Backover Accidents

Car Crash Lawyers Assisting People in Schaumburg and Wheaton

Backover accidents can have devastating consequences for a victim and their family. If you or your loved one has been injured in a backover accident caused by someone else’s negligence, you may be entitled to compensation for your harm. At Therman Law Offices, our capable Schaumburg and Wheaton car accident attorneys can scrutinize the facts of your claim and provide you with an honest assessment of your legal rights and options. With years of experience, we are dedicated to making sure that your focus remains on your recovery, while ours remains on the nuances of your case.

Backover Accidents Cause Serious Harm

Backover accidents take place when a driver backs out of a driveway or parking space without taking proper care to look for a pedestrian, object, or vehicle behind them. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there are at least 500,000 backing accidents of some type each year in the United States. From these half million accidents, there are approximately 15,000 injuries and 210 deaths – mostly affecting children five years of age or younger. In fact, children in this age group make up 31 percent of all backover accident fatalities. Many of these accidents happen during holidays when children are playing outside and neighborhood traffic is heavier. Additionally, elders aged 70 and over make up 26 percent of backover accident victims.

It is easy to understand why backover accidents are so common. Even the most cautious driver can miss a small child who darts behind the vehicle. Still, every driver has a responsibility to take reasonable care behind the wheel. Reasonable care is measured in terms of how a prudent person would have acted in the same or similar circumstances. For example, a driver who lives in a neighborhood with children may walk around the vehicle before getting in and pulling out to make sure that no one is playing near the car. Of course, backover accidents can involve pedestrians or bicyclists as well.

Victims who are injured in backover accidents must prove that the driver was negligent. Negligence involves showing that the driver caused injuries by failing to use reasonable care. In order to establish negligence, the plaintiff’s attorney will need to demonstrate that the driver owed a duty of care to the plaintiff, the driver breached the duty of care owed to the plaintiff, and the driver’s breach was a direct and proximate cause of the backover accident and the plaintiff’s resulting harm.

Backover accidents can lead to devastating injuries that can be extremely costly to treat. Fortunately, Illinois law allows victims of these accidents to recover a variety of economic and non-economic damages, such as medical bills, future medical bills, pain and suffering, rehabilitation costs, lost wages and earning capacity, and property damage. The exact amount of compensation that a plaintiff will be entitled to obtain will depend on the specific facts of the case.

If you have lost a loved one in a fatal backover accident, you may be able to file a wrongful death claim against the at-fault party. These claims allow certain surviving family members to recover compensation for the victim’s burial or funeral costs, loss of companionship, loss of consortium, and other damages related to the untimely death of a loved one. While no amount of money can bring your loved one back, the money can help you move on with your life and deal with some of the expenses that unexpectedly pile up after such a tragedy.

Seek Assistance from a Car Accident Lawyer in the Wheaton or Schaumburg Areas

If you or someone close to you has been involved in a backover accident caused by a distracted driver, it is important to seek the help of a skilled attorney as soon as possible. At Therman Law Offices, we are committed to holding negligent parties accountable for the harm that they cause and getting you the compensation that you are entitled to receive for your harm. We proudly serve people in Wheaton, Schaumburg, Norwood Park, Edison Park, Harwood Heights, Norridge, Elmwood Park, Park Ridge, Des Plaines, Rosemont, Elk Grove Village, and Mt. Prospect, among other communities. If you need legal advice after a backover accident, call us at 312-588-1900 or contact us online.