According to the Illinois Secretary of State, Illinois has 8.7 million licensed drivers. Sometimes, some of them drive aggressively or “suffer” road rage. Aggressive driving is driving a vehicle in a way that threatens or poses a risk to persons or property. Aggressive and “raging” drivers are negligent drivers, and they cause a substantial number of accidents and serious injuries in the Chicago area. If a negligent driver injures you, you may be able to file a personal injury claim and receive compensation for your injuries and related expenses. After any accident with injuries in or near Chicago, speak first with experienced Chicago personal injury attorney Joseph M. Dooley. Any of the following behaviors may be considered aggressive driving:
- speeding or tailgating
- running red lights and stop signs
- passing on the shoulder
- cutting off other vehicles
- improper or obscene gestures directed at other drivers
- repeatedly screaming, honking the horn, or flashing the headlights
Avoid aggressive drivers and the dangerous situations they create. Here are some tips:
- Do not make eye contact, retaliate, or engage an aggressive driver in any way.
- Keep your doors locked and windows up.
- Don’t get blocked in – maintain enough space between yourself and other vehicles so that you can drive away.
- Do not underestimate another driver’s potential for aggression; road rage drivers often carry weapons and sometimes attack innocent people.
There’s no specific law against road rage – it’s not illegal to be angry. But if you see an aggressive driver breaking the law, don’t hesitate to call 911. You could save a life. If you’re a normal human, driving – especially in traffic like Chicago’s – can be quite aggravating, but if you express your anger by driving aggressively, you put innocent lives as well as your own life at risk. Instead of raging, pull over, take some deep breaths, get out of the car, stretch, and relax. If you’re injured in an accident with an aggressive driver, get medical attention at once. After receiving treatment, contact Chicago personal injury attorney Joseph M. Dooley immediately.
When Someone Runs the Red Light
When someone runs a red light, anything can happen, but a serious or even fatal accident is likely. If you are injured now or in the future in the Chicago area by a driver who ran a red light, discuss your legal rights and options – which might include a personal injury lawsuit – as quickly as possible with experienced Chicago personal injury attorney Joseph M. Dooley. Here are some facts you may not know about red-light-related traffic accidents, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:
- You are more likely to be injured in a red-light-related accident than in any other type of crash.
- Running red lights is the most common cause of all urban-setting crashes.
- Red-light running causes an accident in the U.S. about every twenty minutes.
- In the last decade, red-light-related crashes have killed nearly 9,000 people.
- About 165,000 motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians are injured yearly in red-light-related crashes.
- On average, seven fatal red-light-related crashes happen every day in the U.S.
- The tragedies and costs of running red lights are preventable.
Even at low speeds, red-light-related crashes can cause catastrophic injuries that may include spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, head and neck injuries, lacerations, and limb injuries requiring amputation. Whiplash, broken bones, and cuts and bruises are also common in these accidents. If you’ve suffered one of these injuries, you’re going to need a good Chicago personal injury attorney working on your behalf. With more than 25 years of personal injury experience, Chicago personal injury attorney Joseph M. Dooley knows how to handle your case. He will provide the legal advice you need, and if you choose to file a personal injury claim after a consultation, attorney Joseph Dooley will fight aggressively for the compensation you need and the justice you deserve.
You have the legal right to compensation if a negligent driver injures you at a red light or anywhere else on Chicago-area streets and highways. That compensation, however, isn’t simply handed to you – you’ll have to prove your case with an attorney’s help.
“Modified Comparative Negligence”
If you are injured in a traffic collision with a negligent aggressive driver in the Chicago area, discuss the accident and injury at once with experienced Chicago personal injury attorney Joseph M. Dooley. In Illinois, when more than one party is responsible for a car, bus, or truck accident that results in a personal injury, the state’s “modified comparative negligence” rule determines who’s responsible for what. It’s quite common in personal injury cases for a defendant to insist that a plaintiff is at least partially responsible for his or her own injuries. When this is true, Illinois courts apply the modified comparative negligence rule to determine the amount of compensation that a plaintiff will receive. Under modified comparative negligence, an injured party may recover damages only if he or she is fifty percent or less at fault for the personal injury.
Here’s an example. Let’s say that you are speeding and you move through a green light. You crash into another driver who’s running the red light – or that driver crashes into you. Eventually, a jury determines that the accident was half your fault because you were speeding and half the other driver’s fault because he or she ran the light. Illinois’s modified comparative negligence rule in this circumstance will reduce your compensation award by fifty percent. However, if a plaintiff in a personal injury case is more than fifty percent at fault for his or her own injuries, the law automatically reduces to zero the amount that you can recover. This is true even if the jury determines the plaintiff’s degree of fault to be 50.000001%.
When you’re injured because another driver was at fault, you’ll want a knowledgeable personal injury lawyer to explain how the law applies in your own case and to fight aggressively for the full compensation you deserve. In the Chicago area, if you are injured by a negligent car, bus, or truck driver, consult at once with experienced Chicago personal injury attorney Joseph M. Dooley. He can review the details of your case and recommend your wisest course of action. Contact attorney Joseph M. Dooley by email at [email protected] or call 312-219-5916 right away after any accident with injuries in or near the greater Chicago area.