There are many reasons why car crashes occur. But most accidents have one thing in common -a driver who was negligent or careless while operating their vehicle.
Unfortunately, car accidents are responsible for large numbers of serious injuries in Chicago and across Illinois. Injuries can include head trauma, paralysis, broken bones, scrapes and lacerations, and sometimes death. Such injuries can involve lifelong consequences that can greatly impact the finances and well-being of you and your family.
The attorneys at Mark L. Karno & Associates have represented many individuals injured in car accidents and understand the short-term and long-term consequences. We will hold wrongdoers accountable for the injuries they cause or where appropriate, bring an uninsured motorist claim on your behalf.
Note that there are sometimes very short time limits to notify your own insurance company of an uninsured or underinsured motorist claim. That is why it is important to retain a lawyer as soon as practicable after a car accident. When representing you, we will fight for the compensation you and your family need and deserve.
How Do Car Accidents Occur?
Common causes of car accidents include:
(1) Distracted Driving
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data, around 430,000 injury accidents occur each year due to distracted driving. Approximately 3,000 such accidents result in fatalities. With the use of smartphones and computer tablets, the problem is only likely going to get worse until drivers understand that distracted driving is a major problem.
What’s tragic about distracted-driving accidents is that they are totally avoidable. Someone could look down at a cellphone for only a moment and strike a pedestrian in a crosswalk. That single moment of inattention while texting could result in someone losing their life or ending up in a wheelchair for the rest of their life.
(2) Drunk Driving
Despite strict penalties that accompany a drunk driving conviction, a large percentage of fatal car accidents involve impaired drivers. The injuries caused by drunk driving cost injury victims tens of billions of dollars each year. Impaired drivers are often operating vehicles with a revoked or suspended license. And often such drivers are not carrying insurance coverage that would compensate the injured victim’s medical costs.
Like distracted driving, drunk driving accidents are entirely avoidable. What’s particularly disturbing about such accidents is that the impaired driver does not learn from their mistakes. Many impaired drivers are repeat offenders who keep getting behind the wheel again and again. Repeat offenders are the ones often responsible for fatal crashes.
(3) Not Paying Sufficient Attention To Weather Conditions
Motor vehicle accidents occur even when the roads are dry. Add snow, fog, or low visibility, and the chances of an accident only increase unless a driver takes precautions. Sometimes the weather is so bad that a driver should not be on the road at all.
Drivers need to slow down when the roads are slick, or there is decreased visibility. The driver should also put an increased distance between themselves and other vehicles under such conditions. Unfortunately, they instead do not slow down and find themselves unable to stop in time before a crash occurs. And the rear-end collisions such drivers cause can result in victims suffering severe head, neck, and back injuries.
(4) Reckless Driving
For whatever reasons, some drivers appear to disregard the safety of others. They treat their cars like they are toys. Such aggressive driving behavior results in fatalities and permanent injuries.
(5) Speeding
The likelihood of fatal crashes increases with the speed vehicles travel. And besides causing more damage if an auto accident occurs, excess speed increases the chances of a crash because vehicles do not stop nearly as quickly, it’s more difficult to maneuver turns or curves, and drivers have less opportunity to observe hazards or obstacles on the road.
(6) Stoplight Or Traffic Light Violations
Some of the worst accidents occur at intersections where T-bone crashes or head-on collisions can occur. Usually, the driver at fault in such accidents ignored a stoplight or traffic sign or didn’t look both ways before entering an intersection.
What often happens in such crashes is that the victim was a pedestrian, bicyclist, or motorcycle rider. Such victims do not have the luxury of having the frame of a car around them for protection. It is not difficult to imagine how severe such accidents can be.
(7) Failure To Pay Attention To Blind Spots While Changing Lanes
Drivers on Chicago’s expressways are often already traveling at significant speeds when accidents occur. When someone suddenly pulls over in front of another vehicle, that other vehicle may not have time to apply the brakes. Freeway accidents result in many fatalities.
(8) Other Causes
Sometimes such accidents happen because of brake or mechanical failure. Many times, owners of cars or trucks fail to keep their vehicle properly maintained. In some instances, a manufacturing defect resulted in a mechanical failure leading to an accident.
Car accidents occur because of driver fatigue or inexperience. Teenage drivers, for example, may not understand what precautions to take to prevent an accident from occurring. And whether it is because of inexperience or driver recklessness, accidents occur when drivers are following other vehicles too closely or because the driver makes an improper turn.
What To Do If You Are An Injury Victim Of A Car Crash
Following a car accident, it is not always apparent what to do concerning your legal options. An insurance company will often attempt to settle your accident claim before you have a chance to assess your injuries and damages fully.
However, a skilled car accident lawyer can take care of such matters while you focus on becoming well. If the other driver ran away from the scene or did not have insurance or did not have sufficient insurance, it is important to reach out to a skilled lawyer right away to preserve your right to bring an uninsured motorist claim or an underinsured motorist claim.
The Chicago car accident attorneys at Mark L. Karno & Associates have decades of personal injury experience handling the most complex and serious of car accident cases. We will thoroughly investigate your accident for you. Because of our understanding of the law and decades of legal experience, we know where to turn to locate injury compensation.
To set up a free consultation with one of our knowledgeable lawyers, please contact our law firm by calling (312) 701-0090.