Personal Injury Lawyer in Macoupin County, IL

Burger Law defends the rights of people who get hurt because someone else did no respect their safety. If you or a loved one are seriously injured all because someone else behaved recklessly or irresponsibly, Burger Law’s personal injury lawyers in Macoupin County, IL demand the recovery you are owed and fight for you every step of the way. Call Burger Law today at (779) 800-HURT or contact us online.

To find out the value of your personal injury claim in Macoupin County, or anywhere in Illinois, complete our complimentary personal injury calculator.

Those who harmed you are responsible for compensating you for all of your damages, but that does not mean they will do it willingly. Burger Law’s personal injury lawyer team fights hard for our clients against whoever is standing in the way of justice. We handle a variety of cases, including suing drunk drivers, holding negligent healthcare professionals, product manufacturers, pet owners responsible, taking the fight to City Hall, to securing justice and financial security for Macoupin County residents after the wrongful death of a loved one. If you want to know if you have a claim, the damages you may be able to recover or anything else about the personal injury claims process, call our personal injury lawyers in Macoupin County, IL now at (779) 800-HURT.

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

It can be difficult to know how to choose the best personal injury lawyer for you. You want someone who has won your type of case before and who you know will not back down from a fight. In order to have a good understanding of the abilities of a law firm, you need to look at their previous victories, and their reputation among their clients and peers:

Acclaimed Macoupin County, IL Personal Injury Lawyers

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

• Martindale-Hubbell Award — AV Preeminent® Rated by Martindale-Hubbell® from NexisLexis® – a remarkable achievement awarded to not more 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 ABA accredited certification board.

Personal Injury Lawyer Macoupin County, IL – Recent Victories

Our Macoupin County, IL personal injury lawyers fight for the full rights and recoveries of our clients. We fight all who have injured our clients, and we fight for a full recovery every time. Our attorneys are devoted to offering our clients the highest standard of legal advocacy, and we take great pride in our hard-fought victories. Read about our case results for our personal injury clients below:

• $5 Million Settlement – Father Killed By Reckless Truck Driver
• $3 Million Judgment – Son Murdered by Pam Hupp
• $2.5 Million Settlement for Father’s Fatal Car Accident
• From $0 to $2 Million Car Accident Settlement
• $2 Million Settlement – Injured Woman Settles Highway Crash Lawsuit
• $1.435 Million Settlement For Deck Collapse That Injured Couple
• $1 Million Settlement to Family of Man with Sepsis Infection
• Medical Malpractice Case Settles for Over $1 Million
• $900,000 Medical Malpractice Settlement
• $765,000 Settlement After Fatal Collision
• $600,000 Tractor-Trailer Crash
• $600,000 Settlement – Widow in ATV Accident Settles with Property Owner
• Class Action $600,000 Settlement Against the State of Illinois
• $495,000 Uninsured Motorcycle Verdict
• $400,000 Settlement in Employment Discrimination Case
• $350,000 Settlement in Ladder Case

It is worth mentioning that no two cases are the same, and the financial recovery you are owed is going to be based entirely upon the your specific accident. We fight for you so that you are given what you are owed.

Burger Law Client Success Stories

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

Definition of a Personal Injury Claim in Macoupin County, IL

A personal injury claim is your right under Illinois law to get monetary reimbursement for the injuries another person is responsible for, and to achieve justice. The recovery you receive is meant to make you whole. The idea is to put you in the same position you were in before another person injured you.

Sometimes, no outcome in your claim can truly return you to how things were before the injury. While we can get compensation for the financial losses you sustained, other damages cannot truly be expressed through dollar signs. If you lost a loved one, you are permanently disabled, are disfigured or will have to live the rest of your life in chronic pain, no amount of money can change that. What empathetic and talented personal injury lawyers like those at Burger Law are able to do is ensure your injuries are recognized, and to provide you with financial security as it relates to your accident.

Do I Need a Personal Injury Lawyer in Macoupin County, IL?

That depends on the specifics of your case, but most of the time, yes, you will need a personal injury lawyer to get the full compensation you deserve in Macoupin County, IL. The question to ask when thinking about whether or not you need a lawyer is, can they increase my compensation? If your injuries were minor, you have minimal lost wages and the other party’s fault is clearly established, you may not need an attorney. But, you should hire a lawyer in Macoupin County, IL under the following circumstances:

• There is a dispute over liability, or you are being blamed for your injuries
• The insurance company or liable party’s offer is substantially below the cost of your damages
• Your injuries are serious and require ongoing medical treatment
• There more than one party at fault
• Your damages are more than the at-fault policyholder’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 only pay after you have received the full compensation you are owed, and we have no reason to accept you as a client if we do not think we can get you substantially more money.

Do I Have a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Macoupin County, IL?

While legal doctrine can be confusing, whether or not you have a claim depends on the answer to one particular question: did another person’s negligence cause you injuries? From a legal standpoint, you must prove the five elements of negligence:

1. Duty of care — You first need to show that the liable party had a responsibility to care for your safety. Sometimes, a duty of care is assumed, as Macoupin County, IL driver owe drivers, passengers and pedestrians a duty of care, or dog owners owe it to others to keep their dog from biting anyone. In other cases, a special relationship must have been agreed to, for example the relationship between a doctor and patient or between a vendor and a buyer.
2. Breach of duty — Did the liable party fail in that obligation? Did a driver crash into you you because they were drunk? Did a doctor not order the appropriate tests? Did a dog owner let their dog roam unleashed?
3. Causation — You must prove how the accident led to your injuries. For instance, you received a concussions after being thrown off your motorcycle, or had bad side effects from a prescription drug.
4. Proximate cause — This determines liability. If you were injured in an auto accident, it is usually because another driver was not driving properly. But if the brakes were defective, a manufacturer or mechanic may be the one who is ultimately liable.
5. Damages — Lastly, you must demonstrate that the accident caused economic harm. In most cases damages are medical expenses and wages you could not earn while you were not able to work. If you keep solid records of your medical expenses, this last part will be fairly easy to prove with the help of an attorney. Once we establish financial losses, we can also pursue compensation for pain and suffering damages.

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

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

Being a personal injury lawyer in Macoupin County, IL mandates that your lawyers and firm know how negligence 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 who only knows how to deal with car insurance companies may not be the best choice to get you full compensation in a different claim. At Burger Law, we know how to get great results whenever negligence results in an injury. We have won millions for our Macoupin County, IL clients in the following types of cases:

Auto Accidents

The Bureau of Justice Statistics estimates that there are about 400,000 personal injury claims annually. Just over half of those result from auto accidents, such as:

• 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 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, 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 and you end up hurt, you have an auto accident claim against them.

In some cases, a vehicle manufacturer, construction company or governmental entity may have at least contributed to your injuries. Your Burger Law personal injury lawyer will conduct an exhaustive investigation into your accident to find out who and what exactly caused your injuries.

Premises Liability

Proprietors have an obligation to take reasonable measures to make sure 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 unreasonably dangerous, you may have a premises liability claim. 740 ILCS 130/, also known as the Illinois Premises Liability Act, states 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.” Generally, if there is a hazardous condition that is not obvious, the owner has a responsibility to either fix the hazard 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
• Black ice
• Wet concrete
• Debris such as litter, fallen leaves and branches, rocks, etc
• Uneven rugs
• Stray cords
• 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 in a part of a property you were not allowed to be, did not pay attention to warning signs, such as 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 hazardous conditions; or
• The owner or manager was aware of the danger and neglected to repair it; or
• The owner or manager tried to repair the risk 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 store or insurance company in Macoupin County, IL may try to convince you that they do not owe you anything 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 research from John Hopkins University, medical errors cause over 250,000 deaths a year. While not all of those constitutes negligence, when it does, a healthcare professional needs to be held accountable for hurting you.

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 a specific condition.

According to 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 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 vital 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 pediatrician in Camden, Maine. Burger Law knows numerous expert witnesses in Macoupin County and in other parts of Illinois who can help verify that your medical malpractice suit is valid.

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

• Nursing home negligence
• Birth injuries
• Misdiagnosis and failure to diagnosis
• Forgetting to remove objects after surgery
• Hospital system errors
• Failure to secure 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

Every day, nearly 1,000 people seek emergency care 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 the owner of a dog is strictly liable for your the injuries their dog causes, as long as you did not provoke it and were not trespassing. “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 even if they did not necessarily do anything wrong.

While some dog bites are minor, others result in reconstructive surgeries or lifelong scarring. In any case, you likely need an experienced and skilled Macoupin County, IL personal injury lawyer to secure you the best possible compensation you deserve.

Product Liability

Like dog owners, anyone in the chain of distribution of a product is strictly liable for the damages a defective product causes. There are three types of product liability claims in Macoupin County, IL:

1. Design defect — This is a defect that occurs even if the product is manufactured correctly. This could include an SUV that is prone 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 rat droppings getting caught in packaging, or a seatbelt with a loose screw that comes undone during impact.
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 show 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 will take on any case in which someone was injured due to another’s negligence. One of the great parts of choosing a Burger Law Macoupin County, IL personal injury lawyer is that our team takes on all types of personal injury claims, and this actually gives our lawyers exceptional experience that they can use towards their clients’ advantage. 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 Macoupin County, IL?

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

• Getting Medical Care — Seek medical treatment as soon as possible 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 getting the full treatment will reduce how much compensation you receive. Our personal injury lawyers have a network of experienced Macoupin County, IL health professionals who can help you in your recovery.
• Discussing Your Case 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 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 every liable party and gather the evidence required for full compensation. You can help by keeping a record of every dollar you have spent because of your injuries, and how they affect your day-to-day life.
• Settlement Demand and Negotiations — Once we have determined the full extent of your damages, we will send a settlement demand package to the liable party’s insurance company. In the package we will include full documentation of all of your damages, and insist that nothing but the full amount is acceptable. Most of the time, the insurance company will counter our offer with a lower number, and we keep negotiating until they decide to be truly fair.
• 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, both parties continue negotiating.
• Mediation — If a settlement agreement still has not been reached, your personal injury lawyer and the liable party will likely pursue mediation. In mediation, a neutral third party will try to get each party to accept the merits of the other side’s arguments.
• Pre-Trial — If mediation still does not result in a fair settlement, the “discovery” phase begins. In discovery, we will speak to 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. Indeed, we often finally get the settlement we were seeking in the weeks immediately before trial. However, if the insurance company refuses to do the right thing, we will fight for your compensation 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 Macoupin County, 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 manage all documentation, negotiation and litigation so you can spend your energy on your physical recovery.

How Much Is My Personal Injury Claim in Macoupin County, IL Worth?

In general, 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 related to your injuries, for instance:
  • Lost wages
  • Lost earning capacity if your injuries result in permanent disability
  • Medical bills, 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

Though rare, you may also be eligible for punitive damages if the liable harmed you intentionally 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 available to get you the best possible financial recovery.

What Is the Time Limit for Personal Injury Claims in Macoupin 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 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 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 seem like a long time, 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 take on in Macoupin 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 Macoupin County, IL Now

Burger Law’s Macoupin County, IL personal injury lawyers hold ourselves to the standard of zealous representation. That means we start working for your recovery immediately, 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 are owed. We offer the highest level of legal advocacy; all of our advice will be based on the facts of the case and our experience, but we always leave the ultimate decisions on your claim to you and your Macoupin 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 Macoupin County, IL personal injury lawyer now at (779) 800-HURT or contact us online for a free consultation.