PROTECTING YOUR RIGHTS WHEN YOU A LOVED ONE ARE INJURED
Car Accident Attorneys in Lasalle County, IL
Car accident attorneys in Lasalle County, IL. Injuries from car accidents create unanticipated economic, mental and physical hardships. You need an experienced Lasalle County, IL car accident lawyer on your side to secure you the maximum financial recovery you owed. Speak to Burger Law‘s car accident attorneys immediately at (779) 800-HURT or complete our online form for a free consultation.
If a careless driver hurt you in Lasalle County, IL see how much your claim may be worth by completing our free personal injury calculator.
You have been injured in a car accident and now you are wondering what to do. If you are not sure, you are not alone. You may not be certain how to get the right medical care, how to file a claim and if there is anything else you can do to make sure that you get justice for your injuries. Call the police, then get medical attention. Then call Burger Law.
When a negligent driver injures you, you should be focused on recovering from your injuries and getting your life back on track. You should not have to argue over your financial recovery after a car accident. If the responsible party has no intention of doing right by you, you need someone who knows the laws to fight by your side. The Lasalle County, IL car accident lawyers of Burger Law know how important your claim is to you and are devoted to getting you the money you rightfully deserve.
You deserve to have an outstanding team fight for your rights during your car accident claim. Call a lawyer at (779) 800-HURT or fill out our online form now. Our auto accident law firm, does not charge you until we successfully win your claim, and we insist on the best recovery possible. Never accept a settlement offer that is not what you truly are owed.
Lasalle County, IL Car Accident Attorneys With a Proven Track Record of Victories
With any type of tort claim, results matter. You want to know that you are giving your case to an attorney who can handle it, and that they will not back down until you get the full compensation you are owed. A personal injury lawyer saying they are the best is one thing; a lawyer with client testimonials and results that can prove it is another. Click the links below to read about some of our car accident results:
Steps to Take After a Car Accident in Lasalle County, IL
Car Accidents are traumatic events. 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 need to do both immediately after a car wreck to ensure both a successful physical recovery and the success of your claim:
Get to safety if you can — The golden rule is, if you and your car can both move, pull over to the side of the road. If not, stay where you are. If you are seriously injured and cannot move, wait for emergency personnel to arrive, as trying to move can make your injury worse. Assess whether anyone else in the vehicle is injured. Render aid if you can.
Call 911 or a police non-emergency line — If someone needs EMTs and/or an ambulance, call 911 immediately. If not, call a non-emergency line and request for police to come so they can make a report. Police are trained to ascertain blame in a crash and a police report is a key piece of evidence. If you do not know if you require emergency services or not, always call 911 and let the operator decide how to proceed.
Exchange information with other driver — After it is safe to do so, communicate with any other driver involved in the crash. Take a picture of their license and insurance information. If the other driver admits fault, ask a few more questions to try to get them to admit what happened. You do not need to feel like you are starting an argument, you are just trying to find out what happened.
Never admit fault — In conversations with police, the other driver and an insurance company, you can give a short, clear description of events from your point of view. But never admit fault. There may be contributing factors you do not know yet, and admitting fault will make it very hard to seek a compensation.
Collect whatever evidence you can — 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 back up your story down the road.
Seek out medical treatment — If you were not treated at the scene or taken to an emergency room by ambulance, go to an emergency room immediately after an accident or later that day, or make an appointment with your general practitioner as soon as you can. Medical treatment is not only necessary to ensure you recover physically, but you will need proof of an injury and your treatment to get compensation for your injuries.
Speak to Lasalle County, IL car accident attorneys — If you were injured in an auto accident, chances are a lawyer is the only way to get the full recovery you are owed. Write down a list of questions beforehand, such as 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 ready to fight for you in front of a judge and jury.
Go to every medical appointment you have — Get the full medical treatment you need to recover, whether that includes surgery, physical rehabilitation or chiropractic appointments. You need to do this not only so you can achieve maximum medical improvement, but can get the full extent of your damages once pain and suffering is taken into account. You read about how pain and suffering is calculated on our blog.
Burger Law has helped hundreds of injured parties in Lasalle County and throughout Illinois navigate the confusing aftermath of a car accident claim. Speak to our car accident attorneys now at (779) 800-HURT if you have any doubts about how to proceed with your claim.
What Kind of Issues Arise In Lasalle County, IL Car Accident Claims?
Ideally, you would not have to fight to get the compensation you deserve. But, unfortunately, it is not uncommon to see that there are difficulties that come up and the insurance adjuster refuses to be fair. A few of the complications our car accident attorneys see the most in Lasalle County, IL are:
The other party was uninsured —Illinois has minimum insurance requirements for all drivers. But some drivers do not follow the rules, and you may be left wondering how you are going to get compensation for your injuries. Our car accident attorneys now how to file uninsured motorist claims in the event that a negligent driver does not have insurance . However, just because it is your own insurance does not mean they will readily agree to pay you – you still need a lawyer to stand up to the insurance company and get you what you deserve.
The other party does not have enough insurance — Depending on the policyholder’s policy limits, they may not have sufficient to fully compensate you. If are owed more money than what’s on the at-fault driver’s coverage, we can file an underinsured motorist claim on your own policy. We can also look for other insurance policies that may cover your accident.
The other party will not admit doing anything wrong — Unfortunately, it is not surprising that some careless people refuse to take responsibility for their actions. If the other driver is trying to pin your injuries on you or somebody else, we will gather evidence and take sworn depositions so their negligence is no longer in doubt.
The insurance company is offering something far below a fair settlement —Insurance adjusters utilize numerous different deceitful tactics to avoid paying out claims, and most times an attorney is needed to get them to be honest. If they continue to lowball you after we send a settlement demand letter, we will not hesitate bring a claim against them in court, proceed to discovery and prepare for trial. Often, once they know our car accident attorneys are on the case, it is only a matter of time before they give in to our demands; they know they will not get a favorable outcome if we go to trial. We have gotten a lot of great settlements on the eve of trial.
Our car accident attorneys always try to get fair compensation quickly. However, if you have a more complicated case and the negligent driver and their insurance company do not want to do the right thing, we are prepared to take them all the way through trial. We do not stop fighting for our Lasalle County, IL clients until they are compensated. We know how to apply the law to injury claims and get our clients the recoveries they need to move forward.
Car Accident Attorneys in Lasalle County, IL — Resources to Help With Your Car Accident Claim
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 see our FAQs and legal glossary to better understand the claims process.
Most Common Types of Car Accidents in Lasalle County, IL
No two car accidents are exactly alike, but they generally happen for similar reasons. Some examples are:
Backup Accidents — According to the National Safety Council, one out of four collisions occur because of poor backing procedures, and those collisions cause over 500 deaths and 15,000 injuries each year, many of them to children in parking lots.If another vehicle backed into your vehicle, the insurance company will likely not believe your claim, as most rear to front accidents are the fault of the rear driver. Experienced car accident attorneys will be able to prove the other driver’s negligence.
Carpool and Rideshare Accidents — In general, accidents involving drivers from companies like Uber or Lyft are not substantially different from most auto accidents. However, while policy limits tend to be higher, there may be multiple parties at fault including the company, driver and a third party driver. A car accident lawyer can help level the playing field.
Fatal Car Crashes — Nothing is worse than having a loved one taken away by a reckless driver. While nothing can truly compensate you for your loss, a wrongful death claim can bring a feeling of justice, and cover the finances related to their funeral and the loss of a provider.
Head-on Collisions — Head-on collisions are particularly dangerous because both vehicles are going fast, and the driver and front passenger are susceptible to debris and being flown from the car. They account for just two percent of all car accidents, but account for 10 percent of all traffic-related deaths. Beyond fatalities, they can lead to catastrophic injuries.
Intersection Accidents — According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administrations’s report on intersection-related crashes, over a third of all traffic accidents occur at intersections. Intersection accidents are often caused by drivers not paying attention and drunk driving and unsafe U-turns.
Multi-Vehicle Accidents — Multi-vehicle accidents are often “chain reaction” accidents where more than one driver is liable. Everyone’s insurance company will try to blame someone else. Burger Law’s Lasalle County, IL car accident attorneys will prove how each negligent driver contributed to your injuries.
Road Construction Accidents — Construction companies are obligated to take steps to ensure their construction zones are safe for drivers, including having adequate warnings and that cones are placed to keep drivers out of dangerous areas. In addition to a negligent driver, we can sue a construction company if they failed in that duty and you ended up injured.
Burger Law’s Lasalle County, 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 Is Compensation Calculated in Lasalle County, IL Car Accident Claims?
Financial recoveries in car accident claims generally compensate you for two things: economic damages, such as your cost of treatment and lost wages, and non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering and emotional anguish An important aspect of any car accident attorney’s job is properly calculating every dollar someone is owed. We will demand justice in your case.
To determine the full extent of your damages, we will first add together the entirety of your economic damages. This includes:
Lost wages and lost earning potential
Any medical appointments, surgeries, medications and/or tests
Assistive devices such as braces
Future medical expenses, such as additional surgeries, replacement assistive devices, or eventual replacement of artificial joints
In the event of future economic damages, we consult with economic experts to value how much those will cost in the future, and include estimated inflation in our settlement demand package.
After we have calculated economic damages, we will calculate how much you should be compensated for for your non-economic damages. Usually, that is done by multiplying your economic damages by a number between 1.5 and five.
For example, say you have $30,000 in economic damages, and your injuries caused you to be in pain for two weeks, your car accident attorney might decide your economic damages should be multiplied by three. So:
$30,000 X 3 = $90,000
Your total damages would then be $120,000.
Most claims use a multiplier of three, and multipliers of four and five 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
The extent of your medical care, and if you will have more medical expenses in the future
If your injuries resulted in scarring or disability
If your injuries affected your quality of life and independence
If you contributed to the accident in any way
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 sick leave available or by blaming your injuries on you. We will not let them get away with that. In our more than 30 years of experience fighting back against insurance adjusters, and to date have secured over $200 million for our clients.
What Is the Statute Of Limitations For Car Accident Claims in Lasalle County, IL?
Each state has its own statute of limitations for injury claims. Pursuant to 735 ILCS 5/13-202, Illinois’ is shorter than most other states at just two years. There are three important exceptions:
If you are making a wrongful death claim for the loss of a loved one, you have two years from when your family member passed – not not from, when the crash occurred.
If you or your loved one was a minor when the accident occurred, you have until their 20th 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 is not counted against you. 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 may sound like a long time, but the clock starts ticking the second your accident happens. Do not hesitate 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 (779) 800-HURT to go over the specifics of your case.
Other cases we take on in Lasalle County, IL include:
Speak to Our Lasalle County, IL Car Accident Attorneys Today
Burger Law’s car accident attorneys are committed devoted to getting each of our Lasalle County, IL clients the best possible results in their claims. You did not want to be injured, and you should not have to pay for another person’s mistakes. We will fight back against bullies like resistant insurance companies. To start on your true road to recovery, call Burger Law‘s car accident attorneys immediately at (779) 800-HURT or contact us online for a free case review.
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…