When a person suffers serious injuries, the impact on their own life is clear. An injury victim may struggle with physical pain and limitations, mental stress, interruptions to their daily life, and financial challenges. However, it is also important not to overlook the impact on a victim’s family, especially if the injuries are ultimately fatal. Fortunately, surviving family members have the ability to recover compensation through a wrongful death claim when their loved one is killed due to someone else’s negligence.

When is a Wrongful Death Claim Possible?

As with a personal injury claim, a wrongful death claim requires evidence of negligence that led to the injuries suffered. Commonly, wrongful death claims are filed in response to motor vehicle accidents, whether the injuries are immediately fatal or they result in fatal complications later on. A wrongful death claim may also be warranted after other types of fatal incidents, including construction and other work-related injuries, medical malpractice, and nursing home abuse or neglect.

Recovering Compensation

Illinois law requires that a wrongful death claim be brought by the victim’s estate, meaning that whoever serves as the estate executor or administrator is responsible for initiating the claim. However, any damages recovered will be distributed to the victim’s spouse or next of kin. If multiple surviving family members were dependent on the deceased for financial support, the recovery will be allocated accordingly.

Based on recent data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there are more fatal alcohol-related car accidents in the summer than in any other season. In part, this is due to the prevalence of drinking on summer holidays like Memorial Day, Labor Day, and Fourth of July weekend. In order to protect yourself and your family, you should consider taking extra precautions when driving during the summer, especially on weekends and holidays. You should also know where to turn for help if you are injured by a drunk driver.

Avoiding Accidents With Drunk Drivers in Illinois

For most people, avoiding driving altogether in the summer, or even just during a holiday weekend, is unrealistic and undesirable. However, it is worth considering your travel plans to see if you can stay off the road during some of the most dangerous times. For example, rather than going out to a bar or to a party for the Fourth of July and driving home late at night, you might consider celebrating at home.

Drowsy driving does not get the same level of attention as other forms of driver negligence, like drunk driving and distracted driving. However, the National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) reports that driver fatigue is a serious and widespread problem, with conservative estimates indicating that it is responsible for 50,000 injuries and hundreds of fatalities each year. Driver fatigue is especially dangerous among commercial truck drivers, who often spend long hours on the road on a daily basis.

The Harmful Effects of Drowsy Driving

Driver fatigue can come about for a number of reasons, including long hours spent awake and on the road, driving late at night, and a general lack of sufficient sleep. When a driver is fatigued, they are at risk of falling asleep at the wheel. Even a so-called “microsleep” that lasts only a few seconds can have serious consequences for a driver traveling in traffic. For example, it can cause the driver to drift into another lane, or to fail to stop to avoid a rear-end collision.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, construction sites are one of the most common locations for work-related injuries in the United States, and it is easy to understand why. Construction work tends to involve strenuous physical labor, and worksites feature a wide range of occupational hazards, including heavy machinery and equipment, dangerous materials, and ladders, and scaffolding. If you have been injured on a construction site, you may have a case for a personal injury claim, but it is important to determine who is at fault for your injuries.

Liable Parties in Illinois Construction Injury Cases

One of the most complicated aspects of construction accident cases is identifying the negligent parties. A number of different people and entities can influence the work environment on a construction site at any given moment. The identity of the at-fault parties in your case can influence both the amount and type of compensation you are eligible to receive, as well as how you go about pursuing it.

When you get into a car accident, a variety of injuries can happen. Many people sustain whiplash, bruising, and sometimes even broken bones. Another fairly common injury that a car accident can produce is a traumatic brain injury (TBI). TBIs can and often do range in severity, especially if you sustained the injury from a car accident. In severe cases, a brain injury could also lead to death. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there were more than 61,000 people who died from a TBI in 2019, with even more injured. If you suffered a TBI in a car accident, you should speak to an Illinois car accident injury lawyer to discuss your options to recover compensation.

What is a TBI?

A TBI is an injury that occurs to your brain after your head suffers a blow, bump, or jolt. Many TBIs occur from car accidents. The CDC estimates that about 25 percent of TBIs are caused by vehicle accidents. TBIs can also occur when something penetrates the brain, such as a bullet, projectile, or skull fragment.  Most TBIs only injure brain tissue and heal within a couple of weeks, but with more severe TBIs, the symptoms and effects of the injury may last for years or even a lifetime. 

Look for These Symptoms

TBIs can present a variety of symptoms depending on the severity of the injury. When a TBI is mild, it is often referred to as a concussion. Symptoms of a mild TBI include: