PROTECTING YOUR RIGHTS WHEN YOU A LOVED ONE ARE INJURED
Car Accident Attorneys in Antioch, IL
Car accident attorneys in Antioch, IL. The physical, mental and financial hardships that result from being injured in a car accident are devastating. You need a tenacious Antioch, IL car accident lawyer to fight for you to secure you the fair compensation you owed. Call Burger Law‘s car accident attorneys now at (312) 500-HURT or contact us online for a no-risk, no-obligation case review.
If a negligent driver injured you in Antioch, IL see how much your claim may be worth by using our free personal injury calculator.
It is difficult to know what to do after a car accident injury. You may be unsure how to get the right medical care, what the process for filing a claim is and if there is anything else you can do to make sure that justice is served in this situation. First, get the immediate medical attention you require. Then call Burger Law.
The last thing on your mind after an accident should be worrying about court dates or understanding the personal injury claims process. Our law firm has won over $200 million for our clients, and is ready to fight for you.
You deserve to have a brave and dedicated team fight for your rights during your car accident claim. Call a lawyer at (312) 500-HURT or complete our online form now. Our auto accident law firm, does not take any fees until we successfully win your claim, and we never leave any money on the table for our clients. Never agree to a settlement offer that is not what you genuinely deserve.
Antioch, IL Car Accident Attorneys With a Proven Track Record of Victories
In any type of legal case, results matter. You want to have trust in your lawyer’s abilities, and that they are going to fight hard to make sure you get the maximum compensation you deserve. Any personal injury lawyer can say they will fight for you, but not all of them can prove it. Below are several of our auto crash results:
Car Accidents can be traumatizing. Knowing what to do when one happens can absolutely make the difference in your case, however, it can be hard to make the right choices when you are still in shock from the accident. The following what you should do both immediately after an accidentto make sure you recover both physically and financially:
Get to safety if possible — If you are not too injured to move and your car is function, pull over to the side of the road. If your car is not working, put on its emergency lights and wait to exit your vehicle until there is no oncoming traffic. If you are seriously injured and cannot move, wait for emergency personnel to arrive, as trying to move can make your injury worse. Look to see if anyone else involved in the crash is hurt. Render aid if you are able and know how to.
Call 911 or a police non-emergency line — If someone needs emergency medical care, always call 911. Either way, call a non-emergency line and request for police to come so they can make a report. Police know how to assign blame in an accident and a police report is an essential piece of evidence. If you do not know if you require emergency services or not, always call 911 and let the operator decide if your accident is an emergency.
Exchange information with other driver — After it is safe to do so, exit your vehicle and get the other driver’s information. Take a picture of their license and insurance information. If the other driver says it was their fault, ask a few more questions to try to get them to admit what happened. You do not need to feel like you are going to have a heated discussion, you are just trying to find out what happened.
DO NOT admit fault — When talking to the other driver or the police, you can offer a brief description of how things occurred from your perspective. But never admit fault. There may be contributing factors you are not immediately aware of, and admitting fault will bring complications when you are attempting to get a compensation.
Collect evidence from the scene — Take pictures of both vehicles and the surrounding area, including any tire marks or any other property damage the accident caused. If there are eyewitnesses, get their name and phone number so they can corroborate your story down the road.
Seek out medical care — If you were not treated at the scene or taken to an emergency room by ambulance, get to urgent care quickly, or see your general practitioner as soon as possible. Medical care is not only necessary to ensure you recover physically, but you need documentation in order to make an injury claim.
Consult with Antioch, IL car accident attorneys — If you were injured in an auto accident, chances are you will need to an attorney to fight for you to get the full recovery you are owed. Have a list of questions ready to ask them, for example how they take their attorneys’ fees, if they they have experience with similar types of accident, what they think the value of your injuries is and if they are willing to go to trial if they have to.
Go to every medical appointment you need to — Get the full medical treatment you need to recover, whether that means surgery, physical therapy or chiropractic appointments. You need to do this not only so you can achieve maximum medical improvement, but will lead to a greater recovery as your pain and suffering damages will be higher. You discover how pain and suffering is calculated here.
Most people in Antioch, IL have never had to make a personal injury claim before, and we help guide them through the entire process. Get in touch with our car accident attorneys today at (312) 500-HURT if you have any doubts about how to proceed with your claim.
What Kind of Problems Arise In Antioch, IL Car Accident Claims?
Ideally, the negligent driver would have enough coverage and the willingness to fairly compensate you for your injuries. But far too often there are difficulties that arise and the insurance adjuster refuses to do the right thing. A few of the issues our car accident attorneys see the most in Antioch, IL include:
The negligent driver has no coverage —Illinois requires drivers to have a minimum amount of liability insurance in case they cause an accident. But some people are irresponsible and do not pay for it, and you may be left wondering how you are going to get compensation for your injuries. Our car accident attorneys have filed hundreds of uninsured motorist claims in the event that a negligent driver does not have insurance . However, filing a claim is not made easier because it is the insurance company you have been paying into – an attorney is usually still required to secure a full recovery.
The insurance policy does not cover your full damages — Depending on the policyholder’s policy limits, they may not have enough to fully compensate you. If your damages exceed the at-fault driver’s coverage, we can make a underinsured motorist claim against your own insurance. Sometimes, we can discover umbrella policies that your accident falls under.
The negligent driver will not admit fault — There are some reckless people out there who refuse to admit when they did something wrong. If the other driver is trying to pin your injuries on you or somebody else, we will gather evidence and take sworn depositions so the question of their liability is no longer in doubt.
The insurance company refuses to be fair —Insurance adjusters use a lot of tricks to minimize claims, and usually an attorney is needed to get them to be honest. If they still will not be fair after they receive our settlement demand package, we will immediately bring a claim against them in court, proceed to discovery and start getting ready to present your case to a jury. Often, simply the presence of tough and experienced trial car accident attorneys like those at Burger Law is enough to get the insurance company to make an offer that is truly fair; they know they will lose if they make us go in front of a judge and jury. Many high settlements are offered right before a trial is set to begin.
Our car accident attorneys always try to settle a case quickly. However, if you have a more complicated case and the other side does not want to do the right thing, we we will defend your rights at trial. We do not stop fighting for our Antioch, IL clients until they are compensated. We have dealt with all of these issues and more hundreds of times and have won countless Illinois car accident cases in jury trials.
Car Accident Attorneys in Antioch, IL — Resources for The Injured
Our team has literally written the book on car accidents claims, which you can download below, read through to understand your case better. You can also look through our FAQs and legal glossary to better understand the claims process.
Causes and Types of Car Accidents in Antioch, IL
Each car accident is unique, and they can happen for any reason, at any time or place. However, most causes and types of accidents can be broken down into a number of distinct categories. Common examples are:
Backup Accidents — According to the National Safety Council, a quarter of accidents are due to improper backing procedures, and those crashes are responsible for more than 500 fatalities and 15,000 injuries each year, many of them to children in parking lots.If someone else backed into you or your car, the insurance company will probably not believe your claim, as the trailing driver is almost always liable in rear to front accidents. Knowledgeable car accident attorneys will be able to prove how the front driver caused your injuries.
Carpool and Rideshare Accidents — In general, accidents involving drivers from companies like Uber or Lyft are not substantially different from most auto accidents. However, Uber and Lyft companies have more insurance coverage, there may be multiple parties at fault including the company, driver and a third party driver. A car accident lawyer will stand up for you and defend your rights.
Fatal Car Crashes — Nothing is worse than having a family member taken away too soon. While no lawyer can bring back your loved one, a wrongful death claim can bring a sense of recognition, and ease the financial burden their loss placed on you.
Head-on Collisions — Head-on collisions are especially dangerous because both cars are going fast, and the driver and front passenger are susceptible to debris and going through the windshield. They account for just two percent of all auto accidents, but are responsible for 10 percent of all traffic-related deaths. Beyond fatalities, they can lead to devastating injuries.
Intersection Accidents — According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administrations’s report on intersection-related crashes, four out of 10 traffic accidents occur at intersections. Intersection accidents are often caused by distracted driving and drunk driving and failure to yield.
Multi-Vehicle Accidents — Multi-vehicle accidents are often “chain reaction” accidents where more than one driver is to blame. Everyone’s insurance company will try to blame someone else. Burger Law’s Antioch, IL car accident attorneys will ensure that every liable party is held accountable.
Road Construction Accidents — Construction companies are obligated to take steps to ensure their construction sites are safe for drivers, including having adequate warning zones and that dangerous locations are cordoned off. In addition to another driver, we can sue a construction company if they failed in that duty and you ended up injured.
Speeding Accidents — In Illinois in 2020, speeding contributed to almost a third of all crashes, 44.9 percent of fatal crashes and over a third of personal injury crashes. Speeding is dangerous because it increases the the probability that a driver will lose control of their car and reduces their reaction time.
Burger Law’s Antioch, IL car accident attorneys have seen claims involving any conditions and circumstances imaginable — and won them. We know how to gather the facts to substantiate your claim and prove liability on the part of the negligent driver.
How Much Compensation Will I Receive For My Antioch, IL Car Accident Injuries?
Financial recoveries in car accident claims typically compensate you for two types of damages: economic damages, such as medical expenses and money you lost from time spent off work recovering, and non-economic damages, also known as pain and suffering A knowledgeable car accident attorney like those at Burger Law know how to calculate the full extent of someone’s damages. We will make sure the other side understands just how much their negligence has affected you, and demand they compensate you for all of it.
To determine the full extent of your damages, we will first add together all of your economic damages. This includes:
Money lost from time spent off work recovering and lost earning potential
Any medical appointments, surgeries, medications and/or tests
Assistive devices such as braces
Medical costs you might have in the future, such as additional procedures, replacement wheelchairs, or eventual replacement of artificial joints
Out-of-pocket expenses like daycare if your injuries prevented you from caring for your children for a time
In the event of future economic damages, we consult with economic experts to value how much those will cost in the future, and adjust our settlement demand to incorporate expected inflation.
After knowing the full extent of your economic damages, we will calculate how much you should be compensated for for your non-economic damages. Most often, that is done by multiplying your economic damages by a factor between 1.5 and five.
For instance, if you have $30,000 in economic damages, and your injuries caused you to be in pain for two weeks, your car accident attorney might demand a multiplier of three. Therefore:
$30,000 X 3 = $90,000
Your final compensation would then be $120,000.
Three is the most common multiplier used, and higher multipliers are usually reserved for more serious injuries that greatly affect someone’s physical comfort, state of mind and their independence.
What Factors Go Into How Much My Claim Is Worth?
More serious injuries result in higher compensation. Factors that help determine what your claim is worth include:
The type and severity of your injuries
How much medical treatment you needed, and if you will have more medical expenses down the road
If your injuries resulted in scarring or disability
Your wage loss damages
If you can no longer earn a living as you used to and have lost earning capacity damages
If your injuries affected your quality of life and independence
If you bear partial responsibility for your accident
Often, insurance adjusters try to devalue claims by saying they only have to six weeks of treatment, you waited too long to get treatment, they do not need to pay wage loss damages if you had paid-time off or by blaming your injuries on you. We will not let them get away with that. In over 30 years of experience standing up to insurance adjusters, and to date have recovered over $200 million for our clients.
What Is the Statute Of Limitations For Car Accident Claims in Antioch, IL?
Each state has its own statute of limitations for injury claims. Pursuant to 735 ILCS 5/13-202, Illinois’ is relatively short at just two years. There are three noteworthy exceptions:
If you are making a wrongful death claim for the loss of a loved one, you have two years from the date of that loved one’s death – not not from, when the crash occurred.
If you or your loved one was a minor when the accident occurred, you have two years from their 18th birthday.
If you or your loved one was under a “legal disability” at the time of the accident, you have two years from the date the disability was removed. If you came under a legal disability after you were injured but within the two-year time limit, that time does not count against the statute of limitations. In Illinois, “legal disability” means:
Someone who, either by mental or physical disability, is not able to manage their person or estate
A person with a mental illness or developmental disability that keeps them from managing their person or estate
Someone who, because of “gambling, idleness, debauchery or excessive use of alcohol or drugs,” cannot manage their estate to the extent that it causes them or their family to “want or suffer”
Two years is not as long as it sounds. Do not wait to call a car accident attorney right away after your accident. If you are wondering if any of the exceptions apply to you, speak to an attorney at Burger Law today at (312) 500-HURT to go over the specifics of your case.
Speak to Our Antioch, IL Car Accident Attorneys Today
Burger Law’s car accident attorneys are dedicated to getting justice for our Antioch, IL clients. You did not want to be injured, and you should not have to pay simply because someone else was negligent. We will fight back against bullies like resistant insurance companies. To start on your true road to recovery, speak to Burger Law‘s car accident attorneys immediately at (312) 500-HURT or complete our online contact form for a no-risk, no-obligation case evaluation.
This law firm is absolutely amazing. They took on my case, when nobody else would! They fought hard for me when it seemed there was no hope. They kept me informed and always asked for my input before making decisions on my case. Gary puts himself into every case unlike most law firm owners. Gary and his team really care about every one of their clients, and fights hard to get you a fair settlement. They actually won my case out of court, and then reduced my fees to make sure I could get my car fixed and be able to get back to some normality. I would recommend Burger Law over and above any other firm! If you go somewhere else you aren’t getting the best!
Genevieve and Laura have assisted me in my personal injury claim and have made the process so much less stressful. They are extremely knowledgeable, professional, and attentive. Laura is always on top of everything and very sweet. I had no idea how to navigate this process and they have made me feel at ease and like they truly cared about the outcome.
Cara Barton
It has been a long 4 years, but it is finally over! Burger law did a great job handling my case. Grant Doty answered all my questions, promptly returned my phone calls, frequently kept me updated and insured me that he was fighting for me. Jennifer Zini also did a wonderful job, great customer service. It was pleasure getting to know the Burger Law team!
S. Alred
After a driver unexpectedly pulled out right in front of my motorcycle & I suffered injuries, the at-fault driver’s insurance company offered me a $10,000 settlement. I hired Burger Law & they won a $109,000 settlement. I was very happy with the outcome. They were easy to work with & fully explained each step of the process & kept me informed along the way.
At Burger Law | St. Louis Personal Injury Lawyer, we are a team of personal injury attorneys who have earned many distinctions and peer-reviewed awards for our civil litigation and trial work in Missouri and Illinois. A few of the honors we have earned include the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, Top 100 Trial Lawyer Award, a Martindale-Hubbell AV rating, Super Lawyers selection as one of the top attorneys in the field of personal injury and board certifications in Civil Litigation.
Personal injury lawyers who demand justice in Southern Illinois. The role of a personal injury lawyer in Southern Illinois should be more than just getting you a great settlement…