A car accident claim in a fault-based insurance state like Illinois takes careful handling with substantial evidence of the at-fault party’s liability and the full extent of your damages. When you’ve suffered a serious injury with significant damages, a Chicago car accident attorney becomes a strong ally in proving your case to the negligent party’s insurance company.
If you’re hiring a car accident lawyer, it’s helpful to know what you should bring to your first meeting.
Illinois law requires drivers involved in car accidents to remain at the scene and call the police to report the accident if there are any injuries, fatalities, or property damage over $1,500. When the police arrive at the scene of an accident, they generate an accident report.
This report contains crucial information, such as the contact and insurance information of all involved in the accident, the vehicle identification numbers (VIN), and the officer’s observations when they arrived at the accident scene. The report may include eyewitness statements and their contact information.
In some cases, an injury victim is incapacitated by serious injuries and unable to take any action at the scene, but sometimes a Chicago car accident victim uses their cell phone camera to take photos of the damaged vehicles, the accident scene, and their visible injuries. They may also add contact information of eyewitnesses to their phone.
If you were able to preserve evidence at the accident scene by taking photos with your cell phone camera, bring the photos and any other evidence from the scene of the accident to your first meeting. Then, your Chicago car accident lawyer conducts a thorough investigation and consults with accident reconstructionists to document compelling evidence that the at-fault party’s negligent or reckless actions caused your damages, leaving them liable.
Besides proving that the at-fault party’s actions breached the duty of care they owed to you and others on the road, and their breach of duty caused your injury, you must also have proof that your injury has caused financial losses, or damages, as well as pain and suffering.
Before your first meeting, gather documents, such as your medical report, medical bills, and receipts for out-of-pocket expenses. If you’ve missed work days because of your injuries, bring evidence of your average weekly wages, such as direct deposit slips and your recent tax statements.
An experienced car accident lawyer will consult with medical experts to determine the cost of future medical expenses and income loss related to your injury and the level of pain your type of injury causes, as well as how long you can expect to experience pain until reaching the maximum medical improvement for your injury.
Fortunately, most car accident attorneys offer a free case consultation to prospective clients. Then, the contingency-based payment system means you pay nothing upfront for legal representation. Instead, you only pay for legal services if and when your attorney recovers compensation for you. Call the experienced Chicago personal injury lawyers from Smith LaCien, LLP to set up your first meeting with a Chicago car accident lawyer.
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