McHenry County Personal Injury Lawyer

A personal injury claim enables those who were injured by another party’s carelessness to recover any of their losses that were caused by the accident. These include lost income, the cost of surgeries and medical devices, and emotional suffering. If you have been injured, it is much easier to prove your losses and the fault of the other party with the support of a McHenry County personal injury lawyer. You’re more likely to get the most compensation available in your claim with legal representation.

For many personal injury cases, you deal with an insurance provider. These companies do not look out for the needs and interests of injured individuals, only their company’s financial interests. An insurance provider is likely to use tactics to undermine or discredit your claim. A skilled attorney knows how to handle this and negotiate with the insurance company for your benefit.

Connolly Injury Law: Advocating for Those Who Are Injured in Our Community

Sustaining an injury is painful and frustrating, and your body needs time to heal. By hiring a skilled attorney, you can feel comfortable that your claim is managed by an experienced attorney. You can rest while they investigate, value, and negotiate your claim while keeping you updated on important issues. It’s crucial that your attorney is knowledgeable and experienced in personal injury law.

At Connolly Injury Law, we have nearly 15 years of experience in personal injury. The quicker you begin working with us, the sooner we can begin investigating and building your unique claim while ensuring that you understand the value and viability of your claim. When you were not at fault for your injuries, you should not be responsible for the costs. Our team helps you get the financial recovery that you deserve.

Establishing Liability in a McHenry County Personal Injury Case

To pursue a successful personal injury claim, there must be a party who can be held liable for your damages because they were negligent, reckless, or even malicious. Just because someone made a mistake, it does not automatically mean that they are liable for the accident. There are four elements that must be provable for your claim to be successful. These are:

1. Duty: The party, whether an individual, company, or other entity, must have owed you a duty of care to act with reasonable thought to your safety.
2. Breach: The party breached this duty of care through negligence, intentional misconduct, or malice.
3. Causation: The breach of duty of care directly caused the accident.
4. Damages: The accident resulted in you suffering actual and compensable damages.

All four of these elements have to be proven. An attorney can investigate the accident or incident in which you were injured to find proof of these elements.

What If I Am Partially to Blame for the Accident?

If you are partially to blame for the accident, you could still obtain compensation, but it will be limited. Under Illinois’s modified comparative negligence laws, each party is liable for their percentage of fault in the accident. If any party is 50% or more responsible for the accident, they are barred from obtaining compensation from the other parties.

If you are less than 50% liable, you can still file a claim to cover your damages. Once your final settlement is accurately calculated, it will be reduced by the same percentage that you were found at fault. This can significantly reduce your financial compensation, but it still provides you with some coverage.

When you are negotiating with an insurance provider, one tactic they may use is the claim that you were partially or fully liable for the accident. This can allow the defendant to limit their liability. It’s important to work with an attorney, as they can find the proof needed to prove that you were not at fault or not more than 49% at fault. An attorney can advocate for your interests and work to limit your percentage of liability, getting you the most compensation possible.

What Damages Are Covered in a Personal Injury Claim?

When you can prove another party fully liable for the accident, you are allowed to recover 100% of the damages you sustained as a direct result of the accident and your injuries. Most personal injury cases recover compensatory damages, which include both economic and noneconomic damages.

Economic damages are financial losses with clear numerical values. They include:

• Past medical bills, including emergency vehicle travel, doctor’s visits, surgeries, medication, medical devices, mobility aids, tests, and other treatment
• Future medical costs, such as physical therapy, mental health treatment, long-term mobility aids and home alterations, at-home or long-term care, and expected complications
• Household services needed due to injuries, either short-term or long-term
• Lost wages during recovery or while attending doctor’s appointments
• Lost earning potential if your ability to complete your job is affected or you are disabled to the point of being unable to engage in gainful employment
• Property damages sustained in the accident

Noneconomic damages are losses that are recognized as compensable damages, but they do not have objective monetary values. It can often be difficult to value these damages, but attorneys have significant experience with this process. Noneconomic damages include:

• Pain and physical suffering
• Emotional suffering
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Disability or disfigurement

Compensatory damages are part of any personal injury claim.

Punitive damages are another form of damages, but these are much rarer. They are awarded when the at-fault party is found, by clear and convincing evidence, to have conducted themselves in a way that was:

• Malicious
• Held an outrageous indifference to the potential of harm to others
• Contemptuous of the safety of others

Personal Injury Claims Handled at Connolly Injury Law

Personal injury cases are varied, and your attorney should be experienced in cases similar to yours, such as the type of accident that occurred or the type of injury you sustained. An attorney with relevant experience can better understand the type of investigation needed and the current and future damages that you deserve compensation for. At Connolly Injury Law, we have experience with many types of personal injury claims, including:

Auto Accidents

Car accidents are one of the most frequent causes of personal injuries and their resulting claims. When you are involved in a car accident, you can file a car insurance claim with the provider of the at-fault driver. If the driver does not have coverage or enough to compensate for your losses, you may have to file with your own insurance provider. In some cases, you may also file a personal injury claim.

A skilled car accident attorney can help you determine how to effectively recover maximum compensation and find the cause of the accident. In most cases, a driver is at fault for driving negligently or recklessly. However, there are situations where a third party is liable.

Motorcycle Accidents

Motorcyclists in a motor vehicle accident typically suffer serious injuries. Often, motorcyclists are flung from their vehicle, suffering both the initial collision and the impact of the road. These injuries can be catastrophic and result in death. When a motorcyclist is injured or killed, they or their loved ones can file a claim against the at-fault party.

Nursing Home Abuse

Staff at nursing homes are entrusted with the care of their residents. This includes helping them with daily tasks, ensuring that they are healthy, checking in visitors to ensure resident safety, and general supervision. When staff or other individuals neglect or abuse residents, this is unacceptable.

Negligence can cause residents to suffer harm and injury, such as malnourishment, falls, bedsores, and medical complications. Abuse can result in much more serious physical and psychological injuries. Residents or their family members may be able to file claims against staff or other negligent parties.

Medical Malpractice

When you receive medical care, you trust that your providers will do what they can to care for your health and well-being. Medical malpractice and medical negligence can be committed by healthcare providers when they fail to meet the professional standard of care, and patients are injured as a result.

These are some of the most complex forms of personal injury claims, as investigating them is difficult, and the legal requirements are significant. An attorney can help you determine if you have a medical malpractice claim.

Pedestrian Accidents

Pedestrians can suffer injuries from even a collision with a bicycle. When pedestrians are in a collision with a motor vehicle, they may suffer catastrophic and fatal injuries. These accidents can cause injuries such as traumatic brain injuries, spine fractures, spinal cord injuries, severe burns and lacerations, and other trauma. Injured pedestrians can file personal injury claims. If they do not survive their injuries, their family members can file a wrongful death claim.

Scooter Accidents

More people are using electric scooters as a form of personal transportation, but there is limited regulation for this mode of travel. Often, this can cause serious injuries to riders, pedestrians, and others on the road or sidewalk. If you were injured while riding or were injured by a scooter, it is crucial that your attorney understands the legal requirements of a personal injury claim. They can help you determine the liable party, if you have a claim, and how to file one.

Serious Injuries

Serious injuries are a category of injury defined by their severe and life-long effects on the injured party. They include injuries from construction accidents, medical malpractice, dog and animal attacks, and serious car accidents. These injuries can result in long-term pain, scarring, disability, and disfigurement. Often, a victim suffers severe emotional and psychological injuries.

When you are seriously injured and want to hold the at-fault party liable, you need an attorney who understands catastrophic and serious injuries. There are many long-range costs, including long-term at-home care, the inability to be employed, and future complications from your injuries. Your attorney should understand these costs and how to calculate the associated noneconomic damages.

Premises Liability and Slip and Fall Accidents

Premises liability claims occur when a property owner is negligent, and someone is hurt on their premises as a result. Property owners, both public and private, are responsible for the safety and maintenance of their grounds.

If an individual is legally on those grounds and is injured because a property owner did not address a known hazard, the injured party can file a claim against the owner. Premises liability claims include negligent security, slip and falls or trip and falls, improper lighting, electrical hazards, fire hazards, and other dangerous situations. In these claims, it is incredibly important to determine if the property owner knew or should have known about a hazard.

Truck Accidents

Truck accidents have serious consequences for those in smaller passenger cars or other less-protected vehicles. The severity of damages makes these claims especially complex. Injured individuals often suffer serious, disabling, or fatal injuries. A settlement must be much higher to address these losses.

Truck accidents also frequently involve the insurance provider of a trucking or shipping company. These providers have significant resources to protect their interests. Having an attorney is essential to protect you and your claim.

The investigation of truck accidents is also more complicated, as many parties could be liable, such as:

• A third-party shipping or loading company
• The truck driver
• The driver’s employer
• The party who approved the truck to be on the road
• The manufacturer of a faulty car or truck component

Rideshare (Uber and Lyft) Accidents

If a rideshare driver causes an accident, injured parties in the rideshare car and in other vehicles can file claims. However, depending on certain factors, the party that they can file this claim with varies. Claims may be filed with the driver’s personal insurance or with the rideshare company’s insurance. This depends on what the rideshare driver was doing at the time of the accident and other factors. Your attorney needs to be familiar with these laws and regulations for rideshare accidents.

Wrongful Death

When an injured party dies in the accident or some time afterward from their injuries and complications, surviving family members can file a wrongful death claim. This can cover certain damages such as reasonable funeral costs, medical bills incurred before death, property damage, and the loss of financial support. A wrongful death claim may also grant family members some closure and the ability to hold the at-fault party accountable.

Evidence Needed in a Personal Injury Claim

To effectively negotiate for a fair settlement, an attorney first investigates your accident to determine fault. They can then review all the information to calculate your damages. By beginning negotiations with a clear idea of what constitutes fair compensation, an attorney can better advocate for the compensation you deserve. When an attorney investigates the accident, they examine the available evidence, which varies depending on the type of personal injury claim. Some important evidence includes:

• Dashcam footage
• CCTV and surveillance video
• Personal photos and videos of the accident, damages, and injury
• Medical documentation and records
• Police or accident reports
• Maintenance reports on buildings or vehicles
• Eyewitness statements
• Professional expert testimony
• Employment records and information
• Cell phone records
• Black box records

This information is essential to determine the cause, at-fault party, and compensation value from an accident.

FAQs

Q: What Percentage Do Personal Injury Lawyers Take in Illinois?

A: Personal injury attorneys in Illinois typically take between 30% and 40% of the final settlement. Most personal injury attorneys use a contingency fee, meaning that they recover a portion of the final settlement and charge no upfront attorney costs. The specific percentage will depend on several factors, including:

• The attorney’s experience
• The complexity of your case
• The time and resources your claim takes to investigate
• Whether your case goes to trial or is settled outside of court

Q: What Is the Statute of Limitations on Personal Injury in Illinois?

A: The Illinois personal injury claim statute of limitations is two years from the date of the accident or injury. If a claim isn’t filed within that timeframe, injured parties lose the ability to file for compensation. There are some situations where the deadline is extended. Medical malpractice claims in Illinois have a deadline of two years from the date of the injury or its discovery. Medical malpractice claims cannot be filed after four years, though, even if the injured party does not discover that they were injured until later.

Q: What Are the Damages for Personal Injury?

A: There are two main types of damages available in a personal injury case. They are:

1. Compensatory Damages: These damages are a part of any personal injury case, and they include economic and noneconomic damages. These damages exist to compensate for a loss that is recognized by the court, from medical bills to physical suffering.
2. Punitive Damages: These damages are infrequently part of a claim. These do not compensate for a loss but seek to punish the at-fault party. They are only available when the at-fault party acted with malice or incredible disregard for the well-being of others.

Q: What Is the Negligence Law in Illinois?

A: Illinois’s negligence law operates under modified comparative negligence. This means that when multiple parties are liable for an accident, they are all responsible for their percentage of fault. If any involved parties are 50% or more liable, they are barred from recovering compensation. If a party is discovered to be 30% liable for an accident, they can recover compensation, and the final settlement is reduced by 30%.

Protecting Your Financial Interests in McHenry County

At Connolly Injury Law, we can help you with your personal injury claim. Contact our team today to get professional and experienced legal support while you recover.