Personal Injury Lawyer in Henry County, IL

Burger Law fights on behalf of people who get hurt because someone else did no
respect their safety. If you or someone you love has been injured all because someone else behaved recklessly or
irresponsibly, Burger Law’s personal injury
lawyers in Henry County, 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 Henry County, or anywhere in Illinois, complete our
complimentary personal injury calculator.

The negligent people that harmed 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
hard for the injured against anyone who is trying to keep them from the money they deserve. We handle a litany of cases,
including making claims against drunk drivers, holding negligent healthcare professionals, product manufacturers, dog
owners responsible, suing City Hall, to securing justice and financial security for a family after a a family member
passed too soon. If you want to know if you have a claim, what compensation you are owed or other questions regarding
personal injury claims, call our personal injury lawyers in Henry County, IL as soon as possible at (779) 800-HURT.

Why Burger Law Is The Henry County, IL Personal Injury Law Firm For You

Choosing the right personal injury lawyer for your claim is of utmost importance. 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 take into account the cases they have won, and what their clients and other
lawyers say about them:

Acclaimed Henry County, 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 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. Less than 4 percent of all practicing
  lawyers are certified by an American Bar Association accredited certification board.

Personal Injury Lawyer Henry County, IL – Recent Successes

Our Henry County, IL personal injury lawyers have a demonstrated history of getting great results. We take on all who
have hurt our clients, and we fight for a full recovery every time. Our attorneys are devoted to offering our clients
the highest standard of legal representation, and we take great pride in our well-deserved victories. 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 what you may be eligible to recover is going to depend on
the your specific injuries. We fight for you so that we get the maximum amount of compensation possible.

Burger Law Client Testimonials

In addition to the videos below, you can see our full list of client testimonials here.

Definition of a Personal Injury Claim in Henry County, IL

Under Illinois and U.S. law, you have a right to file a personal injury claim to get a financial recovery for the damage
done by another person’s negligence, and to hold them accountable for breaking the rules. The recovery you receive is
intended to make you whole. The goal is convert all the ways an injury affected you into
a dollar amount.

Sometimes, no outcome in your claim can truly “put back” all the things you lost in an injury. While we can get
compensation for medical expenses, lost wages and other financial losses, other damages are harder to quantify. If you
lost a loved one, you lost a limb, are permanently scarred or will have to live the rest of your life in chronic pain,
no legal process can make that go away. What compassionate and talented personal injury lawyers like those at Burger Law
can do is secure you fair compensation in order to provide a sense of justice and recognition, and to give you financial
security as it relates to your accident.

Is it Worth Hiring Personal Injury Lawyer in Henry County, 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 Henry County, IL. The thing to ask yourself is, can they increase my
compensation? If your injuries were not significant, you have minimal lost wages and the insurance company is
being mostly fair, you may not need an attorney. But, you should hire a lawyer in Henry County, IL under the following
circumstances:

• There is a dispute about liability, or the insurance company says the accident are your fault
• The insurance company or liable party’s offer is substantially below the cost of your damages
• Your injuries are significant and require extensive care
• There are multiple parties that is liable for your injuries
• Your damages are more than the liable policyholder’s policy limits

Our initial conversations and investigations are free, and we are always straightforward 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 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 Henry County, IL?

While civil law can be complex, whether or not you can seek compensation depends on the answer to one specific
question: were you injured because someone else was negligent? From a legal standpoint, you have to prove the five elements of
negligence:

1. Duty of care — You first need to
   demonstrate that the person you are making a claim against had an obligation to keep you safe. In some cases
   this is automatic, as Henry County, 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 particular
   relationship must have been agreed to, for example a doctor-patient relationship or a vendor-patron
   relationship.
2. Breach of duty — Did someone fail in that
   duty? Did a driver hit you because they were running a red light? Did a doctor not order the appropriate tests?
   Did a dog owner let their dog roam unleashed?
3. Causation — You must demonstrate how the
   incident led to 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 needs to be held accountable. If you were rear ended, the liable
   party is usually the driver that hit you. But if the tires were not safe, someone in the vehicle’s chain of
   distribution may be ultimately liable.
5. Damages — Finally, you must 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 lost wages. If you keep solid records
   of your medical expenses, an attorney will be able to establish your financial losses with an insurance company.
   After proving economic damages, we can seek compensation for less tangible losses.

The only way to know for certain if you have an injury claim is to consult with an attorney who has handled your type of
claim in Henry County, IL before. Get in touch with a personal injury lawyer today at (779) 800-HURT.

What Are Common Personal Injury Lawsuits in Henry County, IL?

Being a personal injury lawyer in Henry County, IL requires that your lawyers and firm have a vast knowledge of the
different types of cases that people deal with. Knowing the difference between how the law applies to auto accidents,
medical malpractice and slip and falls is essential. 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 hold the liable party accountable in
any type of claim. Cases we specialize in in Henry County and throughout Illinois include:

Auto Accidents

The Bureau of Justice Statistics estimates that there are about 400,000 personal
injury claims annually. The majority 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 being severely injured due to their relatively limited protection. Under 625 ILCS 5/11-1003.1, anyone behind the wheel 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 local municipality may be at fault. Your Burger Law personal
injury lawyer will perform a comprehensive investigation into your accident to find every liable party and hold them
accountable.

Premises Liability

Property owners and managers have a responsibility to ensure their property is safe for people who are legally on it. If
you sustain damages in a slip and fall because
a property was unsafe, you may have a premises liability claim. 740 ILCS 130/, also known as the Illinois Premises Liability Act, mandates
that property owners 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 something that is not obvious makes the property
dangerous, the owner has a responsibility to either fix the condition or warn against it. Examples of hazardous
conditions are:

• 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
• Electrical cords
• 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 trespassing, did not pay attention
to warning signs, for example a “wet floor sign,” or were running or acting dangerously, it might be hard to get
compensation. 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 neglected to repair 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 Henry County, IL may try to convince you that they do not owe you anything because they
had no idea about the condition or because you are to blame. 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 are responsible for more than a quarter of a
million deaths each year. While not every error constitutes negligence, when it does, you can make a medical
malpractice claim.

Your medical malpractice cases is based on what
is known as the standard of care. The standard refers to how a prudent healthcare
professional, in a specific field and specific location, would treat a specific condition.

Pursuant to 735 ILCS 5/2-622, any medical malpractice lawsuit 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 doctor corroborating your claim 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 Kadoka, South Dakota. Burger Law has a network of expert witnesses in Henry County and in other parts of
Illinois who can corroborate your claim.

Common instances of medical malpractice in Henry County, IL include:

• Nursing home abuse
• Birth injuries
• Misdiagnosis
  and failure to diagnosis
• Forgetting to remove objects after surgery
• Hospital system 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
• Prescribing the wrong medication or the wrong dosage

Dog Bites

Each day, almost 1,000 people require 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, as long as 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 lifelong
disfigurement. Regardless of the severity of your injuries, you likely need an experienced and skilled Henry County, IL
personal injury lawyer to secure you the maximum compensation you are owed.

Product Liability

Like dog owners, the designers, manufacturers, distributors and vendors of a product are strictly liable for the harm
a defective product causes. There are three
categories of product liability claims in Henry
County, IL:

1. Design defect — This is a defect that was present when the product was initially conceptualized. This
   could include tables or furniture that naturally tip over, or a power tool whose guard rails do not offer
   sufficient protection.
2. Manufacturing defect — This type of defect affects several individual products instead of an entire line
   of products. Examples include a bug getting caught in a soda can, or improperly attached electrical outlets.
3. Failure to warn — 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 caused your injuries and that the product had not been “substantially” changed from its
state at the initial sale.

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 Henry County, 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.

How Does the Personal Injury Claims Process Work in Henry County, IL?

The path to securing 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. From beginning to end, the
path to getting compensation includes:

• Getting Medical Care — Seek medical care immediately after an injury, and do not miss any appointments
  with your doctor, chiropractor or physical therapist. The insurance company will be harder to deal with if you
  wait, and not attending all your appointments will lower how much compensation you receive. Our personal injury
  lawyers have a network of experienced Henry County, IL health professionals who can ensure you get the full
  treatment you need.
• Discussing Your Case With an Attorney — Even if you do not know if you need an attorney, you need to know
  what your options are as soon as possible. A good lawyer will be straightforward 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
  conduct a complete investigation into the circumstances surrounding your injuries, ascertain who we need to hold
  accountable and acquire the evidence they need to get you full 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 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. Usually, the insurance company will counter our offer with a lower
  number, and there will be several back-and-forths until they agree to pay for all of your damages.
• Filing a Lawsuit — If negotiations do not result in fair compensation, we will proceed to litigating the
  case and setting up a 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, an objective
  third party hears arguments from both sides and tries to break the stalemate.
• Pre-Trial — If mediation still does not result in a fair settlement, we will go into the pre-trial
  “discovery” phase. In this phase, we will speak to eyewitnesses and expert witnesses, gather more evidence and
  share with and request documentation with the other side.
• Trial — Only six percent of personal injury claims go to trial. Indeed, many times we have gotten 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 Henry County, IL clients have never had to deal with seeking compensation for an injury before, and are
unsure of what lies ahead. 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 Henry County, IL Personal Injury Claim?

Typically, there are two types of damages you can seek 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 expenses, past and future
  • Out-of-pocket expenses
• Non-economic damages compensate you for losses that are harder to quantify, such as:
  • 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 harmed you intentionally or they were incredibly reckless. 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 possible to get you the best possible financial recovery.

How Long Do I Have to File a Personal Injury Claim in Henry County, 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 important exceptions:

1. If you were under 18 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 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 delay in speaking to an attorney. Call a personal injury lawyer today at (779) 800-HURT.

Other types of claims we handle in Henry County, 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 Henry County, IL Now

Burger Law’s Henry County, IL personal injury lawyers fiercely believe in zealous representation. That means we get started on your
case immediately, pursue every legal option we have, fight back against insurance companies on your behalf and do not
let down until you receive the maximum recovery you deserve. 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 Henry County, 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 Henry County, IL personal injury lawyer now at (779)
800-HURT or contact us online for a free consultation.