Springfield Legal Blog

What does an accident reconstruction expert do?

On behalf of Kerley & Talken PC posted in car accidents on Sunday, July 14, 2019.

If law enforcement officers charge you with reckless driving after an Illinois motor vehicle accident or one of the other drivers sues you for causing it, you may wish to obtain the services of a professional accident reconstruction expert to find out exactly how the accident occurred so you can refute these charges.

A state Bar Association points out that unlike a local police investigation, an accident reconstructionist attempts to reconstruct the accident to discover exactly what happened and how it happened. Acting similarly to a crime scene investigator, (s)he looks not so much for who caused the accident as for evidence of how it happened. Nevertheless, determining this also determines who, if anyone, caused it.

Are older truck drivers posing a hazard on the roads?

On behalf of Kerley & Talken PC posted in truck accidents on Monday, July 8, 2019.

You and other Illinois residents may be concerned about the potential dangers involving older drivers. While responsible drivers may have the right to drive, regardless of age, it is also true that aging can cause numerous conditions that make it less safe to be behind the wheel. This can be especially true when the older driver works for a commercial trucking company.

Despite the apparent dangers from elderly drivers, trucking companies are increasingly hiring drivers who have retired from their previous jobs, reports CBS News. Truckers over the age of 65 make up approximately 10% of the commercial vehicle workforce throughout the United States. Some truck drivers, in fact, are well into their 80s and 90s. Why is this so, you may wonder? As reported in previous posts, there is an ongoing shortage of commercial truck drivers in the country, which has been making trucking companies resort to recruiting an older workforce.

The basics of uninsured motorist coverage

On behalf of Kerley & Talken PC on Wednesday, July 3, 2019.

Your day may begin normally, and your drive to work may be uneventful until another vehicle runs a red light or crosses into your lane causing an accident that leaves you injured. To your shock, the driver does not stop to see if you are hurt. If you are too shaken to get a license plate number, you may never know who to contact for insurance information to cover your damages.

In another scenario, the other driver stays behind but has no insurance information to share with you. Perhaps the driver has only the minimum amount to drive legally, leaving you with thousands in medical bills and car repairs. Fortunately, Illinois requires drivers to carry uninsured motorist coverage on their car insurance policies. Do you have enough UM coverage to get you through such an accident?

Do you fit the criteria for uncontested divorce?

On behalf of Kerley & Talken PC posted in family law on Thursday, June 27, 2019.

As half of a couple in Illinois, you may have decided with your significant other that you would be better off if you were to get a divorce. Because of that agreement, you are already on the path for being eligible for an uncontested divorce. But what exactly is it, and how do you fully qualify?

First, uncontested divorces differ from contested divorces because both parties agree on all terms involved in the split. The major benefit is that you are able to bypass having to deal with the court. Since everything is decided beforehand, you only have to handle streamlined paperwork. This lets you cut down on time, costs, and emotional burden.

Which animals are most likely to have rabies?

On behalf of Kerley & Talken PC posted in animal bites on Tuesday, June 18, 2019.

The incidence of rabies among domestic animals in Illinois is increasingly low thanks to the prevalence of vaccination for pets. As a result of such initiatives, 90% of all reported rabies cases in North America involve wildlife. It may be helpful for you to know which species are most likely to carry rabies. This way, you can better protect yourself, your family and your pets.

According to the Humane Society of the United States, any warm-blooded mammal, including human beings, pets like cats and dogs and animals found in the wild, have the potential to contract rabies. However, some species are more susceptible to infection, while others exhibit a degree of resistance to the disease.

When is it time to modify your divorce settlement?

On behalf of Kerley & Talken PC posted in family law on Tuesday, June 18, 2019.

When you receive your final divorce settlement, it is not set in stone. Contrary to what some may think, your divorce decree can be changed or modified to reflect certain changes that may occur throughout your life. Life events may arise that could make it difficult for you to carry out the terms listed in your settlement. If this should occur, it is possible to petition the court to modify the settlement and revise the terms listed in your divorce decree.

There are different sections of your decree that you may wish to modify, such as your child support obligation or the child custody arrangement. These depend on the circumstances surrounding the situation. For example, the child support section of the divorce settlement may be changed if you have experienced any of the following has occurred:

Can ignition interlock devices save lives?

On behalf of Kerley & Talken PC posted in car accidents on Tuesday, June 11, 2019.

Every two minutes in the United States, someone is injured in an automobile accident involving a drunk driver, according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Approximately one-third of all drunk drivers arrested are repeat offenders. In fact, the average drunk driver has driven more than 80 times before being arrested for the first time. As a motorist, you navigate alongside drunk drivers regularly and may not even know it. People who choose to get behind the wheel after drinking put lives in danger and are at risk of causing a major accident.

Many states across the nation make it mandatory for drunk drivers, including first time offenders, to install ignition interlock devices in their vehicles to prevent them from drinking and driving again. These devices are installed directly into the ignition system and measure motorists’ blood alcohol content levels. Before the vehicle will start, the driver must exhale into a tube connected to the device which will determine if he or she has a BAC level that is over a preset limit.

Is there more to marital property than just the family home?

On behalf of Kerley & Talken PC posted in family law on Wednesday, June 5, 2019.

If you are going through a divorce, you know first-hand that there are many issues that must be negotiated when creating a divorce settlement. One of the most difficult topics to tackle may be that of property division. It can be hard to seperate all of the marital property that you have accumulated throughout years of marriage. Yet, it is crucial that you understand all of the types of marital property to ensure you receive everything you are entitled to in the divorce settlement.

Marital property involves more than your family home, vehicles, furniture and bank account contents. There are also lesser-known items that may get overlooked during the divorce process. The following may also be considered community property and eligible for division in a divorce settlement:

How do I prove fault after a car accident?

On behalf of Kerley & Talken PC on Monday, June 3, 2019.

Being in a car accident can upend your life. Besides the damage to your vehicle, you may have permanent injuries. You might miss work, need to change careers or stop working altogether if the injury affects your abilities. You may not be able to do the things you are accustomed to doing.

For these reasons, you may incur extra costs as you attempt to deal with all the consequences of the accident. If someone else was at fault for the crash, you could sue for monetary damages to help ease your financial burden. However, proving that your car accident was someone else's fault can be difficult. Fortunately, experts have advice for Illinois families on how to accomplish that.

Driver distraction: Selfies and social media posts

On behalf of Kerley & Talken PC posted in car accidents on Monday, May 27, 2019.

Although it is widely known that distracted driving causes serious car accidents, injuries and deaths, people continue to engage in these hazardous behaviors while behind the wheel. Even though it is against the law to use a hand-held cellphone in Illinois and in many other states across the nation, drivers continue to manipulate their cellphones to call, text and message friends. To take it a step further, motorists also take ‘selfies’ while driving and continue on to post them to social media sites.

Using a hand-held cellphone to take a selfie is a manual, visual and cognitive distraction. Not only must drivers take their hands off of the steering wheel to snap the picture, they must also take their eyes off the road to look at the camera and position the phone. Furthermore, their concentration is taken off of the road and any hazards that may require their immediate attention, such as traffic signals, stop signs, pedestrian crosswalks, bicyclists, kids or animals running out in the road or bad weather conditions. Even further focus is taken from driving when people post their pics to social media sites and write a caption for the photo. Yet this continues to happen.