car crash

Someone hit my car – Now what?

March 2, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

It is my firm belief that motor vehicle collisions are avoidable. They are almost always the result of someone’s carelessness or misstep somewhere along the way. Whether a crash resulted from a vehicle not being properly maintained, or a sleepy or fatigued driver, car crashes can be avoided. However, what if you do everything right and still your vehicle is hit by another car in a situation that was entirely not your fault?

You can imagine a driver going the speed limit or even slower, or with the flow of traffic, and then that driver stops after a light ahead of them turns yellow then red, or other cars slow down or stop because of traffic backing up. This is an extremely common scenario. It is so common, in fact, that most people don’t even give it any thought. It’s just part of the world we live in. No one thinks about it unless someone traveling through this transportation system we are all accustomed to doesn’t pay attention, or looks at their phone when they should be looking at the road, other cars, or hazards up ahead, and hits someone or another car. This of course, disrupts everything. It disrupts movement on the roads, people’s schedules, and worst of all, it can cause someone to be seriously injured or killed. In Illinois alone, over 1000 people died in traffic crashes in 2019. Each one of those people lost, should be alive and with us today, yet sadly, they were lost in preventable tragedies. When this occurs, the victim or their family is left to pick up the pieces.

I’m writing this series of blog posts about the aftermath of motor vehicle crashes to let people know what they might expect to encounter if they were unfortunate to have been involved in a collision that was no fault of their own, and so that people can better understand how things work with car insurance, traffic tickets that are issued when a crash occurs, medical bills, and the legal system, or the system of justice where people seek to make themselves whole. Although when faced with a permanent injury or the death of a loved one, that isn’t actually possible because we simply can’t change the past, but we try our hardest to make things right.

Some people may be surprised to learn that in Illinois, the person who was injured by another driver who was actually at fault for a crash will be responsible for securing their own medical treatment. In other words, although the person responsible for the damages caused in a crash should ultimately compensate the person who they injured for reasonable medical treatment related to those injuries, this doesn’t happen right away, or while the injured party is getting care. Compensation from the responsible party in this case would happen when the case is finally resolved by settlement or a verdict, if the case were to be decided in court by a trial.

Additionally, even though a crash was not your fault, you may benefit from opening a claim with your own insurance company relating to medical payments or possible coverage if the other driver who caused the collision had no insurance or not enough insurance. In reality, there are numerous aspects of the aftermath of a motor vehicle crash that many hard-working people, who have had little to no experience with the legal system might be surprised to learn about, or just wouldn’t have known how best to navigate.

To be sure, all the answers to the question of what to do if you’re the victim of a crash can’t possibly be contained in an online article, or even a whole series of them. There is no substitute in these cases for a consultation with an experienced professional. I highly recommend seeking advice from an experienced attorney with a good reputation who practices in the area of personal injury as soon as is reasonably possible after a crash. Nevertheless, I am hopeful that the information contained here and the posts that will follow will give people more of an insight into how the system works in Illinois. Please stay tuned and be safe.

Levinson and Stefani Help With Publication of New Edition of Auto Injury Case Litigation Book

January 9, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

The 2020-2021 Edition of Litigating Major Automobile Injury and Death Cases has just been released, and Levinson and Stefani have contributed to the book.

Litigating Major Automobile Injury and Death Cases is divided into two separate volumes and aims to give plaintiff attorneys proper guidance in regards to major automobile injury and death case representation. It also provides specific strategies for using the least expenditure of effort in order to win the largest damage awards as possible.

Volume 1 of the book, Law and Forms, explains how an attorney can build the best possible case by “incorporating litigation strategies that undermine expected defense strategies and affirm [the] case.”

Volume 2, Forensic Science, is medical reference-based and offers data regarding injury mechanism topics. These are meant to “prove causation and damages for a variety of crash types and crash injuries, including epidemiology, injury risk by crash type, injury pattern analysis, biomechanics, and more.”

Levinson and Stefani took the initiative to contribute a section written by Louisville-based attorney Jay Vaughn, who specializes in remote depositions. Vaughn was able to add guidance on this topic in an effort “to help practitioners during the pandemic working remotely,” which will also be “for use even when things get back to normal,” explained Ken Levinson.

In this particular contribution, Vaughn details certain technology basics, a ‘Best Practices’ checklist, court reporter instructions, the sharing and usage of exhibits, and deposition notice samples for Zoom.

The book also features tools such as focus group, trial consultant, and juror interview guidance; ways to construct the best visual aids and prepare effective presentations for a jury; procedures that give step-by-step guidance from a client’s first meeting all the way to a winning judgment; legal resource references for litigating a case to a favorable verdict; air bag, seat belt, and other auto safety-related technical articles; and scientific articles to help attorneys obtain expert and opposing expert critical testimonies.

To purchase an individual volume or the full set of the latest edition of Litigating Major Automobile Injury and Death Cases, click here.

Staged Accident Scandal Brings Second Round of Indictments

November 16, 2020 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

More indictments come from a New Orleans federal grand jury following an investigation of staged automobile accidents involving tractor-trailers. 11 people have been charged on seven counts of fraud regarding these events, which occurred in 2017.

The indictment states that prosecutors believe those involved with the staged events, which took place between March and May of that year, were also involved in nearly 100 other tractor-trailer-involved accidents from 2015 to 2017.

The purpose of staging these incidents was to defraud insurance and trucking companies, according to the indictment, which also shows that these accident-staging individuals referred those who had said they were injured in these faux accidents to five specific attorneys. Then, these attorneys allegedly paid $1,000 for trucks and $500 for passenger vehicles to the leader of these fraudulent efforts for each participant’s “injuries.”

“In some cases, the attorneys knew that the participants were uninjured but referred them to medical providers for treatment to increase the value of subsequent lawsuits,” said Peter Strasser, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana. “In total, the victim trucking and insurance companies paid out $277,500 for these fraudulent claims.”

Those charged were Roderick Hickman of Baton Rouge, La., Lois Russell of Gibson, La., James Williams of Gibson, La., Tanya Givens of Gibson, La., John Diggs of Thibodaux, La., Henry Randle of Gibson, La., Ryan Wheaten of Lafayette, La., Dakota Diggs of Fort Smith, Ark., Bernell Gale of Raceland, La., Marvel Francois of Houma, La,, and Troy Smith of Houma, La.

Defendants will face five years in prison for one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and up to 20 years for six counts of mail fraud if convicted. Upon release, defendants could potentially be placed under parole for up to five years and charged $250,000 per count.

The fraud participants’ methods of mailing illegal payments are what lead to the mail fraud charges. Regarding the rest of the plan, according to prosecutors, one conspirator would drive a vehicle that hit a truck or a car–this vehicle was referred to as the “slammer.” Next, another vehicle would trail the slammer closely to be able to pick up the slammer driver post-crash. This vehicle was called the “spotter.” After the crash, the slammer driver would leave the scene in the spotter vehicle. Another passenger in the vehicle would claim to be the driver.

After a few months, one of the involved attorneys would send a demand letter to attorneys for the drivers who were crashed into, and would move forward with a lawsuit.

One attorney, according to the indictment, received payment for at least 40 of these staged incidents, and another was paid for up to 20.

Additionally, organizers of the fraudulent events would meet with their attorney partners for food or coffee to create a detailed scheme plan.

The first public reports of these incidents were made public in October of last year in relation to two accidents involving tractor-trailers in June of 2017, and indictments were called the “tip of the iceberg” by attorneys that represented victim trucking companies. Some of these companies included Chattanooga, Tennessee’s Covenant Transportation Group and Jefferson, Louisiana’s Southeastern Motor Freight Inc.

These cases were the first criminal charges in New Orleans that included federal authorities investigating what they believed was a pattern of related fraudulent events.

Earlier in August, the leader of the first New Orleans group that began staging accidents, Damian Labeaud, pleaded guilty to one federal count of a plan to defraud interstate commercial trucking carriers and insurance companies by staging two June 2017 crashes. Of this first group, six other co-conspirators have pleaded guilty.

Trucking companies that frequently travel around New Orleans were made aware of these scams last year by victim trucking and insurance company clients’ attorneys.

Among at least 30 fraudulent cases in New Orleans, attorneys found many similarities, such as multiple people in the claimant vehicle and minimal damage to the claimant vehicle, sideswipe allegations with commercial vehicle trailers, little damage to the insured trailer, and a commercial vehicle driver who either denies impact or is completely unaware of an incident.

“It’s always the same thing: Four people in a sedan and there’s always a random witness who gives a loose statement to the cops and has a random appointment and has to get away,” said Chance McNeely, Louisiana Motor Transport Association executive director. He also noted that these people also were usually using the same attorneys and doctors.

In one federal lawsuit by Tiffany Turner, Adonte Turner, and Dimitri Frazier of New Orleans, the three conspirators said they traveled in a 2010 Chevrolet Impala on Interstate-10 when their vehicle was hit by a Whitestone-owned semi-truck. They claimed that driver had suddenly switched lanes and caused a collision, and that they suffered “severe and serious bodily injuries.” They sought $1 million in damages for negligent entrustment of the company’s vehicle to the driver and for failure to properly train employees. They also sought damages for medical expenses, physical pain, mental anguish, and inconvenience.

This investigation is still ongoing following this second round of indictments.

When you’re buying car insurance make sure to read the fine print

September 24, 2020 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Have you ever bought a car you could barely afford, or thought you paid too much? Nobody wants to drive around in a piece of junk, and for many Americans, your car is part of your identity. So, picking just the right one is important. But then you have to figure out how you’re going to pay for it. Maybe you’ve saved up enough cash to purchase your dream ride. Perhaps, you just want to lease. A lot of us get financing from a bank. You put some amount down and drive away with a payment you have to make every month. But that’s not the end of the story. Now you have to get insurance. Everyone knows, you can’t drive off the lot without insurance coverage. Yet, it might not be the first thing on your mind when you’re excited about a new car, or one that is at least new to you.

In Illinois, it’s mandatory to have at least $25,000 in liability coverage. That is, if you cause a crash, you have to have at least that much coverage on your policy. To be more precise, it’s $25,000 per person and a total of $50,000 per incident. In other words, supposing an Illinois driver caused a crash that resulted in three people being injured. If none of those people bore any responsibility for their injuries, there would have to be a determination on how to divide the $50,000 insurance policy limits of the at-fault driver. If the damages those three people suffered combined to an amount in excess of $50,000, that determination can be complicated.

We haven’t even mentioned property damage yet. If that car you just bought gets wrecked, how will you pay to get it fixed or to buy a new one if it’s totaled? Illinois doesn’t require you to buy collision coverage. So, if your car is damaged in a crash and you only have liability coverage, you may be left to fend for yourself. However, even if you do have collision coverage, it may not be enough to cover your loss.

Back in 2008, the mortgage foreclosure crisis was in the news and we all kept hearing a lot about people that were underwater in their homes. What that meant was that people had borrowed more money to buy a house than the house was now worth. So, if they couldn’t pay the monthly note, selling the property wouldn’t fix the problem because they wouldn’t’ get enough from the sale to pay all the money they borrowed back to the bank. They would then be left with no house and an unpaid debt they were still responsible for.

The same principal works with cars. Only, the reason why you could be left paying back the bank for a car you no longer have isn’t because you didn’t pay your bills. You could have paid every single bill on time and been the most responsible and safe driver. If someone else causes a crash that isn’t your fault, for example, you get rear ended at a stop light after you have been waiting at the red light for three minutes and the person behind you smashes into your rear bumper because he was looking at his phone, having a car that is worth less than the amount you owe the bank will leave you having to pay off a debt for nothing.

This is because most auto collision policies only cover the value of the car. Supposing you buy a used car that you really wanted, but you don’t have the cash to buy it outright, so you borrow the money from your local back. The bank paid the dealer so you can have use of the car, but the bank still owns that vehicle until you pay them back. Add interest to the deal and the fact that your car continually depreciates in value and you could get into a situation where the fair market value of that car is less than how much you still owe the bank. If that car gets totaled, even if you pay all your bills on time and the crash was not your fault, if your insurance company contract says you only get how much the car was worth at the time of the crash, you still owe on that loan from the bank.

So what do you do? The obvious answer is to buy a car you don’t have to borrow a ton to get. However, if you’ve already found yourself in the situation described above, talk to your lender. See if you can cut some kind of deal. Talk to the dealership too and see if they can either roll the existing loan into a new finance deal or come up with some other solution within the allowable rules that will allow your bank to help you out. Most importantly, is read your insurance contract and know your money. Educate yourself on exactly how the payment structure will work, how much the car is actually worth, and what your insurance policy covers. Some insurance companies may offer a policy that will allow you to replace your car. Find out. And if you have questions, ask. And lastly, be safe.

Industry Experts Hope for Decrease in Crash Fatalities

September 1, 2020 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Although shelter-in-place mandates brought on by the coronavirus pandemic have made traffic numbers drop significantly during the first quarter of 2020, there was only a 1% decrease in fatalities compared to those of 2019’s first quarter.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s recent “early estimates” report said 7,780 people died in crashes during that period of 2020, which is only 70 fewer than that of last year. Still, preliminary data also show vehicle miles traveled during that time decreased by 40.1 billion miles (5.4%). These numbers do not portray the number of big rig vehicles involved in such crashes.

Additionally, the rate of crash fatality during 2020’s first quarter actually increased to 1.10 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled from the 1.05 per 100 million vehicle miles traveled in the period just before.

“Given the unprecedented nature of the health emergency and the limited data collected thus far, it is unclear what conclusions or broader trends can be extrapolated at this point,” said NHTSA. When projections from the first half of the year are released in September, these overall estimations will be refined further.

“Due to recent anecdotal reports of increased speeding and reckless driving on emptier roads in recent months, NHTSA has launched a new summer ad campaign to remind drivers to drive safely as Americans get back on the road,” said the agency. “We will be following the data closely and issuing a special report on traffic safety during this unique period later this summer.”

Some of the administration’s campaign efforts have been seen on Twitter recently.

“Summer vacations may look a little different this year, but summer driving safety tips always apply,” said NHTSA in a tweet. “Wherever you’re headed, keep yourself, your family, and others on the road safe by completing a few vehicle checks and obeying the rules of the road.”

Also in the report were data showing an increase in fatalities between 2017 and 2018 with large-truck occupants, pedestrians, and pedalcyclists. Additionally, crash fatalities increased over 10 consecutive quarters starting in 2014’s fourth quarter. The second quarter of 2017 saw a 1.1% decline which stopped the upward trend, and 2019’s second quarter brought the seventh quarter in a row of yearly fatality decreases since 2017.

In regards to large trucks involved with crash fatalities, the number of these big rigs in fatal crashes increased by 4.6% between 2017 and 2018, with trucks weighing between 10,001 and 14,000 pounds. In the same period, the number of trucks over 26,000 pounds involved with fatal crashes increased by 1.6%.

During these periods, the largest factors in these crashes were: speeding, distraction, and failure to yield right-of-way.

“The first goal is to stop that upward trend,” said FMCSA’s chief safety officer, Jack Van Steenburg at the Transportation Research Board’s annual meeting in January. “For the next several months, we at FMCSA are going to go out and talk to people. We’re going to listen to people. We want to tell them what we’re doing, ask how we can do it better, what can we do differently, and how can we do it differently to prevent these crashes from occurring.”

The NHTSA says it is currently still finalizing data from crash fatalities during 2018 and 2019 by “using information from police crash reports and other sources.” and that it is “too soon to speculate on the contributing factors or potential implications of any changes in deaths on our roadways.” When the final file for 2018 and annual report for 2019 become available this fall, it will likely result “in the revision of fatality totals and the ensuing rates and percentage changes.”

Jim Mullen, acting FMCSA Administrator, said that he has been working diligently to find ways to reverse the increase of large-truck fatalities that have been present over the last four years.

“When I assumed this role as an acting administrator three months ago, the members of this panel asked me what are my top priorities,” Mullen said at the annual TRB meeting. “That, to me, was a no-brainer. The top priority for me at this agency is to reverse that four-year trend [of] increasing fatalities involved with large trucks and buses.”

Number of Traffic Fatalities Down in 2019

January 28, 2020 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

With 2019 now in the rearview mirror, new data suggest the last year of the decade proved to be a positive one for drivers across the United States, as traffic fatalities saw a year-over-year decrease of 2.2% throughout the first 9 months of the year. According to Transport Topics, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimated there were 26,730 fatalities that occurred in 2019. While the statistics alone appear to be alarming, many should see this as a positive sign as it makes “the third quarter of 2019 the eighth consecutive quarter for year-over-year declines in traffic deaths since Q4 of 2017.”

Not only does this data establish that the United States has consistently been decreasing the number of traffic fatalities each year, but it proves that more drivers on the road and more miles being driven on average across the entire United States does not necessarily mean more fatalities will occur.

For instance, the Federal Highway Administration has also released data showing there has been a 1% increase in overall miles travelled by Americans in the first nine months of 2019, with an increase of 24 billion miles.

While this news is certainly positive and provides the nation with an idea of the direction in which certain initiatives are going, it’s important that we do not view such statistics in a vacuum.

To be sure, there has been a 2.2% decrease in traffic fatalities, but as is often the case, there is no silver bullet approach when it comes to trying to curb what can often feel like inevitable results.

According to the National Safety Council, a non-profit organization specializing in decreasing preventable deaths, the Road to Zero Coalition has been actively promoted. The Safety Council’s plan to eliminate all road deaths entirely serves as a guide for both state federal governments to adopt specific strategies to ultimately put an end to all traffic fatalities by 2050.

As highlighted in the report generated by the council, the strategies proposed are based on three “approaches” the coalition has found to be integral to succeeding in their initiative:

1. Doubling Down on What Works

Supporting policies that are based on research in roadway design and construction, vehicle engineering, law enforcement, consumer education, and trauma care.

2. Accelerating Advanced Technology

Establish new partnerships with manufacturers, technology companies, and EMS and trauma systems, as well as with public safety and health groups.

3. Prioritizing Safety

Adopting a “Safe System Approach” that prioritizes using proven safety methods which allow for individuals to make mistakes, yet such mistakes will not result in actual death.

In addition to establishing an overall guide for states to adopt, the council also holds “Road to Zero” webinars which serve as an introduction for new members joining the coalition to learn what other cities and states have already encountered in attempting to implement such strategies.

Although the task that the National Safety Council is trying to accomplish appears to be far larger in scope than what is realistically possible, such ambition has not gone unnoticed. Since its inception, the Road to Zero initiative has garnered roughly 900 members of the coalition. Among those members include the Federal Highway Administration, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This is precisely what needs to occur across the United States for such lofty goals to be achieved.

It may seem unrealistic for us to be able to completely curb traffic fatalities when a 1% increase in the miles travelled across the country resulted in 24-billion-mile increase; however, when such a large number of companies and organizations are united behind these goals, there will be results.

Some may view the 2019 traffic fatality statistics as nothing more than a necessary update to the public to establish that the funding and donations being received are actually paying dividends. While that may be true to some extent, it is absolutely essential to remember that a silver bullet does not exist, and the efforts being put forth by such organizations as the National Safety Council are truly worth monitoring.

It could very well be the case that over the first few months of 2020 a spike in traffic fatalities occurs, but that should not mean we stop implementing these strategies in the future. Even without a silver bullet approach to decreasing traffic fatalities, our states, cities, and communities owe it to citizens to provide smart and convenient traffic routes and policies. Without implementing such policies, their failure to do so could render them accountable for future fatalities that were otherwise preventable.