CHICAGO PEDESTRIAN DEATH
Sadly, the Chicago Tribune reported that a pedestrian in north suburban Northfield was struck by a motorist last Tuesday, December 6, 2011, in the early evening hour of 6:00 p.m. Most unfortunately, the pedestrian was pronounced dead at Evanston Hospital, later that night.
The Chicago Accident and Injury Lawyer Blog discusses the topic of pedestrian safety on a regular basis. Earlier this year we focused on the City of Chicago's efforts to improve pedestrian safety with its Chicago Pedestrian Plan, which may include improvements such as pedestrian countdown timers at crosswalks, curb bump-outs and medians for walking, to name a few. We hope that the suburbs surrounding the city will follow the trend set by Chicago.
According to Transportation for American, between 2000 and 2009,
"more than 47,700 pedestrians were killed in the United States, the equivalent of a jumbo jet full of passengers crashing roughly every month. On top of that, more than 688,000 pedestrians were injured over the decade, a number equivalent to a pedestrian being struck by a car or truck every 7 minutes."
Municipalities must do more to improve pedestrian safety and prevent pedestrian personal injury and death. Statutorily, Illinois motorists have a duty to "exercise due care to avoid colliding with any pedestrian, or any person operating a bicycle or other device propelled by human power and shall give warning by sounding the horn when necessary and shall exercise proper precaution upon observing any child or any obviously confused, incapacitated or intoxicated person." 625 ILCS 5/11-1003. In Illinois, a “pedestrian” is defined as “[a]ny person afoot, including a person with a physical, hearing, or visual disability.” 625 ILCS 5/1-158. Actually, some people who may not appear to be “afoot” also are considered pedestrians for the purposes of litigation, including people using motorized wheelchairs (625 ILCS 5/11-1004.1), an electric personal assistive mobility device (625 ILCS 511-1005.1) as well as people wearing roller skates, using a pushcart, and riding skateboards. Pedestrians receive protection under the Illinois Vehicle Code and common law.
The Chicago accident and injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Jeffrey J. Kroll have over 20 years experience representing injured bicyclists and pedestrians, securing multimillion dollar settlements and verdicts for our clients. Jeff Kroll has dedicated his career to helping injured clients. He also spends time lecturing and writing about various legal topics including pedestrian safety. He recently served as General Editor of the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education Compendium entitled "Proving Fault in Auto Accident Cases," drafting three of its chapters, including one entitled Pedestrian v. Motorist: Can't we all just get along?, which presents an overview of statutory and common-law principles applicable to pedestrian personal injury lawsuits in Illinois. If you or a loved one suffered an injury as a result of negligence call (312)676-7222, or fill out our contact form.
