The fact that the other driver was ticketed following your accident is a helpful fact, but it is certainly not the whole ballgame. The law in Illinois is that the fact that a driver was ticketed following an accident only comes into evidence if the driver pleads guilty to the charges in the ticket. That means that if the other driver pleads not guilty (even if he is later convicted of the charges) or if the ticket is dismissed, a jury will never get to hear about who was ticketed following a car accident. That means (a) if you are the one receiving the ticket, you should plead not guilty to the charges in the ticket, and (b) if the other driver was the one who got the ticket, you should go to traffic court as this will increase the odds that the other driver will plead guilty to the ticket. If you are a no-show, the ticket will probably be dismissed. Juries give a great deal of weight to traffic tickets in car accident lawsuits, so if the other driver was ticketed, you will want to take the necessary steps to make sure that there is a guilty plea.Even if the ticket is not admissible in evidence, the fact that their driver was ticketed is a fact that insurance companies take into account in deciding whether to offer a settlement in a car accident lawsuit.
The Law Offices of Barry G. Doyle, P.C.
Chicago Illinois Accident Lawyers
