For those unaware, “back-over accidents” are those that happen when a vehicle inadvertently hits, or runs over, an unseen person as the vehicle moves in reverse (i.e. “backs up.”) Often times, these accidents occur because the person hit is behind the vehicle and is in the vehicle’s “blind spot.” As such, the person is not visible to the driver. While such accidents can involve any vehicle, those vehicles that are higher off the ground as well as longer, such as SUVs, pickup trucks, and other trucks, are more likely to inherently have limited rear visibility, especially if they don’t have rear-facing cameras or collision avoidance technologies.
As indicated by various statistics, significant number of deaths and injuries result from “back-over accidents.”
While there have been accidents that have occurred as vehicles back up in the Chicago area, one such recent accident involved a family from Hampshire that happened in Florida on Friday (February 10, 2017.)
An excerpt from the Batavia Patch article of February 11, 2017, titled “Hampshire Toddler Killed After Father Accidentally Backs SUV Over Him“:
The 3-year-old boy, Enzo Surma, was airlifted to a Florida hospital after suffering massive head trauma and later died, according to media reports. The toddler’s father, Anthony Surma, 51, of Hampshire, was at the wheel and told authorities he did not see the young boy.
“He was backing out, and he just didn’t see his son,” Sgt. Robert Rui of the Florida Highway Patrol told CBS 12. “The dangers are very high with children. It’s just a tragedy.”
Additional details and possible updates concerning this issue can be seen in the sources mentioned above, as well as the February 10 stltoday article titled “Highway Patrol: SUV backs over, kills child.”
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If you were injured in an accident – or represent someone who died in an accident – call Tony Elman, Lead Trial Attorney of the Elman Law Group, at (773) 392-8182 to discuss the accident and see what legal actions may be taken. This legal consultation is free and is confidential in nature.
Elman Law Group, LLC has been handling Illinois personal injury cases for 25+ years, and during this time has handled over 10,000 personal injury cases. Through this extensive experience we have built a reputation for our court trial performance. As seen in many cases, this successful trial experience may (substantially) increase your potential accident injury compensation.
Elman Law Group, LLC handles cases on a contingency basis…you will not be charged legal fees unless and until there is a monetary recovery.
