» Auto Accidents

Can You Drive Stoned?

A 2022 crash that killed six high schoolers prompted Jennifer Homendy, the Chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, to urge parents to warn their teen drivers about the risks of driving under the effects of marijuana. She alluded to the perception that many believe it is safe to drive whil…
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Is Your Vehicle Too Juiced to be Stopped by a Guardrail?

Infrastructure. Roads, bridges, pipelines…and also the guardrails and medians on those roads. Things we don’t even think about—unless our vehicle is sent careening toward a steep dropoff or headed toward the oncoming lanes. Most people assume these concrete medians, metal guardrails, and other…
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Categories: Auto Accidents

A Picture is Worth A (Hundred) Thousand Words

I have seen the aftermath of many horrific car crashes in my 33-plus years of practice. In one old blog post, I shared the photo of my client J’s lower leg, where the x-ray indicated one could easily place a fist into the gap between where both of his lower leg bones (tibia and fibula) had been sn…
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Categories: Auto Accidents

Can Big Brother Watch Your Driving?

Our world is so technologically interconnected, technology is part of every facet of our existence, from household devices, to smart speakers, to our smartphones. It’s everywhere. The other day, my wife took “my” car (oops, I mistyped “our”) to pick up her parents from the airport. I manag…
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Categories: Auto Accidents

What Happens When You Get Hit and Everybody Scatters Away?

That’s exactly what happened to my client, R. This hardworking guy was returning to his home on the south side of Chicago after working the night shift in a north side parking garage. It’s a long commute, but he’s used to it. But the traffic in the wee hours of the early morning is almost non-…
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Categories: Auto Accidents

Smile, You’re on Camera

One thing that has changed drastically in my thirty three years as a practicing lawyer is the prevalence of video and cameras in our society. Where before a Polaroid “instant” camera seemed like magic, and a video camcorder let us videotape everything (as long as we carried the 10-pound thing ar…
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Can They Really Do That?

I get inquiries all the time from people who were involved in motor vehicle crashes for which they were responsible. The common theme goes something like this: I was involved in a crash a number of (months/years) ago and now I got this letter from a (collection agency/insurance company/the Secretary…
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Categories: Auto Accidents

We Will See You in Court…Or Zoom…Or Settle It!

I blogged previously about my client C, who was rear ended at high speed, which resulted in a fractured cervical vertebra. She spent several months immobilized in a hard neck collar (which is extremely uncomfortable). Although her doctor determined she did not require surgery to repair the fracture,…
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Categories: Auto Accidents

Bike Path Etiquette

The pandemic has made owning a bike shop a lucrative business. Bikes were nearly impossible to get early in the COVID lockdown, as shut-in people with time on their hands decided there was only so much Tiger King they could watch without doing something outside. There is a sense of freedom when ridi…
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The Long Road to Yes (Part 2)

If you read my last blog post, you remember the story of my client A, who suffered injury from having his car rear-ended and then problems from a botched surgery. Unfortunately, as his physical injuries were getting under control, his insurer continued to resist paying his claim. UM, Why Does Your O…
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