Springfield Legal Blog

When you and your spouse decide to get a divorce in Illinois, you may wonder how to help your child. It may take several months to finalize a divorce and this can be a stressful time for many families. It is a good idea to help your child cope with the new situation.

Your child may feel many emotions after you and your spouse break the news about the divorce. According to Kids Health, it is a good idea to let your child know that it is okay to have all of those feelings. You should usually listen as your child tells you how he or she feels. Sometimes your son or daughter may have difficulty expressing these emotions. In this situation, you might want to point out that your child seems sad and suggest talking about it. Once you and your child discuss all of these feelings, it is a good idea to try to help your child feel better. You may want to encourage your child to draw a picture for your spouse or arrange for your spouse to spend some one-on-one time with your son or daughter.

If you have been seriously injured in an accident, you may already feel overwhelmed and hopeless at how long it seems to take to recover. To you, your injuries seem severe and, at least for now, life-changing. However, you and other residents of Illinois should understand the term “catastrophic injuries” when it comes to the legal system.

Catastrophic injuries involve those that significantly impair your quality of life for the long term or are permanently disabling, as FindLaw explains. A catastrophic injury may also be one that prevents you from being able to work for several months while you recover. The following examples illustrate injuries that may be classified as catastrophic:

• Both of your legs were broken in a car crash, requiring you to take time off work for extensive surgeries and rehabilitation.
• You suffered a traumatic brain injury after slipping on ice outside the grocery store.
• You were severely burned in a house fire caused by a malfunctioning toaster oven.
• You received internal injuries after being hit by a car while you were crossing the street.

It may still feel like summer to most people, but school starts for children across Illinois at the end of August. While this can be an exciting time for students – or the day many children have dreaded all summer – it can also be a dangerous time, as drivers everywhere must become accustomed to seeing children walking, riding their bicycles or waiting at the side of the road for their buses to pick them up.

August is Back to School Month, advises the National Safety Council. This is the ideal time for drivers to brush up on their pedestrian safety knowledge, especially when it comes to following school zone speed limits, stopping when school buses have their warning lights on and being vigilant for children crossing the street. It can also help to be aware that children do not always follow traffic rules and may dart into the street without using a crosswalk or heeding traffic.

Any Illinois resident who has had experience on the freeway can attest that sharing the roads with semi-trucks can be harrowing. They may have had a close call with a big rig or could have already been in an accident with one. Regardless of one’s past experiences, most people can agree that collisions involving large commercial trucks are likely to be life-changing, if not deadly.

A recent accident involving numerous vehicles, including two semis, resulted one person’s death and additional injuries. NBC Chicago reported that in July, a truck driver failed to slow when approaching construction on Interstate 55. When the semi struck a stopped pickup truck, a chain reaction collision ensued that included another large truck that hit the previous two, as well as two other vehicles. The driver of one of the large trucks was killed and the pickup driver sustained serious injuries. It was unknown whether fatigue, inattention or other factors contributed to the accident.