Car accidents are among the leading causes of serious injury and death in Chicago. However, even a relatively minor motor vehicle collision can have a major impact on your life. Treating and recovering from an injury may result in extensive medical expenses. You may be unable to return to work and earn income, making it difficult to pay bills and keep up with the cost of living. Even dealing with a car insurance company can be extremely difficult and frustrating.
Despite these challenges, you don’t have to go through the aftermath of a car accident alone. At Smith LaCien, LLP, our Chicago car accident lawyers can help. We strive to provide the highest quality legal representation when our clients need it the most. We have significant experience representing those injured in motor vehicle crashes throughout the state of Illinois. Our attorneys understand the difficulties that you face after an injury and are prepared to build a legal strategy to help you recover the financial compensation you need and deserve.
If you have been injured in a car accident that was not your fault, please, contact our attorneys today. We offer a free and confidential case evaluation at (312) 586-8717.
The attorney that you choose to represent you matters. As you recover from severe injuries, it is important that you work with a law firm that is experienced in handling car accident cases and has a proven track record of success.
At Smith LaCien, LLP:
Getting compensation for a car accident is one thing, but getting fair compensation is entirely different. Car accident victims are often contacted by the insurance company soon after the collision. The insurance company adjuster may be quick to offer a settlement. If you get that call, you may be tempted to accept it without question. After all, you have bills to pay.
But how do you know that the settlement offer is fair? The insurance adjusters may tell you it’s fair and that it will cover all your costs, but can you be certain? What the insurance company will not tell you is that its objective is not to help you recover physically and financially from the car accident. Insurance companies are in the business to make money. If the opportunity exists for them to cut costs by paying you less than you deserve, they will take it. Do not give them that opportunity.
You can talk to a Chicago car accident attorney at our law firm at no charge. If you have received a settlement offer, we will review it with you to help you determine whether or not it is fair. If you have not yet received an offer, we will let you know if you have a claim and what your next steps should be.
The entire insurance company business model depends on taking in more money in premiums than they pay out in claims. For that reason, they hire insurance company adjusters whose sole job is to find reasons to deny or undervalue a claim. Some common tactics insurance companies use to low-ball a car accident claim or deny it completely include:
These are just a few of insurance companies’ most common tactics to deny a claim or offer a much lower settlement than you deserve. Always speak to a Chicago car accident lawyer before dealing with an insurance company and then direct all further contact to your car accident lawyer.
How do you determine whether a settlement offer is fair? There is a lot that goes into calculating fair compensation for car accident injuries, but one of the keys is to make certain that it does not overlook future expenses. Yes, it may cover the medical bills you already owe, but what if you need more medical care down the line? Surgery, physical therapy, and follow-up doctor appointments add up, and you certainly don’t want to be on the hook for paying for them.
Then there is the issue of lost wages. The same concept comes into play here. If you have to miss work in the future, or if your injuries prevent you from working at all, you want to make sure you’re getting money to help you get by without the paychecks you had expected.
One of the most overlooked issues in determining fair compensation in an injury claim is pain and suffering. Unlike medical bills and lost wages, which are considered economic damages, pain, and suffering are noneconomic damages. You can’t just calculate it by adding your bills together. Let us help you get truly fair compensation.
One of the most common ways that a defendant or their insurance company will try to avoid responsibility for your damages is to blame the victim for the car crash. Under the rule of contributory negligence, a victim would be barred from recovering for any damages if they were even one percent at fault for the auto accident that caused their injuries. You can imagine how unfair it would be if the defendant got off scot-free because of your minimal contribution to the car accident.
Although some states still follow this contributory negligence rule, most states have adopted a fairer recovery rule called comparative negligence. Under the comparative negligence rule, the victim’s responsibility for the car accident is determined and their recoverable damages are reduced by the percentage of fault assigned to them.
Illinois follows the modified comparative negligence rule for personal injury cases. Under this rule, the victim can recover damages if they are less than 50% at fault for their injury. The victim’s recoverable damages will be reduced by the percentage of fault attributed to them. This means that if a victim is 30% at fault for their injury and their recoverable damages are $100,000, they will only receive $70,000. If the victim is 50% or more responsible, then they recover nothing for their damages.
According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, around 81,000 car accidents occur each year in Chicago with over 21,000 injuries and approximately 187 fatalities. Crowded roadways in urban areas can make driving treacherous. Human error is the number one cause of traffic accidents in the United States. Some common causes of car accidents in Chicago include the following:
Many car accidents occur at intersections and in high-traffic areas, unfortunately, this is where not only other vehicles are present but cyclists and pedestrians, who are much more vulnerable, are as well. Pedestrians struck by a motor vehicle stand to suffer severe or even catastrophic injuries. A pedestrian accident attorney can help you determine how much compensation you are entitled to. Everyone driving on public roadways owes a duty of care to keep other road users safe. This duty includes carefully adhering to road rules and traffic laws to avoid injuring others. When another driver fails in this duty of care they are the at-fault party who bears liability in a car accident. Even those on bicycles can be devastatingly injured or even lose their lives in a car accident. Making sure to contact a bicycle accident attorney in Chicago should be a priority to ensure fair compensation.
Auto accidents are sudden and traumatic. It may be difficult to keep a clear head in the chaotic aftermath of a car accident. However, suppose you aren’t physically incapacitated or unconscious after a car accident. In that case, it pays to protect both your physical and future financial health by taking certain steps immediately after a car accident:
By taking these proactive measures you not only maximize your chance for a full physical recovery but also gather the evidence you’ll later need to prove your car accident claim for a settlement or lawsuit.
Collisions on the roadway can cause extensive property damage and significant injuries ranging from whiplash to death. These injuries may require ongoing medical treatment to maximize recovery. This could mean missed work and loss of income while you focus on your physical recovery. Some common injuries from car accidents include the following:
Most of the common injuries sustained in car accidents require ongoing medical treatment and lost income during recovery. Some injuries are catastrophic and life-altering. Car accidents are serious and require serious limit order to gain the compensation and justice you deserve when another person was at-fault in your accident.
In a car accident, you may suffer both personal injury and property damage. If the responsible party’s insurance company refuses to offer a full and fair settlement, it may be necessary to file a lawsuit. When filing a lawsuit, you will aim to recover compensation for the losses that you incurred as a result of the car accident. This can include economic and non-economic damages (as well as punitive damages in rare cases). However, there are specific time limits within which different claims must be filed. These time limits are known as statutes of limitations.
As provided for in the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure, you have two years from the date of the car accident to file a lawsuit for personal injury. These time limits are very important because there are very few exceptions to the rule, and a victim may lose their opportunity to file a lawsuit if they fail to file on time.
Some exceptions to Chicago’s 2-year statute of limitations are as follows:
While personal injury claims after a car accident in Chicago have a 2-year statute of limitations, property damage claims have a 5-year statute of limitations. If your accident involved a rideshare vehicle such as Uber or Lyft we have more information available here: Chicago Uber & Lyft accident lawyer
The fact is, when you’re involved in a car accident, you are likely suffering physically, emotionally, and financially. Whether you are out of work or facing a mountain of medical bills, it can feel like there is no end in sight. The other party’s insurance company might pressure you to accept a claim smaller than what you deserve. The Chicago car accident attorneys at Smith LaCien, LLP will be by your side at every turn. We can help you get the maximum compensation you deserve, including payment for medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Our reputation for results, now totaling more than $2.5 billion, is proof of our commitment to helping people in Cook County and throughout Illinois get the justice they deserve.
Call our Chicago law office today at (312) 509-8900 or send us an email to schedule a free consultation with a dedicated personal injury lawyer.