Chicago Accident Lawyer Blog

October 4, 2024

Are Zero Bike Deaths Possible in Chicago?

Written by Peter Zneimer

Chicago has had only 0ne bicyclist fatality in 2024 as of September 16, 2024. Though any bike death is a tragedy, that number is a vast improvement from previous years. According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, Chicago reported seven bicyclist deaths in 2023, 10 deaths in 2022, and 11 in 2021. The question that Chicago city officials and bike safety advocates is contemplating is whether the decrease is a fluke or whether the decrease can be attributed to actions taken by the city to improve bike safety.

The bike injury lawyers of Zneimer and Zneimer P.C. note that the city of Chicago has been committed to broad program to improve bike safety in the city. Chicago, in recent years, has instituted 50 miles of bike safety upgrades and 27 miles protected bike lanes that have been completed by the Chicago Department of Transportation. Though improvements have been made, Chicago has a ways to reach its vision zero goals of zero traffic deaths since there have been 22 pedestrian deaths and 41 traffic deaths in Chicago through July of 2024 according to the Chicago Department of Transportation.

September 24, 2024

SUVs Dangerous to Cars on the Road

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

Written by Peter Zneimer

The laws of physics apply to everything including vehicle crashes. When a 5,500 pound SUV or pick-up truck crashes with an automobile weighing 3,300 pounds you would expect the automobile to sustain more damage and consequently the automobile driver is more likely to be injured or killed. The car injury lawyers of Zneimer & Zneimer P.C. have observed that when smaller cars are involved in crashes with large SUVs or pick-up trucks, the smaller car will incur significantly more damage. The Economist recently did a study where it collected ten years of crash data from police reports from 14 states. Their findings were published in September 7th, 2024 in an article entitled “Dangerously heavy”. The numbers are stunning. For the heaviest vehicles, those weighing around 6,800 pounds, the drivers of these vehicles experienced 4.1 “own car deaths” per 10,000 crashes. compared with 6.6 “own car deaths” for cars weighing the average of 3,500 pounds. However, these heaviest vehicles were responsible for 37 “partner -car deaths” per 10,000 crashes. So while the drivers of the heaviest vehicles were slightly more safe, the rest of us in cars were put at substantially more risk of injury or death. The Economist observes based on this data “that for every life that the heaviest SUVs and trucks save, more than a dozen lives are lost in other vehicles.” For vehicles in the top 10% of weight, weighing at least 5,000 pounds, the death rate was 26 deaths per 10,000 crashes. The SUV or pick-up driver experienced 5.9 of these deaths per 10,000 crashes while the unlucky partner vehicle experienced 20.2 deaths per 10,000 crashes. For the next category for vehicles weighing 5,000 to 4,500 pounds the the breakdown was 5.4 SUV or pick-up driver deaths per 10,000 crashes and a death rate of 10.3 deaths per 10,000 crashes for the partner vehicle. What the statistics make clear is that weight kills. Furthermore, it is also clear that the weight of the heaviest vehicles can be reduced substantially with only minimally affecting the safety of the SUV or pick-up truck driver while saving many more lives of people driving average weight vehicles.

Given these stark statistics one would think there would be more attention focused on this safety issue. However, the injury lawyers of Zneimer and Zneimer, P.C. note that American cars are only getting heavier creating an arms race environment where American drivers need to buy heavier and heavier vehicles just to be safe from other drivers. The average new car in America now weighs 4,400 pounds while the average European car weighs 3,200 pounds and the average Japanese car weighs 2,600 pounds. One solution would be to levy a steep surcharge on the heaviest vehicles. Before such an idea can gain traction however, people need to be more aware of the dangers poised by the heaviest SUVs and pick-up trucks on the roadways.

September 13, 2024

Melbourne Bans E-Scooters for Safety Reasons

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

Chicago has witnessed a dramatic increase of e-scooters riders on the roadways and bike paths in recent years propelled propelled by e-scooter ride share companies like Divvy and Lime setting up stations. With increased number of e-scooter riders, the e-scooter injury lawyers of Zneimer & Zneimer P.C. has also observed a dramatic increase of people injured in e-scooter accidents. Driving around Chicago, one witnesses e-scooters everywhere. One sees people riding on the bike paths, riding on the sidewalk, riding with traffic and riding against traffic. To add to the confusion, e-scooter riders have a tendency not to follow traffic rules like stopping at stop signs and stopping for red lights.

The influx of e-scooter riders on the sidewalks and on roadways have not only lead to more accidents but also more complaints from pedestrians who must dodge e-scooters. With more complaints comes more regulations. Some cities have gone a step further and have banned e-scooters all together. The city of Melbourne has recently voted to end its contracts with e-scooter operators, Lime and Neuron ending a two year trial period. “I have heard in recent days from residents, from traders, from visitors to Melbourne, literally begging us to bring the trial to an end to make our city safe again” Melbourne Mayor Nicolas Reece was quoted in saying at a news conference.

Though the e-scooters were popular, averaging 6,800 daily trips according to city statistics, the popularity also came with a sharp rise in complaints from pedestrians on footpaths and a sharp rise in emergency room visits. The Royal Melbourne Hospital reported 256 e-scooter related injuries in 2023, including one death.

August 14, 2024

Motorists in Chicago Do Not Stop For Pedestrians in Crosswalks

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

Written and Reviewed by Peter Zneimer

Chicago in recent year has invested heavily in improving cross walk safety. The city has added cross walk signs to many crosswalks. Some have included warnings that it is a violation of state law not to stop for pedestrians in a cross walk. The fanciest crosswalks have flashing lights that are activated by pushing a button that warn motorists that pedestrians are crossing. The City’s efforts to upgrade pedestrian safety should be commend given the rise of pedestrian injuries in Illinois. The personal injury injury lawyers of Zneimer & Zneimer P.C. note that pedestrian accident cases typically have severe injuries because these accidents most often involve a motor vehicle striking a human body.

Given the steady rise of of pedestrian deaths in Cook County the money spent on improving pedestrian safety is wisely spent. According to the National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA) pedestrian accident fatalities in Cook County increased by 28% between 2016 and 2020. In another study done by the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) study showed that pedestrian deaths in Illinois rose 55% from 2005 to 2020.

July 17, 2024

Embracing Micromobility in Chicago: Take A Ride on The Wild Side

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

Written and Reviewed by Peter Zneimer

Wandering around Chicago, one will witness firsthand the micromobility revolution. In high traffic areas, everywhere you look in Chicago you will see people riding e-scooters, e-bikes and pedal bikes. The surge in micromobility is fueled by corresponding surge of on-demand bicycle and e-scooter networks such as Divvy, Lime and Spin flooding the city. Such services, hypothetically, offer young, solo riders an easy, cheap, and eco-friendly way to take way to take short trips. Over 4 million e- scooter trips have been recorded in Chicago since 2022.

Along with the benefits come with many safety risks. The rise of micromobility vehicles has been accompanied by emergency room visits by users of these vehicles. The e-scooter injury attorneys of Zneimer & Zneimer P.C. have experienced first hand the rise of e-scooter accidents with injuries by the number of call we are getting. Anyone driving a car or walking around Chicago has most likely had a close call with a Divvy bike or a Lime, Spin, Divvy E-scooter. One of the major problems with micromobility is the limited number of protected bike lanes in Chicago. Most of the so called bike-ways are at best, a painted bike lane that runs parallel to the parked car lane. At worst, the bike-way is simply a street with a bike painted on it. This state of affairs leads to micromobility commuters being exposed to getting hit by a motor vehicle. Damen Ave. and Lincoln Ave. are examples of bike-ways with painted on bike lanes that offer minimal protections. Damen Ave. in particular goes from wider bike lanes, to narrower bike lanes to bike lanes so narrow they barely afford room for a bike and car to fit on the road.

July 3, 2024

Should Children Be Allowed to Ride Electric Scooters?

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

Electric scooter use has risen dramatically in Chicago over the last few years. The popularity of electric scooters is spurred by the introduction of shared services such as Divvy, Lime and Spin. These scooters are left on the on sidewalks and streets and can be unlocked with a smartphone app. When a user is done with their trip they can just leave the scooter at their destination. With this surge of e-scooter usage has been accompanied by a surge in e-scooter related emergency room visits.

It is easy to see how susceptible to injury scooter riders are. E-scooters travel up to 20 MPH and some travel even faster. E-Scooter injury lawyer, Peter Zneimer of Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C. was recently driving down Peterson Ave. in Chicago going about 25 MPH when he was passed by an e-scooter going at least 30 MPH. On top of that, e-scooters have small wheels that require smooth surfaces to ride on. As any resident of Chicago can attest, potholes and rough surfaces are everywhere on Chicago streets. When the small wheels of a e-scooter hit a pothole or rough surface, the rider is likely to be thrown hard on to the pavement. If a person falls off an e-scooter on to the pavement at these speeds it is almost guaranteed to be injuries. The most common injuries are cuts, scraps, bruises, fractures and head injuries.

There were approximately 42,200 emergency room visits in the United States in 2021 according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. This represents an increase of 66% over 2020. The increase in injures for children under 16. Because of the high risk of injury, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under 16 should not be allowed to ride electric scooters.

June 29, 2024

Is a city or a village responsible for injuries from falling branches?

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

Sofia Zneimer, Zneimer & Zneimer, PC

In a recent decision, the Appellate Court of Illinois distinguished immunity from liability. According to the facts as stated in Williams v. Village of Berkeley, the plaintiff filed a premises liability lawsuit against the Village of Berkeley following an incident in which a large branch from a Village-owned tree outside his home fell on him, injuring him and killing one of his dogs. Williams argued in his lawsuit that the Village had negligently failed to maintain the tree and allowed it to become and remain in a dangerous condition. Additionally, Williams alleged that the Village’s conduct was willful and wanton. He testified that in July 2018, a large branch fell from the tree, and he reported this to the police. A few days later a worker from the Village’s public works department came to remove the fallen branch. During the removal, the worker remarked to Williams, “Oh, yeah, this thing is rotten. It has to come down. It has to be cut down.” However, the village never came to cut the tree. Over the next year and a half, Williams asked various unnamed public works employees about the status of the tree removal on four or five occasions and each time the village informed me that they know about the tree and were “going to get to it” but was running behind schedule. In January 2020, when Williams walking his two dogs on the sidewalk outside his house, a large branch fell and injured him and killed one of the dogs.

The Village filed a motion for summary judgment claiming they are immune from suit. The court initially denied the motion but then reconsidered it and decided that the Village was immune from suit. The appellate court reversed the trial court’s decision and found that the trial court erred in concluding the Village was entitled to immunity. The court noted that immunity applies only if an employee with policy-making authority consciously decided not to address the dangerous condition and the court found no evidence that the Village’s superintendent was aware of the tree’s dangerous condition (rot). On the contrary, the superintendent testified that he believed that the tree was healthy in 2019. The court found that a lack of awareness of the defect means there was no conscious decision made regarding the defect, thus precluding immunity.

June 27, 2024

What Are the Most Dangerous Bike-ways for Biking in Chicago?

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

When biking in Chicago, at times it feels as if one is risking life and limb just to commute from one place to another. The statistics seem to bear out that riding a bike not only feels dangerous but actually is dangerous. From June 2023 to August 2023 there were 819 bike crashes with 75 of these leading to serious injuries according to CDOT. Everyone who bikes on a regular basis in Chicago has stories of being involved in crashes with motorists or close calls. The bicycle injury lawyers of Zneimer & Zneimer P.C. have had many clients that have been injured in bicycle accidents where the motorists are simply not keeping a look-out for bicyclists, either when making a right turn, when opening a car door or when making a left turn in an intersection.

Chicago has made a concerted effort in recent years to improve the infrastructure for bicyclists in recent years, adding 400 miles of bike-ways between 2018 and 2022. Though that sounds like a lot, the reality is the vast majority of new bike-way lanes are simply painted on the roadway and offer little protection to bicyclists who are essentially still out in the traffic.

In Chicago, several intersections are notoriously dangerous for bicyclists due to a combination of heavy traffic, poor infrastructure, and the presence of multiple road users. Here are some of the most hazardous intersections and the reasons why they are considered risky:

June 19, 2024

Is Biking Becoming Safer in Chicago?

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

Written and reviewed by Peter Zneimer, Zneimer & Zneimer P.C.

The bike lawyers of Zneimer & Zneimer P.C. observe that there are more bicyclists on the road than ever and with that more bicycle injuries than ever. Chicago, like other major USA cities has made a major push to encourage people to ride bicycles and have added hundreds of miles of bike lanes to Chicago streets. The push is bearing fruit. A study by the Chicago Department of Transportation has shown that biking is up 119% in Chicago between the fall of 2019 and the spring of 2023. The comprehensive survey also showed that bicycle trips are up 117% for shopping, 93% for eating out and 8% for commuting to work.

Though other major US cities may have invested more in bike infrastructure in the past, Chicago maybe catching up. According to CDOT, last year the city of Chicago completed 27 miles of new and protected bike lanes and 18 miles of greenways with more bike lanes planned. Bicycle advocates argue that the data shows that improvements in bike infrastructure lead to large increases of bike use and that if the city keeps improving the infrastructure, bike usage will continue to grow in the future.

June 18, 2024

What Are The Signs of Dog Bite Infection?

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

Written and reviewed by Peter Zneimer, Zneimer & Zneimer P.C.

The dog bite lawyers of Zneimer & Zneimer P.C. have handled many dog bite cases over the years and one characteristic of these cases stands out is the high percentage of dog bite wounds that become infected and require hospitalization. Another thing we have noticed is that clients sometime put of going to the doctor even when the wound shows clear signs of infection. The question: “How long should I wait before going to the doctor if my dog bite wound shows signs of infection?” is easy to answer. The answer is immediately.

For very minor dog bites that barely puncture the skin, thoroughly washing the wound with soap and warm water, applying antibiotic cream and wrapping it up in a bandage might be adequate. For any wound that is deeper than just a minor puncture wound it is recommended that the bite victim press a clean cloth against the wound to stop the bleeding and seek medical treatment immediately.