What Are the Common Types of Car Accident Lawsuits in Bloomington, IL?

Types of Car Accident Lawsuits

Car accidents frequently occur in Illinois, and they involve many parties. According to a report from the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), 298,347 motor vehicle accidents occurred in 2022 alone, and they involved cars along with other vehicles, cyclists, and pedestrians.

The following are some of the most common types of car accident lawsuits based on IDOT’s statistics:

Car Accidents

A majority of motor vehicle accidents involve cars colliding with other cars, often due to driver negligence.

Some causes of car accidents in these cases include:

• Speeding
• Distracted driving
• Road rage and aggressive driving
• Driver fatigue
• Running red lights and stop signs
• Drunk or impaired driving

According to IDOT, the most common cause was speeding, which factored into 31.8% of all motor vehicle accidents in 2022, along with 43.8% of fatal accidents.

Truck Accidents

Car accidents also occur when a car collides with one or more trucks. These vehicles include commercial or personal trucks, such as semi-trucks and pickup trucks. These accidents are often the most severe because of the weight and size of trucks and the resulting force of impact in collisions. Truck drivers must also take more care when handling these vehicles, as their visibility is often more limited, and trucks require more space to turn.

IDOT reports that tractor-trailers accounted for 4% of all crashes in Illinois in 2022. They also factored into 12% of fatal accidents and 3.1% of injury accidents.

Truck drivers could cause these accidents for many of the same reasons described above, or they may result from poor vehicle maintenance or faulty parts. Some cases may involve trucking companies and carriers that fail to properly maintain their fleets.

Motorcycle Accidents

Car accidents may also involve motorcycles, with IDOT finding that these vehicles accounted for 1% of all accidents and 12.6% of fatal accidents in 2022.

Motorcyclists are more vulnerable compared to car and truck drivers, without the protective measures found in other vehicles. As a result, they’re more likely to sustain serious and fatal injuries in accidents.

Bicycle Accidents

Accidents involving bicycles are common and leave cyclists with serious injuries in many cases. Like motorcyclists, bicyclists lack the protection of other vehicle drivers, and bicycles are far less visible to surrounding drivers than other vehicles.

IDOT found that pedal cyclists were involved in 1.4% of all accidents and 3.1% of fatal accidents in 2022.

Pedestrian Accidents

IDOT’s report states that 1.4% of all accidents in 2022 involved pedestrians, with these accidents also comprising 16.9% of fatal accidents that year.

Pedestrians are harder to see and are more susceptible to serious injuries in car accidents. Drivers could cause these accidents when failing to give pedestrians the right of way at intersections or making turns after neglecting to look for pedestrian traffic.

Hire a Car Accident Attorney

To succeed with a car accident case, it’s often in your best interest to hire an experienced car accident lawyer in Bloomington to file a claim or lawsuit.

While simpler car accident cases involving minor injuries or property damage may be straightforward during the car insurance claims process, more complicated cases could require more effort to recover total compensation.

An attorney can discuss your case with you to determine what options you have regarding compensation, and advise you on what to do after a car accident in Illinois. He or she may then choose to represent you in a car accident case, collecting and organizing evidence to build a strong case.

When navigating your case, your attorney could ultimately help you file a claim with insurers. Insurance companies might make an initial offer that’s lower than the true settlement amount you deserve, and a lawyer will know what your case is worth and fight for total compensation.

Additionally, an attorney could decide to take your case to court if he or she is unable to settle during the claims process. He or she would then provide representation during your trial and continue to seek a favorable outcome.

In a consultation, attorneys could also answer questions like, “Whose insurance pays in a multi-car accident?”

What Is the Cost of a Car Accident Attorney?

One aspect of hiring an attorney that might make you reluctant could be the perceived cost of a lawyer. One of the benefits of working with most accident attorneys is the fact that they work on a contingency fee. This payment model involves charging a fee that comes out of a portion of a settlement if the attorney reaches a settlement.

A contingency fee helps ensure that attorneys work on behalf of their clients, but it also means they’ll be more selective in choosing cases to handle.

The main benefit for crash victims is the ability to get the representation they need without adding to medical expenses and other costs pertaining to their case.

Compensation After a Car Accident

You may also wonder, “How much should you settle for after getting hit by a car?” Generally, the settlement amount will depend on the severity of your injuries, the degree of fault, and whether you file your case on time.

There are two main types of compensation that crash victims may recover in car accident cases, including:

Economic Damages

Economic or monetary damages are those involving the financial expenses associated with a car accident case. These may include the following:

• Medical costs, including bills for immediate and long-term care
• Lost income
• Lost potential income
• Property damage
• Modifications made to homes or vehicles to improve accessibility for disabled victims

Collecting all receipts and other financial documentation can help prove and calculate these damages following an accident.

Non-Economic Damages

In addition to economic damages, you could recover non-economic or non-monetary damages. These include pain and suffering experienced after an accident, along with mental anguish, post-traumatic stress disorder, disfigurement, and loss of consortium or companionship.

To prove these damages, you can document your personal experience in a journal, and your lawyer could use a calculation method to quantify these damages in a car accident settlement.

Depending on the factors involved in your case, you could settle for anywhere from thousands to millions of dollars. An attorney can help determine the precise settlement amount in your claim or lawsuit.

What to Avoid in a Car Accident Case

Apart from knowing what to do following an accident, you should know what not to do to help your case succeed.

Here are things to avoid when navigating a claim or lawsuit:

Neglecting to Call the Authorities

While you may not need to call the police for accidents involving minor damage, you are legally required to call the authorities if an accident results in significant damage or injuries.

The main benefit of calling the police is the ability to create a police report that details the nature of the accident. This document could provide you with invaluable evidence in your case if it’s in line with your version of events.

Gathering Insufficient Evidence

Another problem that can hurt your case is a lack of adequate evidence collected after an accident. There are many pieces of evidence that you should collect to help your claim, including police reports, medical records, witness testimony, and photos and videos of damages and the accident scene..

If you struggle to collect the evidence needed in your case, an attorney could connect with medical professionals, law enforcement, and others to obtain the necessary documentation.

Not Getting Medical Treatment Quickly Enough

Following an accident, you should seek medical attention as soon as possible if you notice any injuries or symptoms. The longer you wait to seek professional care, the more your injuries could develop until they result in serious or even life-threatening conditions.

Another reason to seek treatment early on is to more easily connect your injuries with the accident. If you wait too long to seek treatment, insurers might not believe that your injuries resulted from the accident and deny your claim.

To develop a winning car accident case against liable parties, call an experienced Bloomington car accident attorney. Contact us today at Strong Law Offices, and we’ll help you schedule a free consultation with one of our attorneys.