You are driving along in a lawful manner when suddenly, you get hit by a driver who was most likely doing something unlawful, like looking at their phone. After checking whether anyone needs an ambulance, one of the first things you do is ask the at-fault driver for their insurance information. Instead of reaching into their wallet, the responsible driver stares at you like a deer in headlights. You are hit with a horrible realization - they do not have an insurance company to pay for your damages. It may be an even worse feeling if your injuries are severe and you find out about their lack of insurance in the hospital, from the police. You are likely wondering how on earth you are going to recover compensation after a crash with an uninsured motorist. Our attorneys can help you identify any other party who could be liable or seek compensation in another way. 

Identifying Those Who May Have to Pay

The most common way that people who have been hit by an uninsured or underinsured driver is through their own insurance company. In Illinois, all drivers are required to carry uninsured driver insurance. By law, uninsured motorist coverage must cover you up to $25,000 at minimum, although your particular policy may offer more. 

The problem here is that you may have far more than $25,000 worth of expenses. Your car alone may be worth more than that. Add in your medical bills and lost wages, and that may not be nearly enough. Your attorney may attempt to find other parties who could potentially be liable, such as: 

Getting attacked by a dog can be terrifying. A dog may seem perfectly calm or even happy one moment, only to turn into a snarling beast the next. Children are some of the most common victims of dog bites, in part because they may lack the skills needed to safely interact with a strange dog. Dog bites can be particularly harmful to young kids who may even be smaller than the animal. However, even adults should take a dog bite that breaks skin seriously and seek medical attention.

Even if the bite does not look too bad, it may require careful cleaning or preventative antibiotics. If you were not trespassing and did not provoke the dog, you can most likely recover compensation for any medical costs and more. 

4 Reasons to See a Doctor After a Dog Bite

Attempting to treat a dog bite at home has the potential to end badly. Boites can create deep puncture wounds, doing more damage than you can see right away. Seeking medical care for every dog bite is a good idea for these reasons:

Many, if not most, insurance companies have one goal and only one goal - and it is not to make sure that people their clients injure get fair settlements. In fact, the goal of a car insurance company after one of its drivers causes a crash is generally to get away with paying the lowest possible settlement. Settlements offered by insurance companies to unrepresented crash victims are often far too low to cover the costs and financial losses associated with a car crash.

Taking a settlement without speaking to an attorney could mean leaving thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars on the table. It is not likely that an insurance company will tell you that you can recover things like future care expenses and lost wages. They may even dishonestly tell you that they do not pay for certain costs that you could be legally entitled to recover. It is important to work with an attorney who understands your rights and will fight to protect them after a car accident injury. 

Tricks a Car Insurance Company Might Try

While you are still reeling from your crash, the insurance company may try all manner of less-than-ethical methods to get you to accept a fraction of what your claim is actually worth. You should be prepared for tricks like: 

We all know what speed limits are - whether one chooses to obey them is another matter. However, it is possible to be simultaneously obeying the posted speed limit and driving too fast. The posted speed limit applies when road conditions are normal. Drivers must also take things like the weather, the traffic, and any damage to the road itself into consideration when determining the appropriate speed. Even if the driver who caused your car accident was following the speed limit, they could still be found to have been driving at a negligent speed if they failed to take other conditions into account. If your accident was caused by a driver who was going too fast but not speeding, you will want to speak to an attorney as soon as possible to begin building your case. 

What is Speeding?

Legally, speeding means driving faster than the posted speed limit. It can be rather cut and dry. If the speed limit is 35 miles per hour and the driver was going 41, they were speeding. If they were going 36 miles per hour, they were speeding. As a practical matter, most law enforcement agencies tend to ticket drivers who exceed the speed limit by at least five miles per hour, but even one mile per hour over the limit is technically speeding.  

Of course, there is such a thing as driving too slowly as well. It is illegal in Illinois to drive so slowly that they are getting in the way of normal traffic. 

It is just straightforward common sense that a person is more fragile than a vehicle. While being inside a car certainly offers some protection, it is entirely possible for a car to be relatively unharmed while the people inside are hurt. People who have been injured in what appears at first glance to be a minor accident sometimes make the mistake of not taking their own injuries seriously. They may know that they feel pain somewhere, but they brush it off as probably nothing. This can be a mistake.

Underestimating your own injuries can lead to you losing out on the compensation you were entitled to. If you are in pain at all after a car accident, or even just feel that something is not right, it is a good idea to let a medical professional make that call. The next step is to call a car accident attorney for further help pursuing compensation. 

3 Reasons to Avoid Underestimating Your Injuries After a Fender-Bender

It may be tempting to simply exchange insurance information and then go about your day, ignoring what you might perceive as minor soreness or pain. Quite a few people look at the damage to their car to determine how serious the accident was when they should be looking at the damage to themselves. Reasons you should avoid this pitfall include: 

It should come as no surprise that a lot of pedestrian accidents happen in busy downtown areas. In places like downtown Chicago, there are about as many people walking around the streets as there are people driving. Parking downtown can be difficult to find - not to mention expensive. While we have fairly good public transit, it can take a long time to get where you are going and you may still have to walk. It is no wonder that a lot of people prefer to just walk when possible. During our harsh winters, there are not as many pedestrians out and about. Now that spring is coming and bringing more pleasant weather, we can expect to see more people walking around downtown. Sadly, we are also likely to see an increase in pedestrian accidents. 

If you are involved in a pedestrian accident, it is important to get in contact with an attorney as soon as possible. Quick action can increase the odds of recovering compensation.

What Types of Driver Misconduct Cause Pedestrian Accidents?

Drivers have a duty to keep an eye out for pedestrians in order to share the streets with them safely. However, some drivers are so focused on other cars that pedestrians are not even on their radar. Common careless driver behaviors that can cause them to strike a pedestrian include:

After a serious car crash or other major accident, you may be left unable to work. This inability to perform your job duties could be temporary or permanent. In other cases, you may still be able to work in some capacity but can no longer earn as much as you used to. If any of these situations apply to you, you may be able to recover your lost wages as part of your compensation in a personal injury claim. If another person or group negligently injured you and took you away from your job, that party may be liable for your missing income. 

If an accident or injury rendered you unable to work, even in the short term, you will want to speak with a qualified attorney as soon as you can. A skilled lawyer can help fight for you to receive the full amount of compensation you deserve. 

How Are Lost Wages Calculated? 

In general, there are three types of lost wages that can be recovered in a personal injury suit. They are: 

The moments right after a car accident can be confusing and frightening. Many people need several minutes to process what has just happened before they are able to begin reacting. When a secondary car crash happens just after the first, the situation can become even more complicated and difficult to manage. This type of situation may seem unlikely, or that it would require an extraordinary stroke of bad luck, but this is not the case at all. Secondary car accidents are probably more common than you might think, and are often a direct result of the first accident. If you have been hurt in a motor vehicle collision involving multiple vehicles, it is best to speak to an attorney as soon as you are able.  

How Do Secondary Car Accidents Happen?

Secondary car accidents most commonly happen when another driver strikes an already crashed vehicle that remained in or near the roadway, although anyone outside a vehicle may also be at particular risk. Common reasons these secondary wrecks take place include: 

• Poor visibility - Especially when the initial crash happened because of fog, snow, heavy rain, or other conditions affecting visibility, there is a risk of a second collision. Drivers approaching the accident scene may not be able to see that there are damaged vehicles stopped up ahead until it is too late. Additionally, the lights or emergency flashers may not work after a crash, making accident vehicles hard to spot. 

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Getting into a car accident can be doubly frightening if you are a passenger. You have no control over either vehicle, and no opportunity to avoid or mitigate the crash. When you are hurt as a passenger, you may be unsure about what your legal options are. The good news is that you can recover compensation from the driver who caused your injuries. However, the process may look slightly different, and you will probably want an attorney to guide you through your claim. 

Who Can I Recover Compensation From for My Passenger Injuries?

Who you can seek compensation from depends on who caused your injuries. If the driver of the car you were riding in caused the accident, then your claim is against him (or his insurance company). However, if a third party caused the wreck, then that driver is liable to you regardless of whether you were driving or riding in the not-at-fault vehicle. In this case, you and the driver of the car you were in may be able to work together on your claims in some ways. The body of evidence you will need is going to overlap significantly.

If your claim is against the driver of the car you were in, however, you may be reluctant to call a lawyer and bring a claim. You probably do not often get into a car with people you do not know - odds are, the driver is someone you have a relationship with. Keep in mind that assuming your friend has insurance, it will be their auto insurance company on the hook for your damages, and not your friend personally. 

After a car crash, your instinct may be to focus on the people who were directly involved in the crash. This makes sense - certainly, the first thing you need to do is to check whether anyone is hurt and call an ambulance if it is needed. It is also important to speak with the other driver to exchange information. However, the people who could become most important in your car accident claim may not be in either crashed vehicle. Third-party witnesses can be extremely important, especially in the event that your case goes to trial. If you have been hurt in a car accident, you should contact an experienced attorney who can help you with collecting evidence. 

Why Are Uninvolved Witnesses so Important in Car Accident Claims?

Physical evidence alone does not always show who was at fault in a car accident. If two vehicles collided in an intersection and both drivers claim it was their turn at the stop sign, the case may turn into a “he-said, she-said” dispute. However, if someone who was not involved in the crash saw what happened, courts and insurance companies may be inclined to take their word for it. 

A witness who was not involved in the accident has no stake in the outcome of your claim, and therefore has no reason or motivation to lie. Bystanders make very credible witnesses, especially when the drivers give differing accounts. Neutral witnesses are typically believed.

Riding a bicycle is an eco-friendly, enjoyable means of transportation and leisure for many Cook County residents. Unfortunately, riding a bicycle can also be quite dangerous. Bicycle accidents resulting in significant injuries and deaths are not uncommon – especially on the busy streets of Chicago.

If you or a loved one were harmed in a bicycle accident, you should know that you may have the right to compensation. You could be entitled to compensation for your medical bills, lost wages during your recovery period, and more.

Legal Options After a Bicycle Collision

Bicycle accidents often leave victims with painful injuries and steep costs. Many bicycle accident victims require emergency room treatment, stitches, and other medical care. Some require a greater degree of medical intervention, including surgery and ongoing physical therapy. Sadly, some bicycle accident victims never recover from their injuries.

Illinois personal injury law, or tort law, deals with injuries against people and property. Personal injury lawsuits are often based on the legal theory of “negligence.” In the context of a lawsuit, negligence means the failure to uphold a legal duty. For example, the owner of a restaurant has a legal duty to ensure that the property is in reasonably safe condition and does not pose a risk of injury to restaurant guests. Similarly, the owner or possessor of a newly constructed building has a duty to ensure that the structure meets the relevant building codes. Negligence also applies to car accident and truck accident cases. A driver may act negligently by driving too fast for the weather conditions. A trucking company may act negligently by failing to maintain the trucks.

If you were hurt because of another party’s negligence, you may wonder, “What if the accident was partially my fault?”

Comparative Negligence in Illinois Accident Cases

States each handle personal injury cases involving shared fault differently. Most states follow some form of “comparative negligence.” The standard used for Illinois personal injury cases is “modified comparative negligence.” Under this standard, an injured person may still be entitled to financial compensation for damages as long as he or she is less than 50 percent at fault for his or her injury.

For many, one of the most enjoyable parts of summer is going for a dip in a swimming pool. Unfortunately, swimming pools can also be dangerous, and in some cases, even deadly. If you were injured or a loved one died while visiting a public swimming pool, waterpark, resort, hotel, or other establishment, you may have grounds for a legal claim against the liable party. You may be entitled to damages for medical bills, funeral costs, lost income or financial support, and more.

Injuries from Swimming Pool Accidents

When a party’s negligence leads to an injury, the injured person may be able to file a personal injury claim and recover financial compensation for damages like emergency room and hospital bills, medication, and lost wages from missed work. The injured person may also be entitled to compensation for non-financial losses such as his or her lost quality of life, physical pain, and disfigurement.

Unfortunately, pedestrian accidents are a daily occurrence in the United States. In fact, in 2019, 6,590 pedestrians were killed in accidents. If you were recently injured in a pedestrian accident, you should consult a personal injury lawyer promptly. Your lawyer can help you determine all the liable parties and pursue the compensation you deserve.

Responsible Parties for Pedestrian Accidents

If you were hit by a vehicle and suffered injuries, it is important to consider all the liable parties. Here are several parties that may be to blame for your injuries.

Being injured is not something that anyone expects to happen, but when it does, it can significantly affect your life. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were nearly 3.5 million workplace injuries that occurred in both private and governmental organizations in 2019. Most of the time when you are injured at work, you will be covered under workers’ compensation, which will typically pay for your medical bills and lost wages. In most cases, you will not be able to file a lawsuit against your employer for being injured at work. However, workers’ compensation benefits do not cover your full work wages, and this can leave you with expenses that you cannot afford to pay. In some rare cases, you might be able to sue your employer to help compensate for your injury.

Potential Reasons You Can Sue Your Employer

In most cases, you will not be able to sue your employer for a work injury because of protections given to them by the Workers’ Compensation Act. When an employee is hurt at work, workers’ compensation insurance is supposed to step in to protect the employer from a lawsuit. However, if an employer does not have the workers’ compensation insurance required by Illinois law, you can file a lawsuit against them to recover damages. You may also be able to sue your employer if they intentionally caused your injury.

Suing Third Parties

Although situations in which you can file a lawsuit against your employer are uncommon, there are many cases in which you can pursue compensation from third parties who are responsible for your work injuries. Anyone who is not considered to be your employer but who was involved in your incident may be liable for your injuries. Some common parties named in work injury claims include:

When you are injured because of someone else’s carelessness, you have the right under the law to be able to claim compensation for your injuries and losses related to them. However, not everyone will be willing to compensate you, even if they know the injury was their fault. In those cases, you can benefit from filing a personal injury lawsuit to attempt to legally force them to compensate you. Before your case can be successful, however, you will need to prove that the other person involved is at fault for the accident. In most cases, this is done by proving that the other person was negligent in their actions.

What is Negligence?

In the context of a personal injury claim, Illinois defines negligence as a person doing something that a “reasonably careful” person would not do, or failing to do something that a “reasonably careful” person would do. Negligence is often left to the judge or jury to interpret, taking into consideration the circumstances surrounding the accident.

Proving Negligence

In order to recover compensation for a person’s negligent actions, you must do more than simply demonstrate that the person did not act reasonably carefully. There is a specific set of criteria that must be met in order to claim negligence. Typically, this includes the following four points:

A personal injury claim is a claim used to seek restitution after an injury caused by wrongdoing or negligence. Car crashes, truck accidents, slip and fall accidents, dog bites, and many other situations can lead to a personal injury claim. The party responsible for the injury may be a property owner, business, trucking company, drunk driver, or another party. Personal injury claims not only hold the liable party answerable for the harm caused by their actions, they may also provide financial relief. The amount of compensation you can get in a personal injury case varies depending on the severity of the injuries and other factors.

Economic Damages You May Recover in a Personal Injury Case

Economic damages or financial damages are those that result in measurable financial hardship. You could be compensated for:

• Medical expenses - Being hurt in an accident may require significant medical care. Medical bills from doctor’s appointments, hospitalization, surgery, and other medical needs may be recoverable through a personal injury case. You may also be compensated for medical devices or assistive technology you require because of your injuries.

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Of the different types of injuries that a person may experience, traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are among the most serious. Unfortunately, injuries affecting the brain are not always recognized or understood. Following an incident such as a car accident or a slip and fall, a person will likely focus on forms of bodily harm that are immediately evident, such as broken bones. They may not even realize that they suffered a brain injury until several days or weeks later, and they may not associate their symptoms with the accident where the injury occurred. For those who have been injured, it is important to understand the effects that a brain injury can have, and by doing so, they can pursue compensation for the ways the injury has impacted their life.

Health Concerns Related to Traumatic Brain Injuries

Immediately following a concussion or other type of brain injury, a person may experience symptoms such as headaches, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, difficulty sleeping, dizziness, or confusion. In mild cases, these symptoms may improve or go away after a few days or weeks. In moderate or severe cases, symptoms may persist or get worse, and a person may also experience long-term or permanent health issues, including:

• Cognitive impairment - In addition to memory loss, damage to the brain may lead to a variety of other issues that affect a person’s ability to think, reason, and perform daily activities. They may struggle with problem-solving, paying attention to people or tasks, following directions, or managing daily activities such as household chores, driving or operating equipment, preparing food, or maintaining proper hygiene. A person may also experience language deficits that affect their ability to speak, read, write, or understand what others are saying.

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Most people greatly underestimate the effect that being sleepy has on their ability to drive. According to the National Safety Council, being awake for 20 or more hours straight has the same effect on driving as being intoxicated. If you were injured in a car accident caused by a driver who was too fatigued to drive safely, it is important to know your rights. You may be able to hold the driver accountable and recover compensation through a personal injury claim.  

Negligent Driving Caused by Sleep Deprivation

Most adults have felt the effects of sleep deprivation at least once in their lives. Reduced attention span, increased reaction time, and difficulty making decisions are all common consequences of getting too little sleep. If a driver is too fatigued to pay attention to the road and drive cautiously, he or she should pull off at a rest stop or other safe location. Fatigued drivers may:

• Drift between lanes
• Run red lights or stop signs
• React too slowly to avoid a collision
• Fall asleep at the wheel

Truck Driver Fatigue Due to Falsified Logbooks

The drivers of commercial trucks are often especially at risk of fatigued driving. To reduce the incidence of truck accidents caused by sleepiness, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has instituted certain restrictions on how long truckers can drive. Truck drivers must keep track of the hours that they drive and when they take rest breaks in a logbook. However, some truck drivers lie about how many hours they have driven. If your accident was caused by a sleepy truck driver, the driver’s logbook and data from the truck’s electronic control module (ECM) may be used as evidence in your case.

In a split second, a slip and fall accident can cause agonizing injuries. If you or a loved one were hurt in a slip and fall or trip and fall accident, you may be interested in seeking compensation for your damages. Medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages may be recoverable through a premises liability claim. To receive compensation, however, you will need to prove that your injuries were caused by the property owner’s negligence.

Property Owner Negligence in a Slip and Fall Accident

Slip and fall accidents can lead to painful injuries that incur a massive amount of medical debt. Many slip and fall accident victims are also left unable to work or complete daily responsibilities because of their injuries. Financial compensation for these physical injuries and other losses may be available through a premises liability claim. However, the burden of proof in a slip and fall case is on the person seeking damages. This means that you and your attorney will need to demonstrate that the property owner or property occupier’s negligence caused the accident.

A property owner may be considered negligent if he or she allowed lawful visitors to the property to be exposed to unreasonable dangers. Some unsafe conditions that may lead to slip and fall accidents include: