Personal Injury Lawyer in Carroll, IL

Burger Law fights on behalf of those who are injured because someone else broke the rules. When you has been injured in an accident or incident caused by another person’s actions, Burger Law’s personal injury lawyers in Carroll, IL demand the recovery you are owed and fight for you every step of the way. Reach out to Burger Law now at (779) 800-HURT or fill out our online form.

To calculate how much your personal injury claim may be worth in Carroll, or anywhere in Illinois, fill out our complimentary personal injury calculator.

The negligent parties that harmed you are responsible for compensating you for all of your damages, but that does not mean they will do it willingly. Burger Law’s personal injury lawyer team fights back for our clients against anyone who is trying to keep them from the recovery they are owed. We handle a litany of cases, including suing drunk drivers, holding negligent doctors, product manufacturers, pet owners accountable, suing City Hall, to getting justice and financial security for Carroll residents after the wrongful death of a family member. If you would like to discuss the merits of your case further, the damages you may be able to recover or anything else about the personal injury claims process, speak to one of our personal injury lawyers in Carroll, IL today at (779) 800-HURT.

Why Choose Burger Law’s Carroll, IL Personal Injury Lawyers For Your Claim

Choosing the right personal injury lawyer for your case is essential. You want someone with a history of winning similar cases and who you know will not back down from a fight. In order to have a good understanding of the abilities of a law firm, you need to look at their previous successes, and what their clients and other lawyers say about them:

Award-Winning Carroll, IL Personal Injury Lawyers

The many awards and recognition Burger Law has received from other law firms include:

• Martindale-Hubbell Award — AV Preeminent® Rated by Martindale-Hubbell® from NexisLexis® – a notable achievement awarded to less than 5 percent of all lawyers in the country
• 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 honor that is comprised 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. Fewer than 4 percent of all practicing lawyers are certified by an American Bar Association accredited certification board.

Personal Injury Lawyer Carroll, IL – Recent Successes

Our Carroll, 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 committed to providing our clients amazing legal representation, and we have great pride in our hard-fought successes. Check out some of our case results 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 every case is different, and the financial recovery you receive is going to be based entirely upon the circumstances of your claim. We fight for you so that we get the maximum amount of compensation possible.

Burger Law Client Testimonials

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

What Is a Personal Injury Claim in Carroll, IL?

A personal injury claim is your right under Illinois law to get monetary reimbursement for the wrong done by another person’s negligence, and to hold them accountable for breaking the rules. The objective of insurance settlements and civil litigation is to make one whole. The goal is convert all the ways an injury affected you into a dollar amount.

Sometimes, no attorney or financial award can truly return you to how things were before the injury. While you can be reimbursed for medical bills, time spent off work recovering and other financial losses, other damages cannot truly be expressed through dollar signs. If a family member died, you are permanently disabled, are permanently scarred or will have to live the rest of your life in chronic pain, no amount of money can change that. What compassionate and experienced personal injury lawyers like those at Burger Law are able to do is ensure your injuries are recognized, and to give you relief from the financial losses resulting from your accident.

Do I Need a Personal Injury Lawyer in Carroll, IL?

While some cases can be successfully navigated without a lawyer, most of the time you will need one to get the full compensation you deserve in Carroll, IL. The thing to ask yourself is, can they increase my compensation? If your medical expenses are low, you did not miss much time off work and the other party’s fault is clearly established, you may not need an attorney. But, you should hire legal representation in Carroll, IL under the following circumstances:

• There is disagreement about who is to blame, or the insurance company says the accident are your fault
• The insurance company or liable party’s offer is well below the cost of your damages
• Your injuries are serious and require ongoing care
• There more than one party at fault
• Your damages exceed the liable policyholder’s policy limits

Our initial conversations and investigations are free, and we will always be honest with you about how much value we can add your claim. Our personal injury lawyers take on cases based on a contingency-fee, meaning you only pay after you have received the full compensation you deserve, and we have no reason to accept you as a client 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 Carroll, IL?

While civil law can be confusing, whether or not you have a claim generally depends on one essential question: did someone else’s negligence cause you injuries? If so, legally speaking you have 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 Carroll, IL driver owe drivers, passengers and pedestrians a duty of care, or dog owners owe it to others not to let their dog injure anyone. Other times, a particular relationship must have been agreed to, for example a doctor-patient relationship or a vendor-buyer relationship.
2. Breach of duty — Did the liable party fail in that obligation? Did a driver crash into you you while they were not following the rules of the road? Did a physician not order the appropriate tests? Did a product manufacturer not properly test their products?
3. Cause-in-fact — You must prove how the accident resulted in your injuries. For instance, you sustained a whiplash injury after being rear ended, 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, the liable party is usually the driver that hit you. But if the tires were not safe, someone in the product’s chain of distribution may be ultimately liable.
5. Damages — Finally, you must demonstrate that you sustained some form of financial loss as a direct result of your injuries. In most cases damages are medical expenses and wages you could not earn while you were not able to work. If you keep solid records of your medical expenses, this last part will be fairly easy to prove with the help of an attorney. After proving economic damages, we can pursue a financial recovery for pain and suffering damages.

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

What Are Common Personal Injury Lawsuits in Carroll, IL?

Being a personal injury lawyer in Carroll, IL mandates that you know how liability laws apply to a wide range of cases. Knowing the difference between a car accident case and a truck accident case seems simple, but there are many different laws and statutes that can arise in a truck accident case that can be the deciding factor in whether or not the case is successful. A lawyer who only knows how to deal with car insurance companies may not be the best choice to get you full compensation in a different claim. At Burger Law, we know how to get great results in any type of claim. Cases we specialize in in Carroll and throughout Illinois include:

Auto Accidents

Research from the Bureau of Justice Statistics indicate that there are 300,000 to 500,000 personal injury claims in any given year. About 52 percent of those result from auto accidents, including:

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

Truck accidents can cause serious injuries because of the amount of force they carry in an accident, and motorcyclists, bicyclists and pedestrians are all at heightened risk of being severely injured due to their relatively limited protection. 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, causes an accident and injures you, you can file a claim.

In some cases, a vehicle manufacturer, construction company or governmental entity may be fully or partially to blame for your injuries. Your Burger Law personal injury lawyer will perform an exhaustive investigation into your accident to find out who and what exactly caused your injuries.

Premises Liability

Property owners and managers have a responsibility to take reasonable measures to make sure their premises is not hazardous for people who are not trespassing. If you sustain damages in a slip and fall because a property was unsafe, you deserve compensation. 740 ILCS 130/, also referred to as 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.” Generally, if there is a dangerous condition that is not obvious, the owner needs to either fix the condition or warn against it. Examples of a dangerous condition on a property include:

• Spills
• A recently mopped floor
• Broken concrete on a walkway
• Broken stairs
• Broken decks and balconies
• Potholes
• Sudden changes in surface level
• Ledges
• Poor lighting
• Icy or snow-covered concrete
• 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
• Broken safety rails

You do not automatically have a claim just because a property had a dangerous condition. If you were trespassing, ignored warning signs, for example a “wet floor sign,” or were running or not acting in a safe manner, you likely do not have a slip and fall claim. Successful premises liability claims depend on the following:

• The owner or manager created the hazardous conditions; or
• The owner or manager knew about the condition and failed to fix it; or
• The owner or manager tried to fix the condition and fixed 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 property owner or insurance company in Carroll, IL may try to convince you that they do not owe you anything because they had no idea about the condition 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 are responsible for over a quarter of a million deaths each year. While not every error amount to malpractice, when it does, a healthcare professional needs to be held accountable for hurting you.

Your medical malpractice cases is based on what is referred to as the standard of care. The standard is how a reasonable doctor, in the same area and with the same training as the one you are making a claim against, would treat a specific condition.

Pursuant to 735 ILCS 5/2-622, any medical malpractice suit must be accompanied by 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 essential that the doctor corroborating your claim has the same training and practices in the same area as the health professional you are making a claim against. A thoracic surgeon in Chicago has a different standard of care than a general practitioner in Kadoka, South Dakota. Burger Law knows numerous expert witnesses in Carroll and throughout Illinois who can help verify that your medical malpractice suit is valid.

Common examples of medical malpractice in Carroll, IL include:

• Nursing home negligence
• Birth injuries
• Misdiagnosis and failure to diagnosis
• Leaving objects in after surgery
• Hospital communication errors
• Lack of consent
• Failing to order tests that a prudent doctor would
• Ignoring a patient’s complaints
• Not changing course when their treatment plan is not working
• Prescribing the wrong medication or the wrong dosage

Dog Bites

Each day, nearly 1,000 people require emergency care for dog bites, and every year about 12,600 people are hospitalized. According to a Chicago Tribune article, Illinois has the second-highest rate of dog bites in the country.

510 ILCS 5/, the Illinois Animal Control Act, states that the owner of a dog is strictly liable for your damages if it bit you, assuming there was no provocation and you were legally allowed to be where you were. “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 are minor, others can lead to expensive surgeries or permanent disfigurement. In any case, you likely need an experienced and skilled Carroll, IL personal injury lawyer to secure you the full 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 Carroll, IL:

1. Design defect — This is a defect that was present when the product was initially designed. This could include an SUV that is susceptible to rollover accidents, or a power tool whose safety guards do not prevent injuries.
2. Manufacturing defect — This type of defect usually occurs to only one or several individual products, instead of an entire line of products. Examples include a bug getting caught in packaging, 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 have a successful claim, you must demonstrate 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 great parts of choosing a Burger Law Carroll, IL personal injury lawyer is that our team takes on all types of personal injury claims, 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 Carroll, IL?

The path to getting maximum compensation for your injuries can be long and complex. While some cases only take a few months, others can take several years before a jury finally renders a decision. From beginning to end, the path to getting compensation includes:

• Getting Medical Treatment — Seek medical attention immediately after an injury, and keep attending all treatments that your physician recommends. The insurance company will be harder to deal with if you wait, and not getting the full treatment will lower both your economic and noneconomic damages. Our personal injury lawyers know trustworthy Carroll, IL doctors, chiropractors and physical therapists who can ensure you get the full treatment you need.
• Speaking With an Attorney — Even if you are not sure you are going to need legal representation, you need to know what your options are as soon as possible. A good lawyer will tell you bluntly what your legal recourses are.
• Investigation and Documentation — Once you have legal representation, your personal injury lawyer will perform an exhaustive investigation into your claim, ascertain who we need to hold accountable and obtain the evidence needed for maximum compensation. You should also keep detailed records of your expenses related to your injuries, and how keeping a journal detailing how your injuries have affected your 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 full documentation of all of your damages, and insist that nothing but the full amount will be agreed to. Most of the time, they will respond with a lower offer, and we keep negotiating until they agree to pay for all of your damages.
• Filing a Lawsuit — If negotiations do not result in fair compensation, we will file a lawsuit in court, which begins the formal process of your claim going to trial. While the case is being litigated, both parties continue negotiating.
• 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, we will go into the pre-trial “discovery” phase. In discovery, we will speak to eyewitnesses and expert witnesses, obtain more evidence and share with and request documentation with the other side.
• Trial — It is rare that a personal injury claim makes it all the way to trial. In fact, we often finally get a fair settlement offer on the eve of trial. However, if the insurance company refuses to do the right thing, the case will go in front of a judge and jury. Trial consists of:
  • Voir dire
  • Opening statements
  • Testimony and cross-examination
  • Closing arguments
  • Jury instruction
  • Jury deliberation and verdict

Most of our Carroll, IL clients have never been through the personal injury claims process before, and do not know what to expect. Burger Law will be your advocate from our initial consultation to full compensation, keep you up to date on the status of your claim and handle all the legal aspects of your case so you can focus on your physical recovery.

What Types of Compensation Are Available in My Carroll, IL Personal Injury Claim?

Typically, there are two types of damages you can be compensated for in a personal injury claim: economic damages and non-economic damages:

• Economic damages compensate you for your financial losses resulting from your injuries, for instance:
  • 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, such as:
  • Pain and suffering
  • Stress and anxiety
  • Loss of ability to enjoy life
  • Scarring and disfigurement
  • Inconvenience
  • Physical impairment
  • Loss of consortium

In some cases, we may also be able to pursue punitive damages if the negligent party’s conduct was purposefully harmful or incredibly reckless. 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 possible to maximize your compensation.

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

In Illinois, the statute of limitations is relatively short at two years for most personal injury claims, under 735 ILCS 5/. That means the clock starts ticking when your accident occurs, and expires after two years. However, there are three notable exceptions:

1. If you were a minor when the injury occurred, you have until your 20th 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 could reasonably have been expected to discover the injury. No medical malpractice claim can be made more than four years after the injury occurred, unless you were a minor at the time. Then you would have until four years after your 18th birthday.

While two years may seem like a long time, your attorney will want as much time as possible to build your case. Do not wait to contact an attorney. Call a personal injury lawyer today at (779) 800-HURT.

Other cases we win in Carroll, IL include:

• 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 Carroll, IL Now

Burger Law’s Carroll, IL personal injury lawyers fiercely believe in zealous representation. That means we start working for your recovery immediately, pursue every legal option we have, stand up to insurance companies on your behalf and do not give up until you are awarded the full compensation you are owed. We only give our clients the highest standard 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 Carroll, 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 Carroll, IL personal injury lawyer now at (779) 800-HURT or contact us online for a free consultation.