Personal Injury Lawyer in Crystal Lake, IL

Burger Law fights on behalf of people who get hurt due to the negligence of another. If you are seriously injured because of someone else’s negligent behavior, Burger Law’s personal injury lawyers in Crystal Lake, 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.

To calculate the value of your personal injury claim in Crystal Lake, or anywhere in Illinois, check out our free personal injury calculator.

Those who hurt you are financially and legally responsible for taking care of your injuries and paying you all of what you are owed, but they will not do it willingly. Burger Law’s personal injury lawyer team fights back for our clients against whoever is standing in the way of justice. We handle a variety of cases, including suing large trucking companies, holding negligent healthcare professionals, product manufacturers, dog owners responsible, taking the fight to City Hall, to getting justice and financial security for a family after a loved one passed too soon. If you want to understand if you have a claim, what compensation you are owed or other questions regarding personal injury claims, call our personal injury lawyers in Crystal Lake, IL today at (779) 800-HURT.

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

It can be hard to know how to choose the right personal injury lawyer for you. You want someone who has won your type of case before and who is not afraid of a fight. In order to have a good understanding of the abilities of a law firm, you need to look at the cases they have won, and their reputation among their clients and other attorneys:

Premier Crystal Lake, IL Personal Injury Lawyers

The many awards and honors Burger Law has received from other attorneys include:

• Martindale-Hubbell Award — AV Preeminent® Rated by Martindale-Hubbell® from NexisLexis® – a noteworthy achievement awarded to not more than 5 percent of all lawyers in the United States
• 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. Fewer than 4 percent of all practicing lawyers are certified by an ABA accredited certification board.

Personal Injury Lawyer Crystal Lake, IL – Recent Successes

Our Crystal Lake, IL personal injury lawyers have a demonstrated history of getting great results. We fight all who have hurt our clients, and we demand nothing but full compensation. Our attorneys are committed to providing our clients amazing legal advocacy, and we have great pride in our well-deserved successes. Read about our case results 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 the compensation you are owed is going to depend on the circumstances of your claim. We fight for you so that there is no money left on the table.

Burger Law Reviews

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

Definition of a Personal Injury Claim in Crystal Lake, 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 someone else is responsible for, and to hold them accountable for breaking the rules. The aim of personal injury claims is to make one whole. The idea is convert all the ways an injury affected you into a dollar amount.

In some cases, no outcome in your claim can fully return you to how things were before the injury. While you can be reimbursed for the financial losses you sustained, other damages are harder to quantify. 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 legal process can change that. What compassionate and talented personal injury lawyers like those at Burger Law can do is ensure your injuries are recognized, and to give you financial security as it relates to your injuries.

Do I Need a Personal Injury Lawyer in Crystal Lake, IL?

That depends on the specifics of your case, but most of the time, yes, you will need a personal injury lawyer to recover the full value of your claim in Crystal Lake, IL. The thing to ask yourself is, will I get more money with them? If your injuries were not severe, 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 will need a lawyer in Crystal Lake, IL under the following circumstances:

• There is a dispute about who is to blame, or you are being blamed for your injuries
• The insurance company or liable party’s offer is well below the cost of your damages
• Your injuries are serious and require extensive medical treatment
• There are multiple parties 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 work on a contingency-fee basis, meaning you do not pay until we win your case, and there is no reason for us to take on your claim if we do not think we can significantly increase the value of your claim.

What Do You Need to Prove to Win a Personal Injury Claim in Crystal Lake, IL?

While civil law can be complex, whether or not you can seek compensation generally depends on one specific question: did another person’s negligence cause you injuries? 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 a responsibility to care for your safety. In some cases this is automatic, as Crystal Lake, IL driver owe drivers, passengers and pedestrians a duty of care, or store owners need their properties to be reasonable safe for anyone who legally enters. Other times, a unique relationship must be established, such as the relationship between a doctor and patient or between a vendor and a buyer.
2. Breach of duty — Did someone fail in that responsibility? Did a driver hit you because they were texting and driving? Did a physician fail to diagnose a condition? Did a trucking company force their employee to drive longer than regulations allow?
3. Cause-in-fact — You must demonstrate how the accident resulted in 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 liability. If you were injured in an auto accident, the liable party is usually the driver that hit you. But if the brakes were not safe, a manufacturer or mechanic may be the one who is ultimately liable.
5. Damages — Lastly, you need to show 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. 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 a financial recovery for the other ways your injuries have affected you.

If you have any doubts about whether or not you have a case, speak to a lawyer in Crystal Lake, IL who has won a similar claim before. Call a personal injury lawyer today at (779) 800-HURT.

What Are Common Personal Injury Claims in Crystal Lake, IL?

Being a personal injury lawyer in Crystal Lake, IL requires 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 regulations and statutes that can arise in a truck accident case that play a large role 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 secure justice for the injured whenever negligence results in an injury. We have won millions for our Crystal Lake, IL clients in the following types of cases:

Auto Accidents

The Bureau of Justice Statistics estimates that there are 300,000 to 500,000 personal injury claims annually. About 52 percent of those result from auto accidents, for instance:

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

Truck accidents can be especially catastrophic because trucks emit so much, and motorcyclists, bicyclists and pedestrians are all at heightened risk of catastrophic injury or death due to their relatively limited protection. Under 625 ILCS 5/11-1003.1, anyone behind the wheel must “exercise due care” to keep everyone else on the road safe. If a driver is negligent, causes an accident and injures you, you have an auto accident claim against them.

Sometimes, a vehicle manufacturer, construction company or local municipality may be at fault. Your Burger Law personal injury lawyer will conduct an exhaustive investigation into your accident to find every liable party and hold them accountable.

Premises Liability

Property owners and managers have an obligation to ensure their premises does not carry any risks for people who are legally on it. If you sustain damages in a slip and fall because a property was unsafe, you can make a premises liability claim. 740 ILCS 130/, also known as the Illinois Premises Liability Act, states that proprietors have a duty of care to people who lawfully enter their property that is “of reasonable care under the circumstances regarding the state of the premises or acts done or omitted on them.” Basically, if something that is not obvious makes the property dangerous, the owner has a responsibility to either repair the condition, post signage or rope it off. 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
• Overly steep inclines
• Ledges
• Poorly lit stairs and walking paths
• 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
• Absence of safety rails

Not all injuries on a property lead to a valid 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 not acting in a safe manner, it might be hard to get compensation. The following must be true in order to make a claim:

• The owner or manager created the hazardous conditions; or
• The owner or manager was aware of the danger and neglected to fix it; or
• The owner or manager tried to repair the hazard 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 Crystal Lake, IL may try to convince you that 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. That is not true, 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 annually. While not all of those amount to malpractice, 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 doctor, 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 doctor you are suing, 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 vital that the doctor corroborating your allegations has the same training and practices in the same area as the health professional you are making a claim against. A neurologist in Chicago has a different standard of care than a pediatrician in Decorah, Iowa. Burger Law has a network of expert witnesses in Crystal Lake and all over Illinois who can help verify that your medical malpractice suit is valid.

Common instances of medical malpractice in Crystal Lake, IL include:

• Nursing home negligence
• Birth injuries
• Misdiagnosis and failure to diagnosis
• Forgetting to remove objects after surgery
• Hospital communication errors
• Failure to secure consent
• Not ordering tests that a prudent doctor would
• Ignoring a patient’s complaints
• Not changing course when their treatment plan is not working
• Prescription errors

Dog Bites

Each day, almost 1,000 people seek emergency medical treatment for dog bites, and annually dog bites lead to about 12,600 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 a dog owner 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 automatically liable, whether they were negligent or not. 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 lead to only superficial wounds, others result in reconstructive surgeries or permanent scarring. In any case, you likely need an experienced and skilled Crystal Lake, IL personal injury lawyer to secure you the best possible financial recovery you are owed.

Product Liability

Like dog owners, anyone in the chain of distribution of a product is strictly liable for the harm a defective product causes. There are typically three theories a personal injury lawyer will use to make a product liability claim in Crystal Lake, 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 an electrical appliance that melts when turned on high.
2. Manufacturing defect — This type of defect usually occurs to only one or several individual products, instead of every product with the same design. Examples include a bug getting caught in packaging, or improperly attached electrical outlets.
3. Failure to warn — This refers to instructions that does not mention certain risks when the product is 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 was “unreasonably dangerous” when it was used in a way a manufacturer could reasonably expect, that it was the proximate cause of injuries and that the product had not been “substantially” changed from its state at the initial sale.

Burger Law’s personal injury lawyers know how to get great results whenever someone was injured through no fault of their own. One of the benefits of choosing a Burger Law Crystal Lake, 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 Crystal Lake, IL?

The path to securing a financial settlement or verdict for your injuries can be long and complex. While some accidents and injuries settle fairly early, others go completely through to a jury trial. Generally, the path to getting compensation includes:

• Getting Medical Treatment — Get medical care 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 attending all your appointments will reduce both your economic and noneconomic damages. Our personal injury lawyers know trustworthy Crystal Lake, IL health professionals who can help you in your recovery.
• Consulting With an Attorney — Even if you do not know if you need an attorney, it is best to consult with one as soon as possible so they can become familiar with your case. A good lawyer will be honest with you about the value of your claim and how they can help.
• Investigation and Documentation — Once you have legal representation, your personal injury lawyer will carry out an exhaustive investigation into the circumstances surrounding your injuries, ascertain who we need to hold accountable and gather the evidence they need to get you the best possible financial recovery. 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 know how much your claim is worth, we will send a settlement demand package to those who are liable for compensating you. 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. Usually, the insurance company will counter our offer with a lower number, and we keep negotiating until they offer full compensation.
• 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. While the case is being litigated, we will continue negotiating in an effort to avoid a trial.
• Mediation — Mediation is often the last option for an agreement before trial. In mediation, a neutral 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 take depositions of eyewitnesses and expert witnesses, gather 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. In fact, many times we have gotten the settlement we were seeking 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:
  • Jury selection
  • Opening statements
  • Testimony and cross-examination
  • Closing arguments
  • Jury instruction
  • Jury deliberation and verdict

Most people who speak with our Crystal Lake, IL personal injury lawyers have never had to deal with seeking compensation for an injury before, and do not know what to expect. Burger Law will be by your side from our initial consultation to full compensation, keep you up to date on the status of your claim and oversee all documentation, negotiation and litigation so you can focus on your physical recovery.

How Much Is My Personal Injury Claim in Crystal Lake, IL Worth?

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 the economic harm resulting from your injuries, including:
  • Lost wages
  • Lost earning capacity if your injuries result in permanent disability
  • Medical costs, past and future
  • Out-of-pocket expenses
• Non-economic damages compensate you for losses that are harder to quantify, including:
  • Pain and suffering
  • Stress and anxiety
  • Loss of ability to enjoy life
  • Scarring and disfigurement
  • Inconvenience
  • Physical impairment
  • Loss of consortium

Sometimes, you may also be eligible for punitive damages if the liable harmed you on purpose or they were grossly negligent. Examples can include a drunk driver, or a doctor who performs surgery after drinking. While punitive damages are rarely awarded, your Burger Law personal injury lawyer will pursue every legal avenue We can to maximize your compensation.

What Is the Time Limit for Personal Injury Claims in Crystal Lake, IL?

In Illinois, the statute of limitations is shorter than most states at just two years, 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 a minor at the time of injury, 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 under 18. Then you would have until four years after your 18th birthday.

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

Other types of claims we handle in Crystal Lake, 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 Crystal Lake, IL Now

Burger Law’s Crystal Lake, 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 let down until you receive the full compensation you are owed. We offer 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 Crystal Lake, 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 Crystal Lake, IL personal injury lawyer now at (779) 800-HURT or contact us online for a free consultation.