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Rockford Teen Car Accidents

If you or a loved one has been involved in a motor vehicle accident caused by a teenage driver, be aware that you can still seek recovery for your injuries. Even teenagers while on probationary permits or restricted licenses must carry standard insurance to protect other motorists who may be struck by a young driver while out on the road.

It’s also important to understand that despite the relatively low number of teenagers behind the wheel, by some estimates they account for almost one-third of all overall traffic accidents nationwide. Illinois has clamped down and created additional hurdles for young people to obtain driving privileges in our State. In doing so, it has trimmed teenage fatalities from traffic accidents to only 76 in Illinois. What we need to be aware of, however, is that those are just fatal accidents, not overall accidents. Not only are children now more plugged into social media with various devices, but they also have less overall experience behind the wheel. Factor in electronic distractions, inexperience behind the wheel, and more general risk-taking tendencies, and it is a recipe for a greater amount of accidents.

Under 740 ILCS 115, Illinois has adopted a Parental Responsibility Law. That means that for the average motorist, in some situations it may be possible to make the parent(s) of a minor involved in a motor vehicle accident personally responsible for the damages.

Illinois Time Limits on Filing Suit

Illinois sets a time limit of two years to file a personal injury lawsuit in the state’s civil court system. In most cases, this two-year time limit, known as a “statute of limitations,” begins to run on the date of the accident. Sometimes, however, a statute of limitations might run from the date that you discovered you were injured, rather than the date of the event that injured you. This later date is known as a “discovery date.”

For injury claims against a city or county, you have one year to file a lawsuit. The time limit to sue the state is generally two years, but you must file a formal claim within one year in order to sue.

A qualified personal injury attorney can help guide you through this difficult time and alleviate some of the stress.

Contact Us for a Free Consultation

For a confidential, compassionate, in-depth, free, and, most importantly, thorough consultation with a Rockford Personal Injury Lawyer about your auto accident injury case caused by a teenager in Rockford, Belvidere, Freeport, Rochelle, Oregon, Loves Park, Byron, Machesney Park, Roscoe, Rockton, or elsewhere in the State of Illinois, call or text message us at (815) 391-0089, or e-mail us 24/7/365. We offer in-office consultations, and routinely make visits to clients’ homes, hospital rooms, nursing homes, and other off-site locations to make retaining our services as easy as possible.