How has Personal Injury Litigation in Illinois Changed Over the Years in Illinois?
How has Personal Injury Litigation in Illinois Changed Over the Years in Illinois?
As any society changes, the laws that govern that society must also change. Naturally, greater shifts in the attitudes of a society lead to greater shifts in its laws. The laws surrounding Illinois personal injury litigation are no exception to this rule.
Technology and injury litigation in Illinois
Like the rest of society, law is influenced by technology. One such example of this is the role played by personal electronic devices in accidents. Litigators across the nation are working to define how cell phones and other such devices cause accidents, in ways that can be enforced and scrutinized by courts.
Chicago in particular has chosen to focus on driver impairment in its cell phone and texting laws, meaning drivers will be found liable for accidents caused by their distraction while talking or texting behind the wheel.
Public opinion and personal injury settlement in Illinois
Sometimes, specific and notorious news events lead to changes in the law.
Since the nineteenth century, a dram shop law in Chicago extended liability to owners of establishments that served alcohol to a person whose drunkenness later led to the injury of a plaintiff. However, this law did not extend to private social functions.
In 2003, when a drunken high school brawl led to a public outcry, the issue was revisited. The Drug or Alcohol Impaired Minor Responsibility Act makes an adult who intentionally provides drugs or alcohol to minors strictly liable for any injuries caused by the intoxicated minor. Furthermore, this act allows almost unlimited damages in an injury settlement in Illinois.
If too many lawsuits lead to excessive personal injury settlements in Illinois, public reaction can sway against personal injury attorneys. For example, in 2004, such opinions led the Illinois State Assembly to cap non-economic damages for medical malpractice at $500,000 against doctors and $1 million against hospitals.
Sometimes, the law responds to a long-term problem that was recently revealed. Accusations of abuse against Roman Catholic priests and the discovery of many adults claiming such abuse led to such a change in Illinois personal injury litigation. Illinois law recently suspended the age limit in select circumstances with regard to people levying accusations of child sexual abuse. This allows more lawsuits, since the law now allows time for accusers to remember and recognize abuse from their youth.
Personal injury lawyers in Illinois
Clients need lawyers, because no layperson can keep abreast of the constant changes in civil law. But if the law itself is complicated, the changes in our society increase the complexity of personal injury law.
If you need an experienced Illinois personal injury attorney, contact the Illinois injury lawyers at Sam C. Mitchell & Associates today at 1-618-932-2772 and start down the road to recovery.
Sam C. Mitchell & Associates
115 1/2 East Main Street
West Frankfort, Illinois 62896
888-899-1458
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