Two paramedics were seriously hurt late Friday when a vehicle ran a red light and slammed into their ambulance at South Taylor Street and West Union Avenue, Chicago fire officials said.

The ambulance, which was responding to a call just before midnight on the city’s West Side, was going west on Taylor Street.

A vehicle coming off an expressway ramp went through a red light at Union Avenue, hitting the ambulance and causing it to roll over, fire Chief Joe Roccasalva said.

Both paramedics got out of the ambulance on their own and were taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in serious condition, he said.

Experienced and quality representation for all cases, big or small. If you or a loved one has been injured and you need a Skokie car accident lawyer, call Hayman & Kirshenbaum at 847-446-7900 for a free consultation or visit our website at www.majorinjurylaw.com.   We also handle medical malpractice, wrongful death, fall downs, birth injury and nursing home abuse and negligence cases.  Proudly serving accident victims since 1980 in the greater Chicagoland area and all of Illinois.

Police in Illinois say actor and playwright Sam Shepard has been arrested on preliminary charges of speeding and drunken driving.

Police Lt. Mark Kotte says officers stopped Shepard early Saturday in the central Illinois town of Normal.

Kotte says the 65-year-old Shepard was driving 16 mph over the 30 mph speed limit.

Kotte says a breath test indicated Shepard’s blood-alcohol level was double the legal limit.

Shepard told police he had been at a tavern in nearby Bloomington and was heading to a hotel. He said he was on his way to his home in Kentucky from Minnesota.

Shepard won the 1979 Pulitzer Prize for drama for his play “Buried Child.”

He posted bail in Bloomington. A man who answered the jail phone said he did not know the amount of bail. Attempts to locate an attorney for Shepard were unsuccessful.

Experienced and quality representation for all cases, big or small. If you or a loved one has been injured and you need an Evanston car accident lawyer, call Hayman & Kirshenbaum at 847-446-7900 for a free consultation or visit our website at www.majorinjurylaw.com.   We also handle medical malpractice, wrongful death, fall downs, birth injury and nursing home abuse and negligence cases.  Proudly serving accident victims since 1980 in the greater Chicagoland area and all of Illinois.

Two New Lenox residents were killed Monday, Dec. 29, in a car accident that also claimed the life of a Joliet man.

The two vehicle crash happened about 9:15 a.m. on U.S. 3O, west of Cherry Hill Road in Joliet Township, according to the New Lenox Fire Department. New Lenox resident Wayne J. Price, 58, was pronounced dead at Silver Cross Hospital at 10:27 a.m., and his wife, Bernice A. Price, 59, was pronounced dead at 10:20 a.m., according to the Will County Coroner’s office. Joliet resident Peter L. Haas, 67, was pronounced dead at Silver Cross at 1:23 p.m.

New Lenox and East Joliet Fire Departments responded to the pin-in crash.

Officers from the Illinois State Police Joliet District also responded, and the accident is under investigation by state police.

Experienced and quality representation for all cases, big or small. If you or a loved one has been injured and you need an Evanston car accident lawyer, call Hayman & Kirshenbaum at 847-446-7900 for a free consultation or visit our website at www.majorinjurylaw.com.   We also handle medical malpractice, wrongful death, fall downs, birth injury and nursing home abuse and negligence cases.  Proudly serving accident victims since 1980 in the greater Chicagoland area and all of Illinois.

State police continue to search for the driver of a grey Chevrolet believed to be involved in a road rage crash on Interstate 80 near Tinley Park that left two men injured Wednesday.
“We consider this road rage,” state police Sgt. Theodore Johnson said. “From information we’ve gathered, two cars were jockeying for position heading west on Interstate 80.

Witnesses told police that just prior to the crash, a blue Chevrolet sedan and possibly a grey or light brown older model Chevrolet Celebrity were involved in a road rage incident, police said.
The argument continued westward until the driver of the grey car positioned his vehicle in front of a blue car and slammed on his brakes, police said.  This caused the driver of the blue car to lose control, swerve to right and then left into the path of a semi-truck, which broadsided the car.
The crash happened about 12:15 p.m. near the truck weigh station in Tinley Park.

The driver of the blue car, who police identified Friday as Bradley Squires, 46, of New Lenox, was extricated from his vehicle and taken to St. James Hospital Olympia Fields Campus with serious injuries, police said. A hospital spokeswoman declined to update his condition Friday, citing hospital policy.

The driver of the semi truck, Larry Adams, 48, of Rock Falls, was treated for minor injuries at Silver Cross Hospital in Joliet and released, Johnson said. He was not ticketed, Johnson said.

The driver of the grey car, which fled the scene, is described as a white male with light brown curly hair.

Experienced and quality representation for all cases, big or small.  If you or a loved one has been injured and you need a Northbrook car accident lawyer, call Hayman & Kirshenbaum at 847-446-7900 for a free consultation or visit our website at www.majorinjurylaw.com.   We also handle medical malpractice, wrongful death, fall downs, birth injury and nursing home abuse and negligence cases.  Proudly serving accident victims since 1980 in the greater Chicagoland area and all of Illinois.

Under a new Illinois law, which takes effect Thursday, drivers convicted of a DUI must install breath-alcohol ignition interlocks on their cars if they want to keep driving while their licenses are suspended.

Here are some provisions of the law:

— Drivers must pay the full costs of the devices, which prevent drivers from starting their engines if they fail the breathalyzer-type test. That includes around $80 to install them, $80 a month for rent and a $30 monthly fee to the state.

— The car engine won’t start if a driver’s blood-alcohol content is above 0.024, a much lower level than the legal limit for drunk driving, which is 0.08.

— Drivers not only have to blow into the gadgets when they first start their cars — they must retest while driving, within the first 5 to 15 minutes, then twice every hour or so. If alcohol’s detected, the device tells the driver to pull over and the engine stops.

— The device records each test and any violation is reported to the Illinois Secretary of State’s office and additional penalties are applied, including extending the period of time someone must use the device.

— Drivers could attempt to circumvent the system by having someone else blow into the devices or driving someone else’s car. But if caught skirting the devices, the driver could go to jail for 3 years.

— This new system replaces one where judges could issue judicial driving permits, enabling those convicted of DUIs to drive to and from work or school. Those convicted still wouldn’t be able to drive for at least 30 days during which their licenses are revoked.

Experienced and quality representation for all cases, big or small. If you or a loved one has been injured and you need a Skokie car accident lawyer, call Hayman & Kirshenbaum at 847-446-7900 for a free consultation or visit our website at www.majorinjurylaw.com.   We also handle medical malpractice, wrongful death, fall downs, birth injury and nursing home abuse and negligence cases.  Proudly serving accident victims since 1980 in the greater Chicagoland area and all of Illinois.

CHICAGO — Motorists convicted of driving drunk will have to install breath-monitoring gadgets in their cars under new laws taking effect in six states this week.

The ignition interlocks prevent engines from starting until drivers blow into the alcohol detectors to prove they’re sober.

Alaska, Colorado, Illinois, Nebraska and Washington state began Jan. 1 requiring the devices on all motorists convicted of first-time drunken driving. South Carolina began Thursday requiring them for repeat offenders

Experienced and quality representation for all cases, big or small. If you or a loved one has been injured and you need an Evanston car accident lawyer, call Hayman & Kirshenbaum at 847-446-7900 for a free consultation or visit our website at www.majorinjurylaw.com.   We also handle medical malpractice, wrongful death, fall downs, birth injury and nursing home abuse and negligence cases.  Proudly serving accident victims since 1980 in the greater Chicagoland area and all of Illinois.

What factors make a high risk driver?
• Your driving record.
In Chicago, owning a new car might lead to owning a higher deductible. Okay, really?, you ask. A deductible is the amount you pay from your own pocket before the insurance company compensates the rest. And you are thinking that I am a genius at this point, huh? But read on. Increasing your deductible from $500 to $1000 could decrease your monthly payments by as much as 30 percent. At-fault accidents are sure to classify you high risk, but not-at-fault accidents and tickets do as well. Assuming more risk factors, some instances may reduce the cost of your car insurance.
• Your personal profile. If your car is worth less than $2000, you are most likely spending more on insurance than it is worth. This is your age, sex, and location.
Policies will be affected drastically if there is no collision coverage in your policy. If you a male below the age of 21 and you live in a city, you are going to be paying more for your insurance than a 30 year old female living in a rural area. There are five methods to save money on your new car insurance.
• Continuous coverage. The cost of a six-month auto insurance policy for the same driver with same coverage varies from company to company by more than $500 in Chicago. A lot of insurance companies will not insure if you haven’t had coverage for at least the previous 6 months.
It is advisable not to carry excessive coverage. A lot of times this is because they assume that you haven’t had insurance or that your insurance must have cancelled you. The insurance companies pay claims equal to a car’s actual cash value or market value.
• Your credit history. The collision coverage may not help an older car that has depreciated. Your credit history has an effect on your insurance class because insurance companies seem to think that if your credit is bad, then you won’t pay your premiums, or you may not and your coverage will lapse. Consider dropping collision coverage after four years, or when the collision premium equals ten percent of the car’s market value.
How do I get out of the ‘high risk’ class?
The main thing that is going to get you out of the high risk category is time.
Rental reimbursement insurance is coverage that will pay for some or for your entire car rental expenses while your car is being repaired or until you buy a new car. This is because either you grow older and automatically get into a better bracket or you have time to clean your credit record by paying your bills or you have time to clean your driving record. There are strict limits on the extent of the coverage and moreover the policies and costs vary.
Most insurance companies look back at the prior 3 years, so if you drive with no accidents or citations over the course of 3 years, you will be okay.
It is important to update the information that your insurance company has on fine for you, your car and your driving record.
There are ways to cut high rates of insurance now as well. You may be eligible for a rate reduction if you have gotten married, moved to the suburbs, no longer insure a younger driver, installed an anti-theft device, or if it has been at least three years since your last violation. You could consider getting an older car and carrying minimal required insurance on it.
New car insurance rates can vary widely by hundreds of dollars from company to company because of various claims experience, cost of doing business. Also, this will cut your insurance because you would then get multi-car discount and some people have found that it actually cost less money to have 2 cars insured than only 1. Car insurance is priced to cover the costs of accidents that may happen in the future.
Where is the best place to get high risk auto insurance?
The internet is obviously one of the best place to get rate quotes because you can get multiple quotes from one stop and can choose from the best rates. Information about the past claims experience is used to see the future of a company. More importantly, you don’t have to deal with people trying to sell you on a policy that you really don’t want.

Experienced and quality representation for all cases, big or small.  If you or a loved one has been injured and you need a Northbrook car accident lawyer, call Hayman & Kirshenbaum at 847-446-7900 for a free consultation or visit our website at www.majorinjurylaw.com.   We also handle medical malpractice, wrongful death, fall downs, birth injury and nursing home abuse and negligence cases.  Proudly serving accident victims since 1980 in the greater Chicagoland area and all of Illinois.

A mother and her son died this morning after a garbage truck collided with a sport-utility vehicle on icy roads in unincorporated McHenry County, police said.

The driver of the Jeep, Linda Ghilardi, 46, and her son, Lawrence Jett, 22, both of Holiday Hills, were taken to Centegra Northern Illinois Medical Center, where they were pronounced dead.

The driver of the garbage truck was treated at the scene for minor injuries.

“The driver of the Jeep lost control on the ice and spun out and the garbage truck had nowhere to go but hit him,” said Capt. Joe Foreman of the McHenry Township Fire Protection District.

The collision occurred about 8 a.m. on River Road, east of McHenry and near Moraine Hills State Park.

A helicopter was called to the scene but couldn’t transport the patients because of the weather conditions.

Experienced and quality representation for all cases, big or small. If you or a loved one has been injured and you need a Skokie car accident lawyer, call Hayman & Kirshenbaum at 847-446-7900 for a free consultation or visit our website at www.majorinjurylaw.com.   We also handle medical malpractice, wrongful death, fall downs, birth injury and nursing home abuse and negligence cases.  Proudly serving accident victims since 1980 in the greater Chicagoland area and all of Illinois.

Cheap car insurance in Illinois is possible, especially if you take into consideration the coverages you need and do some shopping around.
If you’re driving around without car insurance you are probably breaking the law and certainly tempting fate. Here are a few tips. Here’s why you should get it as soon as possible.
The more coverages you get, the more you pay.
All states have some sort of financial responsibility law that requires owners of vehicles to provide proof that they are financially responsible for injuries and damages their vehicle causes. However, there are minimum coverages required by Illinois state law that you must have. Each state is different in their minimum requirements. These are:
Liability — $20,000 for injury or death per person per accident. The most common proof of financial responsibility is to purchase car insurance. $40,000 for injury or death if more than one person is involved per accident.
Each state also has different penalties for driving without insurance.
Property damage — $15,000. These penalties can range from several hundred to several thousand dollar fines, vehicle impoundment and even jail time.
Uninsured Motorist Bodily Injury coverage (UIM): $20,000 per person, $40,000 per accident. The threat of those penalties should be enough of a reason to purchase auto insurance.
Underinsured Motorist Bodily Injury insurance: Required if you purchase higher limits of Uninsured Motorist Bodily Injury coverage.
What could even be more costly is if you are in an accident that is your fault and you don’t have car insurance.
These are the minimums and you may want to consider higher limits for peace of mind. On top of the fines, you could be responsible for paying all of the medical bills of the injured, plus paying for all of the property damage you caused.
Another way to lower your car insurance costs is to raise your deductible. You may be sued and the costs of not having car insurance could be several hundred thousand dollars — or much more. This is the amount you must pay before your insurance coverages start paying.
When you purchase car insurance, you need to get the minimum coverages as required by your state law. The difference between a $250 and $500, or $500 and $1,000 deductible in premium cost can be quite a bit. These are typically called limits of liability for Bodily Injury and Property Damage.
Also, take advantage of any discounts such as savings for an anti-theft device, insuring your home and auto with the same company, good student, senior driver and more. An insurance agent can tell you what those minimums are, or you can contact your state insurance department.
Use public transportation and drive less.
When you shop for an auto insurance quote, get at least three different quotes because rates can vary from company to company. Car insurance companies often base your rate on how much you drive. That’s really the number one way to save on car insurance. If you can limit the number of miles you drive in a week, month or year you could lower your insurance costs. If you’ve been driving awhile without auto insurance, a lot of companies may not want to insure you.
Finally, one of the biggest — and easiest — ways you can find cheap car insurance in Illinois is to spend some time shopping around. At the very least, you’ll probably have to pay a bit more than someone who has already had car insurance and has a clean driving record. Insurance company rates in Illinois, like in other states, can vary a lot from one company to another. Again, make sure to check out several different quotes. You should get at least three or more different quotes. Make sure to provide the same information regarding coverages and deductibles to each company or agent to get the most accurate comparison.
Thanks to the Internet, this is pretty convenient these days. You can go to each insurance company and request a quote, or visit a comparison Web site that lets you enter your information once and contacts you with several different agents or provides several different quotes back for comparison.

Experienced and quality representation for all cases, big or small. If you or a loved one has been injured and you need an Evanston car accident lawyer, call Hayman & Kirshenbaum at 847-446-7900 for a free consultation or visit our website at www.majorinjurylaw.com.   We also handle medical malpractice, wrongful death, fall downs, birth injury and nursing home abuse and negligence cases.  Proudly serving accident victims since 1980 in the greater Chicagoland area and all of Illinois.

If you’re a driver in Chicago, you need to purchase car insurance to protect yourself, your vehicle, and others.
Third party car insurance offers you cover for any claim made against you, your driver if somebody else was driving or the registered owner of the vehicle. Whether you’re driving a car, van, motorcycle, recreational vehicle, truck, or bus, you need car insurance. The road traffic act specifies that you are required to have a certain minimum amount of cover.
How Much Insurance Do I Need?
Illinois is a “tort” state, which means drivers are financially responsibility for any damages they cause in an accident. All UK car insurance policies providing “third party cover” or more, will provide greater protection than the law requires. Illinois law requires that you carry the following amounts of liability insurance:
* $20,000 to cover the injury or death of one person in an accident. Whether you just have “third party only”, “third party fire and theft” or “comprehensive” you will have this section.
* $40,000 to cover the injury or death of all people in an accident.
If you are to blame for causing an accident your insurer will pay for all sums of money that are awarded to those people (the third party) that you have killed or injured, or whose property you have damaged etc.
* $15,000 to cover damage to the property of another person. This includes any legal costs incurred by either the victim’s or your own solicitors.
* $20,000 per person up to a total of $40,000 for uninsured motorist’s bodily injury.
This whole question of third party cover becomes somewhat more complex when you are a passenger in your own vehicle and it is being driven by someone else. This pays your expenses if you’re hit by a driver who doesn’t have enough insurance or a hit-and-run driver. Provided that the driver is allowed to drive it, then it is the other person who is protected by this part of the policy and not you.
These are the minimum requirements you need to drive in Chicago. Your insurance policy will list those who are insured to drive the vehicle, for example, named drivers, passengers, employer .
What Other Coverages Are Offered?
In addition to the required coverages, you may want to purchase optional coverages, such as . Thus if you, as the passenger, were to be injured owing to the bad driving of the person driving your car, you have the legal right to claim compensation from the driver.. Thus, in this situation, your third party insurance policy would ‘indemnify’ the driver, not you.. You would end up claiming (and almost certainly winning) damages from the driver on your own third party policy.
* Collision coverage
* Comprehensive coverage
* Towing and rental coverage
* Medical coverage
* Accidental death benefit coverage
If you choose to buy Collision and Comprehensive coverage, set your deductibles as high as you can afford. Don’t forget that this works both ways. The higher your deductibles, the lower your premium. In the above scenario if the driver were killed or injured whilst driving on your policy then there would be no liability on your insurance company
Once you know what coverage you want, you need to shop around and compare insurance quotes so you know you’re getting the best rate.
Sadly, immaterial of who was behind the wheel, you cannot claim for accident damage to your vehicle under this section.
The Internet makes it easy to find cheap car insurance quotes in Chicago.
If a thief takes your car and causes an accident (an all too often occurrence) this part of the policy will protect you, as the vehicle’s owner, against any claim for injury or damage caused by the thief. All you

Experienced and quality representation for all cases, big or small.  If you or a loved one has been injured and you need a Northbrook car accident lawyer, call Hayman & Kirshenbaum at 847-446-7900 for a free consultation or visit our website at www.majorinjurylaw.com.   We also handle medical malpractice, wrongful death, fall downs, birth injury and nursing home abuse and negligence cases.  Proudly serving accident victims since 1980 in the greater Chicagoland area and all of Illinois.