Unexpected injuries can complicate your life, particularly when they are caused by someone else. Along with causing pain and requiring costly medical treatment, you’re probably also angry at the person or company that harmed you. If the injuries weren’t your fault, you shouldn’t have to pay for your medical care.
You may struggle to pay for that treatment when your injuries prevent you from working and earning an income. Severe injuries can prevent you from participating in activities you once found enjoyable.
If someone else caused your injuries, you can file personal injury claims against their insurance company to pursue the maximum compensation you need to cover your personal injury accident-related losses. Review your case with the best personal injury lawyers to learn more. At JJ Legal, we’re prepared to offer the representation you need right now. Contact us today to review your case for free and discuss your legal options.
Types of Chicago Personal Injury Cases Our Law Firm Handles
What Types of Compensation Are Available in Chicago Personal Injury Cases?
You could seek compensation for economic and non-economic losses related to your injuries.
An economic loss is one you can easily quantify in monetary terms. For example, your medical bills are an economic loss. You can easily add up medical bills to assign a dollar value to this loss. The same is true of your lost wages.
Quantifying non-economic losses is more complex.
A non-economic loss is intangible and has no specific price attached. For instance, you may struggle with physical pain or discomfort while recovering from injuries. You may account for this subjective loss when assessing the total value of your claim. A Chicago personal injury attorney can assist you with this task.
In some cases, even adding up economic losses can be complicated. If your injuries are severe, you may have substantial economic losses to tally, including future economic losses for which you deserve personal injury compensation. For instance, if your injuries are serious, you may need ongoing medical care, and you may have future lost income to account for if you cannot return to work. An experienced personal injury lawyer can handle these calculations on your behalf.
There are many reasons to enlist the help of a personal injury law firm in Chicago when seeking fair compensation after you’ve been injured by someone else. A lawyer can assist you by:
- Reviewing your case: It’s not always clear whether an injured person has grounds to file a claim or lawsuit. Chicago personal injury attorneys can review your case and explain your basic legal options at no cost to you.
- Investigating: You may need to prove that someone else caused your injuries to show you deserve fair compensation. Chicago personal injury attorneys can investigate your case and gather evidence to strengthen your claim.
- Assessing your claim’s value: A Chicago personal injury lawyer will inform you of the various types of compensation you might be able to claim. They can also total your losses to estimate how much compensation you may deserve.
- Filing a claim or lawsuit: You should focus on your recovery after being injured. A lawyer can handle filing a claim, responding to insurance adjusters‘ correspondence, and filing a personal injury lawsuit if necessary.
- Evaluating settlement offers – A personal injury lawyer can evaluate an insurance company’s settlement offers and determine whether they are fair. A Chicago personal injury attorney can never force you to accept a settlement. However, they can explain why doing so may be in your best interest.
- Negotiating – It’s not uncommon for insurance companies to lowball claimants when making initial settlement offers. A lawyer can negotiate with an insurer on your behalf to secure a better outcome.
Ideally, a Chicago personal injury attorney will secure a fair out-of-court settlement for you. However, they can represent you in court if you must go to trial to pursue the money you deserve.
Chicago Personal Injury Case
There’s no way to answer this question without knowing the details of your case. Various factors can influence how much personal injury claims may be worth. They include:
- The severity of your injuries
- The duration of your recovery
- Whether your injuries prevent you from returning to your regular job or any job
- Whether you are likely to incur future losses, like future medical expenses or loss of income
A Chicago personal injury attorney can review your case and provide more information on this topic. However, a lawyer can’t promise you’ll receive a specific amount of money. Don’t trust an attorney who guarantees you’ll receive an exact payout.
Claimants in personal injury cases often need to show that their injuries resulted from the actions or carelessness of other parties. For example, if you were injured in a car crash, to obtain compensation from the other driver, you would have to show that their careless behavior caused the crash. However, there are exceptions to this.
Perhaps you sustained injuries when someone’s dog bit you. You don’t have to show that the dog was able to bite you because the owner was careless. Illinois personal injury law holds dog owners strictly liable for injuries their dogs cause when the injured party was lawfully on the property where they were bitten or attacked.
Similarly, you may file some product liability lawsuits under the theory of strict liability in Illinois. Similarly, you don’t need to prove that someone else caused your injuries when you file a workers’ compensation claim because of a workplace injury.
Most Chicago personal injury law firms don’t charge upfront fees for their legal services. No lawyer can guarantee that you will receive a settlement, and if you had to pay for their services when you hired them, you could risk losing that money.
To ensure their clients don’t take such risks, most personal injury lawyers may enter into contingency fee agreements with them. In a contingency fee agreement, a client only has to pay their lawyer if they receive a settlement or award. A lawyer’s fee will be an agreed-upon percentage of the money a client receives.
This arrangement doesn’t just prevent a client from risking their money when hiring a lawyer. It also gives attorneys strong motivation to fight for as much money as they can. The more money you receive, the more money your attorney receives.
The statute of limitations sets a two-year deadline for filing an Illinois personal injury lawsuit. Except in rare cases, you must file a Chicago personal injury lawsuit within two years of sustaining injuries. Failure to do so will result in waiving your right to pursue compensation through the court system.
That doesn’t have to happen. Contact an experienced personal injury attorney in Chicago right away to get started on your case.