All-terrain vehicles (ATVs), quads, or four-wheelers can be useful and enjoyable. Unfortunately, these vehicles can also cause severe and often fatal injuries. If you or a loved one were hurt in an ATV accident or you were hurt by someone riding an ATV, you may have questions about your legal rights. Are ATV accidents treated the same as car accidents? Do ATV riders have to carry insurance? Will I be compensated for my medical bills after an ATV collision? The answers to these questions will depend on many different factors, so it is important to speak with a skilled injury attorney for individualized guidance.

16-Year-Old in Lake County Suffers Traumatic Brain Injury in ATV Incident

In January of this year, a 16-year-old Lake County girl suffered a traumatic brain injury after being ejected from an inner tube being pulled by an ATV. She was unresponsive for several days following the accident but is now awake and relearning how to function. Although this ATV incident was atypical in that it involved a person being towed behind the vehicle, ATV accidents causing injury or death are not uncommon. In 2018 alone, there were over 81,000 ATV accidents in the U.S. Over a quarter of these accidents involved children.

Liability for an ATV Accident

In Illinois, ATV drivers are required to have liability insurance. This insurance, like typical auto insurance, is intended to compensate an injured person in the event of an accident. However, many ATV owners do not carry enough insurance to adequately compensate someone for injury-related losses. In cases such as these, a personal injury case may be filed against the at-fault party. The party who is liable for ATV injuries may be an ATV driver, the owner of the property on which the accident occurred, the manufacturer or designer of a defective ATV part, or another party. Fault may also be shared between the injured person and another party. Fortunately, in Illinois, individuals who are partly responsible for their own injuries may still be entitled to partial compensation for damages if they are less than 51 percent at fault for the accident.

Most parents vividly remember the first day that their child went to school. Placing your child in the hands of teachers and other school staff and trusting them to keep your child safe is no easy task. Unfortunately, serious injuries and even deaths do occur in school. In some cases, a child’s injury is directly caused by the school’s negligence or even the intentional acts of a teacher or other staff member. If your child was injured in a school bus accident, playground accident, or another incident at school, it is important to know your rights. You may be able to hold the school or other at-fault party answerable for your child’s injury and recover damages via a personal injury claim.

Determining Liability in Personal Injury Lawsuits for School Injuries

Children are often rambunctious, energetic, and prone to injuries. However, when a child’s preventable injury is caused by the negligent or wrongful acts of another party, that party should be held accountable. A personal injury lawsuit may be used to hold a school liable for intentional abuse or injuries caused by the school’s negligence or carelessness.

However, determining whether the school or another party is liable is often one of the most challenging parts of a personal injury case. For example, a school bus accident may be caused by negligent driving, poor bus maintenance, or another driver. The school may have acted negligently by hiring a bus driver who was unqualified for the position or was not trained properly. A playground accident may be caused by inadequate staff supervision or it may be the fault of the party who incorrectly manufactured or assembled the playground equipment. A personal injury attorney with experience handling cases involving child injuries at school can help you determine what party or parties are liable for your child’s injury.

Everyone knows that speed limits are posted for a reason. The risk of a car accident resulting in serious injury or death increases as the speed of the vehicle increases. However, this does not stop a large percentage of drivers from driving above the speed limit.

Automotive technology has changed dramatically in recent decades. While self-driving cars are still a rare sight, more and more standard vehicles are coming equipped with technology like adaptive cruise control. Although this technology is intended to make driving safer, a recent study suggests that drivers are actually more likely to speed when their vehicle is equipped with this technology.

Safety Benefits May Be Overshadowed by Driver Negligence

Approximately three million people are injured in car accidents each year in the United States. These injuries incur more than $75 billion in medical bills and lost productivity. It is in everyone’s best interests for drivers to drive cautiously and follow traffic laws. Adaptive cruise control adjusts the vehicle’s distance from the vehicle in front of it and reduces the need for the driver to manually adjust the cruise control setting as traffic patterns change. Technology like adaptive cruise control and automatic lane-centering is designed to help drivers, passengers, and pedestrians, stay safe, however, it may have the opposite effect.

While some professions are inherently more dangerous than others, the risk of injury at work exists for all employees. Some injuries are caused by a single traumatic event such as falling or being crushed by equipment. Others, such as repetitive motion injuries, occur slowly over time. If you were hurt at work, you may be left wondering how you will pay for medical expenses and other losses resulting from your injury. Workers’ compensation and/or a third-party claim may allow you to recover compensation.

Workers’ Compensation for Injured Employees in Illinois

In Illinois, employers with one or more employees must carry workers’ compensation insurance. This insurance reimburses an injured worker for the financial losses he or she suffers because of a work accident. Typically, two-thirds of an injured worker’s wages are recoverable through a workers’ compensation claim. Medical bills including emergency medical treatment, doctor’s appointments, surgery, and rehabilitative care are also covered under workers’ compensation. Although Illinois law mandates workers’ compensation insurance for exactly this purpose, injured workers can sometimes face obstacles getting the compensation they need. The insurer may offer much less than the worker actually needs to cover his or her expenses, miscalculate the worker’s income, or deny the claim altogether. A workers’ compensation lawyer can be a valuable source of advocacy in situations like these.

A Third-Party Claim May Secure Further Compensation

Workers’ compensation laws prevent employees from suing their employers. However, injured workers may still have the chance to file a personal injury lawsuit and collect damages. If the actions of another party such as a property owner, general contractor, or negligent driver caused the injury, the worker may bring a personal injury claim against that party. The worker may be able to secure compensation above and beyond workers’ compensation including his or her full lost wages. Unlike a workers’ compensation claim, a personal injury claim may also allow for the recovery of non-economic damages like physical pain, emotional and mental suffering, and disfigurement.

Most people do not think much about the grey, metallic guardrails lining the roads until they collide with one. Guardrails are a crucial safety component that has lessened the damage caused by countless car crashes. However, when a guardrail or other road barrier is defective in its design or manufacture, the barrier can do more harm than good in an accident. In cases such as these, a product liability claim may be brought against the party responsible for the defective road barrier.

Guardrails That Do Not Work as Intended

The purpose of a guardrail is to reduce the damage caused by an accident. Guardrails are often placed alongside steep slopes or on bridge ends to prevent cars from sliding down the incline. Median barriers are designed to prevent vehicles from crossing into oncoming traffic. A well-designed guardrail also helps absorb the impact of a collision and the end terminals curl inward when struck. However, some guardrails do not function as intended. Instead of reducing the harm caused by the impact, the barriers instead worsen the collision.

Bringing a Product Liability Claim After a Defective Roadside Barrier Crash

Guardrails and other barriers should be designed and manufactured so that they act as intended. However, budget cuts, carelessness, manufacturing mistakes, and other issues can cause defective barriers to be installed on roads and bridges. If a defective roadside barrier worsens a car crash victim’s injuries, the party who manufactured, designed, or installed the barrier may be liable for damages.