Rockford Farm Equipment Auto Accident

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Rockford Farm Equipment Auto Accident

From spring to the end of harvest, it’s quite common to see in our area of Illinois a number of farm implements being operated on our roads and state highways. It difficult for these pieces of equipment to fit on roads made for normal commuter traffic, and machine operators do not always take the proper precautions when driving on our roads. Whether they come to a stop just over the crest of a hill (i.e., leaving a motorist coming upon this stopped piece of machinery in a bad position, which can cause an accident), or by driving over the double yellow line (i.e., encroaching into both lanes of traffic while these vehicles are being operated), these vehicles can cause significant accidents involving injuries to other motorists.

When you come upon equipment like this, it’s important to leave a great deal of space between your vehicle and the farm equipment. Such equipment was not designed for highway use; thus, many of these vehicles lack proper turn signals, brake lights, or headlights. For that reason, it’s always best to make sure that if you are going to pass, that you do not pass when a potential turn to another road is between you and the farm equipment. They may not see you, and they may not have a way to signal to you that they will be making an abrupt turn that could strike your vehicle. In some cases, we have even found that farm equipment operators are not aware of what the traffic laws actually are. Once, when an operator was testifying, they indicated that they always kept a portion of their vehicle in the other lane to prevent people behind the farm equipment from even being able to pass. Put simply, caution is the best approach regarding these types of vehicles, as not only can the equipment itself be harmful, but the operation of the machinery can also be negligent.

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 farm or agricultural equipment injury case 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.

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