Injury Lawyer Illinois

Injury Lawyer Chicago and Illinois. If you were injured because somebody else broke the rules, the Chicago-based Illinois injury lawyer firm of Burger Law will offer aggressive, dedicated and knowledgeable legal representation to get you the recovery you deserve. Call us now at (314) 500-HURT or fill out our online form for a free consultation.

As members of society, we all have a responsibility to do what we can to keep each other safe and prevent other people from being harmed. But there are always rulebreakers who, either by carelessness or recklessness, injure others by not prioritizing their safety. When that happens, the law provides an avenue for you to receive compensation. However, too often people do not want to take responsibility for their actions and insurance adjusters or defense attorneys refuse to be fair. That is where Burger Law's Illinois injury lawyer team steps in. We have built a reputation among Illinois insurance companies for not accepting anything less than the full compensation you are owed. We start working on your case from the moment you hire us, and do not back down until there is nothing left to fight.

If you were injured because of someone else's negligence or misconduct, reach out to an injury lawyer in Illinois right away. An injury can be shocking and create a lot of uncertainty about when and if you will ever feel like you again, and if you are going to be able to be there for your Illinois family. At Burger Law, our injury lawyers deal with tough injury cases. We know how to get great results, hold liable parties accountable and get you the sense of justice you deserve. With our dedicated legal counsel, you will feel cared for and included. Let us take on the legal battle so you can focus on recovering. If you are not sure you have a case, or just want to know if the settlement offer you have already received is fair, we are happy to answer any questions you may have for free. Call an injury lawyer today at (314) 500-HURT.

If you were injured in Illinois because someone else broke the rules, see how much your claim may be worth with our free personal injury calculator.

Common Cases our Injury Lawyers Take in Illinois

The Illinois injury lawyers of Burger Law have experience getting great compensation in all types of personal injury cases, including:

• Auto accidents, such as:
  • Car accidents
  • Trucking accidents
  • Motorcycle crashes
  • Bus accidents
  • Fatal car accidents
  • Drunk driving accidents
  • Distracted driving accidents
  • Hit and run accidents
• Slip and falls and other premises liability claims
• Product liability
• Dog bite
• Medical malpractice, such as:
  • Nursing home negligence
  • Birth injuries
  • Misdiagnosis and failure to diagnosis
  • Leaving objects in after surgery
  • Hospital system errors
• Construction accidents

In the most tragic of cases, we represent families of those who were killed in a wrongful death in order to get them some sense of justice and ease their financial burdens.

Who Can My Illinois Injury Lawyer Hold Liable?

Who your injury lawyer can hold accountable depends on various types of liability in tort claims and how they apply to your injury case. Different types of liability cases your Illinois injury lawyer at Burger Law has pursued are:

• Ordinary negligence

  The vast majority of personal injury claims are considered ordinary negligence. Examples of this could be someone texting and driving and rear-ending you, a store not putting down a "wet floor" sign, a landlord or business failing to de-ice their parking lot or sidewalk or failing to make repairs such as wood-rotted stairs. While the behavior may not be appalling, it is still enough to hold someone liable because they did not use the ordinary care that a reasonable person would have used.

• Gross negligence

  In Illinois, the definition of gross negligence is "a course of action which ... shows an utter indifference to or a conscious disregard for a person's own safety and the safety of others" (Resolution Trust Corp. v. Franz, 909 F. Supp. 1128 (N.D. Ill. 1995)). Examples of gross negligence include drunk driving or driving far above the speed limit, a doctor prescribing a medication their patient is allergic to or a nursing home failing to move bedridden patients or does not provide residents with enough food and water.

  There are two important facets of gross negligence in Illinois: First, it often allows you and your injury lawyer to seek punitive damages, which increases your ultimate compensation. Second, it is often the only way you can sue the government or a public employee for negligence, according to 50 ILCS 750/15.1.

• Vicarious liability

  In personal injury cases, vicarious liability occurs when a "supervisory party," most commonly an employer, is held responsible for the actions of the people under them during the course of their work. For example, if a grocery store employee spills a liquid and does not clean it up and put down a "wet floor" sign, a rideshare driver causes a car crash, you are injured by a truck driver on a delivery or a bartender knowingly overserves a patron who causes a drunk driving accident. In those cases, while the employee is responsible for your injuries, you would make a claim against the employer and their insurance company.

• Third-party liability

  Third-party liability most often applies in workers' compensation claims. If you were injured on the job, the state gives you an opportunity for guaranteed compensation from your employer. However, more compensation may be available if someone besides your employer caused or contributed to your accident. For instance, you could sue a manufacturer if a dangerous product injured you while working, or a client if you were on the client's property and were injured by a dangerous condition. Third-party liability is common in construction accidents.

  While Burger Law's injury lawyers do not take workers' compensation claims in Illinois, we do offer free consultations to look into whether we can make a claim against a third party.

• Strict liability

  Under the doctrine of strict liability, in certain types of claims an individual or organization is automatically liable for your injuries, regardless of their intent or disregard for safety, or if they were negligent. The most common examples are pet owners being responsible for animal bites and manufacturers and vendors automatically being liable in a products liability case or people involved in an ultrahazardous activity, for example storing fireworks and flammable liquid next to each other in an apartment building.

• Negligent Entrustment

  Negligent entrustment occurs when someone allows another person to perform an activity or use something they are in control of that the other person is not in a condition to do safely. This is common in car accidents, if a vehicle owner gives the keys to someone they know was drunk or unlicensed.

Your Burger Law injury lawyer in Illinois knows how to file each one of these claims with great success. An important aspect of investigating all possible liable parties is you can get the full compensation you deserve, as your case will not be limited by insurance policy limits or on whether one party cannot pay.

How to Prove Negligence in Your Illinois Injury Claim

Most personal injury cases come down to negligence. In modern legal doctrine, there are five elements to proving negligence in a personal injury claim:

1. Duty of Care — That the other party has a responsibility to value your safety. This can be another driver in a car, a physician you established a doctor-patient relationship with or a property manager who needs to keep their property free of hazards.
2. Breach of Duty — That they failed or were negligent in that duty. Was the driver looking at their phone? Did a doctor not take your concerns seriously? Did the property manager know of a loose floorboard but blow off fixing it?
3. Cause in Fact — That the breach of duty caused your injury. Were you in a car accident, causing a whiplash injury? Did you have an allergic reaction to medication? Did you trip over the loose floorboard and break your collarbone?
4. Proximate Cause — The root cause of your injuries. Did the driver rear-end you because of defective breaks, and not because they were distracted? Then a manufacturer or mechanic would be liable for negligence.
5. Damages — In any personal injury case, you must prove that harm was done. This can be financial loss like lost wages or medical expenses, or emotional and physical harm such as pain and suffering.

Our Illinois Injury Lawyers Fight to Get You Compensation For Your Injuries

Some injury claims are more complicated than others. Maybe you were injured by an uninsured driver, multiple parties may be at fault or the manufacturer of a defective product is no longer in business. Or maybe your injuries were catastrophic and you will need medical care for the rest of your life. Whatever complications you may have in your case, our injury lawyers have seen it before and will not back down until you get the full financial recovery you deserve. We know that injuries can be devastating and we dedicate ourselves to helping people get justice for anything from mild to severe injuries, including:

• Head injuries
• Back, neck and spine injuries
• Spinal cord injuries
• Eye injuries
• Sepsis infections
• Internal injuries
• Burns
• Broken bones
• Loss of limb
• Paraplegia or quadriplegia
• Dislocations
• PTSD

Whether your injuries resulted in just a few chiropractic appointments or have left you or a loved one wheelchair bound for the rest of your life, you should not have to pay for the harm somebody else caused. Call Burger Law today at (314) 500-HURT to balance the scales of justice.

How Much Compensation Can I Receive in Illinois for My Injury?

In a personal injury claim you are generally eligible for compensation for two types of damages — called compensatory damages — and those are economic damages and noneconomic damages. They attempt to place an equivalent financial amount to the harm or loss you sustained.

Economic Damages

These compensate you for your direct financial losses. They include:

• All of your medical expenses related to the accident, such as emergency room bills, any surgeries, prescription medications, physical therapy or vocational rehabilitation and assistive devices such as crutches or wheelchairs. They also include future medical expenses, such as if you had a knee replacement because of your injuries and will need another one in the future.
• Lost wages from not being able to work, or your loss of earning capacity if your injuries prevent you from earning a living the way you are used to.
• Property damage, such as damage to your vehicle in an auto accident or if your cell phone was broken in a slip and fall.
• Out-of-pocket expenses such as household services, daycare or a nanny and the cost of transportation to and from medical appointments.

In cases where you will have future economic damages, your Illinois injury lawyer at Burger Law will use testimony from expert medical and economic witnesses to precisely value how much you are owed.

Noneconomic Damages

These compensate you for the way your injuries have affected you that you cannot put a dollar amount on. Typically, your noneconomic damages will be calculated by multiplying your economic damages by a number from 1.5 to 5, depending on the severity of your injuries. Commonly called pain and suffering, noneconomic damages compensate you for:

• The physical pain you endured during recovery
• Any scarring or disfigurement
• Loss of ability to enjoy life or participate in the activities you once loved
• Mental anguish or depression
• Loss of companionship or affection from your partner because of your injuries

In cases of gross negligence or intentional harm, you may be able to recover punitive damages as well. For example, when we sue drunk drivers we do it so they know exactly how dangerous their actions were.

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How the Injury Claim Process Works in Illinois

Immediately after being injured, the first two things you need to do are get your medical treatment and notify the liable party, whether that is notifying a negligent driver's insurance company or filing a report at a store or restaurant. With some simple claims with minor injuries, you may be able to negotiate a settlement with an insurance adjuster by yourself. But it is always important to seek a free consultation with an injury lawyer in Illinois before accepting an offer. We will be able to tell you if they are being fair. If an attorney tells you the insurance company is not being reasonable and you decide to hire the attorney, the claims process will proceed in several stages. It is important to note, you need to continue your medical treatment throughout this process until you reach your maximum medical improvement.

Your Injury Lawyer Investigates Your Claim

In addition to organizing any photos you have and going through your medical records, your Burger Law injury lawyer in Illinois will perform an exhaustive investigation into your injury and obtain more evidence like video surveillance and police reports. We will consult with expert witnesses to help prove liability and describe how another's negligence caused your injuries. Lastly, we will determine what medical treatment you may need in the future, how your injuries will affect your ability to make a living and how they have affected your ability to enjoy life in order to determine what full compensation is in your case.

Your Injury Lawyer Makes a Settlement Demand and Begins Negotiations

After determining how much money you are owed, we will send the liable party or their insurance company a demand package, which includes proof of all your damage and the other party's liability. This begins the negotiation stage of your injury claim. Most insurance companies are resistant to paying people the full financial recovery they deserve. They use a lot of tricks, but your Illinois injury lawyer at Burger Law knows how to combat them.

Ideally, negotiation results in a fair settlement. But if talks stall and the insurance company does not want to be fair, your claim proceeds to the litigation phase.

Your Injury Lawyer Files a Lawsuit

Burger Law is more aggressive than most Illinois injury lawyer firms in filing suit. We like to let the insurance company know that we will not settle for anything less than a full financial recovery. Filing a lawsuit officially starts the process on the case going to trial. A settlement is still an option, but often, filing suit will motivate the insurance company to finally offer a fair settlement.

The Discovery Phase Begins

The discovery phase allows both sides to prepare their arguments for trial. Your Illinois injury lawyer and the other side's attorney will exchange the evidence they plan to present and make requests for certain documents. They will also take depositions — an out-of-court statement made under oath — of everyone involved in or who witnessed the accident or injury.

Your Injury Lawyer Begins Mediation and Negotiation

Mediation is the last chance for an injury claim to be settled before going to trial. In it, a neutral third party known as a mediator, often a judge or other attorney who is trained to settle disputes and come to a mutually satisfactory conclusion, listens to arguments from both sides. The mediator makes no decision and their opinions are not binding, but they are there to help resolve disagreements about who was at fault or how much compensation you are owed.

Trial and Verdict

The vast majority of personal injury claims settle before trial, often in the discovery or mediation phase. We have had several cases where the liable party finally decides to be reasonable just before trial begins. However, if your injury lawyer and the other side's attorney are at a complete impasse, the case will go to trial and be heard in front of a judge and jury. Burger Law's injury lawyers have over 30 years of experience as Illinois trial attorneys and know how to fight for your compensation from voir dire — or jury selection — to cross-examinations and closing arguments. Recently, we were able to secure a $133.7 million jury verdict on behalf of Missouri correctional officers.

Resolving Liens

Your Burger Law injury lawyer is not done fighting for you once you receive your settlement or verdict. In Illinois personal injury law, any healthcare provider that treated you for your injuries has a right to a percentage of your compensation as payment for their services. We will negotiate with your healthcare provider and use the law set out in the Illinois Health Care Services Lien Act to reduce the percentage the healthcare provider can take from the settlement and put the most money in your pocket.

How Long Do I Have to File an Injury Claim in Illinois?

Each state has its own set statute of limitations, and Illinois has a relatively short one for personal injury of two years under 735 ILCS 5/13-202. The clock for those two years starts on the date of your injury. However, other statutes in Illinois do allow for some exceptions:

• 735 ILCS 5/13-208 — If the party you were making a claim against leaves the state of Illinois, the period of time they are out of state does not count against the two years.
• 735 ILCS 5/13-211 — If you or your loved one was a minor or under a "legal disability" as defined by 5 ILCS 70/1.06, you have until two years after the 18th birthday or the disability was removed.
• 735 ILCS 5/13-212 — You have two years from the date of the malpractice or two years after you discovered or should have discovered the injury to file a claim. For example, if an instrument was left inside your abdomen after surgery, you have two years from the date you discovered the instrument, or from the date that abdominal pain should have alerted you something was wrong. However, you can not make a medical malpractice claim later than four years after the date of malpractice, unless you were under 18 or under a legal disability.
• 740 ILCS 180/2 — If the accident or injury resulted in the wrongful death of a loved one, you have two years from the date of death, not the date of the accident. If the death was due to "violent intentional conduct," you have five years from the date of death or one year after the criminal case is completed, whichever is later.

While two years may seem like a long time, delaying could bring complications to your case, such as eyewitnesses forgetting key events. If you were injured because of someone else's negligence, call an Illinois injury lawyer at Burger Law today at (314) 500-HURT.

Can I Afford an Injury Lawyer in Illinois?

You never need to worry about having enough money to pay for an injury lawyer. Burger Law works on a contingency fee basis: we take a percentage of your compensation as our attorneys' fees, and you only pay when you receive the full compensation you deserve. That means that you can pursue the full medical treatment you need to recover, and do not have to force yourself back to work when you are unable. You can focus on your recovery without having to scramble to find the funds to hire an expensive injury lawyer.

Injuries are always unexpected and create immediate hardships for the injured party and their family. But we are here to stand by your side and let you know that this too shall pass. Every Illinois injury lawyer at Burger Law has dedicated their lives to the service of others by standing up to bullies like resistant insurance companies and fighting back against the wrongdoers. In over 30 years of experience we have secured our clients over $180 million in verdicts and settlements. For the justice and financial recovery you deserve, call a Burger Law Illinois injury lawyer at (314) 500-HURT or contact us online for a free case review.