Personal Injury Lawyer in Lake Zurich, IL

Burger Law defends the rights of those who are injured because someone else did no respect their safety. If you has been injured because of someone else’s negligent behavior, Burger Law’s personal injury lawyers in Lake Zurich, 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 contact us online.

To find out the value of your personal injury claim in Lake Zurich, or anywhere in Illinois, fill out our free personal injury calculator.

The negligent people that injured you are financially and legally responsible for taking care of your injuries and paying you all of what you are owed, but that does not mean they will do it willingly. Burger Law’s personal injury lawyer team fights back for the injured against anyone who is trying to keep them from the compensation they deserve. We handle a variety of cases, including making claims against large trucking companies, holding negligent doctors, product manufacturers, business owners responsible, suing the government, to getting justice and financial security for Lake Zurich residents after the wrongful death of a loved one. 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 Lake Zurich, IL immediately at (779) 800-HURT.

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

It can be difficult 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 gauge the abilities of an injury law firm, you need to take into account their previous successes, and their reputation among their clients and peers:

Award-Winning Lake Zurich, IL Personal Injury Lawyers

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

• Martindale-Hubbell Award — AV Preeminent® Rated by Martindale-Hubbell® from NexisLexis® – a remarkable 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 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 attorneys are certified by an American Bar Association accredited certification board.

Personal Injury Lawyer Lake Zurich, IL – Recent Victories

Our Lake Zurich, IL personal injury lawyers have a demonstrated history of getting great results. We take on all who have injured our clients, and we fight for a full recovery every time. Our attorneys are committed to giving our clients amazing legal representation, and we have great pride in our well-deserved victories. Read about our recent successes 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 worth pointing out that every case is unique, and the compensation you receive is going to be based entirely upon the your specific accident. We calculate the full extent of your damages so that there is no money left on the table.

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 Lake Zurich, IL

A personal injury claim is your right under Illinois law to get financial compensation for the injuries done by another person’s negligence, and to hold wrongdoers accountable. The recovery you receive is meant to make you whole. The goal is to put you in the same position you were in before another person injured you.

Sometimes, no outcome in your claim can fully “put back” all the things you lost in an injury. While we can get compensation for medical bills, time spent off work recovering and other financial losses, other damages are harder to quantify. If a family member died, you are permanently disabled, are disfigured or will have to receive medical care for the rest of your life, no amount of money can make that go away. What compassionate and experienced personal injury lawyers like those at Burger Law can do is ensure your injuries are recognized, and to give you relief from the financial losses resulting from your injuries.

Do I Need a Personal Injury Lawyer in Lake Zurich, 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 Lake Zurich, IL. The question to ask when considering whether or not to hire a lawyer is, will I get more money with them? If your medical expenses are low, you have minimal lost wages and the insurance company is being mostly fair, a lawyer might not be necessary. But, you will need legal representation in Lake Zurich, IL under the following circumstances:

• There is disagreement about who is at fault, or the insurance company says the accident are your fault
• The insurance company is denying they have to cover certain 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 are always direct about whether or not it is worth it for you to hire our services. 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.

Do I Have a Personal Injury Case in Lake Zurich, IL?

While the legal literature concerning negligence and liability can be hard to navigate, 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 must 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 Lake Zurich, 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 formed, for example a doctor-patient relationship or a vendor-buyer relationship.
2. Breach of duty — Did the liable party neglect that responsibility? Did a driver hit you while they were drunk? Did a doctor not take into account your medical history? Did a product manufacturer not properly test their products?
3. Causation — You must show how the incident caused your injuries. For instance, you received road rash after being thrown off your motorcycle, or were burned by a defective product when it overheated.
4. Proximate cause — This determines liability. If you were rear ended, 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 — Finally, you need to demonstrate that you sustained some form of financial loss as a direct result of your injuries. In personal injury cases, this is usually medical expenses and lost wages. If you hold onto your medical bills, damages are easy to prove with the help of an attorney. Once we establish financial losses, we can also pursue 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 Lake Zurich, IL before. You can speak to a personal injury lawyer today at (779) 800-HURT.

Types of Claims Our Lake Zurich, IL Personal Injury Lawyers Take on

Practicing injury law in Lake Zurich, IL requires that your lawyers and firm know how liability laws apply to a wide range of cases. Knowing the difference between the laws and defendants applicable to different types of claims is paramount. A lawyer that only specializes in a certain type of injury claim may not be the best choice to get you full compensation in a different claim. At Burger Law, we know how to get great results whenever negligence results in an injury. Cases we take on in Lake Zurich and throughout Illinois include:

Auto Accidents

The Bureau of Justice Statistics estimates that there are 300,000 to 500,000 personal injury claims annually. The majority of those are auto accident claims, including:

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

Truck accidents can cause serious injuries because trucks emit an incredible amount of force, and motorcyclists, bicyclists and pedestrians are all at increased risk of being severely injured as they do not have the same protection closed-vehicle occupants have. Under 625 ILCS 5/11-1003.1, all motorist must “exercise due care” to 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.

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

Premises Liability

Proprietors have a duty to ensure their property is safe for people who are legally on it. If you are injured in a slip and fall because a property was unreasonably dangerous, you deserve compensation. 740 ILCS 130/, also known as the Illinois Premises Liability Act, states that proprietors owe 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.” 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
• Rugs that are not flat
• Wiring
• In-ground sprinklers or hardscape features hidden in the grass
• Broken 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 not behaving in a safe manner, it might be hard to get compensation. Successful premises liability claims depend on the following:

• The owner or manager created the hazardous conditions; or
• The owner or manager was aware of the condition and failed to fix it; or
• The owner or manager tried to fix the danger 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 Lake Zurich, IL may tell you they are not liable for your slip and fall injuries because they had no idea about the condition or because you are to blame. That is not true, and always speak with a personal injury lawyer before accepting any settlement.

Medical Malpractice

Based on research from John Hopkins University, medical errors cause more than 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.

Your medical malpractice cases is based on what is known as the standard of care. The standard is how a prudent doctor, in a specific field and specific location, would treat whatever ailment you saw them for.

According 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 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 who writes the affidavit has the same training and practices in the same area as the health professional you are suing. A thoracic surgeon in Chicago is held to a different standard of care than a family doctor in Kadoka, South Dakota. Burger Law relies on a network of expert witnesses in Lake Zurich and all over Illinois who can corroborate that your doctor violated the standard of care.

Common instances of medical malpractice in Lake Zurich, 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 sending you to a specialist or recommending a different treatment plan when theirs is not working
• Prescription errors

Dog Bites

Each day, nearly 1,000 people require emergency care for dog bites, and every year dog bites lead to about 12,480 hospitalizations. According to a Chicago Tribune article, Illinois insurance companies pay out the second-most money for dog bites than any state in the country.

510 ILCS 5/, the Illinois Animal Control Act, stipulates that the owner of a dog 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 liable as a matter of law and you do not have to prove negligence. This means, the owner cannot get out of paying you by saying they did not know the dog was aggressive, or that it was not their fault the animal got free.

While some dog bites only lead to minor injuries, others result in reconstructive surgeries or permanent disfigurement. In any case, trust in a Burger Law Lake Zurich, IL personal injury lawyer to ensure you get the best possible compensation you are owed.

Product Liability

Strict liability also applies to anyone involved in the chain of distribution of a defective product. There are typically three theories a personal injury lawyer will use to make a product liability claim in Lake Zurich, IL:

1. Design defect — This is a defect that occurs even if the product is manufactured correctly. This could include tables or furniture that naturally tip over, or an electrical appliance that melts when turned on high.
2. Manufacturing defect — This type of defect usually occurs to only one or several individual products, instead of every product with the same design. Examples include rat droppings getting caught in a soda can, or improperly attached electrical outlets.
3. 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 demonstrate that the product was “unreasonably dangerous” when used in a foreseeable manner, 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 Lake Zurich, 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.

How Does the Personal Injury Claims Process Work in Lake Zurich, IL?

The journey to getting maximum compensation for your injuries starts the day you are injured. While some cases only take a few months, others can take several years before a jury finally renders a verdict. Generally, the path to getting compensation consists of:

• Seeking Medical Care — Get medical care as soon as possible 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 sessions will lower your final payout. Our personal injury lawyers have a network of trustworthy Lake Zurich, IL health professionals 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 retained a lawyer’s services, your personal injury lawyer will carry out a complete investigation into the circumstances surrounding your injuries, ascertain who we need to hold accountable and gather the evidence they need to get you maximum 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 how we calculated your damages, and demand a financial recovery for all the ways your injuries have affected you. Most of the time, they will respond with a lower offer, and we keep negotiating until they offer full compensation.
• Filing a Lawsuit — If negotiations do not lead anywhere, we will file a lawsuit in court, which begins the formal process of your claim going to trial. While the case is being litigated, both parties continue negotiating.
• Mediation — Mediation is often the last chance for a settlement before trial. In mediation, a neutral 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 discovery, we take depositions of eyewitnesses and expert witnesses, acquire more evidence and share with and request documentation with the other side.
• Trial — Most personal injury claims are settled before trial. Indeed, we often finally get a fair settlement offer on the eve of trial. However, if the insurance company refuses to do the right thing, we will defend your rights in court. Trial consists of:
  • Voir dire
  • Opening statements
  • Testimony and cross-examination
  • Closing arguments
  • Jury instruction
  • Jury deliberation and verdict

Most of our Lake Zurich, 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 healing.

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

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 the economic harm related to 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 costs, 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 harmed you on purpose or they were 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 Time Limit for Personal Injury Claims in Lake Zurich, IL?

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

1. If you were under 18 when the injury occurred, you have 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 should have discovered 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 your 22nd birthday.

While two years may seem like a long time, 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 cases we take on in Lake Zurich, 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 Lake Zurich, IL Now

Burger Law’s Lake Zurich, IL personal injury lawyers hold ourselves to the standard of zealous representation. That means we start working for your recovery the moment you hire us, pursue every legal option we have, fight back against insurance companies on your behalf and do not give up until you receive the maximum compensation 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 Lake Zurich, 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 Lake Zurich, IL personal injury lawyer now at (779) 800-HURT or contact us online for a free consultation.