1. You are involved in an auto accident and the accident is not your fault. You sustained multiple injuries in the accident and received medical treatment with several providers.
2. Your total medical bills add up to $100,000.
3. Your health insurance pays for a portion of your medical bills. Let's hypothetically assume they pay $40,000 out of the entire $100,000.
4. You hire Shifrin Law Group to represent your interest in a personal injury claim or lawsuit.
5. Shifrin Law Group secures settlement or a judgement on your behalf.
6. Upon the conclusion of your case, Shifrin Law Group will reach out to your health insurance company and request a list of all the medical bills that they paid after the auto accident.
7. Your health insurance tells us they paid $40,000 and are requesting reimbursement for what they paid.
8. We attempt to negotiate with your health insurance and attempt to reduce the amount your health insurance is requesting, giving you as much money in your pocket as possible.

The court heard two consolidated cases in Galarza v. Direct Auto Insurance Co., which each involved a provision in the automobile insurance policy that limited uninsured motorist coverage to insureds occupying an 'insured automobile.' The court held that these provisions violated section 143a of the Illinois Insurance Code, thus making the provision unenforceable and against public policy.

In the first case, Carmen Galarza was struck by a vehicle while walking out of a store. The driver of the vehicle left the scene. Galarza started an uninsured motorist claim with her insurance, Direct Auto Insurance. Direct Auto notified Galarza that she was not covered for this incident because she was not occupying an 'insured automobile' at the time.

In the second case, Fredy Guiracocha's son was struck by a vehicle while riding his bicycle. The driver fled the scene. Fredy filed an uninsured motorist claim with his insurance, Direct Auto Insurance, on behalf of his son as a relative under the policy. Direct Auto denied coverage, stating the son was not an occupant of an insured vehicle at the time.

The court in their reasoning discussed section 143a of the Illinois Insurance Code, noting that uninsured coverage "must extend to all who are insured under the policy's liability provisions." The court further noted "if a person constitutes an insured for purposes of liability coverage under a policy, the insurance company may not, either directly or indirectly, deny uninsured-motorist coverage to that person.” Schultz v. Illinois Farmers Insurance Company, 237 Ill. 2d 391 (Ill. 2010).

The court found that Direct Auto Insurance's liability policy directly conflicted with the Illinois Insurance Code, as it effectively denied any claims filed by a pedestrian injured by a motor vehicle.

If you are a pedestrian or a bicyclist who was injured by an uninsured driver, Shifrin Law Group can help fight for you to get the compensation you deserve.  Please contact Shifrin Law Group today for a free consultation.

Court Proceedings

• Whether the person was properly placed under arrest for driving under the influence
• Whether the officer had reasonable grounds to believe the driver was under the influence
• Whether officers adequately provided the driver with the 'Warning to Motorist'
• Whether, after being advised of the consequences, the person refused to submit to breathalyzer testing
• Whether, if the person submitted to a breathalyzer test, the breathalyzer revealed an alcohol content of .08 or more

DUI Chart

DUI FAQs

• If chemical testing reveals that you are legally under the influence, you are at risk for a suspension of your driving privileges for six months.
• A DUI in Illinois is a Class A misdemeanor if this is your first offense. If you are convicted of a DUI, your driving privileges will be revoked for a minimum of one year.

• If chemical testing reveals that you are legally under the influence, you are at risk for a suspension of your driving privileges for six months.
• If this is your second conviction for a DUI, it is still a Class A misdemeanor, but this conviction carries a mandatory minimum imprisonment of 5 days or a sentence of 240 hours of community service. Your driving privileges will be suspended for a minimum of five years if this is your second conviction within 20 years.

• Presuming you have a valid driver’s license, you are still able to drive during the 46-day period between your arrest and your statutory suspension hearing.

• See the above chart

• Any DUI offense that results in a felony charge is considered an Aggravated DUI. You will be charged with an aggravated DUI under several difference circumstances. Some of these include:
  • This is your third or subsequent DUI;
  • DUI committed while driving a school bus carrying one or more persons 18 or younger;
  • DUI resulting in great bodily harm or permanent disability or disfigurement;
  • This is your second or subsequent DUI committed while transporting a child under the age of 16
  • DUI resulted in a crash, committed while transporting a child under the age of 16, and resulted in bodily harm to the child;
  • DUI committed without a valid driver’s license or vehicle liability insurance;
  • DUI committed in a school zone with restricted speed limit and crash resulted in bodily harm;
  • DUI resulted in death.

• Although jail time is a possibility, if you are a first-time offender it is unlikely you will have to spend time in jail

• In Illinois, there’s an Implied Consent Law that basically states that if you’re in actual physical control of a vehicle in Illinois, you are deemed to have implicitly given consent to chemical testing of your breath, blood or urine. A police officer needs to establish that they have probable cause that you are driving under the influence and you are either being arrested for a DUI or were involved in a car accident with injuries or fatalities.
• If an officer pulls you over on a suspected DUI and you’re asked to blow in a breathalyzer, you have a right to refuse to do so. However, your refusal results in an automatic statutory summary suspension, meaning your license will automatically be suspended.

• It depends. If you don’t have a prior DUI conviction or a statutory summary suspension in the previous five years, your license will be suspended for one year. However, if you do have a previous DUI conviction or a statutory summary suspension within the previous five years, your license will be suspended for three years. See above chart for more details.

• If a person suffers serious bodily injury or death resulting in your DUI, you will be charged with a felony DUI and may face harsh penalties if found guilty.
• If your crash resulted in serious bodily injury, you will be charged with a class 4 felony and can potentially face:
  • Revocation of your driver’s license for at least 2 years
  • Fines facing up to $25,000
  • Possible prison time for 1-12 years
• If your crash resulted in a death, you will be charged with a class 2 felony and can potentially face:
  • Fines facing up to $25,000
  • Possible prison time for 3-14 years
• If your crash resulted in multiple deaths, you will be charged with a class 2 felony and can potentially face:
  • Fines facing up to $25,000
  • Possible prison time for 6-28 years

• If this is your second DUI offense within five years, and you submit to chemical testing, your license will be suspended for 12 months. If you refuse to submit to chemical testing however, your license will be suspended for 3 years.

• A misdemeanor DUI can hold fines anywhere from $500 - $3,000. Depending on the circumstances of your arrest your license will be suspended. If you consent to the breathalyzer test, your license will be suspended for 6 months. If you refuse to submit to a breathalyzer test, your license will be suspended for 12 months. The suspension will be effective 46 days after your citation for a DUI.
• Your DUI can be upgraded to a felony DUI charge if you committed a DUI when your license was revoked or suspended from a previous DUI charge, if you have two or more DUI convictions on your record, or serious bodily injuries or death occurred due to your DUI.

• First of all, it is important to know that in Illinois, the act of driving implies consent to testing, and the refusal to submit to these tests results in an automatic suspension of your driver's license. That being said, you can decide to refuse submitting to testing, but the consequences of refusing may be more severe depending on your BAC.

• If you are stopped on the suspicion of driving under the influence, the officers will most likely ask you to perform one if not all of the following tests:
  • The Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus test, where an officer has you follow a pen or a light with your eyes.
  • The walk and turn test
  • The one-leg stand test
  • Blowing into a portable breathalyzer, which will measure your blood alcohol level

• In Illinois, if you get arrested for a DUI, the process of revoking your driver's license has already begun. It's essential you contact an attorney right away.