Pedestrian Accident Claims in Illinois: Your Rights
Key Takeaways Drivers must stop and yield at crosswalks, not merely slow down. A driver’s duty of due care applies “notwithstanding” every other rule of the road. Passing a vehicle stopped at a crosswalk is prohibited, which is the classic way pedestrians are struck. Your own fault reduces rather than bars, unless it exceeds 50%. […]
What to Do After a Motorcycle Crash in Illinois
Key Takeaways Do not remove your helmet or gear until you are checked. Both are also evidence. Call the police for injury, death, or damage over $1,500. Keep the motorcycle. Do not let it be repaired or scrapped before it is documented. Get examined the same day, because riders absorb impacts that do not show […]
Hit-and-Run Motorcycle Accidents in Illinois
Key Takeaways You can still recover even if the driver is never found. Illinois policies must cover hit-and-run vehicles. That coverage is for bodily injury, which is exactly what an injured rider has. Your limits are probably your liability limits, unless you rejected the excess in writing. The claim goes to arbitration, before the American […]
Why Illinois Motorcycle Accident Claims Are Different
Key Takeaways Rider injuries are more severe, so the same negligence produces a much larger claim. Riders start behind on fault, because assumptions about motorcyclists are widely held. The at-fault driver’s policy is often too small, which makes your own coverage central. The motorcycle is evidence, and it is usually disposed of early. Deadlines can […]
Comparative Negligence and Illinois Motorcycle Riders
Key Takeaways The rule is the same for riders. Barred only above 50%; reduced below it. The arguments are not the same. Riders face assumptions no car driver faces. “I never saw the motorcycle” is not a defense. It is a description of the breach. Helmets sit in an unsettled space. The seat belt statute […]
Illinois Motorcycle Laws Every Rider Should Know
Key Takeaways No statewide helmet requirement. The Vehicle Code requires eye protection and says nothing about helmets. Eye protection is mandatory for the rider and every passenger — and a windshield can satisfy it. One hand on a grip at all times the motorcycle is moving. A passenger must be able to reach the footrest. […]
Is $25,000 Enough After an Illinois Motorcycle Crash?
Key Takeaways Usually not. $25,000 is the statutory floor and rarely covers a serious motorcycle injury. Your own UM coverage probably equals your liability limits, unless you rejected it in writing. Coverage does not add together. UIM pays its limit less what you already recovered. Minimum UIM against a minimum driver pays nothing, because their […]
What to Do After a Car Accident in Illinois
Key Takeaways Stop and stay. Leaving the scene of an injury crash is a criminal matter, not a civil one. Call the police immediately for injury, death, or damage over $1,500. You no longer file your own 10-day report. That requirement was repealed in 2021. Get checked even if you feel fine. A gap in […]
Grand Avenue Car Accidents in Elmwood Park, IL
Key Takeaways Arterial roads change the legal question, because a claim may be about the road as well as the drivers. If a public body is responsible, your deadline may be one year, not two. Identify the responsible authority early. Different bodies maintain different stretches and signals. Report to police immediately where there is injury, […]
Parked Car Accident Claims in Illinois
Key Takeaways Yes, you can sue. Hitting a parked car is ordinary negligence, and the parked car is rarely at fault. Leaving a note is a legal duty, not a courtesy. Failing to comply with 625 ILCS 5/11-404 is a Class A misdemeanor. Five years for the vehicle, two for injury. Different deadlines for the […]