Personal Injury Lawyer in Park Forest, IL

Burger Law defends the rights of those who are injured due to negligent and reckless actions. If you or a family member have sustained serious injuries because of someone else’s negligent behavior, Burger Law’s personal injury lawyers in Park Forest, 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.

If you want to know how much your personal injury claim may be worth in Park Forest, or anywhere in Illinois, complete our complimentary personal injury calculator.

Those who harmed you have an obligation to compensate you for all of your damages, 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 compensation they deserve. That includes anything from making claims against large trucking companies, holding negligent healthcare professionals, product manufacturers, restaurant owners accountable, taking the fight to the government, to getting justice and financial security for Park Forest residents after the wrongful death of a family member. If you would like to discuss the merits of your case further, what compensation you are owed or other questions regarding personal injury claims, speak to one of our personal injury lawyers in Park Forest, IL now at (779) 800-HURT.

Why Burger Law Is The Park Forest, IL Personal Injury Law Firm For You

Choosing the right personal injury lawyer for you is of utmost importance. 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 what their clients and other lawyers say about them:

Award-Winning Park Forest, IL Personal Injury Lawyers

The many awards and recognition Burger Law has received from other lawyers include:

• Martindale-Hubbell Award — AV Preeminent® Rated by Martindale-Hubbell® from NexisLexis® – a significant achievement awarded to less than 5 percent of all attorneys 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 award that is comprised 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 lawyers are certified by an American Bar Association accredited certification board.

Personal Injury Lawyer Park Forest, IL – Cases We Have Won

Our Park Forest, IL personal injury lawyers fight for the full rights and recoveries of our clients. We take on all who have injured our clients, and we demand nothing but full compensation. Our lawyers are dedicated to offering our clients amazing legal advocacy, and we have great pride in our hard-fought victories. Check out some of 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 important to remember that every case is unique, 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

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

What Is a Personal Injury Claim in Park Forest, IL?

Under Illinois and U.S. law, you have a right to file a personal injury claim to get a financial recovery for the harm someone else is responsible for, and to hold wrongdoers accountable. The objective of personal injury claims is to make you whole. The idea is convert all the ways an injury affected you into a dollar amount.

Sometimes, no lawyer, settlement or verdict is can truly “put back” all the things you lost in an injury. While you can be reimbursed for medical expenses, lost wages and other financial losses, other damages are harder to quantify. If a family member died, you lost a limb, are disfigured or will have to live the rest of your life in chronic pain, no legal process can change that. What empathetic and skilled personal injury lawyers like those at Burger Law can do is ensure your injuries are recognized, and to provide you with relief from the financial losses resulting from your injuries.

Do I Need a Personal Injury Lawyer in Park Forest, IL?

That depends on the specifics of your case, but most of the time, yes, you will need a personal injury lawyer to recover the full value of your claim in Park Forest, IL. The important question is, will I get more money with them? If your medical expenses are low, you have minimal lost wages and the insurance adjuster is being reasonable, a lawyer might not be necessary. But, you should hire an attorney in Park Forest, IL if the following is true about your claim:

• There is a dispute over liability, or you are being blamed for your injuries
• The insurance company is denying they have to cover certain damages
• Your injuries are significant and require ongoing care
• There are multiple parties at fault
• Your damages are more than an insurance company’s policy limits

Our initial conversations and investigations are free, and we are always straightforward 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 take on your claim if we do not think we can significantly increase the value of your claim.

What Do You Need to Prove to Win a Personal Injury Claim in Park Forest, IL?

While legal doctrine can be confusing, whether or not you have a claim depends on the answer to one essential question: were you injured because someone else was negligent? From a legal standpoint, you need to prove the five elements of negligence:

1. Duty of care — You first need to demonstrate that the liable party owed it to you to value your safety. Sometimes, a duty of care is assumed, as motorists all owe everyone on the Park Forest, IL roads a duty of care, or store owners need their properties to be reasonable safe for anyone who legally enters. Other times, a special relationship must be established, for example a doctor-patient relationship or a vendor-buyer relationship.
2. Breach of duty — Did the other party fail in that duty? Did a driver crash into you you while they were distracted? Did a physician prescribe the wrong dosage? Did a store owner fail to fix an obviously dangerous condition?
3. Cause-in-fact — You must demonstrate how the incident led to your injuries. For example, you broke your arm when your car was t-boned, or were burned by a defective product when it overheated.
4. Proximate cause — This determines who needs to be held accountable. If you were injured in an auto accident, 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 most cases damages are medical bills and wages you could not earn while you were not able to work. With access to your medical records, an attorney will be able to establish your financial losses with an insurance company. After proving economic damages, we can 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 Park Forest, IL before. You can speak to a personal injury lawyer today at (779) 800-HURT.

Types of Cases Our Park Forest, IL Personal Injury Lawyers Take on

Practicing injury law in Park Forest, 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 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 have the experience to take on other cases. At Burger Law, we know how to get great results no matter the circumstances. Cases we take on in Park Forest and throughout Illinois include:

Auto Accidents

Research from the Bureau of Justice Statistics indicate that there are 300,000 to 500,000 personal injury claims in any given year. The majority of those are auto accident claims, such as:

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

Truck accidents can be especially catastrophic because trucks emit an incredible amount of force, and motorcyclists, bicyclists and pedestrians are all at increased 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 keep everyone else on the road safe. If a driver is negligent, causes an accident and injures you, you can file a claim.

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

Property owners and managers have a responsibility to ensure their property does not carry any risks for people who are not trespassing. If you sustain damages in a slip and fall because a property was unreasonably dangerous, you deserve compensation. 740 ILCS 130/, also referred to as the Illinois Premises Liability Act, states that property owners owe a duty of care to people who legally enter their property that is “of reasonable care under the circumstances regarding the state of the premises or acts done or omitted on them.” Basically, if something that is not obvious makes the property dangerous, the owner has a responsibility to either repair the hazard, 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
• 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 in a part of a property you were not allowed to be, ignored warning signs, for example a “wet floor sign,” or were running or not acting in a safe manner, it might be hard to get compensation. Successful premises liability claims depend on the following:

• The owner or manager created the dangerous conditions; or
• The owner or manager knew about the hazard and neglected to fix it; or
• The owner or manager tried to repair the hazard 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 Park Forest, IL may tell you 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

According to a 2016 study from John Hopkins University, medical errors cause more than 250,000 deaths a year. While not all of those amount to negligence, when it does, you can make a medical malpractice claim.

Proving a medical malpractice claim is based on what is called the standard of care. The standard is how a prudent healthcare professional, in a specific field and specific location, would treat a specific condition.

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 essential that the physician corroborating your claim is in the same practice area and geographic region 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 family doctor in Decorah, Iowa. Burger Law relies on numerous expert witnesses in Park Forest and all over Illinois who can help verify that your medical malpractice suit is valid.

Common examples of medical malpractice in Park Forest, IL include:

• Nursing home negligence
• Birth injuries
• Misdiagnosis and failure to diagnosis
• Leaving objects in after surgery
• Hospital communication errors
• Lack of consent
• Failing to order tests that a prudent doctor would
• Ignoring a patient’s complaints
• Not sending you to a specialist or recommending a different treatment plan when theirs is not working
• Prescribing the wrong medication or the wrong dosage

Dog Bites

Each day, nearly 1,000 people require emergency care for dog bites, and every year dog bites lead to about 12,600 hospitalizations. According to a Chicago Tribune article, Illinois has the second-highest rate of dog bites 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 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 can lead to expensive surgeries or permanent disfigurement. In any case, trust in a Burger Law Park Forest, 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 injuries stemming from a defective product. There are typically three theories a personal injury lawyer will use to make a product liability claim in Park Forest, IL:

1. Design defect — This is a defect that was present when the product was initially conceptualized. This could include an SUV that is prone to rollover accidents, or a power tool whose guard rails do not prevent injuries.
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 improperly attached electrical outlets.
3. Marketing defect — 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 make a product liability claim, you must demonstrate 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 altered the product.

Burger Law’s personal injury lawyers know how to get great results whenever someone was injured due to another’s negligence. One of the benefits of choosing a Burger Law Park Forest, 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.

How Does the Personal Injury Claims Process Work in Park Forest, 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 Treatment — Get medical treatment immediately after an injury, and follow your doctor’s treatment plans to a “T.” The insurance company will be harder to deal with if you wait, and not getting the full treatment will reduce your final payout. Our personal injury lawyers have a network of trustworthy Park Forest, IL doctors, chiropractors and physical therapists who can ensure you get the full treatment you need.
• Consulting With an Attorney — Even if you are not sure you are going to need legal representation, you need to consult with one as soon as possible so they can become familiar with your case. A good lawyer will be honest with you about the value of your claim and how they can help.
• Investigation and Documentation — Once you have hired an attorney, your personal injury lawyer will perform an exhaustive investigation into your claim, ascertain every liable party and obtain the evidence they need to get you the best possible financial recovery. 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 those who are liable for compensating you. In the package we will include how we calculated your damages, and insist that nothing but the full amount will be agreed to. 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 negotiations do not result in fair compensation, we will file a lawsuit in court, which begins the formal process of your claim going to trial. While the case is being litigated, we will continue negotiating in an effort to avoid a trial.
• Mediation — Mediation is often the last chance 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 discovery, we will speak to 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. Indeed, we often finally get 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:
  • Jury selection
  • Opening statements
  • Testimony and cross-examination
  • Closing arguments
  • Jury instruction
  • Jury deliberation and verdict

Most of our Park Forest, IL clients have never been through the personal injury claims process before, and are unsure of what lies ahead. Burger Law will be your advocate every step of the way, keep you up to date on the status of your claim and manage all documentation, negotiation and litigation so you can focus on healing.

What Compensation Can I Get In My Park Forest, IL Personal Injury Claim?

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 your financial losses resulting from 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 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

In some cases, you may also be eligible for punitive damages if the liable 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 do not apply to most personal injury claims, your Burger Law personal injury lawyer will pursue every legal avenue available to get you the best possible financial recovery.

What Is the Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury Claims in Park Forest, 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 important exceptions:

1. If you were under 18 when the injury occurred, you have two years to file a claim after your 18th 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 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 Park Forest, 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 Park Forest, IL Now

Burger Law’s Park Forest, IL personal injury lawyers fiercely believe in zealous representation. That means we get started on your case immediately, investigate your case thoroughly, fight back against insurance companies on your behalf and do not let down until you are awarded 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 Park Forest, 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 Park Forest, IL personal injury lawyer now at (779) 800-HURT or contact us online for a free consultation.