Black Ice,
White Out
Injury Law Made Personal®
The storm does not cause the crash. A driver going too fast for a bridge deck that froze an hour ago causes the crash, and a company that told him to keep rolling through a whiteout shares in it. Illinois does not excuse a semi because the weather was bad — it asks whether that driver slowed down for the conditions in front of him. Ankin Law has fought for injured Chicagoans for over 35 years.
Call 312.600.0000 Free Case ReviewWhy a Winter Pileup Is Not “Just the Weather”
You Were Driving for the Conditions
You slowed down. You left room. You did what the weather asked of you, on a road you have driven a thousand times, on the way home from an ordinary evening.
He Never Took His Eyes Off the Coffee
Eighty thousand pounds at highway speed on a bridge deck that froze an hour ago, one hand on the wheel and his eyes down. He was behind schedule, and the load was not going to move itself.
The Bridge Was Already Ice
Bridges freeze before the road does. When the trailer let go there was nowhere for it to stop, and it came around across every lane in front of you. You had less than two seconds and nowhere to go.
Is a Free Consultation Really Free?
Howard Ankin answers your questions directly.
What Illinois Law Says About Winter Crashes
Illinois requires every driver to reduce speed to a rate that is reasonable for the conditions actually in front of them. Snow, ice and reduced visibility do not lower that duty — they raise it
A storm is only a defence if the crash was truly unavoidable. A driver who was speeding for the surface, following too close, out of hours or distracted does not get to hide behind the weather
is the Illinois deadline for an injury lawsuit — shorter if a city or public housing authority is a defendant, and longer only for a minor
Who Pays — and What You Can Recover
The Driver and the Carrier
The driver answers for how he drove. The trucking company answers separately for who it hired, how it trained him, whether it maintained the rig, and whether dispatch pushed him into a storm he should have parked out.
Anyone Who Loaded or Maintained the Rig
A shipper who loaded it badly, a broker who put an unsafe carrier on the road, a shop that signed off on worn tires or brakes before a winter run — each of them can carry a share of the fault.
What You Can Recover
Medical care, lost earnings and future earning capacity, vehicle damage, and pain, disfigurement and loss of a normal life. Illinois reduces a recovery by your own share of fault, which is exactly why the carrier will try to put that share on you.
Why Ankin Law Is the Right Call After a Truck Crash
The Proof Erases Itself in Days
The truck’s black box holds speed, braking and following distance for the seconds before impact, and some records are kept only six months. Dashcam footage, hours-of-service logs, dispatch messages and the plow records for that bridge all have clocks running on them.
Expect to Hear It Was the Weather
You will be told it was an act of God, that everyone was sliding, that you should not have been out that night. A defence team says that because it works, not because it is true.
No Fee Unless You Win
You pay nothing to start and nothing unless Ankin Law recovers for you. The consultation is free and confidential, and there is no obligation to hire anyone. Howard Ankin has been doing this for over 40 years.
Get Your Free Case Review
Hurt in a winter crash on an Illinois highway? The truck’s data, the driver’s logs and the road records are already counting down. Contact us today for a free, confidential consultation with no obligation.
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