Personal Injury Lawyer in Chicago Heights, IL

Burger Law defends the rights of people who get hurt due to negligent and reckless actions. If you or someone you love are seriously injured because of someone else’s negligent behavior, Burger Law’s personal injury lawyers in Chicago 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 fill out our online form.

To find out the value of your personal injury claim in Chicago Heights, or anywhere in Illinois, take a look at our free personal injury calculator.

The negligent people that injured you are responsible for compensating you for all of your damages, but they will not 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 litany of cases, including making claims against large trucking companies, holding negligent physicians, product manufacturers, animal owners responsible, suing City Hall, to securing justice and financial security for Chicago Heights residents after the wrongful death of a loved one. If you have questions about your case, the damages you may be able to recover or other questions regarding personal injury claims, call our personal injury lawyers in Chicago Heights, IL today at (779) 800-HURT.

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

It can be hard to know how to choose the right personal injury lawyer for you. 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 take into account their previous victories, and their reputation among their clients and other attorneys:

Award-Winning Chicago Heights, IL Personal Injury Lawyers

The numerous awards and recognition Burger Law has received from other lawyers include:

• Martindale-Hubbell Award — AV Preeminent® Rated by Martindale-Hubbell® from NexisLexis® – a notable achievement awarded to less than 5 percent of all lawyers nationwide
• 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 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 attorneys are certified by an ABA accredited certification board.

Personal Injury Lawyer Chicago Heights, IL – Recent Victories

Our Chicago Heights, IL personal injury lawyers have a demonstrated history of getting great results. We take on all who harm our clients, and we demand nothing but maximum compensation. Our attorneys are devoted to offering our clients amazing legal representation, and we take great pride in our well-deserved victories. Check out some of our recent victories in personal injury claims 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 what you may be eligible to recover is going to depend on the your specific injuries. We fight for you so that you secure what you are owed.

Burger Law Client Success Stories

In addition to the videos below, you can check out more client testimonials here.

What Is a Personal Injury Claim in Chicago 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 wrong another person caused, and to achieve justice. The objective of personal injury claims is to make you whole. The idea is to put you in the same position you were in before sustained the damages caused by another’s negligence.

In some cases, no attorney or financial award can truly return you to how things were before the injury. While we can get compensation for medical expenses, lost wages and other financial losses, other damages are less tangible. If you lost a loved one, you are permanently disabled, are permanently scarred or will have to receive medical treatment for the rest of your life, no amount of money can make that go away. What empathetic and skilled personal injury lawyers like those at Burger Law can 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 Chicago Heights, IL?

While some cases can be successfully navigated without a lawyer, most of the time you will need one to ensure no money is left on the table in Chicago Heights, IL. The question to ask when considering whether or not you need a lawyer is, can they add value to my claim? If your medical expenses are low, you did not miss much time off work and the insurance company is being mostly fair, you may not need an attorney. But, you should hire an attorney in Chicago Heights, IL under the following circumstances:

• There is a dispute about who is at fault, or you are being blamed for your injuries
• The insurance company is denying they have to cover certain damages
• Your injuries are significant and require extensive care
• There more than one party at fault
• Your damages exceed an insurance company’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 take on cases based on a contingency-fee, meaning you do not pay until we win your case, and we have no reason to accept you as a client if we do not think we can significantly increase your final payout.

How Do I Know if I Have a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Chicago Heights, IL?

While legal doctrine can be confusing, whether or not you have a claim generally depends on one particular question: did another person’s negligence cause you injuries? If so, legally speaking you must prove the five elements of negligence:

1. Duty of care — You first need to show that the person you are making a claim against had an obligation to keep you safe. Sometimes, a duty of care is assumed, as motorists all owe everyone on the Chicago Heights, IL roads a duty of care, or dog owners owe it to others to keep their dog from biting anyone. Other times, a particular relationship must have formed, such as the relationship between a doctor and patient or between a vendor and a buyer.
2. Breach of duty — Did the other party fail in that duty? Did a driver hit you while they were distracted? Did a physician misdiagnose a condition? Did a trucking company force their employee to drive longer than regulations allow?
3. Cause-in-fact — You must demonstrate how the breach of duty resulted in your injuries. For example, 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 hit by a vehicle, the liable party is usually the driver that hit you. But if the brakes were faulty, a manufacturer or mechanic may be the one who is ultimately liable.
5. Damages — Finally, you have to show that you sustained some form of financial loss as a direct result of your injuries. In personal injury cases, this is usually medical bills 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. Once we establish financial losses, we can also seek compensation for pain and suffering damages.

The only way to know for certain if you have an injury claim is to speak to an attorney who has handled your type of claim in Chicago Heights, IL before. Call a personal injury lawyer now at (779) 800-HURT.

Types of Claims Our Chicago Heights, IL Personal Injury Lawyers Handle

Being a personal injury lawyer in Chicago Heights, IL mandates that you know how negligence laws apply to a wide range of cases. Knowing the difference between how the law applies to auto accidents, medical malpractice and slip and falls is essential. A lawyer who only knows how to deal with car insurance companies may not have the experience to take on other cases. At Burger Law, we know how to get great results in any type of claim. We have won millions for our Chicago Heights, IL clients in the following types of cases:

Auto Accidents

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

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

Truck accidents can be especially catastrophic because of the amount of force they carry in an accident, and motorcyclists, bicyclists and pedestrians are all at heightened risk of catastrophic injury or death 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 avoid colliding with anybody or anything else on the Illinois roads. If someone breaks the rules of the road, causes an accident and injures you, you have an auto accident claim against them.

Sometimes, a vehicle manufacturer, construction company or governmental entity may have at least contributed to your injuries. As part of our services, your Burger Law personal injury lawyer will carry out a complete investigation into your accident to find out who and what exactly caused your injuries.

Premises Liability

Proprietors have an obligation to ensure their premises does not carry any risks for people who are legally on it. If you are injured in a slip and fall because a property was unreasonably dangerous, you can make a premises liability claim. 740 ILCS 130/, also known as the Illinois Premises Liability Act, stipulates that property owners owe 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.” Essentially, if there is a dangerous condition that is not obvious, the owner needs to either fix the hazard, post signage or rope it off. Some hazardous conditions include:

• Spills
• A recently mopped floor
• Broken concrete on a walkway
• Broken stairs
• Broken decks and balconies
• Potholes
• Sudden changes in surface level
• Ledges
• Poorly lit stairs and walking paths
• Icy or snow-covered concrete
• Wet concrete
• Debris such as litter, fallen leaves and branches, rocks, etc
• Rugs that are not flat
• Electrical cords
• In-ground sprinklers or hardscape features hidden in the grass
• Absence of safety rails

You do not automatically have a claim just because a property had a dangerous condition. If you were trespassing, ignored warning signs, such as a “wet floor sign,” or were running or not acting in a safe manner, you likely do not have a slip and fall claim. The following must be true in order to make a claim:

• The owner or manager created the unsafe conditions; or
• The owner or manager knew about the condition and failed to repair it; or
• The owner or manager tried to fix the hazard 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 adjuster in Chicago Heights, IL may tell you they are not liable for your slip and fall injuries 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

Based on data from John Hopkins University, medical errors cause more than 250,000 deaths each year. While not all of those amount to malpractice, when it does, a physician needs to be held accountable for hurting you.

Proving a medical malpractice claim is based on what is called the standard of care. The standard is how a prudent healthcare professional, in the same area and with the same training as the one you are making a claim against, would treat whatever ailment you saw them for.

Under 735 ILCS 5/2-622, any medical malpractice claim 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 essential that the physician corroborating your allegations has the same training and practices in the same area as the health professional you are suing. A thoracic surgeon in Chicago has a different standard of care than a family doctor in Rockland, Maine. Burger Law has a network of expert witnesses in Chicago Heights and throughout Illinois who can corroborate that your doctor violated the standard of care.

Common examples of medical malpractice in Chicago Heights, IL include:

• Nursing home negligence
• Birth injuries
• Misdiagnosis and failure to diagnosis
• Forgetting to remove objects during surgery
• Hospital communication errors
• Lack of consent
• Failing to order tests that a prudent doctor would
• Blowing off a patient’s complaints
• Not changing course when their treatment plan 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 12,480 hospitalizations. According to a Chicago Tribune article, Illinois is the second-highest dog bite state in the country.

510 ILCS 5/, the Illinois Animal Control Act, states that the owner of a dog is strictly liable for your the injuries their dog causes, 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 that the owner owes you a recovery regardless of how they acted.

While some dog bites lead to only superficial wounds, others can lead to expensive surgeries or lifelong scarring. In any case, you likely need an experienced and skilled Chicago Heights, IL personal injury lawyer to ensure you get the full compensation you deserve.

Product Liability

Like dog owners, anyone in the chain of distribution of a product is strictly liable for the harm stemming from a defective product. There are three types of product liability claims in Chicago 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 a power tool whose safety guards do not prevent injuries.
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 packaging, or improperly attached electrical outlets.
3. Insufficient instructions — This refers to labeling that does not mention certain risks when the product is put to foreseeable use. For example, an electric shaver not mentioning that shock can occur if used in the shower.

In order to make a product liability claim, you must show that the product was “unreasonably dangerous” when used in a foreseeable manner, that it was the proximate cause of injuries and that you had not significantly altered the product.

Burger Law’s personal injury lawyers know how to get great results whenever someone was injured due to another’s negligence. One of the great parts of choosing a Burger Law Chicago Heights, IL personal injury lawyer is that we are not limited to any one type of claim, and this actually gives our lawyers exceptional experience that they can use to benefit all their clients. 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 Chicago Heights, IL?

The journey to securing maximum compensation for your injuries starts the second you are injured. While some accidents and injuries settle fairly early, others can take several years before a jury finally renders a verdict. Generally, the personal injury claims process includes:

• Getting Medical Care — Get medical care immediately after an injury, and follow your doctor’s treatment plans to a “T.” The insurance company will be harder to deal with if you wait, and not attending all your sessions will lower both your economic and noneconomic damages. Our personal injury lawyers have a network of reliable Chicago Heights, IL doctors, chiropractors and physical therapists who can help you in your recovery.
• Speaking With an Attorney — Even if you are not sure you are going to need legal representation, it is best to consult with one as soon as possible so they can become familiar with your case. A good attorney will tell you bluntly what your legal recourses are.
• Investigation and Documentation — Once you have legal representation, your personal injury lawyer will carry out an exhaustive investigation into your claim, determine every liable party and obtain the evidence needed for full compensation. You can help by keeping a record of every dollar you have spent because of your injuries, and how keeping a journal detailing how your injuries have affected your life.
• Settlement Demand and Negotiations — Once we know how much your claim is worth, 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 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 agree to pay for all of your damages.
• Filing a Lawsuit — If the insurance company will not be fair in negotiations, 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 discovery, we take depositions of eyewitnesses and expert witnesses, obtain more evidence and share with and request documentation with the other side.
• Trial — Only six percent of personal injury claims go to trial. In fact, we often finally get a fair settlement offer in the weeks immediately before trial. However, if the insurance company refuses to do the right thing, the case will go in court. Trial consists of:
  • Voir dire
  • Opening statements
  • Testimony and cross-examination
  • Closing arguments
  • Jury instruction
  • Jury deliberation and verdict

Most of our Chicago 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 every step of the way, be there to answer all of your questions and handle all documentation, negotiation and litigation so you can spend your energy on healing.

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

In general, there are two types of compensation available 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 do not allow you to earn a living as you used to
  • Medical bills, 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, you may also be eligible for punitive damages if the liable 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 possible to get you the best possible financial recovery.

How Long Do I Have to File a Personal Injury Claim in Chicago Heights, IL?

In Illinois, the statute of limitations is shorter than most states at just two years, 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 at the time of injury, 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, your attorney will want as much time as possible to build your case. Do not delay in speaking to an attorney. Call a personal injury lawyer today at (779) 800-HURT.

Other types of claims we win in Chicago Heights, 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 Chicago Heights, IL Now

Burger Law’s Chicago Heights, IL personal injury lawyers hold ourselves to the standard of zealous representation. That means we get started on your case the moment you hire us, investigate your case thoroughly, stand up to insurance companies on your behalf and do not give up until you get the maximum recovery you are owed. We only give our clients 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 Chicago 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 Chicago Heights, IL personal injury lawyer now at (779) 800-HURT or contact us online for a free consultation.