Chicago Seat Belt Injuries Lawyers

About 55 percent of motor vehicle fatalities affect drivers and/or passengers who are not wearing seat belts. In fact, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), passengers wearing a seat belt in the back seat are approximately 44 percent less likely to die than those not wearing a safety belt in the event of a serious car accident. This percentage skyrockets to 73 percent for backseat passengers in sports utility vehicles.

Despite such compelling evidence of their effectiveness, seat belts have ironically also been reported to cause serious injuries in some cases. Injuries caused by seatbelts may include:

Abdominal injuries
Blunt bowel trauma
Bone fractures (in the sternum, neck and/or rib cage)
Carotid artery injury (The carotid artery is the blood vessel that delivers oxygenated blood to the neck, brain and head. Without treatment, these injuries can lead to a stroke.)
Injuries to the internal organs
Internal bleeding
Pinched nerves
Spinal cord injuries (which can result in irreversible paralysis)
Whiplash

If you or a loved one has endured a seat belt injury during a motor vehicle accident, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries and losses. The Chicago, IL personal injury attorneys at Pfaff & Gill, Ltd. welcome injured parties to attend a complimentary consultation to learn more about their legal rights and entitlements. We have nearly 20 years of experience getting our clients through the legal process efficiently, and stand ready to investigate your case.

Seat Belt Laws & Child Safety Seats

Laws regarding the use of seat belts and child safety seats vary from state to state and may be classified as either:

Primary seat belt laws , in which tickets for not wearing a safety belt may be issued without any other traffic violation taking place. Currently, 30 U.S. states, as well as the District of Colombia (D.C.), have primary seat belt statutes. Some of these states include California, Alaska, Florida, Hawaii and Michigan.
Secondary seat belt laws , in which another traffic offense has to be committed for an officer to be able to issue a citation for not wearing a seat belt. Nineteen states, including Arizona, Kansas, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Utah, have secondary seat belt laws.

New Hampshire is the only state that doesn’t have primary or secondary seat belt legislation. Instead, the state only has primary child passenger safety statutes (covering those younger than 18).

As with seat belt safety laws for adults, those for children will vary from state to state. Even within a given state, the particular laws may vary according to a child's age, weight and/or height. Currently, every state in the U.S., as well as D.C., mandate that children fitting certain criteria be placed in child safety seats. All but three states also require that children who outgrow child safety seats (and who are too small to safely use adult seat belts) be placed in a booster seat.

As of January 2010, only the following five states have laws requiring seat belts on school buses:

California
Florida
Louisiana
New Jersey
New York.

By September 2010, Texas will also have laws requiring seat belts on school buses.

Compensation for Seat Belt Injuries

Whether a seat belt injury is caused by a vehicle defect, a car accident, or any other type of negligence, those injured from seatbelts may be entitled to seek compensation for their losses. To find out more information about your specific injury case, contact Pfaff & Gill, Ltd. today.

What We Do

Click on the Practice Areas below to learn more...

Vehicle Related Cases

Causes: Seat Belt Injuries - Tire Blow Out - Seat Back Failure - Sudden Unintended Acceleration

Personal Injuries

Birth Injuries

Medical Malpractice and Neglijence

Defective Products

Unsafe Products

Wrongful Death

Wrongful Death

Firm News

Bruce Pfaff recently reached a $9,000,000 settlement in a product liability case with the manufacturer of a garage door that catastrophically failed and trapped a 4-year-old boy under the door. Read more.
Bruce Pfaff recently co-authored an article in the CBA Record entitled, "The Right to Submit Questions to Jurors."

Awards & Ratings

Bruce Pfaff has been named one of Chicago's Best Lawyers in the 2010 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America in the fields of personal injury ligation, product liability litigation, and medical malpractice law. Best Lawyers® is considered the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession.
Bruce Pfaff is currently ranked one of the Top 100 Illinois Lawyers by Super Lawyers and The American Trial Lawyers’ Association
Super Lawyers selected both Michael Gill and Matthew Ports as Rising Stars in Illinois - the top lawyers under 40 years old.
The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin has recognized Michael Gill as one of its “40 Lawyers Under 40 To Watch”
Bruce Pfaff has the highest possible ratings given by Martindale Hubbell (“A.V.”) and AVVO.com (“10.0 Superb”)
Michael Gill is rated “9.2 Superb” by AVVO.com and "A.V." by Martindale Hubbell
The Leading Lawyers Network recognizes both Bruce Pfaff and Michael Gill as among the top 5% of lawyers in Illinois in the areas of Personal Injury law and Professional Malpractice law.

Verdicts & Settlements

R.B. v. Garage Door Manufacturer $9,000,000 settlement for the family of a 4-year-old boy who suffered brain injuries after being trapped under a garage door.
L.C. V. Ford Motor Co.
$14,500,000 verdict for a woman who became paraplegic when her 1991 Ford Explorer was rear ended.
K.B. v. Kim
$30,000,000 jury verdict for a six-year-old girl who suffered cerebral palsy due to a delayed emergency cesarean section delivery.
D.B. v. Advocate Medical Group, S.C.
$10,500,000 jury verdict for a 72-year-old woman who suffered an above knee amputation of her leg due to a failure of the emergency room doctor to diagnose bacterial cellulites.

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