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What Not to Say After a Car Accident
Right after you have been hurt in a car accident, you are left with the unenviable task of battling an insurance company or other liable party trying to get the compensation you need. You can be almost certain that the insurance company will be recording every phone call and ready to use your words against you in any way they can. It is very easy to inadvertently provide them with a sound byte that could hurt your case. These profit-driven companies are not above taking something out of context if it could save them money on a settlement. This is one of the big reasons why conversations with insurance companies are best handled by a lawyer. If all you need to say is, “please contact my attorney,” then there is little chance of having your well-intentioned words thrown back in your face.
Phrases You Should Never Say to a Car Insurance Company
In general, you will want to avoid saying anything that could possibly be interpreted in a way that reduces the other driver’s liability. Even innocuous phrases can be twisted here. You will need to carefully avoid saying things like:
Seeking Financial Compensation For Rear-End Collisions in Illinois
Rear-end collisions can be exceptionally jarring. You probably never saw the impact coming when you were hit from behind. You may have had no chance to brace yourself or get out of the way. The injuries commonly caused by a rear-end collision can include whiplash, back injuries and head injuries, which can be serious. Rear-end collisions are likely the most common type of car accident. In Illinois, there is a legal presumption that the driver behind is at fault in a rear-end collision. The front driver can be at fault in rare instances, but for the most part, the driver who hit you from behind is going to be liable. If you were injured in a rear-end collision, you may be entitled to compensation. A lawyer can help you understand your rights.
Common Excuses From At-Fault Drivers After a Rear-End Crash
Drivers love to make excuses after rear-ending someone. If the responsible driver got out of his car after the accident and went off on you as if this was your fault, your experience is not unique. Some of the most common reasons and excuses at-fault drivers give - and why they do not get them off the hook - include:
Two Types of Temporary Disability After a Work Injury
In some lines of work, getting hurt on the job is relatively likely. In others, it is rare. Whether you are dealing with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome from typing at a desk all day or a serious neck injury after a construction site accident, you are likely eligible for workers' compensation if you sustained an injury at work. Many injuries keep you from returning to your job right away. In some cases, you may be able to perform a less physically challenging job for your employer while you are injured. In others, you may not be able to work at all during your recovery period. If you are hurt and unable to perform your normal work duties, you may be able to receive temporary disability payments. An attorney can help you understand what types of benefits you are eligible for.
What is Temporary Total Disability?
Temporary total disability benefits are used when you are unable to perform any work for your employer. If your employer cannot offer you temporary light-duty work that you would be able to perform, then you may be considered totally temporarily disabled. This is often the case if a worker's injuries are severe, especially if they must remain in the hospital or a rehabilitation facility for some time.
Summer Forecast: Road Rage
Road rage has been on the rise since the end of pandemic-related lockdowns. For a long time, essential personnel were the only ones commuting. People were not doing much of anything outside their homes, and everyone got used to there being very little traffic. Then, stay-at-home orders lifted and suddenly, everyone was dealing with traffic like they had not seen in over a year. Since the roads first started to fill back up, road rage car crashes have only gotten worse and more frequent.
Now that we are right in the middle of summer, road rage levels may be even higher than usual. There is an undeniable link between heat and road rage, and traffic tends to be worse in the summer. If you are injured by a driver with road rage, you may be able to recover compensation.
The Link Between Heat and Road Rage
The fact that high temperatures contributes to road rage incidents has been known for a very long time. Extreme heat tends to increase how a person responds to annoyances drastically. A minor irritation, like getting cut off in traffic, might be no big deal at all for a driver in pleasant weather. However, in extreme heat, that same driver may end up reacting quite aggressively, such as by trying to swerve around and cut off the other driver in an act of revenge.
Drivers May Be Distracted by Their Own Dashboards
You have probably heard a lot about the dangers of cell phone use while driving. Obviously, if someone is cruising down the highway with one hand on the wheel, one hand holding a cell phone, and two eyes looking at a screen, there is likely to be a car accident. Distracted drivers kill over 3,000 people and injure almost 500,000 each year in the U.S.
Cell phones are responsible for quite a large percentage of distracted driving accidents. Unfortunately, drivers of brand new vehicles may now have a completely new source of distraction - their own dashboards. Many car companies are now using built-in infotainment systems that are meant to reduce cell phone distraction. The question remains just how distracting these integrated systems may be.
The Dangers of Integrated Distractions
New cars with integrated infotainment systems can do almost everything a cell phone can do, including helping the driver send a text message, navigate, or connect to the internet. Screens may be integrated into the dashboard so that drivers do not need to pick up their phones. Often, these infotainment systems are meant to be voice-controlled, but voice control is still far from a perfect technology.
Top 6 Causes of Staircase Injuries in Kane County
There are certain safety standards that staircases should comply with, whether in residential buildings or in public places. Staircases can be dangerous when they are not kept in a reasonably safe condition. Things like having enough lighting and handrails are some of the most basic steps that a premises owner or manager should take to ensure that people are able to get up and down the stairs safely. When these very reasonable safety standards are violated, the likelihood that someone will suffer a serious fall, slip, or trip, skyrockets. If you were injured when you fell on a staircase, you may have a strong claim against the party who is liable for the safety of those on their premises. An attorney can help guide your next steps.
The Most Common Hazards That Cause Falls on Stairs
While people can fall down even the best-designed staircase, serious staircase accidents are often caused by the premises owner’s failure to use reasonable precautions. Some common safety issues on staircases include:
Is it Neglect if the Nursing Home Does Not Answer Call Lights?
One of the main reasons people enter nursing homes is because they can no longer perform their normal activities of daily living and need help. People who reside in nursing homes can generally do very little to care for themselves and must rely on caregivers for assistance with everything from eating to dressing. When your loved one in a nursing home presses their call light, everyone should be able to expect that someone will come along in a timely fashion to see what they need. Whether a nursing home resident presses their call light because they need help making a phone call or because they have fallen out of their chair, they deserve a prompt response. If your loved one’s call light is going unanswered, they may be facing nursing home neglect. An attorney can advise you on what your next steps should be.
Dangers of Leaving a Call Light Unanswered
Healthy people who can help themselves do not live in nursing homes. The people who do move into nursing homes are typically medically fragile and in poor health. A call light may be a nursing home resident’s only means of summoning help when they need assistance or are in trouble. Until a caregiver responds, there is no way for anyone to know whether the resident is calling for a normal, routine need or because they are having an emergency. While it is probably alright if someone has to wait a bit for help changing their clothes, it is absolutely not alright if someone has to wait more than a few minutes for help because they are having chest pains.
Top 3 Types of Medical Malpractice in Hospitals
When you go to a hospital for medical care, you expect to be in a safe place. You should be able to automatically trust that the doctors and other providers are being careful to provide you with safe treatment. Unfortunately, the labor shortage has hit hospitals just as much as it has hit restaurants and retail businesses. There is a significant nursing shortage. However, being short-staffed does not excuse medical malpractice. A hospitalized patient can do very little to take care of themself and must rely on doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals like Certified Nursing Assistants. When these providers fail to perform their jobs in a manner that is safe for patients, they may ultimately do more harm than good. If you were harmed while staying in a hospital, an attorney may be able to help you recover compensation.
Common Forms of Malpractice in a Hospital Setting
Some types of medical errors are more common than others, especially in a hospital inpatient setting. Medical malpractice in a hospital may take the form of:
Illinois Workers' Compensation in High-Risk Careers
In Illinois, just about anyone with a job is eligible to receive workers’ compensation if they are injured or made ill at work. Even office staff sometimes uses workers’ compensation after an accident like a slip-and-fall. However, if you are in a dangerous career with a high risk of injury, you may use workers’ compensation several times throughout your career. People in high-risk professions include electricians, construction site workers, and some healthcare professionals. When you are in a high-risk profession, it is best that you understand the workers’ compensation process and know how to respond to a workplace injury before anything happens.
Do’s and Do Not’s for High-Risk Employees
If you are in a dangerous profession, there are a few rules of thumb you should keep in mind when it comes to workplace safety and handling a workplace injury. General do’s and do not’s for high-risk workers include:
Deciding Whether to Sue for Sexual Abuse
No one should ever have to experience sexual abuse or sexual assault. Being harmed like that can leave long-lasting mental and emotional scars, and many victims are left with physical injuries as well. You may have heard some truly alarming statistics about low conviction rates for sex offenses in criminal court. However, filing a civil claim is completely different. To successfully prosecute someone for a sex crime, it must be proven that they are guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. To win a civil claim, however, you would only need to show a jury that it is more likely than not that the abuse or assault happened as you are alleging. That said, following through with such a claim can be very challenging on many levels. At Kinnally Flaherty Krentz Loran Hodge & Masur P.C., we will make sure that you have all the information you need to decide whether you should file such a claim.
The Benefits of Pursuing a Sexual Abuse Claim
Even if your abuser or rapist was found not guilty, had their sex offense charges dropped, or was never actually arrested and charged, you could still win in civil court. Many victims who were unable to meet the standard of proof required in criminal court are able to obtain relief and a sense of justice by filing a civil claim. While the civil court cannot send your abuser or assailant to prison, it can award you financial compensation.
