Fact-Check and Corrections Policy | Chicago Accident Encyclopedia

Fact-Check and Corrections Policy

LAST REVIEWED · JUNE 7, 2026 · EDITOR: AYAH SARSOUR, ESQ. (ILLINOIS ARDC #6336702)

The Chicago Accident Encyclopedia exists to be useful to readers who need accurate Illinois personal injury law information, often at a difficult moment in their lives. Accuracy is not a marketing claim. It is the entire point. This page describes how we verify every factual statement before publication and how we correct errors when they happen.

What we verify

Every factual statement on this site falls into one of five categories, each of which is verified against primary authority before publication:

  • Statutory citations. Every reference to an Illinois Compiled Statutes section, a federal statute, or a federal regulation is verified against the official publisher.
  • Case law citations. Every reference to a controlling decision is verified against the reported opinion, including the citation, the holding, the procedural posture, and the precedential weight.
  • Procedural and timing rules. Statutes of limitations, notice requirements, court filing procedures, and similar time-sensitive rules are verified against the current statute or court rule.
  • Regulatory and agency information. Insurance regulations, motor vehicle rules, and similar agency-level material is verified against the issuing agency's website or rule publication.
  • Empirical and statistical claims. Crash data, insurance industry statistics, and similar empirical material is verified against the issuing source (typically IDOT, NHTSA, NTSB, or peer-reviewed publication).

How we verify

Statutory verification

When we cite an Illinois statute (for example, 735 ILCS 5/13-202, the two-year statute of limitations for personal injury actions, or 735 ILCS 5/2-1116, modified comparative fault), we verify the citation against the Illinois General Assembly's official Illinois Compiled Statutes database at ilga.gov. Every first reference links directly to the official source. Federal statutory references are verified against govinfo.gov and federal regulations against ecfr.gov.

Case law verification

Every case citation is verified against the reported opinion. Illinois Supreme Court and Illinois Appellate Court decisions are accessed through the official Illinois Courts website at illinoiscourts.gov. Federal decisions are accessed through PACER and the United States Courts website. We verify three elements before publication: the citation, the holding as stated in the opinion, and the procedural posture (whether the decision is final, on remand, or on appeal).

Regulatory verification

Insurance regulations are verified against the Illinois Department of Insurance (idoi.illinois.gov). Motor vehicle rules are verified against the Illinois Secretary of State and the Illinois Vehicle Code. Federal trucking regulations are verified against the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (fmcsa.dot.gov). Crash statistics are verified against the Illinois Department of Transportation (idot.illinois.gov) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Sources we never use

  • Anonymous online forums, Reddit threads, or comment sections as legal authority
  • Unverified or unsourced AI-generated content
  • Marketing material from competing law firms
  • Outdated statutes or regulations without disclosure that the source is historical
  • Secondhand summaries that we have not independently verified against primary authority

"Last reviewed" dates

Every entry on this site shows a visible "last reviewed" date in its byline. That date reflects the most recent comprehensive review of the entry, including every citation and every legal proposition the entry contains. The machine-readable dateModified timestamp in each page's structured data matches the visible date.

Our review cadence is at minimum annual for every entry. High-impact statutory entries are reviewed more frequently when Illinois legislation, regulatory changes, or controlling appellate decisions warrant it. The encyclopedia's homepage and its core statutory entries (statute of limitations, comparative fault, Wrongful Death Act, dram shop liability, TNC rideshare law) are reviewed quarterly at minimum.

Corrections process

When we identify a factual error after publication, or when a reader brings one to our attention, we follow a documented process:

  1. Acknowledgment. The reported error is acknowledged within 2 business days of receipt.
  2. Verification. The reported error is verified against the underlying primary source before any change is made to the entry. We do not change a published statement on the basis of a disagreement that is not supported by primary authority.
  3. Correction. If the error is confirmed, the entry is corrected within 7 business days of confirmation. The dateModified timestamp is updated.
  4. Transparent attribution. Material corrections (those that change the meaning of a substantive legal statement) are noted in a brief corrections log appended to the entry, with the date and a short description of what was changed. Minor edits (typos, formatting, link maintenance) are not separately logged.
  5. Notification. When a reader has reported the error, we notify them when the correction has been made.

How to report a correction

Spotted an error? Tell us. Include the URL of the entry, a clear description of what appears to be wrong, and a citation to the source you believe is correct. Anonymous reports are accepted but a return email helps us notify you when the correction is live.

Editorial corrections:

Chicago Accident Encyclopedia
Attention: Editorial Corrections
8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave, Suite 1300
Chicago, IL 60631
Phone: (312) 278-3625

What is not a correction

The corrections process applies to factual errors: misquoted statutes, incorrect case citations, misstated procedural rules, outdated regulatory information, inaccurate statistical claims. The corrections process does not apply to:

  • Disagreements with our editorial framing of an open or contested legal question
  • Requests to remove accurate but unfavorable information about a published court decision, regulator, or industry practice
  • Requests to add favorable mentions of specific law firms, products, or services
  • Disagreements with editorial choices about what topics the encyclopedia covers

For the broader framework that governs editorial standards on this site, see our Editorial Policy.