Chicago Car Accident Attorneys Blog

The mother of a child who was injured in an Illinois school bus crash last December after the bus driver fell out of the bus has filed a Cook County injuries to a minor lawsuit. Akilah Giddings is seeking at least $50,000 in damages for Jacqual Calbert’s injuries.

According to the complaint, In “attempt to lean over” so he could throw up, the driver opened the bus door and ended up falling out of the vehicle and onto the road. Meantime, the now driverless bus kept on moving and eventually crashed in a ditch.

Giddings is suing Illinois Central School Bus for her son’s personal injuries. A spokesperson for the defendant maintains that safety is “a top priority” for the company.

School Bus Accidents:
Every day, millions of school children are transported to and from schools in school buses. Most school buses lack seat belts, which is why it is even more crucial that a bus driver refrain from doing anything careless or reckless that could result in a school bus accident.

Common causes of Chicago school bus accidents:
• Speeding
• Aggressive driving
• Distracted driving
• Texting or talking on the phone
• Reckless driving
• A bus driver who is inadequately trained or not experienced enough to operate a school bus
• Bus malfunction
• Poor bus maintenance
• Driver fatigue
• Poor road conditions

Unfortunately, thousands of children are injured in school bus accidents every year. Bus passenger injuries can include broken bones, back injuries, neck trauma, head injuries, spinal cord injuries, whiplash, burn injuries, traumatic brain injuries, internal bleeding, disfigurement, soft tissue trauma, and wrongful death. There are also those who are injured from being struck by a school bus.

Bus company sued over crash by vomiting driver, Chicago Tribune, August 4, 2010

School bus crashed after driver leaned out to vomit: lawsuit, Sun Times, August 4, 2010

Related Web Resources:
The National Coalition for School Bus Safety

New Study On School Bus Safety Shows Injuries Well Exceed Previous Reports, Science Daily, November 6, 2006

According to AAA Chicago, approximately 1.5 million people will be driving from Illinois over the holiday weekend. While a long weekend is always a wonderful opportunity for friends and family to get together, the Illinois Department of Transportation is cautioning that this weekend is also one of the deadliest periods on the roads.

According to the IDOT, 30 people died in 17 Illinois traffic crashes during the Memorial weekend last year—that’s about 9 deaths a day. While law enforcement agencies have stepped up their patrols and police enforcement to hopefully keep the Illinois car accident death toll down this year, it is still up to drivers to operate their vehicles carefully, wear there seat belts, and refrain from disobeying the traffic laws, speeding, driving drunk, talking on the cell phone, text messaging, or following too closely.

AAA offers a number of tips for safe travel over the Memorial Day weekend, including:

• Don’t drive aggressively
• Make sure your car is properly serviced before heading off
• Don’t keep stepping on the brakes
• Program your GPS before you get in the car not while you are stuck in traffic

Even though it is a holiday weekend, if you were injured in a Chicago car accident that was caused by another party’s reckless or negligent driving or because a vehicle malfunctioned or a traffic light didn’t work properly, it is important that you report the incident and speak with a Cook County motor vehicle crash lawyer about your case.

More people expected to travel this holiday weekend, SunTimes, May 28, 2010

Related Web Resources:
AAA

CyberDrive, Illinois

Continue reading "Drive Carefully to Prevent Cook County Car Accidents: AAA Chicago Says 1.5 Million Motorists to Drive from Illinois Over Memorial Weekend" »

The family of James Minter is suing the Chicago Transit Authority for his Cook County bus accident death. Minter, 53, was fatally injured on March 18 after he fell beneath a No. 9/Ashland bus that was driving away from Ashland Avenue’s southwest corner as the stop light turned green. He was hit by the commercial bus’s rear tires.

According to the Chicago wrongful death lawsuit, the bus driver failed to check the mirror, did not make sure that Minter was on the curb, and did not stop after the pedestrian fell under the bus. He was pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital.

According to an autopsy report, Minter’s death from multiple injuries during a Chicago pedestrian accident involving a bus was accidental.

Bus Accidents
Hundreds of people are killed in bus crashes each year while thousands of others are injured. Bus passengers, pedestrians, motorcyclists, and the occupants of other vehicles are among those that can get hurt. Buses are usually owned by school districts, government entities, or private companies.

Illinois’ Common Carrier Liability Act holds public transportation vehicles and their operators accountable for providing clients the highest degree of safety, even more so than vehicles owned by transportation companies and private operators. As a Cook County bus accident victim, you may have grounds for a Chicago injury case.

On March 18, the widow of Wesley Krueger sued Megabus and driver Shervyle Pruitt for wrongful death. Krueger, a South Holland resident, died during a Chicago pedestrian accident when he was hit by a Megabus while in a crosswalk.

Linda Krueger claims that the bus driver committed six traffic violations, including failure to yield the right of way. She says his actions caused her husband’s death. Pruitt, 45, received citations for failing to yield the right of way to a pedestrian in a crosswalk and reckless driving. Linda is seeking unspecified damages.

Family files suit in fatal bus accident, Chicago Breaking News, March 18, 2010

Autopsy Rules Death of Man Fatally Pinned Under CTA Bus an Accidental, MyFOXChicago.com, March 19, 2010

Suit filed by family of man killed by CTA bus, Chicago Breaking News, March 30, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Chicago Transit Authority

Illinois’ Common Carrier Liability Act

A man whose car was rear-ended by a Madison County Transit District bus is suing the bus operator and the transit district for Illinois personal injury. The Edwardsville bus crash occurred on January 9, 2009.

Police cited bus operator Terry L. Cook with failure to reduce speed to avoid a motor vehicle crash. He pleaded guilty to the charge and was placed on supervision for 90 days.

Plaintiff Alphonzo Gordon says he sustained serious and permanent injuries during the Illinois bus accident. He is accusing the bus driver of negligence, including failure to yield the right of way, failure to use ordinary care to ensure other motorists’ safety, and failure to warn of the bus’s approach. Gordon also claims that Cook drove his bus at an unreasonable and improper speed, followed more closely than what was prudent, and operated a vehicle that was equipped with inadequate brakes.

Gordon is seeking over $50,000 against the bus crash defendants. Bus passengers Britanny Grant and Zavonda Murray are also suing for Illinois personal injury damages.

Illinois Bus Accidents
As the operators of common carrier vehicles, commercial bus drivers owe a duty of care to their passengers and other motorists and pedestrians to exercise even more caution than other motorists so that Chicago, Illinois motor vehicle crashes do not happen.

Getting hit by a vehicle as large as a commercial bus can prove catastrophic for the victims. It can also cause serious injury to bus passengers who are likely not wearing safety belts to keep them secure during a rear-end crash, a side-impact crash, a rollover crash, or any other kind of bus crash.

Metro-East man files lawsuit after bus collision, KMOV, January 28, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Madison County Transit

Truck and Bus Drivers, FMCSA