Articles Posted in negligence

In Illinois, property owners and managers have a legal duty to keep their premises reasonably safe for visitors. When that duty is ignored, unsafe conditions can cause serious injuries, from broken bones to traumatic brain injury. In Illinois, proving a premises liability claim often turns on whether the owner knew (or should have known) about…

When you’re hurt in an accident, the first legal language you’ll hear is “file a claim” or “file a lawsuit.” Those words are related, but they are not the same thing — and knowing the difference changes how you interact with insurers, preserve evidence, and protect your right to compensation. In this blog, we explain…

Snowmobiling is a popular winter pastime in Illinois, especially in northern and western counties where riders take advantage of groomed trails, frozen lakes and open farmland. But when recreation turns into a crash, the consequences can be severe: major medical bills, rehabilitation, lost wages and property damage. A common question we hear is: Does Illinois…

Winter weather turns ordinary drives into risky trips, and for large commercial trucks, snow and ice create conditions that can quickly escalate into catastrophic crashes. One particularly dangerous outcome on slick roads is the jackknife: when a tractor and its trailer fold toward each other, forming a sharp angle like a folding pocket knife. In…

When the season’s first big snow arrives it feels magical, at least until someone slides through an intersection or a commuter’s commute becomes an emergency room trip. Research shows the very first snowfall of the season is disproportionately dangerous: while snowy days in general sometimes have fewer total fatal crashes (because fewer people drive), first-snow…

Black Friday and the Thanksgiving weekend draw record crowds into stores every year. With hundreds of millions of people shopping in a short period, the extra foot traffic, rushed behavior, wet weather, cluttered aisles and hurried store setups create a predictable spike in the kinds of hazards that cause slip and fall injuries. This blog…

Every year, Thanksgiving brings plates piled high, crowded airports, and, for millions, long drives to see family. That increase in travel, coupled with late-night driving, alcohol use at celebrations, bad weather in some regions, and congested roads, makes Thanksgiving one of the deadliest holidays on U.S. roads. Holiday weekends concentrate risk into a few days:…

Getting into a crash is stressful under the best of circumstances, but when it happens while you’re traveling in a rental car, confusion about who pays, who to call, and what paperwork you need can make a bad day much worse. In this blog, we walk you through what typically happens after a rental car…

Bus crashes can cause catastrophic injuries and deaths. When a crash involves a commercial bus, such as a motorcoach, commuter bus, or other passenger-carrying commercial motor vehicle, federal safety rules called the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) govern how the company and driver must operate. Understanding those regulations, common violations, and how regulators collect…

When a truck driver pulls away from a loading dock, the safety of everyone on the road depends not only on that driver’s skill and truck maintenance, but on the decisions and incentives set by the carrier who employs them. Economic pressure from employers, like tight delivery schedules, pay-by-the-mile schemes, punitive on-time performance metrics, and…