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A $775,000 lawsuit settlement has recently been attained by the Elman Law Group. The underlying pedestrian accident injury occurred in Chicago.

The case involved an 80-year-old woman, Georgina Melendez, who was struck by a vehicle on March 11, 2017.  The accident occurred at 8:00 p.m. at the corner of Ashland and Leland.

According to the police report, the defendant and two witnesses both indicated that at the time of the accident the intersection was dark, and the plaintiff was wearing dark, non-contrasting clothing.

Claimed harm to Georgina Melendez included a dislocated left knee with a post-operative blood clot.  Specifically, the knee injury was an acute complete ACL rupture, with associated slight anterior translation of the proximal tibia relative to the distal femur.

After the operation, the orthopedic surgeon indicated that Georgina Melendez made a nearly full and complete recovery.

Medical bills related to the initial knee surgery were approximately $220,000.

The defendant was insured by State Farm Insurance.

In addition to this $775,000 lawsuit settlement Elman Law Group has achieved notable settlements and jury verdicts across a range of personal injury cases.  Over the last 25+ years, Elman Law Group has handled over 10,000 Illinois personal injury lawsuits.

During this time, Elman Law Group has established a reputation for its court trial performance.  As seen in many cases, the Elman Law Group’s ability to win court cases has often resulted in significantly higher monetary awards for its clients. Some of the more notable awards and accomplishments are highlighted in the “DuPage County Car Accident Lawyer” page.

Anthony Elman, the Lead Trial Attorney for the Elman Law Group, has been designated as a “Super Lawyer” by Thomson Reuters. This designation, which is based upon various factors including lawyer performance and peer review, is granted to no more than 5% of attorneys.

As seen in the $775,000 lawsuit settlement summarized above, medical costs to treat pedestrian accident injuries can be substantial. Unfortunately, when a person is hit by a vehicle a broad range of serious injuries can result. As seen in the DuPage County pedestrian accidents summarized on this site, many such accidents lead to life-threatening injuries, and some result in fatalities.

There was a fatal “head-on collision” Sunday afternoon in unincorporated Bensenville.   The crash involved two cars and a pickup truck.

According to the Bensenville Fire Department, fire department personnel began traveling to the accident scene at approximately 2:00 p.m.  The accident scene was at Grand Avenue and Crown Road.

The initial accident was a “head-on collision” involving a Ford Crown Victoria and Nissan sedan.  Following the crash, a pickup truck ran into one of the vehicles.

One person in the Nissan was killed in the collision.  Seven more people were hurt in the crash, and at least three of these people were critically injured.  The seven people were taken to area hospitals for treatment of their accident injuries.

Crash scene photos show extensive damage to at least the Crown Victoria.

Details on the reasons for this collision do not appear to be publicly available at this time.

Additional details and possible updates concerning this DuPage County fatal accident can be seen in a variety of media sources, including the July 31, 2016 Chicago Sun-Times article (with crash scene photo) titled “Police:  1 dead, 7 injured in unincorporated Bensenville collision” as well as the July 31 CBS Chicago article (with crash scene photo) titled “Person Killed In Crash Near Bensenville.”

Traffic accidents during and around major holidays continues to be a major concern, due to many factors, including increased traffic and the likelihood of increased driving while intoxicated.

The Chicago Tribune, in a June 30, 2016 article titled “July 4 weekend traffic deaths seen jumping to highest since 2008” features a Bloomberg article that discusses why this July 4 weekend is expected to have a higher number of fatal traffic accidents than in recent years.

A couple of notable excerpts from the article include:

There will be 466 deaths from Friday evening through Monday, according to a projection from the National Safety Council. That’s an average of about 143 per 24 hours, compared with 107 in 2014 and an estimated 126 last year.

Car accidents have been climbing recently, reversing a years-long trend that had been credited to improved technology in cars and increased awareness of the risks of drunk driving. Another reason for the decline was that the economic slump that started in 2008 discouraged many people from traveling.

also:

On average, July 4 was the deadliest day on the road from 2010 through 2014, followed by Jan. 1, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. In Florida, Independence Day fatalities increased last year to 15 from 3, according to Sgt. Kim Montes, a spokeswoman for the state’s highway patrol.

Additional details can be seen in the Chicago Tribune article mentioned above, as well as the sources mentioned within the article.

Many people use the terms “car accident” and “car crash” interchangeably.

However, some people believe that there is a difference between the two terms, and that “car crash” is, in many instances, a far more accurate – and more appropriate – description than is “car accident.”

The Huffington Post article of May 20, 2016, titled “We’ve Been Brainwashed Into Saying ‘Car Accident’” further discusses the issue.

An excerpt:

“An ‘accident’ seems equivalent to spilling milk, or an act of God,” says Caroline Samponaro of Transportation Alternatives. “That’s not what a car crash is. There’s always a human choice behind any crash.”

The article also mentions that the three leading causes of car accidents are:

• Distracted driving
• Speeding
• Drunk driving

The article states “All three are clearly deliberate actions.”

The article also discusses a campaign and other advocacy efforts by two New York City nonprofits, “Transportation Alternatives” and “Families for Safe Streets,” for the greater use of the term “crash” as opposed to accident.

Additional details concerning this issue can be seen in the Huffington Post article mentioned above as well as the two nonprofits mentioned.

There was a fatal motorcycle accident Thursday afternoon (April 21, 2016) in Itasca.  The accident happened in a construction zone on the Elgin-O’Hare Expressway, according to Itasca Police.

An excerpt from the Daily Herald article of April 21, 2016, titled “Motorcyclist dies in Itasca crash“:

The crash happened just after 4 p.m. at Thorndale and Park Boulevard in the construction zone of the Elgin-O’Hare Expressway, Itasca Lt. Rob Pokorny said. A second motorcyclist traveling with the driver wasn’t injured, he said.

The crash involved the motorcyclist, who was traveling with another motorcyclist, crashing into a landscaping truck and trailer.

The motorcyclist who was hurt was taken to a local hospital for treatment of his accident injuries, where he was pronounced dead.

Additional details regarding this fatal motorcycle accident can be seen in a variety of media sources, including the Daily Herald article mentioned above.

Overnight and early this morning (January 12, 2016) there were reports of many car and vehicle accidents in the Chicago area, including in DuPage County.

Many factors made for slick and “icy” roadway conditions.  The area generally got about 3″ inches of snowfall .  This snowfall, combined with temperatures in the single digits, contributed to the slick conditions which led to many early-morning car accidents.  Many of these accidents included “spinouts” and “slideoffs” (i.e. where the vehicle slides off the roadway.

In addition to the various single and multiple-vehicle crashes, there were a number of “stalled” vehicles, with the cold weather likely contributing to the number of disabled vehicles.

Media sources that discuss various Chicago area crashes includes the CBS Chicago article (with video) of this morning titled “Slick Pavement, Drifting Snow Make For Brutal Start To The Day.”

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is sometimes experienced in various types of accident injuries, including vehicle accidents, nursing home accident injuries, and other types of injuries, including those in sports.

On this site, the issue of traumatic brain injury is further discussed on the “Traumatic Brain Injury” (TBI) page.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on March 2, 2015 that March is Brain Injury Awareness Month.

As stated by the CDC:

A TBI is caused by a bump, blow or jolt to the head and can affect how a person feels, thinks, acts, and learns. A TBI not only impacts the life of an individual and their family, but it also has a large societal and economic toll.

The CDC offers safety tips to help prevent TBI, including reminders to wear seat belts while traveling in vehicles; using appropriate car seats; and for sports, wearing appropriate helmets.

Also, TBI among the elderly is an important topic.  This topic is further discussed on the Chicago Nursing Home Abuse Attorney site on a page titled “Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) In The Elderly.”

The CDC has established two pages dedicated to awareness, prevention, and identification of TBI.  Those pages are:

• CDC Injury Center: Traumatic Brain Injury
• CDC Injury Center: HEADS UP

The “Heads Up” page focuses on online training resources for concussions, especially with regard to sports, and also has a variety of other resources, such as “Brain Injury Basics.”

Additional details regarding TBI are seen in the documents mentioned above.

Speeding – especially that which occurs substantially over the speed limit – has been the cause – or significant contributor to – of many serious Illinois accidents.  Some of this high speed driving is due to street racing.

As such, any high speed driving is notable.

A recent item in the October 28, 2014 Naperville Sun, in an article titled “Teen clocked at 106 mph in 45 mph zone in Naperville” is notable:

Nathan E. Miller, 18, Plainfield; charged with speeding in excess of 35 mph over the limit at 10:48 p.m., after he was seen driving 106 mph near Bailey Road and Plainfield-Naperville Road, in a 45 mph zone.

Additional traffic incidents and violations – some involving crashes – can be seen in the Naperville Sun article mentioned above.