DuPage County Personal Injury Lawyer
A personal injury is unexpected, expensive, and stressful. An injury that is the result of another person or group’s negligence is upsetting, but it may also enable you to be financially compensated. If your injury was not your fault, a DuPage County personal injury lawyer can help you determine who should be held liable. You can recover the financial losses from your injury if you can establish liability.
Unfortunately, many personal injury claims are against insurance companies. These companies have substantial resources and focus on protecting their bottom line rather than supporting injured people. An insurance company may deny the injury happened or provide you with a settlement too low to cover your costs. You need a qualified attorney on your side with their own resources to fight against insurance tactics and get you the compensation you deserve.
Connolly Injury Law: Helping Injury Victims Recover
A personal injury attorney is instrumental in securing you compensation after an injury and maximizing the value of your final settlement. A civil or insurance settlement can provide you with the financial stability you need to recover. It’s essential that you find the right attorney who will diligently pursue your rights and protect your future well-being.
At Connolly Injury Law, we provide injured individuals with the comprehensive legal care they need after a harrowing accident. We have handled many personal injury cases for nearly 15 years, but we understand that each accident and injury is unique. Our team works to understand your unique situation and wishes for a settlement.
Personal injury claims need to be filed fairly soon after an accident, and this is not an easy task when you are injured. Our team handles the process of filing your claim, ensuring it is accurate. We negotiate on your behalf, and if an insurance provider refuses to negotiate a fair settlement, we can take the claim to court. Our firm is aware of the tactics used by providers to limit your claim’s success, and we know how to combat them. You deserve coverage for your losses.
Personal Injury Cases We Manage in DuPage County
There are many types of personal injury claims, and each may have unique requirements for proving liability, evaluating damages, and filing a claim. When you are looking into personal injury attorneys, it is important to find an attorney with experience unique to the accident or injury you suffered. An attorney with success will likely be more efficient with your case, as they will understand how to investigate, determine future costs, and negotiate your claim.
At Connolly Injury Law, we have experience in some of the following areas of personal injury law, among others:
Auto Accidents
Car and motor vehicle accidents cause many personal injuries in DuPage County. These accidents frequently result in severe injuries and complicated claims. Illinois is an at-fault car accident state, so claims are filed with the insurance provider of the driver who was at fault for the accident. A driver may be at fault if they were under the influence, distracted, fatigued, or ignoring the rules of the road.
When you or a loved one is injured from someone else’s negligence on the road, you can file an insurance claim to recover costs like the replacement or repair bills for your vehicle, medical bills, and lost income. A car accident can be traumatic, and you should not face financial instability when someone else was to blame.
An attorney with experience in car accident claims can file your insurance claim and get you the damages you deserve. They can also evaluate your case to see if you have the ability to recover additional damages in a civil claim. If the at-fault driver does not have the required car insurance, or their insurance does not cover your damages, you may be able to file a civil claim against them.
In rare cases, car accidents are not the fault of the drivers. There may be cause for a personal injury claim due to product liability, improper road maintenance, or another third party’s negligence. Your attorney can investigate your car accident, reviewing evidence such as the accident report, CCTV, and witness statements to determine the cause and the at-fault party for the accident.
Motorcycle Accidents
Motorcycle accidents are an especially devastating form of motor vehicle accidents. If a motorcycle and a passenger car collide, the motorcyclist is more likely to face serious and catastrophic injuries. Accidents involving motorcyclists are frequently fatal.
If you or a loved one was injured or killed while riding a motorcycle, you should consider talking with an attorney. You could have a personal injury or wrongful death claim through an insurance or civil claim. Often, drivers fail to pay attention and miss motorcycles or fail to take appropriate caution when driving near them. Motorcycles can be hard to see in low visibility conditions, and drivers may not adjust their speed to the conditions.
Even if motorcyclists are partially liable for a collision, they may still be able to obtain damages in a claim. Motorcyclists typically sustain serious injuries, while passenger cars may only see property damage, so any level of compensation a motorcyclist can recover can be helpful.
Nursing Home Abuse
Negligence and abuse by staff and other individuals in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities is unacceptable. Those entrusted with the care of elderly residents have a duty to provide care and ensure their residents are healthy and safe.
Neglect in nursing homes can result in residents being dehydrated and malnourished, developing bedsores, falling, or even being injured after wandering off the nursing home premises. Abuse also unfortunately occurs in nursing homes, including physical, sexual, emotional, and financial abuse.
When staff fail to uphold their duty of care to residents, they should be held accountable for injuries and other damages that a resident sustained. A medical malpractice or personal injury claim may hold them liable.
Medical Malpractice
Medical negligence and medical malpractice cases are incredibly complex forms of personal injury claims. Medical malpractice can occur in hospitals, emergency rooms, pharmacies, ambulances, long-term care facilities, and other medical facilities. Medical professionals are held to a professional standard when they provide medical care, and it takes significant care and investigation to create a strong medical malpractice claim.
Medical negligence or malpractice occurs in many ways. This includes failure to diagnose, misdiagnosis, improper hygiene standards, incorrect administration of anesthesia, and prescription errors. There are many other ways that medical malpractice can occur. An attorney can help you determine if you experienced malpractice and whether you have a viable claim.
Pedestrian Accidents
Accidents between pedestrians and motor vehicles often cause catastrophic and fatal injuries. Pedestrian accidents are unfortunately frequent, and the injuries they cause can alter a victim’s entire life. If you or a loved one was injured due to a driver’s negligence, you could file a personal injury claim.
Scooter Accidents
Electric scooters are a growing form of personal transport for many individuals, but the lack of regulation around scooters can result in accidents and injuries. It’s important to work with an attorney who understands the laws and requirements that apply to motor vehicles, pedestrians, and those on other forms of transport like bicycles and scooters. A negligent party is liable for injuries, but these laws influence who was acting negligently in a given incident.
Serious Injuries
Serious injuries can result from many types of accidents, including car accidents, slip and fall accidents, construction site injuries, medical malpractice, and dog bite injuries. These injuries include burns, severe lacerations, broken and fractured bones, traumatic brain injuries, internal organ damage, and vision or hearing loss.
When an injury is considered serious, the physical, emotional, and long-term impact of the injury is substantial. Sometimes, it results in the permanent disability of the injured party, who may require treatment or at-home care for the rest of their life.
Because of the significant consequences of a serious injury, compensation must reflect the severe physical, mental, and financial toll of these injuries. It’s important to work with an attorney who understands how to navigate the greater needs of these claims.
Slip & Fall and Premises Liability
Property owners must exercise reasonable care over the safety of their property. If a public or private location has hazards that are not addressed, and an individual who is legally on the property is injured, the property owner can be strictly liable for those damages. Slip and fall accidents are the most common form of premises liability claim, and they occur when someone falls due to hazards like slippery floors, spills, damaged railings, or tripping hazards.
If you were injured on another person’s property due to a hazard that should have been addressed, you may have a premises liability claim.
Truck Accidents
Truck accidents are complicated forms of motor vehicle claims, often resulting in immense property and personal damage. It’s not easy to negotiate with a corporate trucking or shipping company after you or a loved one has suffered severe injuries or has died. Many parties may be at fault, and you need the support of a skilled attorney to advocate for your financial needs.
Uber & Lyft Accidents
Accidents in rideshares like Uber and Lyft can be complex, as the insurance provider you file with depends on many factors. If the driver of the rideshare was liable, the company you file a claim with depends on whether or not they had a passenger. Your attorney can help you determine the party at fault for the accident and what insurance you are expected to file with.
Wrongful Death
If your loved one was involved in an accident or sustained an injury that was another party’s fault, they can file a personal injury claim. Unfortunately, not everyone survives the injuries they sustain, and some die at the site of the accident or afterward.
If you lost a loved one due to another’s negligence, you can file a wrongful death claim. A wrongful death claim will never replace what you have lost. Instead, it may be able to give you some financial stability in your time of grief, and it may hold the at-fault party responsible for their actions.
This is not an exhaustive list of our experience in personal injury law.
FAQs:
Q: What Is the Personal Injury Law in Illinois?
A: The personal injury law in Illinois states that when another party’s negligence, recklessness, or willful misconduct causes your injury, they are liable for the costs. You must prove that they owed you a duty of care, breached this duty of care, and you would not have been injured without their action or inaction.
Illinois also operates under modified comparative negligence, meaning that injured parties can still file for damages if they are partially liable. However, they can only file if they are found to be less than 50% liable.
Q: When Should I Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer in Illinois?
A: When you are injured in Illinois, and this injury was the fault of another individual or group, you should hire a personal injury lawyer. In most cases, the sooner you begin working with an attorney, the better for your claim.
Although you can attempt to negotiate a settlement with the insurance provider of the party that was liable, this can be stressful while you are injured. These providers also do not negotiate in the same way with an injured party as they do with an attorney.
Q: What Is the Statute of Limitations on Personal Injury in Illinois?
A: The statute of limitations on personal injury claims in Illinois is typically two years, although there are some exceptions to this rule, particularly if your claim is against a public entity or municipality in which case it would only be one year. If a personal injury claim isn’t filed within this time, then you lose your right to claim damages. The two-year countdown begins from the date the incident occurs, although there are some exceptions to this rule. In medical malpractice case, the countdown can begin when you actually discovered that malpractice occurred but in no event more than 4 years after the actual malpractice.
Q: What Is the Discovery Rule in Illinois for Personal Injury?
A: The discovery rule in Illinois is one exception to the statute of limitations. It states that if the injured party did not know they were injured on the date of the accident or incident, the statute of limitations begins on the date they discovered the injury or should reasonably have discovered it.
However, even the discovery rule has an overall limit of four years from the date the incident occurred.
Defending Your Rights in DuPage County
If you have been injured because another party was negligent or reckless, contact Connolly Injury Law today. We can help you recover the compensation you need.
