Chicago Accident and Injury Lawyer Blog

The Chicago personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Jeffrey J. Kroll were at first shocked to find out that traffic violations had been dropped against a 23-year-old driver who struck a tractor-trailer, which then caused a collision with a disabled pickup truck in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, on August 1, 2011; however, a recent article in the Chicago Tribune reported that prosecutors dropped the charges to clear way "for potentially more serious charges." In the collision, a Hawthorne Woods man and father of two was severely wounded. Unfortunately, he died one month later from the injuries suffered in the crash. The young driver, who admitted to using her cell phone at the time of the accident, was charged with improper lane change, driving on the shoulder of the road, as well as texting while driving.

The Illinois Rules of the Road, specifically 625 ILCS 5/12-610.2, prohibit anyone from operating a motor vehicle on a roadway "while using an electronic communication device to compose, send, or read an electronic message." In addition to criminal charges, a driver that causes a deadly collision can be sued in a civil action for monetary damages. In this case, the family of the deceased pickup truck driver may have a potential case for a wrongful death action against the driver for negligently operating her vehicle by using a cell phone while driving, causing the man's death. The Illinois Wrongful Death Act, 740 ILCS 180/2, provides a cause of action for the personal representative of a deceased person, designating the money recovered in the action for the benefit of the surviving spouse and next of kin of the deceased person. At trial, a jury may award monetary damages for loss of society, grief, sorrow, and the mental suffering of the deceased person's heirs.

Along with a wrongful death lawsuit, the personal representative may also bring a claim under the Illinois Survival Act pursuant to 735 ILCS 5/13-209. The Survival Act allows the representative to maintain statutory or common law actions that accrued prior to the decedent's death. This means that when a person entitled to bring a lawsuit dies before the action is commenced, the cause of action survives. The representative may be awarded monetary damages which correlate to the damages suffered by the deceased prior to his death, including conscious pain and suffering, disability, lost wages, loss of enjoyment of life and related medical expenses. As with all personal injury claims, it is important to keep in mind that there may be a time limit for filing a car or truck accident lawsuit. For many reasons, it is important to contact an experienced personal injury attorney to determine if you are eligible to file a personal injury or wrongful death claim.