Chicago, IL Car Accident Lawyer
Unfortunately, many insurance companies are not awarding the appropriate amount of compensation for mild or even serious injury in car accidents. In fact, it is now more important than ever before to hire a car accident attorney in Chicago to take your case. Your case deserves ample attention, and you deserve to be compensation for your injuries
Always Receive the Right Amount of Attention
Chicago, being the third largest city in the U.S., is of course not without its fair share of heavy traffic. As a result of being such a highly occupied city, accidents on commonly used highways such as the Dan Ryan and Kennedy Expressways are fairly frequent. A car accident lawyer will make sure that your injuries sustained in an accident as a result of someone else’s negligence will not remain uncompensated. Each year thousands of people are killed or hurt in car accidents, but you don’t have to be another statistic.
End the Injustice Today
With the help of a Chicago personal injury attorney, you can be represented in the cases involving carelessness of an uninsured or underinsured driver. If you’ve been injured as a result of someone else’s negligence, you can have a car accident lawyer assist you in proving that the driver was negligent. You are not without help in any accident case. If you were the victim of a hit-and-run or driving at the time of an accident, an attorney will keep you content in your efforts to be compensated.
Why Go Unprotected?
Even if you feel certain that you can get the settlement you want and need, an experienced car accident lawyer at Malman Law will make sure that any accident occurring within the state of Illinois is resolved justly. Injuries deserve to be paid for by parties responsible. For any pedestrian or driver to have to suffer due to the negligence of another irresponsible driver is unacceptable at all times, which is why you can receive a free consultation today to help you assess your situation.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Should I go to the doctor if my injuries don’t seem to be serious?
Yes, if there is any possibility at all that you might have been significantly injured. Many injuries that turn out to be quite serious seem trivial at first (especially head and spine injuries). It would be a shame if you suffered a serious injury without realizing it and ended up lacking proper evidence of the seriousness of your injury because you failed to see a doctor. If you waited long enough, the defendant might even be able to argue that your injuries were pre-existing at the time of the accident.
A doctor can provide you not only with needed medical treatment, but also with documentary evidence of the seriousness of your injury that can be used as evidence in court. We have a Registered Nurse on staff who can examine you and resolve any doubt as to whether or not you need to see a doctor.
Should I settle or sue?
It depends. In many cases, it is in your best interests to both file a lawsuit and attempt to open settlement negotiations with the other side (probably an insurance company). Although upwards of 90 percent of car accident claims are settled out of court, many of these settlements take place against the background of a pending personal injury lawsuit.
It is said that all bargaining takes place “in the shadow of the law.” Insurance companies are notoriously stingy and recalcitrant, and one of the best ways to gain negotiating leverage is to file a car accident lawsuit against them. Filing a lawsuit early on will also guarantee that you don’t accidentally miss the statute of limitations deadline (see below for details). A settlement can take place at any time during a lawsuit – even five minutes before the court announces the decision.
Do I win automatically if the faulty driver was intoxicated?
No, victory is not automatic, but in practice your odds of victory will leap to well over 50 percent if you can show that the defendant was intoxicated at the time of the accident. In order to avoid liability, the defendant would have to show that (i) the accident would have happened anyway and would have been equally serious even if he had been sober, or (ii) you suffered no physical damages, or (iii) you were at least 50 percent at fault for the accident notwithstanding his or her intoxication.
Even if the defendant is acquitted of DUI in criminal court, you might still win a personal injury lawsuit against him or her. The reason for this apparent paradox is that a prosecutor must find the defendant guilty “beyond a reasonable doubt” in order to win a conviction, while you need only show that the defendant’s liability is supported by a “preponderance of evidence” (a “more likely than not” standard).
What action is appropriate if the victim dies in the accident?
If the victim dies in the accident, it is appropriate for the personal representative of his or her probate estate to file a wrongful death lawsuit. If the victim never named a personal representative for the estate, a court can name one on his or her behalf – often a close relative. A wrongful death lawsuit would be filed in the name of the estate itself as plaintiff. Proceeds from a wrongful death lawsuit are typically large and include amounts for funeral expenses, medical expenses, and grief suffered by survivors, as well as other amounts that the court deems just.
Amounts awarded for expenses to be paid by the estate, such as funeral expenses, will be distributed by the estate, while amounts awarded for grief and other noneconomic damages will be awarded to close relative survivors.
How long after the accident do I have to file a lawsuit?
The Illinois statute of limitations sets a statutory deadline by which you must either file a formal lawsuit or abandon your claim entirely. The Illinois personal injury statute of limitations allows you two years after the date of a non-fatal accident to file a personal injury lawsuit, and five years to file a property damage lawsuit. If the victim dies in the accident, a wrongful death lawsuit may be filed within one year of the victim’s date of death, even if this date is more than two years after the date of the accident. Limited exceptions apply to these deadlines.
