Chicago Accident Lawyer BlogA Chicago jury awarded plaintiff, Martha Aguado $227,201 in her case against the City of Chicago for a broken patella she suffered as a pedestrian as a result of falling in a pothole in a crosswalk at Western Ave. and Foster Ave. in the City of Chicago. The plaintiff claimed that a puddle covered up the hole. When the jury was asked whether the condition of the City of Chicago’s crosswalk/sidewalk presented an unreasonable risk of harm on the premises, the jury answered “yes”.
Articles Posted in Pedestrian Accidents
Chicago Police To Enforce Crosswalk Laws
This week Chicago police will begin pulling over drivers who do not yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk. Moving-violation ticket fines range up to $500.00. The city will use plainclothes police officers posing as pedestrians at intersections without stop signs to implement the sting operation.
Additionally, legislation has been introduced in the Illinois Senate that will require Illinois drivers not only to yield but to come to a full stop when pedestrians are in a crosswalk. Violators would face a minimum $150.00 fine.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics show that there have been more than 6,000 auto-pedestrian crashes in Illinois, with more that 3,000 of these accidents occurring annually in the city of Chicago.
Arlington Heights Pedestrian Killed By Jeep
An Arlington Heights man was killed today as he walked through a commercial strip near his home. Arthur Tidd was a pedestrian walking across Algonquin road when he was struck by a Jeep Wrangler. The driver stopped after the accident. Rolling Meadows paramedics took Mr. Tidd to Northwest Community Hospital where he died a short time later.
71 Pedestrians Killed Each Year In Chicago
71 pedestrians are killed and 930 are seriously injured every year in Chicago according to a Chicago Suntimes article published today. Nearly one-third of the pedestrian accidents are hit-and-runs.
Anyone who lives in Chicago knows that drivers do not stop at crosswalks in Chicago like they do in other cities. For example, on trips to Santa Fe, Sarasota, and Salt Lake City, I was surprised that drivers actually stop for pedestrians waiting at cross-walks in those cities.
The city of Chicago has been trying to step-up enforcement by operating stings this June in which undercover officers pretend to be a pedestrian using the crosswalk. The police issued 101 warnings to drivers who failed to yield to pedestrians in less than two hours. What is ironic about the Chicago Police trying to enforce laws requiring drivers to yield is that Chicago Police in squad cars almost never yield for pedestrians waiting at cross-walks. Maybe the Chicago Police should lead by example.
Weird Traffic Facts about Drivers, Accidents, and Driving
In his new book “Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do” Tom Vanderbilt uncovered a lot of surprising information by digging into driving studies. For example:
– Drivers honk less on weekends.
– Pedestrians on cell phones take longer to cross the street, and look at traffic less often
Chicago Texters Get Hit By Cars
Northwestern Memorial Hospital emergency room in Chicago sees about one pedestrian accident victim a day because they or someone else was walking and texting at the same time according to Dr. James Adams, the hospital’s chair of emergency medicine.
Distracted texters fall down stairs, run into objects, and it is not unheard of for bicycle riders and rollerbladers to end up in the emergency room after crashing while texting.
Facial injuries are common since a texter is typically using both hands to text and is less likely to break his or her fall with their hands according to Dr. Adams.