Personal Injury Lawyer in Ogle County, IL

Burger Law fights on behalf of those who get hurt because someone else did no respect their safety. When you have sustained serious injuries because of someone else’s negligent behavior, Burger Law’s personal injury lawyers in Ogle 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.

If you want to know the value of your personal injury claim in Ogle County, or anywhere in Illinois, fill out our free personal injury calculator.

The negligent parties that harmed you are financially and legally responsible for taking care of your injuries and paying you 100 percent 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 whoever is standing in the way of justice. We handle a variety of cases, including suing drunk drivers, holding negligent physicians, product manufacturers, dog owners accountable, suing City Hall, to securing justice and financial security for a family after the wrongful death of a loved one. If you have questions about your case, what compensation you are owed or anything else about the personal injury claims process, call our personal injury lawyers in Ogle County, IL as soon as possible at (779) 800-HURT.

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

It can be hard to know how to choose the right personal injury lawyer for you. You want someone who has won your type of case before 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 look at their previous successes, and their reputation among their clients and other attorneys:

Acclaimed Ogle County, IL Personal Injury Lawyers

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

• Martindale-Hubbell Award — AV Preeminent® Rated by Martindale-Hubbell® from NexisLexis® – a noteworthy achievement awarded to less 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 award that is made up of the most qualified lawyers in each state.
• Board Certified By the National Board of Trial Advocacy — Board certified in Civil Trial Advocacy and Civil Pretrial Practice Advocacy by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. Less than 4 percent of all practicing attorneys are certified by an American Bar Association accredited certification board.

Personal Injury Lawyer Ogle County, IL – Cases We Have Won

Our Ogle County, IL personal injury lawyers have a demonstrated history of getting great results. We fight all who have injured our clients, and we insist on nothing but full compensation. Our attorneys are dedicated to offering our clients amazing legal representation, and we have great pride in our well-deserved victories. Read about our recent victories 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 every case is different, and what you may be eligible to recover is going to depend on the your specific injuries. We calculate the full extent of your damages so that we get the maximum amount of compensation possible.

Burger Law Client Success Stories

Beyond the videos below, you can see our full list of client testimonials here.

Definition of a Personal Injury Claim in Ogle County, IL

A personal injury claim is your right under Illinois law to get a financial recovery for the injuries another person is responsible for, and to achieve justice. The recovery you receive is intended to make one whole. The idea is convert all the ways an injury affected you into a dollar amount.

Sometimes, no lawyer, settlement or verdict is can fully “put back” all the things you lost in an injury. While you can be reimbursed for medical bills, lost wages and other financial losses, other damages are less tangible. If a family member died, you lost a limb, are permanently scarred or will have to receive medical treatment for the rest of your life, no one can truly change that. What empathetic and experienced personal injury lawyers like those at Burger Law are able to do is secure you fair compensation in order to provide a sense of justice and acknowledgment, and to give you relief from the financial losses resulting from your injuries.

Do I Need a Personal Injury Lawyer in Ogle County, 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 Ogle County, IL. The important question is, can they increase my compensation? If your medical expenses are low, you did not miss much time off work and the other party’s fault is clearly established, a lawyer might not be necessary. But, you should hire legal representation in Ogle County, IL if the following is true about your claim:

• There is a dispute over 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 medical treatment
• There more than one party at fault
• Your damages exceed an insurance company’s policy limits

Our initial conversations and investigations are free, and we will always be honest with you about whether or not it is in your best interest to hire our services. 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 there is no reason for us to accept you as a client if we do not think we can significantly increase the value of your claim.

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

While the legal literature concerning negligence and liability can be complex, whether or not you can seek compensation depends on the answer to one essential question: were you injured because someone else was negligent? 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 Ogle County, IL driver owe everyone else on the roads a duty of care, or store owners need their properties to be reasonable safe for anyone who legally enters. In other cases, a unique relationship must be established, for example a doctor-patient relationship or a vendor-patron relationship.
2. Breach of duty — Did someone neglect that obligation? Did a driver crash into you you because they were distracted? Did a doctor not take into account your medical history? Did a trucking company force their employee to drive longer than regulations allow?
3. Cause-in-fact — You must demonstrate how the incident caused your injuries. For example, you received a concussions after being thrown off your bicycle, or had bad side effects from a prescription drug.
4. Proximate cause — This determines who ultimately is at fault. 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 — Finally, you need to show that the injuries caused economic harm. In most cases damages are medical expenses and lost wages. With access to your medical records, an attorney will be able to establish your financial losses with an insurance company. After proving economic damages, we can seek a financial recovery for less tangible losses.

If you have any doubts about the validity of your claim, speak to a lawyer in Ogle County, IL who has won a similar claim before. You can speak to a personal injury lawyer now at (779) 800-HURT.

Types of Cases Our Ogle County, IL Personal Injury Lawyers Take on

Being a personal injury lawyer in Ogle County, IL requires that your lawyers and firm know how negligence laws apply to a wide range of cases. Knowing the difference between how the law applies to auto accidents, medical malpractice and slip and falls is essential. A lawyer who only knows how to deal with car insurance companies may not 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 Ogle County and throughout Illinois include:

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 are auto accident claims, for instance:

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

Truck accidents can cause serious injuries because of the amount of force they carry in an accident, and motorcyclists, bicyclists and pedestrians are all at increased 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 a driver is negligent, causes an accident and injures you, you can file a claim.

Sometimes, a vehicle manufacturer, construction company or governmental entity may be at fault. As part of our services, your Burger Law personal injury lawyer will conduct an exhaustive investigation into your claim to find out who and what exactly caused your injuries.

Premises Liability

Proprietors have a duty to ensure their premises is not hazardous 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 called the Illinois Premises Liability Act, stipulates that proprietors 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.” Basically, if something that is not obvious makes the property dangerous, the owner has a responsibility to either fix the condition, post signage or rope it off. Examples of hazardous conditions are:

• 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
• Rugs that are not flat
• Electrical cords
• In-ground sprinklers or hardscape features hidden in the grass
• Broken safety rails

You do not automatically have a claim just because a property had a dangerous condition. 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 behaving 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 dangerous conditions; or
• The owner or manager knew about the danger and neglected to repair it; or
• The owner or manager tried to repair the risk 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 property owner or insurance company in Ogle 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 you are to blame. That is not true, and do not accept any settlement offer until you have spoken to a personal injury lawyer.

Medical Malpractice

Based on research from John Hopkins University, medical errors are responsible for over a quarter of a million deaths annually. While not all of those amount to negligence, when it does, you can make a medical malpractice claim.

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

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 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 imperative that the physician corroborating your allegations has the same training and practices in the same area as the health professional you are making a claim against. A thoracic surgeon in Chicago is held to a different standard of care than a pediatrician in Rockport, Maine. Burger Law has a network of expert witnesses in Ogle County and throughout Illinois who can corroborate your claim.

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

• Nursing home negligence
• Birth injuries
• Misdiagnosis and failure to diagnosis
• Leaving objects in during surgery
• Hospital communication errors
• Lack of consent
• Failing to order tests that a prudent doctor would
• Blowing off a patient’s complaints
• Not changing course when their treatment plan is not working
• Prescription errors

Dog Bites

Each day, nearly 1,000 people require emergency medical treatment for dog bites, and every year about 12,600 people are hospitalized. 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, mandates that a dog owner is strictly liable for your damages if it bit you, 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 are minor, others can lead to expensive surgeries or lifelong disfigurement. In any case, trust in a Burger Law Ogle County, IL personal injury lawyer to ensure you get the best possible financial recovery you deserve.

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 three types of product liability claims in Ogle County, IL:

1. Design defect — This is a defect that was present when the product was initially designed. 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 affects several individual products instead of an entire line of products. Examples include rat droppings getting caught in a soda can, or a seatbelt with a loose screw that comes undone during impact.
3. Insufficient instructions — 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 have a successful claim, you must show that the product was “unreasonably dangerous” when it was used in a way a manufacturer could anticipate, that it was the proximate cause of injuries and that you had not significantly modified the product.

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 Ogle County, 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 Ogle County, IL?

The journey to getting a financial settlement or verdict for your injuries starts the day you are injured. 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 Care — Get medical attention immediately after an injury, and do not miss any appointments with your doctor, chiropractor or physical therapist. Waiting too long could bring complications to your claim, and not getting the full treatment will reduce how much compensation you receive. Our personal injury lawyers work with several trustworthy Ogle County, IL doctors, chiropractors and physical therapists who can ensure you recover physically as best as possible.
• 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 options are.
• Investigation and Documentation — Once you have retained a lawyer’s services, your personal injury lawyer will carry out a comprehensive investigation into your claim, determine who we need to hold accountable and gather the evidence required for full compensation. You should also keep 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 those who are liable for compensating you. 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 decide to be truly fair.
• Filing a Lawsuit — If negotiations do not lead anywhere, we will proceed to litigating the case and setting up a trial. During this time, both parties continue negotiating.
• Mediation — Mediation is often the last option for a settlement before trial. In mediation, an objective third party listens to arguments from both sides and tries to break the stalemate.
• Pre-Trial — If mediation fails, the “discovery” phase begins. In this phase, we take depositions of eyewitnesses and expert witnesses, acquire more evidence and both parties will share with the other what they plan to bring up at trial.
• Trial — Only six percent of personal injury claims go to trial. In fact, we often finally get a fair settlement offer on the eve of trial. However, if the insurance company still cannot see reason, 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 Ogle County, IL clients have never been through the personal injury claims process before, and are unsure of what lies ahead. Burger Law will be by your side every step of the way, keep you up to date on the status of your claim and oversee all the legal aspects of your case so you can spend your energy on healing.

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

Typically, your compensation will fall into two categories: economic damages and non-economic damages:

• Economic damages compensate you for your financial losses related to your injuries, including:
  • Lost wages
  • Lost earning potential if your injuries result in permanent disability
  • Medical bills, 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, you may also be eligible for punitive damages if the at-fault 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 do not apply to most personal injury claims, your Burger Law personal injury lawyer will pursue every legal avenue We can to maximize your compensation.

What Is the Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury Claims in Ogle 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 notable exceptions:

1. If you were a minor 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 a minor at the time. Then you would have until four years after your 18th birthday.

While two years may not cause immediate concern, your attorney will want as much time as possible to build your case. Do not wait to contact an attorney. Call a personal injury lawyer today at (779) 800-HURT.

Other cases we take on in Ogle 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 Ogle County, IL Now

Burger Law’s Ogle County, IL personal injury lawyers fiercely believe in zealous representation. That means we get started on your case the moment you hire us, investigate your case thoroughly, stand up to insurance companies on your behalf and do not give up until you get the maximum compensation you deserve. We only give our clients the highest level of legal advocacy; all of our advice will be sincere and in your best interest, but we always leave the ultimate decisions on your claim to you and your Ogle 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 Ogle County, IL personal injury lawyer now at (779) 800-HURT or contact us online for a free consultation.