Personal Injury Lawyer in Waterloo, IL

Personal Injury Lawyer in Waterloo, IL

Burger Law fights on behalf of people who get hurt because someone else did no respect their safety. If you have sustained serious injuries in an accident or incident caused by another person’s actions, Burger Law’s personal injury lawyers in Waterloo, 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 fill out our online form.

To calculate how much compensation you may be owed in Waterloo, or anywhere in Illinois, take a look at our complimentary personal injury calculator.

The negligent parties that hurt you are financially and legally responsible for taking care of your injuries and paying you all of what you are owed, but they will not do it willingly. Burger Law’s personal injury lawyer team fights back for our clients against whoever is standing in the way of justice. That includes anything from making claims against large trucking companies, holding negligent physicians, product manufacturers, dog owners accountable, taking the fight to City Hall, to getting justice and financial security for Waterloo residents after the wrongful death of a loved one. If you want to know if you have a claim, what compensation you are owed or anything else about the personal injury claims process, call our personal injury lawyers in Waterloo, IL today at (779) 800-HURT.

Why Choose Burger Law’s Waterloo, 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 is not afraid of a fight. In order to gauge the abilities of an injury law firm, you need to look at their previous victories, and what their clients and peers say about them:

Acclaimed Waterloo, IL Personal Injury Lawyers

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

• Martindale-Hubbell Award — AV Preeminent® Rated by Martindale-Hubbell® from NexisLexis® – a significant 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. Less than 4 percent of all practicing lawyers are certified by an ABA accredited certification board.

Personal Injury Lawyer Waterloo, IL – Recent Successes

Our Waterloo, 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 fight for a full recovery every time. Our firm is devoted to offering our clients amazing legal advocacy, and we take great pride in our hard-fought 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 important to remember that every case is unique, and what you may be eligible to recover is going to depend on the circumstances of your claim. We fight for you so that you are given what you deserve.

Burger Law Client Success Stories

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

What Is a Personal Injury Claim in Waterloo, IL?

A personal injury claim is your right under Illinois law to get financial compensation for the wrong done by another person’s negligence, and to hold them accountable for breaking the rules. The purpose of personal injury claims is to make you whole. The idea is to put you in the same position you were in before sustained the damages caused by another’s negligence.

In some cases, no attorney, settlement or verdict is can truly return you to how things were before the injury. While you can be reimbursed for the financial losses you sustained, other damages are less tangible. If you lost a loved one, you lost a limb, are permanently scarred or will have to live the rest of your life in chronic pain, no one can truly change that. What empathetic and skilled personal injury lawyers like those at Burger Law can do is secure you fair compensation in order to provide a sense of justice and recognition, and to provide you with relief from the financial losses resulting from your injuries.

Is it Worth Hiring Personal Injury Lawyer in Waterloo, IL?

That depends on the specifics of your case, but most of the time, yes, you will need a personal injury lawyer to ensure no money is left on the table in Waterloo, IL. The important question is, can they add value to my claim? 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 will need an attorney in Waterloo, IL under the following circumstances:

• There is disagreement about who is to blame, 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 extensive care
• 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 value we can add 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 deserve, and we have no reason to take on your claim if we do not think we can significantly increase your final payout.

How Do I Know if I Have a Personal Injury Claim in Waterloo, IL?

While civil law can be complex, whether or not you have a claim depends on the answer to one particular question: were you injured because someone else was negligent? If so, legally speaking you need to prove the five elements of negligence:

1. Duty of care — You first need to show that the person you are making a claim against had a responsibility to care for your safety. Sometimes, a duty of care is assumed, as Waterloo, 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. Other times, a special relationship must be established, for instance the relationship between a doctor and patient or between a vendor and a buyer.
2. Breach of duty — Did the liable party neglect that responsibility? Did a driver crash into you you because they were drunk? Did a physician prescribe the wrong dosage? Did a store owner fail to fix an obviously dangerous condition?
3. Cause-in-fact — You must prove how the accident led to your injuries. For instance, you broke your arm when your car was t-boned, or had bad side effects from a prescription drug.
4. Proximate cause — This determines liability. If you were hit by a vehicle, it is usually because another driver was negligent. But if the tires were faulty, a manufacturer or mechanic may be the one who is ultimately liable.
5. Damages — Lastly, you need to show that the incident led to economic harm. In personal injury cases, this is usually medical bills and lost wages. If you hold onto your medical bills, this last part will be fairly easy to prove with the help of an attorney. Once we establish financial losses, we can also seek compensation for pain and suffering damages.

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

Types of Claims Our Waterloo, IL Personal Injury Lawyers Win

Practicing injury law in Waterloo, IL requires that you 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 that only specializes in a certain type of injury claim may not have the experience to take on other cases. At Burger Law, we know how to secure justice for the injured in any type of claim. Cases we take on in Waterloo 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 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 heightened risk of catastrophic injury or death due to their relatively limited protection. Under 625 ILCS 5/11-1003.1, anyone behind the wheel must “exercise due care” to avoid colliding with anybody or anything else on the Illinois roads. If someone breaks the rules of the road and you end up hurt, you have an auto accident claim against them.

Sometimes, 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 perform a comprehensive investigation into your claim to find every liable party and hold them accountable.

Premises Liability

Property owners and managers have a duty to take reasonable measures to make sure their premises 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 called the Illinois Premises Liability Act, stipulates that proprietors 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 needs to either fix the hazard or warn against it. Some hazardous conditions include:

• Spills
• A recently mopped floor
• Broken concrete on a walkway
• Broken stairs
• Broken decks and balconies
• Potholes
• Overly steep inclines
• Ledges
• Poor lighting
• Black ice
• Wet concrete
• Debris such as litter, fallen leaves and branches, rocks, etc
• Rugs that are not flat
• Stray cords
• In-ground sprinklers or hardscape features hidden in the grass
• Broken safety rails

Not all injuries on a property result in a 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 dangerous conditions; or
• The owner or manager was aware of the risk and failed to repair it; or
• The owner or manager tried to fix the condition 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 adjuster in Waterloo, 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 are responsible for over 250,000 deaths each year. While not every error constitutes negligence, when it does, a physician needs to be held accountable for hurting you.

Proving a medical malpractice claim will come down to what is called the standard of care. The standard refers to how a prudent healthcare professional, in the same area and with the same training as the one you are making a claim against, would treat a specific condition.

Under 735 ILCS 5/2-622, any medical malpractice claim needs to be filed along with an affidavit from a health professional who:

• is knowledgeable in the relevant issues of the claim
• practices or teaches the same field as the negligent doctor, or has practiced or taught in that field within the last six years
• is qualified to review the facts of your case, and determines your claim is “reasonable and meritorious”

It is imperative that the doctor corroborating your claim is in the same practice area and geographic region as the health professional you are suing. An anesthesiologist in Chicago has a different standard of care than a pediatrician in Kadoka, South Dakota. Burger Law relies on numerous expert witnesses in Waterloo and in other parts of Illinois who can help verify that your medical malpractice suit is valid.

Common instances of medical malpractice in Waterloo, IL include:

• Nursing home negligence
• Birth injuries
• Misdiagnosis and failure to diagnosis
• Leaving objects in during surgery
• Hospital communication 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 require emergency medical treatment for dog bites, and every year about 12,600 people are hospitalized. 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, mandates 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 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 are minor, others result in expensive surgeries or lifelong scarring. Regardless of the seriousness of your injuries, trust in a Burger Law Waterloo, IL personal injury lawyer to ensure you get the full 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 Waterloo, 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 a power tool whose safety guards do not prevent injuries.
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 a bug getting caught in a soda can, or improperly attached electrical outlets.
3. Marketing defect — This refers to labeling 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 make a product liability claim, you must show that the product carried inherent risks when used in a foreseeable manner, that it caused your injuries and that you had not significantly modified the product.

Burger Law’s personal injury lawyers know how to get great results whenever a wrongdoer injured someone else. One of the benefits of choosing a Burger Law Waterloo, 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 Waterloo, IL?

The path to getting maximum compensation for your injuries can be long and complex. 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 includes:

• Getting Medical Treatment — Seek medical attention immediately after an injury, and follow your doctor’s treatment plans to a “T.” Waiting too long could bring complications to your claim, and not attending all your appointments will lower both your economic and noneconomic damages. Our personal injury lawyers know trustworthy Waterloo, IL doctors, chiropractors and physical therapists who can ensure you recover physically as best as possible.
• Speaking 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 attorney 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 complete investigation into the circumstances surrounding your injuries, determine 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 will be agreed to. Usually, the insurance company will counter our offer with a lower number, and we keep negotiating until they agree to pay for all of your damages.
• Filing a Lawsuit — If the insurance company will not be fair in negotiations, we will proceed to litigating the case and setting up a trial. During this time, we will continue negotiating in an effort to avoid a trial.
• Mediation — Mediation is often the last option for a settlement before trial. In mediation, an unbiased third party will try to get each party to accept the merits of the other side’s arguments.
• Pre-Trial — If mediation fails, the “discovery” phase begins. In this phase, we will speak to eyewitnesses and expert witnesses, obtain more evidence and share with and request documentation with the other side.
• Trial — Only six percent of personal injury claims go to trial. In fact, many times we have gotten the settlement we were seeking on the eve of trial. However, if the insurance company still cannot see reason, we will defend your rights in front of a judge and jury. 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 Waterloo, IL personal injury lawyers 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 documentation, negotiation and litigation so you can spend your energy on healing.

What Compensation Can I Get In My Waterloo, 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 potential if your injuries result in permanent disability
  • Medical expenses, past and future
  • Out-of-pocket expenses
• Non-economic damages compensate you for losses that are harder to put a dollar figure on, such as:
  • Pain and suffering
  • Stress and anxiety
  • Loss of ability to enjoy life
  • Scarring and disfigurement
  • Inconvenience
  • Physical impairment
  • Loss of consortium

Though rare, we may also be able to pursue punitive damages if the at-fault harmed you on purpose 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 Waterloo, 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 noteworthy 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 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 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 hesitate to contact an attorney. Call a personal injury lawyer today at (779) 800-HURT.

Other cases we get great results in in Waterloo, IL include:

• Survival Action Lawyer in Illinois
• 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 Waterloo, IL Now

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