Here at Tony S. Kalogerakos, Esq.-Injury Lawyers of Illinois we get a lot of car accident clients from Glenview, IL. Located just 19 miles northwest of Chicago, scenic Glenview has moved out of the shadow of its former Glenview Naval Station roots and established itself as a bonafide tourist attraction in its own right. The village of nearly 49,000 residents – which was incorporated in Cook County in 1909 – is home to regional and national venues that attract tens of thousands of visitors and vehicular traffic annually.

Outdoor sports enthusiasts, birders, sustainable farming advocates, and historians are drawn to attractions that include the Farmhouse Museum, Kohl Children’s Museum, Historic Wagner Far, Funtopia, and the Glenview Community Ice Center. In addition, the Glen Town Center located on the old naval base grounds and miles of Forest Preserve lands offer additional opportunities to explore and connect with nature.

A commonality shared by these attractions is their locations on major village roadways—notably Pfingsten, West Lake Avenue (a major E-W collector street), Patriot Boulevard, and Tower Drive—and the amount of traffic they handle. According to the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), Willow Road (a four-lane principal arterial roadway that is one step below an interstate) in 2021 had an average daily traffic volume of 33,400 vehicles. These urban roadways are where drivers are most likely to meet by accident: rear-end accidents in particular. In fact, rear-end crashes are the most frequently occurring car accidents on urban streets across the state, according to statistics compiled by IDOT.

The prevalence of rear-end crashes locally tracks with federal highway traffic statistics, too. In 2020, nearly 30 percent of all traffic accidents were rear-end crashes. And surprisingly enough, this type of collision accounts for 26 percent of injury accidents and seven percent of fatal crashes.

A commonly held assumption is that low-speed rear-end accidents would do little more than dent a bumper. These car accidents are often dismissed as “fender benders.” But the reality is that the body absorbs much of the impact transfer from these type of car accidents. The neck, spine, back and internal organs typically bear the brunt of rear-impact collisions, common causes of Whiplash or Whiplash Associated Disorder injuries. The Mayo Clinic defines Whiplash as “a neck injury due to forceful, rapid back-and-forth movement of the neck, like the cracking of a whip.”

Internal organs are also most likely to be affected in rear-end collisions, primarily due to forceful contact with either a deploying airbag or a steering wheel. In the case of airbag deployment, a range of injuries can result that include, but aren’t limited to chest injuries including the heart, facial bruising and scarring, internal bleeding, fractures, burns, respiratory distress, lacerations from propellant shrapnel, eye injuries. Fetuses can also be injured by airbag deployments.

When a car accident victim retains Injury Lawyers of Illinois to protect their interests, we move quickly to put our accident reconstruction experts to work for you. We secure as much evidence as is possible before releasing the vehicle for repairs or demolition. But most important, we work to ensure that you receive competent medical treatment and follow-up care post-accident, including physical or occupational therapy. We are laser-focused on you, and whenever possible, making you whole after a loss. Our multilingual team—between us we speak Assyrian/Neo-Aramaic, Polish, Serbian, Russian, Croatian, and Spanish—stands ready to help victims of car, truck, motorcycle, bicycle and rideshare accidents get on the road to recovery. If you’ve been injured in any kind of transportation accident, protect your rights. Call Tony S. Kalogerakos, Esq.-Injury Lawyers of Illinois, LLC for a free consultation at 847-982-9516.