Personal Injury Lawyer in Arlington Heights, IL

Burger Law fights on behalf of those who are injured because of negligent and reckless actions. If you or someone you love has been injured all because someone else behaved recklessly or irresponsibly, Burger Law’s personal injury lawyers in Arlington Heights, IL demand the recovery you are owed and fight for you every step of the way. Call Burger Law now at (779) 800-HURT or contact us online.

If you want to know how much compensation you may be owed in Arlington Heights, or anywhere in Illinois, use our complimentary personal injury calculator.

Those who injured you are financially and legally responsible for taking care of your injuries and paying you all of what you are owed, but that does not mean they will do it willingly. Burger Law’s personal injury lawyer team fights hard for our clients against whoever is standing in the way of justice. We handle a variety of cases, including making claims against large trucking companies, holding negligent healthcare professionals, product manufacturers, dog owners accountable, suing City Hall, to getting justice and financial security for a family after a a family member passed too soon. If you have questions about your case, what compensation you are owed or anything else about the personal injury claims process, speak to one of our personal injury lawyers in Arlington Heights, IL immediately at (779) 800-HURT.

Why Burger Law Is The Arlington Heights, IL Personal Injury Law Firm For You

Choosing the right personal injury lawyer for you is essential. You want someone who has won your type of case before and who is not afraid to take your case all the way to trial if they have to. In order to gauge the abilities of an injury law firm, you need to look at the cases they have won, and their reputation among their clients and peers:

Acclaimed Arlington Heights, IL Personal Injury Lawyers

The many awards and accolades Burger Law has received from other lawyers include:

• Martindale-Hubbell Award — AV Preeminent® Rated by Martindale-Hubbell® from NexisLexis® – a remarkable achievement awarded to not more than 5 percent of all lawyers in the U.S.
• Million and Multi-Million Dollar Advocate Honor — Members of the Million and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, an honor only given to 1 percent of attorneys in the United States.
• Top 100 Trial Lawyers Honor — Selected to the Top 100 Trial Lawyers by The National Trial Lawyers, an invitation-only award that is made up of the most qualified attorneys in each state.
• Board Certified By the National Board of Trial Advocacy — Board certified in Civil Trial Advocacy and Civil Pretrial Practice Advocacy by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. Less than 4 percent of all practicing lawyers are certified by an ABA accredited certification board.

Personal Injury Lawyer Arlington Heights, IL – Cases We Have Won

Our Arlington Heights, IL personal injury lawyers fight for the full rights and recoveries of our clients. We take on all who have injured our clients, and we fight for a full recovery every time. Our firm is devoted to offering our clients amazing legal representation, and we have great pride in our well-deserved victories. Check out some of our recent victories for our personal injury clients below:

• $5 Million Settlement – Father Killed By Reckless Truck Driver
• $3 Million Judgment – Son Murdered by Pam Hupp
• $2.5 Million Settlement for Father’s Fatal Car Accident
• From $0 to $2 Million Car Accident Settlement
• $2 Million Settlement – Injured Woman Settles Highway Crash Lawsuit
• $1.435 Million Settlement For Deck Collapse That Injured Couple
• $1 Million Settlement to Family of Man with Sepsis Infection
• Medical Malpractice Case Settles for Over $1 Million
• $900,000 Medical Malpractice Settlement
• $765,000 Settlement After Fatal Collision
• $600,000 Tractor-Trailer Crash
• $600,000 Settlement – Widow in ATV Accident Settles with Property Owner
• Class Action $600,000 Settlement Against the State of Illinois
• $495,000 Uninsured Motorcycle Verdict
• $400,000 Settlement in Employment Discrimination Case
• $350,000 Settlement in Ladder Case

It is important to remember that no two cases are the same, and what you may be eligible to recover is going to depend on the your specific accident. We fight for you so that there is no money left on the table.

Burger Law Client Testimonials

Beyond the videos below, you can watch more client testimonials here.

Definition of a Personal Injury Claim in Arlington Heights, IL

Under Illinois and U.S. law, you have a right to file a personal injury claim to get a financial recovery for the injuries someone else is responsible for, and to hold the rule breakers accountable. The recovery you receive is intended to make you whole. The idea is convert all the ways an injury affected you into a dollar amount.

In some cases, no attorney, settlement or verdict is can fully “put back” all the things you lost in an injury. While you can be reimbursed for the financial losses you sustained, other damages cannot truly be expressed through dollar signs. If you lost a loved one, you lost a limb, are permanently scarred or will have to receive medical treatment for the rest of your life, no one can truly make that go away. What empathetic and experienced personal injury lawyers like those at Burger Law are able to do is ensure your injuries are recognized, and to provide you with relief from the financial losses resulting from your injuries.

Is it Worth Hiring Personal Injury Lawyer in Arlington Heights, IL?

That depends on the specifics of your case, but most of the time, yes, you will need a personal injury lawyer to ensure no money is left on the table in Arlington Heights, IL. The question to ask when thinking about whether or not to hire a lawyer is, will I get more money with them? If your injuries were minor, you have minimal lost wages and the other party’s fault is clearly established, a lawyer might not be necessary. But, you will need a lawyer in Arlington Heights, IL if the following is true about your claim:

• There is a dispute about liability, or you are being blamed for your injuries
• The initial settlement offer is well below the cost of your damages
• Your injuries are serious and require extensive care
• There are multiple parties at fault
• Your damages exceed the at-fault policyholder’s policy limits

We offer consultations for free, and we will always be honest with you about how much we can help your claim. Our personal injury lawyers work on a contingency-fee basis, meaning you only pay after you have received the full compensation you deserve, and we have no reason to take on your claim if we do not think we can significantly increase your final payout.

What Do You Need to Prove to Win a Personal Injury Claim in Arlington Heights, IL?

While the legal specifics concerning negligence and liability can be hard to navigate, whether or not you can seek compensation generally depends on one essential question: were you injured because someone else was negligent? If so, legally speaking you need to prove the five elements of negligence:

1. Duty of care — You first need to demonstrate that the liable party had an obligation to keep you safe. Sometimes, a duty of care is assumed, as motorists all owe everyone on the Arlington Heights, IL roads a duty of care, or dog owners owe it to others to keep their dog from biting anyone. In other cases, a particular relationship must have been agreed to, such as a doctor-patient relationship or a vendor-buyer relationship.
2. Breach of duty — Did the liable party neglect that duty? Did a driver hit you because they were distracted? Did a doctor prescribe the wrong dosage? Did a dog owner let their dog roam unleashed?
3. Causation — You must prove how the incident caused your injuries. For example, you broke your arm when your car was t-boned, or had bad side effects from a prescription drug.
4. Proximate cause — This determines who ultimately is at fault. If you were injured in an auto accident, it is usually because another driver broke the rules of the road. But if the brakes were not safe, someone in the vehicle’s chain of distribution may be ultimately liable.
5. Damages — Finally, you need to show that the accident resulted in economic harm. In most cases damages are medical expenses and wages you could not earn while you were not able to work. With access to your medical records, an attorney will be able to establish your financial losses with an insurance company. Once we establish financial losses, we can also seek compensation for the other ways your injuries have affected you.

If you have any doubts about the validity of your claim, speak to a lawyer in Arlington Heights, IL who has won a similar claim before. Get in touch with a personal injury lawyer today at (779) 800-HURT.

What Are Common Personal Injury Lawsuits in Arlington Heights, IL?

Being a personal injury lawyer in Arlington Heights, IL mandates that you know how negligence laws apply to a wide range of cases. Knowing the difference between the laws and defendants applicable to different types of claims is paramount. A lawyer that only specializes in a certain type of injury claim may not have the experience to take on other cases. At Burger Law, we know how to secure justice for the injured no matter the circumstances. Cases we specialize in in Arlington Heights and throughout Illinois include:

Auto Accidents

The Bureau of Justice Statistics estimates that there are 300,000 to 500,000 personal injury claims every year. The majority of those result from auto accidents, including:

• Car Accidents
• Truck Accidents
• Motorcycle Accidents
• Bicycle Accidents
• Pedestrian Accidents

Truck accidents can cause serious injuries because trucks emit an incredible amount of force, and motorcyclists, bicyclists and pedestrians are all at increased risk of being severely injured as they do not have the same protection closed-vehicle occupants have. Under 625 ILCS 5/11-1003.1, all motorist must “exercise due care” to keep everyone else on the road safe. If someone breaks the rules of the road and you end up hurt, you have an auto accident claim against them.

Sometimes, a vehicle manufacturer, construction company or local municipality may be fully or partially to blame for your injuries. Your Burger Law personal injury lawyer will carry out a comprehensive investigation into your accident to find out who and what exactly caused your injuries.

Premises Liability

Proprietors have a duty to take reasonable measures to make sure their property is not hazardous for people who are not trespassing. If you sustain damages in a slip and fall because a property was unreasonably dangerous, you deserve compensation. 740 ILCS 130/, also called the Illinois Premises Liability Act, stipulates that proprietors have a duty of care to entrants that is “of reasonable care under the circumstances regarding the state of the premises or acts done or omitted on them.” Basically, if there is a dangerous condition that is not obvious, the owner needs to either fix the condition, post signage or rope it off. Examples of hazardous conditions are:

• Spills
• A recently mopped floor
• Broken concrete on a walkway
• Broken stairs
• Broken decks and balconies
• Potholes
• Overly steep inclines
• Ledges
• Poor lighting
• Black ice
• Wet concrete
• Debris such as litter, fallen leaves and branches, rocks, etc
• Uneven rugs
• Wiring
• In-ground sprinklers or hardscape features hidden in the grass
• Absence of safety rails

Not all injuries on a property result in a premises liability claim. If you were in a part of a property you were not allowed to be, ignored warning signs, for example a “wet floor sign,” or were running or acting dangerously, you likely do not have a slip and fall claim. Successful premises liability claims depend on the following:

• The owner or manager created the unsafe conditions; or
• The owner or manager knew about the risk and neglected to fix it; or
• The owner or manager tried to fix the condition and repaired it negligently; or
• The owner or manager should have known about the condition, either because it happens often, had been there for an extended length of time or due to other complaints

A store or insurance company in Arlington Heights, IL may try to convince you that they do not owe you anything because they should not have been reasonable expected to repair or warn against the accident or because the accident was your fault. Do not believe them, and always speak with a personal injury lawyer before accepting any settlement.

Medical Malpractice

According to a 2016 study from John Hopkins University, medical errors cause more than 250,000 deaths annually. While not every error amount to negligence, when it does, you can make a medical malpractice claim.

Proving a medical malpractice claim will come down to what is referred to as the standard of care. The standard refers to how a prudent healthcare professional, in a specific field and specific location, would treat whatever ailment you saw them for.

Under 735 ILCS 5/2-622, any medical malpractice suit needs to be filed along with an affidavit from a health professional who:

• is knowledgeable in the relevant issues of the claim
• practices or teaches the same field as the negligent doctor, or has practiced or taught in that field within the last six years
• is qualified to review the facts of your case, and determines your claim is “reasonable and meritorious”

It is imperative that the health professional who writes the affidavit has the same training and practices in the same area as the health professional you are suing. An anesthesiologist in Chicago has a different standard of care than a general practitioner in Rockland, Maine. Burger Law knows numerous expert witnesses in Arlington Heights and throughout Illinois who can help verify that your medical malpractice suit is valid.

Common instances of medical malpractice in Arlington Heights, IL include:

• Nursing home negligence
• Birth injuries
• Misdiagnosis and failure to diagnosis
• Forgetting to remove objects after surgery
• Hospital system errors
• Lack of consent
• Not ordering tests that a prudent doctor would
• Ignoring a patient’s complaints
• Not seeking a second opinion or recommending a different treatment plan when theirs is not working
• Prescription errors

Dog Bites

Each day, nearly 1,000 people require emergency medical treatment for dog bites, and every year dog bites lead to about 12,600 hospitalizations. According to a Chicago Tribune article, Illinois insurance companies pay out the second-most money for dog bites than any state in the country.

510 ILCS 5/, the Illinois Animal Control Act, stipulates that a dog owner is strictly liable for your damages if it bit you, assuming you did not provoke it and were not trespassing. “Strict liability” means that the owner is liable as a matter of law and you do not have to prove negligence. This means, the owner cannot get out of paying you by saying they did not know the dog was aggressive, or that it was not their fault the animal got free.

While some dog bites only lead to minor injuries, others result in expensive surgeries or permanent disfigurement. In any case, trust in a Burger Law Arlington Heights, IL personal injury lawyer to ensure you get the best possible financial recovery you deserve.

Product Liability

Strict liability also applies to anyone involved in the chain of distribution of a defective product. There are three types of product liability claims in Arlington Heights, IL:

1. Design defect — This is a defect that occurs even if the product is manufactured correctly. This could include tables or furniture that naturally tip over, or an electrical appliance that melts when turned on high.
2. Manufacturing defect — This type of defect affects several individual products instead of every product with the same design. Examples include rat droppings getting caught in a soda can, or improperly attached electrical outlets.
3. Marketing defect — This refers to a product that did not carry sufficient warnings when it was put to foreseeable use. For example, a medication that does not include certain side-effects in the labeling.

In order to recover compensation, you must show that the product carried inherent risks when used in a foreseeable manner, that it was the proximate cause of injuries and that you had not substantially altered the product.

Burger Law’s personal injury lawyers will take on any case in which someone was injured through no fault of their own. One of the benefits of choosing a Burger Law Arlington Heights, IL personal injury lawyer is that we are not limited to any one type of claim, and have won your type of claim before. We understand that case types often overlap, and having experience with each type of claim gives our team the perfect understanding of how to fight for our clients’ rights and recoveries.

What Is the Personal Injury Claims Process in Arlington Heights, IL?

The path to getting maximum compensation for your injuries can be long and complex. While some accidents and injuries settle fairly early, others can take several years before a jury finally renders a verdict. In total, the path to getting compensation includes:

• Seeking Medical Treatment — Seek medical treatment immediately after an injury, and keep attending all treatments that your physician recommends. If you delay, it could bring complications to your claim, and not attending all your sessions will reduce your final payout. Our personal injury lawyers have a network of trustworthy Arlington Heights, IL doctors, chiropractors and physical therapists who can ensure you get the full treatment you need.
• Consulting With an Attorney — Even if you are not sure you are going to need legal representation, it is best to know what your options are as soon as possible. A good lawyer will tell you bluntly what your legal options are.
• Investigation and Documentation — Once you have retained a lawyer’s services, your personal injury lawyer will perform a complete investigation into your claim, ascertain every liable party and acquire the evidence needed for maximum compensation. You can help by keeping detailed records of your expenses related to your injuries, and how they affect your day-to-day life.
• Settlement Demand and Negotiations — Once we have determined the full extent of your damages, we will send a settlement demand package to the liable party’s insurance company. In the package we will include how we calculated your damages, and demand a financial recovery for all the ways your injuries have affected you. Most of the time, they will respond with a lower offer, and there will be several back-and-forths until they offer full compensation.
• Filing a Lawsuit — If negotiations do not lead anywhere, we will file a lawsuit in court, which begins the formal process of your claim going to trial. During this time, we will continue negotiating in an effort to avoid a trial.
• Mediation — If a settlement agreement still has not been reached, your personal injury lawyer and the liable party will likely pursue mediation. In mediation, an unbiased third party will try to get each party to accept the merits of the other side’s arguments.
• Pre-Trial — If mediation fails, the “discovery” phase begins. In this phase, we will speak to eyewitnesses and expert witnesses, acquire more evidence and both parties will share with the other what they plan to use as evidence in trial.
• Trial — Most personal injury claims are settled before trial. Indeed, we often finally get the settlement we were seeking on the eve of trial. However, if the insurance company still cannot see reason, we will fight for your compensation in court. Trial consists of:
  • Voir dire
  • Opening statements
  • Testimony and cross-examination
  • Closing arguments
  • Jury instruction
  • Jury deliberation and verdict

Most of our Arlington Heights, IL clients have never been through the personal injury claims process before, and are unsure of what lies ahead. Burger Law will be by your side from our initial consultation to full compensation, be there to answer all of your questions and manage all the legal aspects of your case so you can focus on healing.

How Much Is My Personal Injury Claim in Arlington Heights, IL Worth?

In general, your compensation will fall into two categories: economic damages and non-economic damages:

• Economic damages compensate you for the economic harm related to your injuries, including:
  • Lost wages
  • Lost earning capacity if your injuries result in permanent disability
  • Medical expenses, past and future
  • Out-of-pocket expenses
• Non-economic damages compensate you for the less tangible aspects of your injuries, including:
  • Pain and suffering
  • Stress and anxiety
  • Loss of ability to enjoy life
  • Scarring and disfigurement
  • Inconvenience
  • Physical impairment
  • Loss of consortium

Though rare, we may also be able to pursue punitive damages if the at-fault party’s conduct was purposefully harmful or grossly negligent. Examples can include a drunk driver, or a doctor who performs surgery after drinking. While punitive damages do not apply to most personal injury claims, your Burger Law personal injury lawyer will pursue every legal avenue We can to maximize your compensation.

What Is the Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury Claims in Arlington Heights, IL?

In Illinois, the statute of limitations is relatively short at two years for most personal injury claims, under 735 ILCS 5/. That means you must file a claim within two years of when the injury occurred. However, there are three notable exceptions:

1. If you were under 18 when the injury occurred, you have two years to file a claim after your 18th birthday.
2. If you were under a “legal disability” when the injury occurred, you have two years from the date the disability was “removed.”
3. In medical malpractice cases, you have two years from the date you discovered the injury or should have discovered the injury. No medical malpractice claim can be made more than four years after the injury occurred, unless you were under 18. Then you would have until your 22nd birthday.

While two years may not cause immediate concern, thoroughly investigating an injury and developing a legal strategy takes time. Do not hesitate to contact an attorney. Call a personal injury lawyer today at (779) 800-HURT.

Other types of claims we take on in Arlington Heights, IL include:

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

Speak to Personal Injury Lawyer in Arlington Heights, IL Now

Burger Law’s Arlington Heights, IL personal injury lawyers hold ourselves to the standard of zealous representation. That means we get started on your case immediately, investigate your case thoroughly, fight back against insurance companies on your behalf and do not let down until you get the maximum compensation you deserve. We offer the highest level of legal advocacy; all of our advice will be sincere and in your best interest, but we always leave the ultimate decisions on your claim to you and your Arlington Heights, IL family. You do not have to pay for someone else’s careless actions. To start on your road to true recovery, call a Burger Law Arlington Heights, IL personal injury lawyer now at (779) 800-HURT or contact us online for a free consultation.