Car Accident Lawyer Madison County, IL

Car Accident Lawyer in Madison County, IL. If you were hurt on the road due to another’s negligence in Madison County, IL, call a Burger Law car accident lawyer now at (312) 500-HURT or contact us online for a free consultation. We help our clients in Madison County and anywhere in Northern Illinois secure the best possible financial recoveries for their injuries. You do not pay until we win your case.

In a perfect society, everyone would operate cars carefully and no one would get injured. In a moderately less perfect world, when people cause others harm they would take responsibility for their behavior and their insurance company would give you equitable compensation without you having to argue with them. In the real world, at-fault drivers all too often do not want to be held accountable for hurting you and their insurance companies will do whatever they can to devalue your payout. That is where Burger Law steps up. Our car accident lawyer team empowers the injured and vulnerable in Madison County and throughout Northern Illinois to insist on the best possible compensation for their damages, and we do not rest until you receive it. Your life can change in an instant because of another person’s negligence, and Burger Law will fight by your side to make sure you get the justice and economic certainty you deserve for your injuries.

In over three decades of practice, our car accident lawyer team has delivered more than $175 million in verdicts and settlements for our Illinois clients. If you were hurt because another driver was careless, see how much your case may be worth by filling out our complimentary personal injury calculator.

How Common are Car Accidents in Madison County and Illinois?

According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, in 2020 there were 246,752 motor vehicle wrecks in the state, which led to 72,989 injuries and 1,195 fatalities. In 2021, almost half of deadly wrecks transpired in urban locales such as Chicago and Cook County. Over a fourth of Chicago and Illinois crashes involved alcohol and over 33 percent of the drivers who perished had drunk alcohol before the accident. Illinois is the 10th most hazardous state for winter driving, and the 10th most dangerous state altogether.

While there is the atypical wreck that may be inevitable, such as an animal running out in front of your car, almost every Madison County, IL traffic wreck is avoidable. Human error is the leading cause of car accidents, as it is a factor in 94 percent of crashes. When you have to pick up the pieces after you are hurt owing to a driver’s negligence or reckless actions, you may feel a wide range of emotions, such as vulnerability, panic and worry about how you will pay for all the medical bills, particularly if you have to miss work. You do not have to go through this process by yourself. Every car accident lawyer at Burger Law has devoted their life to offering professional and passionate advocacy and legal representation to injured individuals and families in Madison County, IL. We will help protect you and your family’s future by winning you the best possible compensation not only for your medical bills, but for any emotional or physical agony and inconvenience you experienced. Call us immediately at (312) 500-HURT to take the first step toward becoming whole again.

Common Causes of Car Accidents | Madison County, IL Car Accident Lawyer

There are myriad ways that people can get injured on the road. The National Safety Council has picked out 23 factors that typically contribute to motor vehicle collisions. The following are some of the most common causes that your Burger Law car accident lawyer sees in Madison County, IL:

Drunk Driving

Drunk driving and drug-impaired driving are major causes of fatalities and injury in car wrecks cases. About 28 people perish every day due to driving while intoxicated, or one person each 52 minutes. Drunk driving crashes are one of the only instances in personal injury suits where you could also be able to receive punitive damages. When we sue drunk drivers on your behalf, we do it so they understand just how dangerous and reckless their actions were.

Distracted Driving

Multitasking is a lie. While we may think we can multitask when driving, often as a time saving mechanism, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ascribed 3,142 deaths to distracted driving in 2020. It is never worth those 90 extra seconds to finish eating breakfast on the road.

Texting and driving can lessen a driver’s reaction time more than when they are impaired by alcohol.

Speeding

According to the 2020 Illinois Crash Facts and Statistics, of the 246,752 motor vehicle accidents in Illinois, one-third entailed speeding, including 37.3 percent of crashes that led to injury and 44.9 percent of fatal collisions. Speeding is dangerous because it considerably lessens the reaction time of both the negligent driver and others on the Madison County, IL roads, and it produces more force in wrecks.

Drowsy Driving

While many people are aware of the dangers of distracted driving or driving while impaired, driving with little rest has analogous effects to driving while drunk. Losing merely two hours of sleep is the equal to drinking three beers. Drivers should always pull over to the side of the road and rest if they are feeling fatigued.

Inclement Weather

You cannot sue the weather, but the Illinois Rules of the Road establishes clear safety measures that drivers must heed in inclement weather, such as using turn signals far before turning in fog or increasing following distance when in winter conditions. If someone else in Madison County, IL does not drive responsibly for weather conditions and causes you injury, your Burger Law car accident lawyer will be able to hold them liable for negligent driving.

Defective Parts

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that faulty components were the critical cause in about 2 percent of traffic wrecks. Manufacturers must safely design vehicles, test them and issue recalls whenever a defective parts is found. If your injuries were because of defective brakes or an airbag that did not deploy, your Burger Law car accident lawyer will help you bring a claim against a manufacturer.

Whatever the cause of your injuries, the Madison County, IL car accident lawyer team of Burger Law will find the explanation of your crash, discover who is to blame, hold them responsible and secure you full and fair compensation for your injuries. We pride ourselves on offering professional and empathetic legal advocacy to Madison County, IL individuals and families who have been harmed through no fault of their own, no matter of their financial standing. If a thoughtless driver injured you, get in touch with a Madison County, IL Burger Law car accident lawyer immediately at (312) 500-HURT.

Have a look at some of the following links to see the great results Burger Law’s Madison County, IL car accident lawyer team has delivered for our clients:

• $2 million Multi-Vehicle Collision Settlement
• $765,000 Wrongful Death Car Accident Settlement Against Fire Department
• $327,000 Settlement for Rear-End Collision
• $250,000 Settlement for Crash After A Driver Ran a Red Light
• $205,000 Settlement After Failure to Stop at a Stop Sign
• $125,000 Settlement After Rear-End Collision at a Stop Light
• $100,000 Settlement for Distracted Driving
• $100,000 Settlement for Head-On Collision
• $90,000 Settlement for an Injured Passenger

Winning Your Car Crash Case | Madison County, IL Car Accident Lawyer

In order to prove your claim, your car accident lawyer will have to demonstrate the five elements of negligence found in tort law:

1. Duty of Care: Your car accident lawyer must show that the other driver had an obligation to care for your safety. In car wreck cases this is a given. The Illinois Vehicle Code (625 ILCS 5/11-1003.1) stipulates that drivers are “to exercise due care.” So anybody who gets behind the wheel automatically owes you a duty of care.
2. Breach of Duty: Then, your car accident lawyer must demonstrate that the defendant neglected that duty. In traffic wrecks, there can be egregious breaches such as driving while intoxicated or reckless driving, and there can be less apparent cases like driving too fast for weather conditions. Your Madison County, IL car accident lawyer at Burger Law knows motor vehicle crash cases and how to investigate wrecks to prove how someone else was negligent and caused you injuries.
3. Cause in Fact: Also referred to “causation,” you have to demonstrate that the driver’s violation of duty directly caused your damages. Sometimes insurance companies try to argue that you already had your injuries, or that they are owing to degeneration with old age. Your car accident lawyer at Burger Law knows how to conclusively show exactly how the crash caused your injuries. For example, we can show through presentations and medical professionals’ depositions that your whiplash injury was caused by being rear-ended.
4. Proximate Cause: This is what ultimately establishes negligence. Picture a scenario where someone does not stop at a red light and crashes into you in an intersection, causing you injuries. If the driver was drunk, they are plainly liable. If the other driver’s brakes were inherently dangerous and did not function correctly, then a manufacturer, mechanic or vendor could be to blame in a product liability suit.
5. Damages. The final facet to demonstrate is that there was some form of loss, for instance medical bills, emotional agony or time away from work because of your injury. One of the best pros to hiring a car accident lawyer is that we know every kind of damage you deserve and know how to quantify them. The other driver and their insurance company will endeavor to diminish your damages, but the Madison County, IL car accident lawyer team of Burger Law will demand that you get the best possible compensation.

Can I Still Receive Compensation in Illinois if I Was Partially Liable? | Madison County, IL Car Accident Lawyer

If you were partially to blame for your motor vehicle collision in Madison County, IL, your car accident lawyer will still be able to secure you a financial recovery, yet the sum will be less. Illinois is a modified contributory fault state, which means that your compensation will be decreased by the portion of blame you share in your accident.

Meaning, if you are granted $100,000 for damages sustained in a rear-end collision, but a jury finds that you share 30 percent of the blame because you stopped all of a sudden, you will collect $70,000 in total. It is important to note that 735 ILCS 5/ §2-1116 states that:

The plaintiff shall be barred from recovering damages if the trier of fact finds that the contributory fault on the part of the plaintiff is more than 50 percent of the proximate cause of the injury or damage for which recovery is sought.

That means that if you share more than half responsible for the collision, you will not be able to collect any financial recovery in Madison County or anywhere Illinois.

Shifting responsibility onto you is a familiar tactic insurance adjusters employ to diminish claims or circumvent paying them altogether. The Madison County, IL car accident lawyer team of Burger Law fights back against bullies like insurance companies who implement unethical ploys to eschew their duty to reimburse you what you rightfully deserve. If an insurance company in Madison County, IL is unjustly attempting to place blame for your accident on you, call a Burger Law car accident lawyer now at (312) 500-HURT.

How Much Time Do I Have to File an Injury Claim in Illinois? | Madison County, IL Car Accident Lawyer

After an injury in an auto accident, the state of Illinois’s statute of limitations lays out how long you can wait after the injuries occur to make your claim.

• Generally speaking, Illinois Compiled Statute §735 ILCS 5/13-202 states that you have two years after the date of the injury to bring a personal injury claim.
• To make a wrongful death claim, Illinois Compiled Statute §740 ILCS 180/ dictates that you have two years from the date of your loved one’s death – not the accident.
• If your claim is only for property damage, you have five years from the date of your collision to file a claim, pursuant to Illinois Compiled Statute §735 ILCS 13-205.
• Pursuant to Illinois Compiled Statute §735 ILCS 13-211, if the injury was sustained by a minor, they have up to two years after the date of their 18th birthday to file a claim. Similarly, if someone is under a disability at the time of the accident, they have until two years after the “disability is removed.”

If you have been injured in a motor vehicle accident, the clock is already winding down for when you can file your claim. Do not wait, get in touch with a Burger Law car accident lawyer immediately at (312) 500-HURT to get justice and the best possible compensation for your injuries. We begin working on your claim straight away and do not rest until we win your case.

How to Avoid Auto Accidents | Madison County, IL Car Accident Lawyer

Over 75 percent of people who perish in traffic wrecks are drivers. Every Burger Law car accident lawyer has seen with their own eyes the wreckage that a careless driver can cause. While you cannot always control how other people drive, there are many actions you can take to ensure your own safety as well as the safety of others on the Madison County, IL roads.

• Always wear a seatbelt. In 2017, seatbelts saved an estimated 14,955 people from death. Over 83 percent of drivers and passengers who are entirely ejected from the vehicle die, and most of the rest sustained severe, life-altering injuries. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that wearing a seatbelt decreases the chances of death by almost half and moderate to critical injury by 50 percent.
• Be aware of the rules of the road. The Illinois Secretary of State offers a Quick Guide to Safe Driving for anyone on the Madison County, IL roads. Basic tips like driving slower and increasing following distance in poor weather not only go a long way in keeping you and other drivers and passengers safe, but they also shield you from fault or being partially blamed for a collision if you do find yourself in one.
• If you drive a motorcycle, use a helmet. While Madison County, IL does not have laws forcing motorcycle drivers to use helmets, they are literal life-savers. In 2017, helmets saved 1,872 lives.
• Put away your cell phone. While you can always call someone back, you can never take back the effects of a traffic crash. Pull over safely if you need to make an urgent call. If you use your phone for directions, put the volume on high and do not listen to music or podcasts so you can clearly hear the directions and do not have to look down at your phone.
• Have the right attitude. No one owns the road, and we all need to be polite to other drivers, passengers and pedestrians. Recognize that you are in control of several tons of metal moving at high speeds. Safety needs to be your prime concern. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, almost one-fourth of traffic deaths are people under the age of 25. A less cautious attitude is probably a contributing factor.
• Keep both hands on the wheel. Only driving with one hand can substantially lessen your control of the vehicle. Quickly changing the radio is likely OK, but you should mostly be driving with both hands.
• Call a taxi or ridesharing service if you have been drinking. Not only does alcohol substantially diminish your ability to operate a motor vehicle safely, but it also raises your confidence and makes you feel more powerful, so you might think driving while drunk will be fine. Your brain may deceive you into believing you can drive home safely, but it is never the case.

You can take every possible precaution when driving, but regrettably the negligent behavior of irresponsible drivers can still harm you. When you get hurt because another driver broke the rules of the road, you deserve full compensation for all of your damages. Every Madison County, IL car accident lawyer at Burger Law takes on and wins the tough cases, and knows how to achieve great results.

Learn more about our various practice areas by clicking the links below:

• Truck Crash Lawyers in Illinois
• Wrongful Death Lawyers in Illinois
• Semi-Truck Accident Lawyer in Illinois
• Car Accident Attorney in Illinois

You should never have had to carry the economic, physical and emotional hardships of another driver’s bad choices and reckless behavior. Fortunately, the law offers an avenue for restitution, however you only have one chance to attain it. Trust in a car accident lawyer in Madison County, IL who has attained results and won the hard cases before. Burger Law persistently pursues lawsuits so insurance companies know we will settle for nothing less than maximum compensation. We intimidate insurance companies because they know we use our hard work, knowledge, experience, grit and dedication to always secure the best possible results for our Madison County, IL clients and see them made whole again. When you hire a Burger Law car accident lawyer, we get started on your case right away and do not let up until you get the full financial recovery you deserve. Call a Burger Law car accident lawyer in Madison County, IL today at (312) 500-HURT or fill out our online form for a complimentary case review.

Client Reviews

What our clients are saying about us

Juanita Matthews

Year of 2023

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!

Shaunda S.

7 months ago

I am very happy with the staff at Burger Law. I mostly worked with Michael Sheldon, and he did an amazing job. I trusted him completely with my case, and he did not disappoint. I would definitely recommend this team if your ever in need of good attorneys.

Emelia M.

3 months ago

Burger Law Firm is fantastic. Laura and Genevieve were so amazing and helpful throughout the entire process. They helped me with my personal injury case every step of the way and succeeded at getting me the results I desired.

Helen L.

a year ago

We had a great experience with Burger Law for representing us after a serious car accident. Truly impressed by how professional and supportive the entire team is. And, many thanks to Genavieve and Laura – you are amazing!

Judy M.

a year ago

They did an amazing job on my case! Communication with them was great!!! Kept me informed and in the loop with everything that was going on!!! Will definitely be the 1st ones I’ll call if ever I’m in another accident!!! Thank you very much!!!

Chelsea C.

5 months ago

Let me tell you something about Burger Law.. they are so attentive and kind. Jennifer is my savior!! I love the whole team!!! They are truly a miracle team!! I appreciate their business and would recommend it to others.

David D.

2 months ago

Absolutely the best law firm in the St. Louis area. No matter the size of your case you are treated as if you are the only client on the roster. Will explain anything thoroughly and they work around your availability. Very impressed and appreciative of the service.

Lisa B.

11 months ago

Gary and Casey took great care of me for 2.5 years as my lawsuit was finally settled. I feel he helped me achieve justice for me and my 4 children after their father died from medical malpractice and neglect. Thanks to Gary, my kids now have a great start to their college and adult lives. Thank you Gary and Casey, for fighting for us so hard at our most trying and difficult time in our lives thus far. Love and God bless from my family to yours!

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