Winter weather is in full force in the Rockford area, and icy roads and deep snow can make driving a treacherous task. “Pile-ups” or car accidents involving multiple vehicles are not uncommon during this time of year. These accidents cannot only lead to painful and often deadly injuries, they also present complex legal and financial issues. If you or a loved one were involved in a multi-car accident, you may have concerns about liability and damages. Will you be expected to pay for other motorists’ damages? Will you be compensated for your own damages? Read on to learn more about the unique issues involved in multiple-vehicle accidents.

Establishing Fault for a Multiple-Car Collision

Accidents involving three or more vehicles can cause severe and deadly injuries as well as costly property damage. Before a car accident victim can recover financial compensation for their damages, the liable party must be established. The greater number of factors that contributed to an accident, the harder it is to establish fault. A multiple car accident may involve situations such as:

• A vehicle rear-ends another vehicle and causes it to collide with a third vehicle.  
• Two vehicles collide and one of the vehicles is pushed into oncoming traffic where a secondary collision occurs.
• Drivers swerve to avoid stopped vehicles on the road, fallen truck cargo, or other obstacles and cause an accident.
• Establishing fault in accidents such as these is much harder than establishing fault in accidents involving only two motorists. Fault for a multi-car pile up may lie with one or more drivers, a commercial company such as a trucking company, or even a government entity such as a city or state.

Shared Liability in Pile-up Accidents

In many multiple-vehicle accidents, there is more than one liable party. Illinois follows a legal doctrine called “modified comparative negligence” in car accident injury cases involving shared liability. If a party is found to be more than 50 percent at fault for an accident, that party is prohibited from recovering compensation for damages. If the party is less than 50 percent responsible for the accident, the amount of compensation he or she may be entitled to is reduced by his or her portion of fault.

Being involved in a serious truck accident can leave an individual injured, in pain, and with a massive financial burden. If you were injured in a truck accident or your loved one was killed in a fatal truck crash, you may be able to hold the at-fault party accountable for the damages incurred by your truck accident through a personal injury claim. However, to do so, you will need to prove that the actions taken by the truck driver, trucking company, or other negligent party caused your injuries. There are many different types of evidence that a personal injury attorney may use to prove the elements needed to secure compensation for you.

Event Data Recorders

Many modern vehicles, including most commercial trucks, are equipped with technology that records vehicle information. An event data recorder (EDR) or accident data recorder is similar to the “black box” of an airplane. The majority of commercial trucks have such a device. EDRs record information about how and where a vehicle was driven. Information about speed, acceleration, braking, steering, and more may be gathered from an EDR. This data can be extremely useful in a truck accident claim. However, many EDRs only store vehicle information for a certain period of time. Gathering this data before it is deleted or recorded over is crucial.

Dash Cameras and Red-Light Cameras

More and more drivers are installing dash cameras on their vehicles. If you or the other drivers involved in the truck accident have a dash camera, this footage may be a valuable source of information about the circumstances of the accident. Even if the vehicles directly involved in the accident are not equipped with dash cameras, it is possible that eyewitnesses to the accident may have captured part of the accident on their dash cameras. Red-light cameras are another potential source of information about the accident. However, obtaining camera footage and other types of evidence is often difficult – especially if the evidence vindicates your claim. Your attorney may use a “subpoena duces tecum” or other strategies in order to compel parties to surrender evidence in your truck accident claim.

Most people would agree that traffic can be a major source of frustration and anger. However, part of being a good driver is not letting negative emotions lead to unsafe driving. “Road rage” can lead to severe or even deadly car accidents. If you or a loved one were injured in a car accident caused by road rage, you may be entitled to financial compensation for your damages.

Some Sources Say Road Rage is on the Rise

“Road rage” or intense anger behind the wheel can be caused by countless situations. Being tailgated, driving behind someone traveling well below the speed limit, running late, and many other factors can increase a person’s frustration and cause them to experience road rage. Some instances of road rage turn into physical altercations. Other times, an angry driver may intentionally drive in a dangerous manner or even try to run another driver off the road. One study from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that aggressive driving increased by a factor of 500 percent within a single decade. Other studies have showed that a significant percentage of drivers admit to dangerous behaviors such as intentionally tailgating other vehicles.

Seeking Damages Though a Personal Injury Claim

If another driver’s unsafe driving has led to an accident in which you or a loved one were harmed, you may be curious about your legal options. One option is to pursue financial compensation through a personal injury claim. Bringing a claim against the at-fault driver may enable you to recover compensation for your damages or costs. 

 Truck accidents often lead to catastrophic consequences. If you were injured or your loved one was killed in a truck accident, you may be desperate for answers. You may have questions about how the truck accident occurred, who is legally responsible for the accident, and how you will pay for the massive costs incurred by the accident. Truck accident liability is often complex. The liable party may be the truck driver himself or herself, the trucking company, or a number of other parties. In some cases, a truck accident stems from inadequate truck maintenance and the party responsible for compensating the truck accident victims is the party who failed to properly maintain the truck.

Accidents Caused by Failure to Properly Maintain a Commercial Truck

We often assume that truck accidents are caused by driver error, however, there are many cases in which a truck driver is not the liable party in a truck accident claim. If the truck malfunctioned, improper truck maintenance could be to blame your accident. Truck companies have a legal duty to ensure that their trucks are regularly inspected and maintained. Inadequate truck maintenance can lead to dangerous defects, including:

• Tire blowouts
• Bald tires
• Brake failure
• Steering system failure
• Broken tail lights or headlights
• Trailer detachment
• Defective securement devices

Proving a Truck Accident Was Caused by Poor Maintenance

Through a truck accident injury claim, you may be entitled to compensation for the costs caused by you truck accident. You may be compensated for your past medical bills as well as the future medical costs you will encounter because of your injuries. You may also be compensated for your property damage, lost income from missed work, future lost income, and reduced earning capacity. Damages in a truck accident injury claim may also include intangible losses such as your mental anguish and pain and suffering. A wrongful death claim may enable you to hold a negligent trucking company accountable for your loved one’s death and recover compensation for your loved one’s lost income, medical expenses, funeral and burial costs, and more.

Have you ever taken the time to look around at the other drivers while stuck in traffic? If so, you probably noticed that many of them were looking down at their smartphone. Whether it is electronic devices like cell phones, GPS units, and radios, or human distractions like children arguing in the backseat, distractions while driving are everywhere. Distracted driving has become a tremendous cause for concern in Illinois and throughout the United States. It is difficult to know for certain how many car accidents are caused by distracted drivers, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that more than 1,000 people are hurt in distracted driving accidents every day in the U.S. If you or a loved one were involved in a car accident and you suspect distracted driving was a contributing factor, a personal injury attorney may help you recover compensation for your injuries..  

Establishing the Driver’s Negligence and Recovering Compensation

Car accidents involving distracted driving can often become “he said-she said” situations. Proving that the other driver’s irresponsible behavior caused your damages and recovering adequate compensation for those damages can be quite challenging. This is why many individuals hurt in distracted driving accidents get legal support from an experienced car accident injury attorney.

There are four main elements in a successful personal injury claim: