Everyone knows that the right thing to do in the event of a car accident is to stop and share contact information with the other drivers involved. Not only is this the ethical thing to do, but it is also required by law. When a motorist is involved in a collision, he or she must stop his or her vehicle. Failure to stop is considered a “hit-and-run,” and leaving the scene of an accident is a crime in the state of Illinois under most circumstances.

If you were involved in a hit-and-run, you might have suffered severe injuries that incurred significant medical costs in addition to your property damage. You may also be unable to work due to your injuries. You may wonder whether or not you can pursue compensation for these losses through a personal injury lawsuit. Successfully obtaining compensation for a hit-and-run accident can be a challenging process, but it is possible.

Your Next Steps

One of the most crucial steps to take after being involved in a hit-and-run accident is to call the police and get a police report. A police report that describes the details of the accident is an essential element in a personal injury claim and an insurance claim. Furthermore, the sooner you contact the police, the more likely it is that the police will be able to catch the person who hit you. Next, gather information about the accident.

The summer travel season runs from Memorial Day in late May to Labor Day in early September. Unfortunately, with summer travel comes dangers on the country’s streets and highways. In fact, the season has been dubbed the “100 Deadliest Days” by the American Automobile Association (AAA) because roadway fatalities tend to increase during the summer. The danger is especially great for teen drivers, with AAA reporting that teen drivers are three times more likely to be involved in a fatal accident compared to their adult counterparts.

Any car accident has the potential to be serious and cause injury to yourself or others. An accident with a teenage driver, however, can be particularly dangerous due to a few behaviors that might have led to your crash.

Distracted Driving

One of the most common reasons for car accidents, in general, is distracted driving. The AAA estimates that distractions play a role in around 60 percent of all car crashes, which is much higher than previously thought. There are many different things that could distract a person while they are driving, both inside and outside of the vehicle. Things such as changing the radio, adjusting the temperature controls, directing attention toward another passenger, putting on makeup, eating or drinking, and using your cell phone can all pose as distractions while driving.

When a loved one dies in an accident it can throw everything into chaos. You feel deep emotional pain that feels like it will never get better. You may also have to deal with a host of unexpected costs that you are unprepared to pay for. When a loved one dies too soon, the emotional and financial effects can last for the rest of your life. In Illinois wrongful death suits, the victim’s surviving family members may have the opportunity to collect compensation for the loss of their loved one.

What You Can Recover

 While money will never bring back or replace your loved one, it can help ease your financial burden and it is the only way the law has of trying in some way to right the wrong that was done to you and your family.

Wrongful death suits allow certain surviving family members to collect damages for: 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), excessive alcohol use in the U.S. costs the country roughly a quarter trillion dollars per year. This number included costs caused by loss in workplace productivity, health care, criminal justice, and alcohol-related car accidents. Alcohol is often a factor in personal injury law cases, and many who are injured in alcohol-related accidents are eligible to receive compensation.

Alcohol-Related Injuries

Although many people use alcohol responsibly, alcohol is a very powerful drug. When a person consumes alcohol, their body is affected in several significant ways. Their reaction time is often decreased, and reflexes may become slower, their vision may become distorted or blurry, their ability to concentrate may be diminished, and they may find it hard to coordinate their movements. These side effects of alcohol make a person much more susceptible to an injury-causing accident.

Sometimes alcohol-related injuries are caused by something as simple as slipping and falling. This often happens in dimly lit bars or other places where alcohol is served and could be spilled. When a person has been drinking, he or she is less likely to be able to react to a slip as quickly as he or she might have been able to while sober. This makes serious injury a higher risk than if the person had not been drinking.

A car accident is one of the most disorienting experiences a person can go through. You may find it hard to even think straight, let alone figure out the best course of action in the immediate aftermath, especially if you have been injured. However, the moments following an accident can have important implications for your health and safety, as well as for your chances of recovering compensation through a personal injury claim.

The better prepared you are for the possibility of a car crash, the more likely you may be to handle it in a way that leads to a more favorable outcome. Let’s take a look at some of the ways that you can be ready to protect yourself in the wake of a serious accident.

Steps to Take After a Car Crash

If you are injured in a car accident, try to keep these suggestions in mind to help you manage the situation: