Posted on May 03, 2012 in Firm News

As the weather begins to warm up, Illinois drivers will start seeing more motorcycles on the roads. Governor Pat Quinn has declared May as Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month in Illinois. The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), working with other organizations, has launched the "Start Seeing Motorcycles" campaign to urge drivers to share the road with motorcyclists.

Motorcycle riders are almost 40 times more likely to die in the event of a motor vehicle accident compared to passenger car occupants, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Last year there were 144 Illinois motorcycle accident fatalities. This accounts for 16 percent of the state's total fatalities.

Motorcycles comparatively small size makes them easier for motorists to overlook. Drivers are urged to proactively watch for motorcycles, especially when changing lanes or merging. Motorists should also give motorcycles a full lane, and increase their following distance when behind a motorcycle by three or four seconds. Motorcycles are able to stop more quickly than cars in dry conditions.

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 Posted on April 09, 2012 in Firm News

Despite last year's major overhaul of the Illinois workers' compensation system, lawmakers are continuing to push for further changes. Bills pending in both the House and Senate may further limit the awards injured workers in Illinois may receive.

A bill recently put forward in the Illinois House deals with the computation of benefits for workers with prior injuries. If an employee experiences a subsequent injury in the same area of the body the worker previously injured and received benefits for, H.B. 6145 would subtract the earlier partial disability calculations from the award to be paid out for the new injury.

A separate bill introduced in the Illinois Senate aims to further reduce the state's workers' compensation costs. If passed, S.B. 2521 would implement a number of changes to the workers' compensation system including barring idiopathic injuries, and requiring employees to see a workers' compensation physician from an employer's preferred provider program. Currently workers can opt out of their employer's preferred provider program, but disincentives discourage the practice.

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 Posted on March 20, 2012 in Car Accidents

Perhaps you have seen drivers using their phones as traffic inches by an accident scene. Drivers may be using their cellphones to call home and let their family know they will be late for dinner, or may be texting to let others know to avoid the area of the wreck. Unless drivers are calling to report an Illinois car accident to emergency personnel, however, using a cellphone near the scene of a crash may soon be banned.

In legislation that passed the Illinois House earlier this month, drivers would be barred from using their phones in a 500 foot radius of any emergency scene where warning lights are flashing. An exception allows drivers to call to report an emergency. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Jerry Costello (D-Smithtown).

The goal of the proposal is to reduce the chance that carless drivers will hit emergency responders or accident victims. Similar cellphone bans already exist for school and construction zones.

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 Posted on March 08, 2012 in Articles

In the last few years, the dangers of distracted driving have been highly publicized and resulted in a wave of new safety legislation intended to keep the roads safe. While distracted driving can involve any action that takes the driver's attention off of driving, including talking with passengers and eating and drinking, much legislation has focused on limiting the use of cell phones while behind the wheel.

According to one study, drivers are four times more likely to be involved in accidents serious enough to injure themselves when using a hand-held device such as a cell phone. Carnegie Mellon reports that drivers' brain activity associated with driving is reduced by 37 percent when using a cell phone while driving.

Distracted Driving Laws in Illinois

The Illinois Department of Transportation reports that more than 500 Illinois car accidents involved cell phone distraction in the first half of 2010, and this is with a law banning texting while driving. Because cell phones pose distractions to drivers beyond texting, new legislation has been introduced in Illinois to further limit drivers' use of cell phones.

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 Posted on February 29, 2012 in Articles

More and more people are taking to the streets of Illinois - to walk. And as more residents begin to enjoy the health benefits of walking, pedestrian safety is increasingly becoming a concern. In order to address these concerns, the state is doing more to prevent Illinois pedestrian accidents and ensure that pedestrians and cars can share the road safely.

Pedestrian Accidents in Illinois

According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, in 2010:

• 5,174 pedestrians were injured in accidents with cars
• 115 fatal pedestrian accidents occurred, and many of them involved alcohol
• 10.4 percent of fatal pedestrian accidents occurred in rural areas, while the rest, 89.6 percent, occurred in metropolitan areas around the state

• 17 percent of pedestrians killed in accidents with cars were 65 years of age and above, while seven percent were under 15 years old

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 Posted on February 28, 2012 in Firm News

We recently moved offices in Quincy. Come see us if you're in the neighborhood.

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 Posted on February 16, 2012 in Firm News

You may not think of a supermarket as an obviously dangerous place to work. According to a recent Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission (IWCC) ruling, however, under the right circumstances such a facility may be found to expose employees to a higher risk of injury than members of the general public. Therefore, those employees may be eligible for Illinois workers' compensation benefits.

The case the Commission recently ruled on dealt with a cashier working at a produce market. The woman was injured when an out of control delivery vehicle drove through the market's window wall. Several customers at the store also sustained injuries in the crash.

The window wall was located at the front of the store, facing the parking lot. At the time of the accident, the woman was at her cash register also located in the front of the market by the large windows.

The workers' compensation arbitrator ruled that the woman did not prove the injuries she sustained in the crash arose from her employment at the market. The Commission, however, recently reversed the arbitrator's ruling and awarded the cashier workers' compensation benefits.

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 Posted on February 09, 2012 in Firm News

The insurance industry never ceases to amaze. They regularly take advantage of their customers who have been in motor vehicle accidents, aiming to provide as little help as possible. The following article clearly outlines the common practices at large insurance companies to help them realize billions of dollars in profits each year.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/13/insurance-claim-delays-industry-profits-allstate-mckinsey-company_n_1139102.html

When you work with the attorneys at Kanoski & Associates you can help minimize the abusive tactics the insurance companies use against people who have been in car accidents or suffered serious personal injuries due to someone else's negligence.

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 Posted on January 11, 2012 in Car Accidents

If you have been driving in Illinois recently, you may have begun seeing yellow dots on cars in the lower corner of rear windshields. These yellow decals are part of a statewide initiative to provide important medical information about vehicle occupants to first responders.

In the event of Illinois motor vehicle accident, the yellow dots alert first responders that vital medical information about a vehicle's drivers or passengers is located in the vehicle's glove compartment. The medical card in the glove compartment gives the participant's name and provides a photo identifying them. The card also lists their emergency contact, physician, and medical information including allergies, current medications and health conditions, and recent surgeries.

This type of information can be crucial to a victim's survival after a serious auto accident. Victims have the best chance of survival after a catastrophic injury if they are properly treated within the first hour, the so-called "golden hour". The Yellow Dot Program gives first responders the tools they need to quickly and effectively treat accident victims.

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 Posted on December 07, 2011 in Firm News

In July of 2010, two grain bin workers tragically lost their lives. The preventable Illinois grain handling accident occurred at Haasbach LLC, located in Mount Carroll. Now, after paying almost $270,000 in fines, the grain operator is closing its doors.

The fatal accident occurred when workers went into the grain bin while the machinery was working to aid in the flow of corn. None of the workers were using life lines or had safety harnesses, and the workers became trapped in 30 feet of corn. Rescuers attempted to free the workers by releasing several thousand pounds of corn through holes they cut in the bin. In the end, two teenage workers suffocated and lost their lives and another was injured.

Unfortunately such accidents are not entirely uncommon in Illinois. Between 1998 and 2008 the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reported the state had 16 grain bin accident fatalities.

The recent deaths have impacted the grain industry nationally, with OSHA beginning grain bin safety programs in Illinois, Wisconsin and Ohio. "We hope that the deaths of these two young men send a profound and unmistakable message throughout the grain industry that loss of life can and must be prevented," explained David Michaels, OSHA assistant secretary of labor.

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