Standing Up for Your Rights With the Help of an Aggressive Chicago Personal Injury Attorney
When you have been wronged in some way and are now suffering the consequences, the last thing you should do is keep quiet about it. From police brutality to medical malpractice, bringing your story of abuse to court could help make sure that what happened to you never happens again. And you don’t have to go it alone: Whether it’s an Illinois police brutality attorney or a Chicago birth injury attorney you need to hold the responsible parties accountable, the expertise and knowledge a lawyer who specializes in these cases can bring will be invaluable to a successful case. They won’t just be able to navigate all the ins and outs of the legal system, but their particular skills will be able to assess the situation you’re in to figure out the best possible way to proceed from here.
Defending Yourself with an Illinois Police Brutality Attorney
Our Chicago police force is here to protect and serve – when a police officer uses excessive force, it’s a clear breach of that trust we have placed in him or her, and a legal response is absolutely necessary to put an end to it. Police brutality should not be tolerated even for a second, and an incident needs quick and decisive discipline; that’s how an Illinois police brutality attorney can help. An experienced lawyer can speak out for you in your time of need, and guarantee that those responsible for abusing your trust will face the consequences.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1) What are the chances that my case will be settled out of court?
The vast majority of all personal injury claims are settled out of court, mainly because insurance companies are reluctant to go to the trouble and uncertainty of a trial. Chicago is no exception to this rule. Nevertheless, in many cases, it is precisely the threat of a lawsuit that brings the defendant to the table with a serious offer.
In fact, often it is necessary to file a lawsuit in the midst of settlement negotiations in order to break a deadlock. Even in these cases, however, the claim is usually settled out of court before the lawsuit concludes. We are experienced trial lawyers, and we will not hesitate to proceed all the way to a court decision if necessary. That being said, in most cases we don’t have to go that far.
2) What is the statute of limitations and how does it apply to my claim?
The statute of limitations sets a deadline by which you must file a lawsuit over your claim, or abandon it altogether. You don’t have to conclude the lawsuit to beat the statute of limitations – only file the papers and pay the filing fee. The following statutes of limitations apply to personal injury claims in Chicago, as well as the rest of Illinois:
- Personal injury: You usually have until two years after the date of the injury to file a personal injury lawsuit.
- The “discovery rule”is an exception to the strict two-year statute of limitations deadline. If your injury was latent, meaning that it was not apparent on the day that it occurred (a doctor left a surgical instrument inside your body, for example), you have two years after you should have discovered the injury, up to a hard deadline of four years after the date of the accident.
- If your lawsuit is based on an injury caused by a defective product (including a defective medication), you generally have two years after the accident or, in cases of latent injury, two years after you should have discovered the injury, up to a hard deadline of eight years after the date of the injury.
- A minor (under 18 on the date of the injury) has until his or her 20th birthday to file a personal injury lawsuit, no matter how old the claim is by then; the only exception is in cases of medical malpractice, wherein the minor has until eight years after the injury or until his or her 22nd birthday, whichever comes first.
- Property damage: You have five years from the date of property damage to file a lawsuit.
- Statute of limitations can sometimes be temporarily suspended from running (“tolled”) due to the mental incompetence or bankruptcy of the injured victim.
In any case, since physical evidence deteriorates and witnesses’ memories fade, it is always best to file your claim as soon as you can after the accident. Don’t let an insurance company lull you into missing the deadline through constant settlement delays.
3) How long will it take until I receive money?
The answer to this question depends completely on the specific facts of your case. The general rule is that the more money you are asking for, the longer it will likely take to resolve your claim. The complexity of your case is also highly relevant – a medical malpractice or product liability claim that requires expert witness testimony is likely to take a lot longer to resolve than a car accident in which the defendant was charged with DUI at the scene of the crash. Most personal injury cases are resolved within a few weeks to up to a year or more, although some cases drag on for several years.
4) How can a personal injury lawyer help me?
Whether in court or at the settlement table, it doesn’t matter what the truth is – it only matters what you can prove with admissible evidence. Assembling evidence in a form that is acceptable to the court is one of the most difficult parts of winning a personal injury lawsuit. It is also a task that our lawyers are quite familiar with, having handled many personal injury cases in the past.
Another difficult part of obtaining a personal injury recovery is negotiating with the defendant. In most cases, the people sitting on the opposite side of the bargaining table will be professional insurance industry executives who have negotiated hundreds of claims before. Unless you are a very skilled negotiator or you have retained an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer, you will be at a great disadvantage, and you will likely end up settling for far less than your claim is actually worth.
A Chicago Birth Injury Attorney Can Speak Out for Your Child; Contact Us Now!
One simple error by a medical professional during labor and delivery can result in a lifetime of consequences, from cerebral palsy to seizures. These doctors have to be held accountable for such a mistake, and there’s no better way to do so than contacting a Chicago birth injury attorney. With help from an attorney, you can bring the person or persons who made the life of your family harder to justice, as well as stop them from causing similar problems to families down the road. In some cases, cerebral palsy is an avoidable condition – when it’s caused by a doctor’s negligence, the first thing you should do is stand up for the rights of your child.
However you’ve been wronged, there is a lawyer who can help, whether you need a specialist in train accidents or a Chicago slip and fall lawyer. Get started now, with a free consultation with the professionals at Malman Law.
