continue to aid in car accident reduction.

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 Posted on April 07, 2011 in Firm News

From time to time, new clients will come to us after they are unhappy with an unreasonably low settlement offer that an insurance company has proposed for their injury. We are happy to fight for these clients to get them the better settlement amounts that they deserve. Unfortunately, many injury victims are confused about what an insurance company representative's offer actually is before they come to us. For example, an injury victim might be offered $20,000 for an accident that has caused $50,000 in medical bills. In such a situation, the victim reasonably presumes that when the insurance representative makes an offer of $20,000, that that amount is in addition to the insurance company's agreement to also pay the $50,0000 in medical bills and lost wages. Unfortunately, that presumption is probably NOT accurate. When an insurance company makes a flat offer of a certain amount to settle a claim, this means that from that amount all of the medical bills will still need to be paid, if possible. In the above scenario, the victim would not have been able to even pay all of her medical bills had she accepted the offer without seeking advice from an attorney. She would have taken an unreasonably low offer without realizing that the insurance company would not pay any of the bills.

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 Posted on March 31, 2011 in Articles

More than half of the commercial vehicle drivers who responded to United Safety Alliance, Inc.'s online survey admitted to deliberately violating federal Hours of Service (HOS) regulations. Those regulations aim to keep highways safe by limiting driving time so commercial vehicle drivers get enough rest.

Currently, HOS compliance is monitored through paper logs and supporting documentation such as toll receipts. However, paper logs allow for falsification. For that reason, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is looking to shift to an automated means of monitoring compliance.

On January 31, 2011, the FMCSA published its electronic onboard record (EOBR) rule that will require certain motor carriers to install EOBRs to track drivers' HOS.

While many carriers already use EOBRs, the current law under the Hazardous Materials Transportation Authorization Act (HMTAA) still requires those carriers to maintain Records of Duty Status (RODS) documents to verify a drivers' time behind the wheel. Under the proposed rule, use of an EOBR would reduce the number of required RODS to substantiate driving time.

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