Catastrophic Injuries After Auto Accidents in Illinois Catastrophic injuries from car accidents are severe injuries that cause permanent disability, disfigurement, or long-term impairment—and often prevent victims from returning to work. These injuries commonly include traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, amputations, severe burns, and internal organ damage. Because the medical costs and life impact are…
What Are Some Safety Tips for Driving During the Holidays? During the holidays, many people are traveling to visit family and friends and/or to attend holiday parties. More and more cars, motorcyclists, and trucks are on the road, and the increased traffic and number of vehicles aren’t the only danger drivers have to look out…
Sideswipe accidents are a fairly common type of car accident. Because of their commonality, some drivers assume that sideswipes are mostly not that dangerous, especially because they don’t involve a direct impact. However, this is quite far from the truth. Sideswipes can be just as dangerous and devastating as any other collision, depending on what…
No driver wants to hit an innocent animal while they are driving, yet accidents involving a car and an animal happen all the time. If you’re in an accident with an animal, can you hold someone liable for the damage to your car? Can the animal’s owner, if there is one, hold you liable for…
Halloween night often has busy streets that are packed with motorists and trick-or-treaters alike. With so many people on the roads, it is important that you prioritize safety first and foremost if you are heading out on Halloween. Before you drive anywhere, check out this quick list of Halloween driving safety tips. Stay sober: Drunk…
The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) tracks and reports on known car accidents throughout the state and as they happen throughout the year. The data that the IDOT collects can shine a light on what type of traffic collisions are happening and possibly why. Although we are only in May, our team from McHargue &…
Speeding is one of the leading causes of serious car accidents in Illinois. Speed limits are not random — they are carefully established using traffic engineering studies designed to reduce crashes and prevent catastrophic injuries. When a driver exceeds a posted or statutory speed limit in Chicago or anywhere in Illinois and causes a collision,…
Do Pedestrians Always Have the Right of Way? It’s a common saying: “Pedestrians always have the right of way.” And while it is true that motorists should always do everything they can to avoid hitting people on foot, there are certain times when Illinois law requires pedestrians to yield to oncoming traffic. In Chicago and…
No, Illinois is not a no-fault car accident state. Illinois follows an at-fault (tort) insurance system, meaning the driver who caused the crash is responsible for paying damages. To recover compensation, injured victims must typically prove the other driver’s negligence. Illinois also applies a modified comparative negligence rule (the 51% rule), which can reduce or…
Updated April 30, 2026 A whiplash injury car accident settlement in Illinois can range from a few thousand dollars to much more, depending on the medical treatment, length of symptoms, pain and suffering, lost wages, fault, and available insurance coverage. Many whiplash claims involve rear-end accidents, delayed neck pain, headaches, stiffness, physical therapy, and soft…
Across the United States, the summertime has always been the best months of the year to go on a road trip, visit relatives in other states, and just spend more time outside of your own town. Even during the coronavirus pandemic, people are still planning ways to escape their normal routines throughout July and August….
What Are Your Next Steps Following a Car Accident Resulting in Death? Losing a loved one in a fatal car accident is a truly harrowing experience that no one can imagine experiencing, yet it happens nearly 100 times a day across the country. To make the difficulty of trying to grieve and collect oneself after…
2020 is a year of big changes around the globe, including right here in Chicago. The city recently updated its traffic safety laws through a number of new measures. A few of the legal updates that you should know about are: School bus fines: Illegally passing a school bus can be fined anywhere between $300…
We all instinctually know that drinking and driving is dangerous, and yet millions of drivers worldwide will drive while intoxicated each year. To spread some education about drinking and driving dangers, our team of car accident attorneys from McHargue & Jones, LLC in Chicago would like to take a quick look at alcohol impairs a…
