Rear-end crashes may be caused by countless reasons. In the vast majority of cases, the car behind the car that was rear-ended is at fault for the accident. When a vehicle is struck from behind, the vehicle occupants may be seriously injured – even if the rear vehicle was traveling at a relatively low speed. Neck injuries, head injuries, facial lacerations, broken bones, and many other injuries may result from a rear-end collision. If you were hurt in a rear-end accident, you may have a right to financial compensation.

Injuries Common Rear-End Accidents

Rear-end accidents can lead to injuries including:

• Neck injuries such as whiplash
• Damage to the spine including cervical spine injuries
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Facial lacerations
• Injuries to the chest
• Broken bones

These injuries may be excruciatingly painful. They may also prevent the injured person from being able to work, complete household chores, or carry out everyday tasks. The injured person may be left with steep medical bills and other costs. If you were hurt in a rear-end accident, a personal injury claim may allow you to recover compensation for the financial costs incurred by your car accident injuries.

For children, little is more exciting than getting a new toy. Unfortunately, children’s toys can lead to serious injuries and even death. The Children’s Safety Network estimates that children suffered over a million toy-related injuries between 2015 and 2018. If your child was injured or killed in an accident involving a defective or dangerous toy, you may be interested in learning about your legal options. In some cases, a product liability claim may hold a negligent toy manufacturer accountable for a child’s injury or death as well as recover financial compensation for damages.

Toy Manufacturers are Held to High Safety Standards

The Consumer Product Safety Act is designed to protect consumers from dangerous or defective products. Product designers, manufacturers, and distributors must ensure that their products do not present an unreasonable risk of injury or death to consumers. When the intended user of a product is a child, the stakes are especially high. Many toys intended for young children must be tested for safety and certified before they reach store shelves. Toys that are most commonly associated with child injuries include:

• Tricycles, scooters, skateboards, and other riding toys
• Balls
• Balloons
• Toy cars
• Building sets
• Stuffed animals
• Action figures

Do I Have a Claim?

Many toy-related injuries are minor and do not require extensive medical treatment. However, toy-related accidents can also lead to severe injuries including burns, broken bones, choking, strangulation, and poisoning. Tragically, some toy accidents are fatal. It can be hard to know for sure when a child’s injury or death is the fault of a toy designer or manufacturer. Product liability claims often involve one of three types of defects:

A personal injury claim may be used to seek compensation for damages, or financial losses, resulting from an injury. In order to be eligible for compensation through a personal injury claim in Illinois, you and your attorney may need to show proof of the defendant’s negligence. If you were injured in a car accident, this may mean proving that another driver was at fault for your accident. Personal injury claims often become cases of “he said, she said” so proving that the other driver was to blame for your accident may be quite difficult. Accident reconstruction is one way that you may be able to demonstrate liability in a car accident injury claim.

Proving the Elements Needed to Win Your Case

Most personal injury claims are founded on an allegation of another party’s negligence. To win a claim based on negligence, you will need to demonstrate four main points. First, you must show that the defendant owed a duty of care. In the case of car accident claims, this is typically the easiest issue to prove because all drivers have a duty to drive in a lawful and safe manner. Secondly, you must prove that the driver breached or violated the duty of care. A driver may breach his or her duty by texting and driving, driving too fast for the conditions, or otherwise driving in a way that could endanger others. Thirdly, you will need to show that the driver’s negligence caused your injuries. Lastly, you must show that you sustained damages such as medical bills or lost income because of your injuries.

Reconstructing an Accident

Accident reconstruction is one tool that may be used to demonstrate how a driver’s negligent actions caused an accident. Accident reconstruction experts are usually highly-skilled in fields such as forensic engineering, physics, and mathematics. They may use evidence such as the location and severity of vehicle damage, skid marks, vehicle information from event data recorders, weather data, traffic patterns, and road conditions to determine what happened during an accident. This information may be used along with computer programs to “reconstruct” or reproduce the events that occurred during the accident in an easy-to-understand format. An accident reconstruction expert may offer assistance during the development of your claim or he or she may be called as an expert witness in court.

Being in a car accident can have a profound impact on your life. Injuries may lead to long-term pain and suffering, loss of functioning, reduced independence, and other negative consequences. In addition to the physical pain and emotional anguish caused in a serious car accident, being hurt in a crash can also lead to major financial harm. Neck injuries are very common in car accidents – especially rear-end and T-bone accidents. Even a low-speed accident can lead to neck injuries that cause months or years of painful symptoms. If you or a loved one suffered a neck injury in an accident or the accident aggravated an existing neck injury, you may be able to seek financial compensation.

What Types of Neck Injuries May Be Caused by a Car Accident?

Most people rarely think about it, but the neck has a tremendously important function. Not only does the neck control the movement of the head, but it also encompasses important nerves, muscles, and bones. An injury to the soft tissue, muscles, ligaments, tendons, or vertebrae in the neck can lead to significant disability. Some of the most common neck injuries caused by car accidents include:

• Whiplash – When the head suddenly moves forward or backward in a crash, the soft tissues of the neck can become significantly damaged. Whiplash can be extremely painful, but it is often difficult to prove because the injury does not show up on x-rays.
• Injuries to spinal discs – The vertebrae of the neck and spine are sandwiched between fluid-filled discs that absorb shock and prevent damage to the vertebrae and spinal cord. A car accident can cause the discs to slip out of place, tear, rupture, or otherwise become damaged. Herniated discs can be severely painful -especially if the disc puts pressure on the nerves of the spinal cord.
• Nerve damage – Nerves are responsible for sending signals throughout the body. Damage to nerves in the neck and back can cause significant disability. If nerves are stretched, torn, or otherwise harmed in a car accident, the victim may experience pain, numbness, tingling, and loss of function in certain body parts.

Damages in a Neck Injury Claim

If your car accident was caused by the negligent or illegal actions of another party such as a drunk driver, you may be able to recover compensation for your damages. The most common damage in a car accident claim includes medical expenses, lost income from missed work, impairment to the victim’s future earning capacity, and pain and suffering. However, to recover compensation, you will need to show that:

Illinois winters can be intense. Snow and ice can make something as simple as going to the grocery store or visiting a neighbor a treacherous journey. Slipping and falling on ice can lead to severe injuries – especially if the fall victim is elderly or has health concerns. Traumatic brain injuries, back and spine injuries, broken bones, and other debilitating injuries can result from falling on ice or snow. If you or a loved one were injured in a slip and fall accident involving icy or snowy conditions, you may wonder if the property owner is liable for the accident. In Illinois, the answer to this question is more complicated than you may suspect.

When is a Homeowner or Business Legally Responsible for An Injury Caused by Ice?

Clearing walkways and sidewalks of snow and ice is an important part of being a homeowner or business owner. You may be surprised to learn, however, that snow and ice removal is not mandated by Illinois state law. Although some local jurisdictions may require homeowners to clear sidewalks, steps, and walkways of snow and ice, there are no laws requiring property owners to remove snow and ice. In fact, state law specifically protects property owners from liability for ice or snow-related injuries. According to the Snow and Ice Removal Act, a property owner or property occupier is not liable for personal injuries caused by icy properties. However, there are important exceptions to this law. If the owner or occupier acted in a way that was intentionally malicious or especially reckless, he or she may be liable for ice-related injuries. If the injury occurred on a rental property or at an apartment complex and the landlord has specified in the lease that he or she will be responsible for ice and snow removal, the landlord may be liable if injuries result from his or her failure to remove snow and ice.

Unnatural Accumulations of Snow and Ice

Illinois law makes a distinction between natural accumulations of ice and snow and unnatural accumulations. Property owners may avoid liability for injuries caused by snow or ice that accumulated as a result of the weather. However, property owners may be liable for snow and ice injuries if their actions caused the snowy or icy condition. For example, if a business shoveled a parking lot and left a pile of snow near the business’s entrance and the snowmelt froze into ice, the business may be liable if someone is injured by slipping on the ice.