Retaining a personal injury lawyer Elk Grove, Illinois residents trust will help you obtain the financial compensation you deserve. If you or a loved one have been injured in an accident caused by another party’s negligence contact Therman Law Offices, LTD today. You can schedule a free consultation during which we can discuss the facts of your case. Call Therman Law Offices, LTD today at (847) 744-8400 to learn more about the legal services we offer.
Table Of Contents:
- Most Common Personal Injury Cases
- Types Of Accident Cases Therman Law Offices, LTD Handles
- Elements That Can Be Useful In Your Case
- Elk Grove Personal Injury Law FAQs
- Elk Grove Personal Injury Law Infographic
- How Do I Know If I Have a Case?
- Elk Grove Personal Injury Law Statistics
- Contact Therman Law Offices, LTD To Schedule A Free Consultation
Most Common Personal Injury Cases
Personal injury cases range from simple slip-and-fall accidents to complex mass tort cases involving defective products that injure thousands of people and implicate hundreds of commercial organizations. Negligence is the cornerstone of personal injury law. The four elements of negligence are duty, breach, causation, and damages. Nearly every personal injury case involves these four elements.
Some of the most common personal injury cases include the following:
- Truck accident cases
- Car accident cases
- Products liability cases
- Intentional tort cases
- False imprisonment cases
- Toxic tort cases
- Premises liability cases
Types Of Accident Cases Therman Law Offices, LTD Handles
- Car accidents: The firm represents clients who have been injured in car accidents caused by negligent drivers, including cases involving drunk driving, distracted driving, speeding, and other forms of reckless behavior.
- Motorcycle accidents: Therman Law Offices, LTD has extensive experience representing clients who have been injured in motorcycle accidents, including cases involving serious injuries and fatalities.
- Truck accidents: The firm has the knowledge and resources to take on complex cases involving commercial trucks, such as semi-trucks and tractor-trailers, and the often devastating injuries that result from these accidents.
- Pedestrian accidents: Therman Law Offices, LTD also represents clients who have been hit by vehicles while walking or crossing the street, and understands the unique challenges that pedestrians face in seeking compensation for their injuries.
- Slip and fall accidents: The firm assists clients who have been injured due to unsafe conditions on someone else’s property, such as wet floors, uneven surfaces, or inadequate lighting.
- Medical malpractice: Therman Law Offices, LTD handles medical malpractice cases, which involve injuries resulting from medical negligence by doctors, nurses, or other healthcare professionals.
- Wrongful death: The firm also represents families who have lost loved ones due to someone else’s negligence, and helps them pursue compensation for their loss.
Therman Law Offices, LTD is committed to providing compassionate and effective legal representation to clients who have been injured in accidents and helping them obtain the compensation they deserve.
Elements That Can Be Useful In Your Case
If you were harmed in an accident that was the fault of a careless person, you can pursue a claim against them for your injuries with help from a personal injury lawyer Elk Grove, IL residents trust from Therman Law Offices, LTD. However, you will need proof that supports your side of the story. Here are examples of the main types of elements that can be useful in your case:
Police Report
If someone called 911, then an officer should have arrived at the scene and probably completed a police report. This document is crucial in offering an objective opinion about what factors caused the accident. Once you leave the scene, you can reach out to the law enforcement office responsible for handling such reports for your jurisdiction. You can request a copy to be used in your case. If you are not sure where to pick up this report, you can ask your Elk Grove personal injury lawyer for assistance.
Medical Documentation
Ask for all copies of your medical records that are related to the accident injuries, such as x-ray results, surgical reports, blood test results, doctor’s notes on treatment plan and diagnosis, discharge instructions, records from a therapist for mental health, prescriptions, and all the dates you received care. It will help your lawyer calculate a monetary award for your case if there are receipts that show the costs of the care you had. By determining the full amount of your medical expenses, you can better understand the value of your case.
Photographs
Hopefully, you had taken photographs at the scene of the accident to help establish fault and contributing factors of the accident. The scene will have been altered once the area is cleaned up, so it will be harder to gather photographs later. Take pictures of your injuries as well, such as right after the incident and the condition of your injuries over time. Visual evidence can be an influential representation of your injuries, and it can be more difficult for opposing parties to dispute them. Anyone can manipulate a verbal statement, but not so much for an actual photograph, as it sums up the reality of the situation better than words can describe.
Lost Income Statements
You may be able to recover money from the income you lost due to recovering from the accident injuries. You may have to request a letter from your employer that outlines the income you lost. As your Elk Grove personal injury lawyer can review with you, this letter should entail your job title, hourly or salary, rate of pay, number of days missed, dates missed, amount of money lost from missed days, total lost wages, benefits used (vacation, PTO, sick days), and any other relevant information.
Eyewitness Testimony
Customers, employees, or bystanders may have witnessed the accident. These statements can be impactful on the success of a claim, as it offers objective information about how the incident occurred. Sometimes eyewitness statements include details that you did not realize were present or other contributing factors. Witnesses can help provide a clearer picture of the accident and who was involved, in addition to who is potentially at fault.
Elk Grove Personal Injury Law FAQs
What Damages Are Available in a Personal Injury Case?
If you were hurt in an accident caused by someone else, an Elk Grove, IL personal injury lawyer may be able to help you obtain several types of damages. These damages are divided into economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages include damages that are easy to calculate, such as medical bills, lost wages, property damages, and costs of future medical treatment. Non-economic damages, however, are not easy to quantify and may include pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and emotional distress.
Can I File a Medical Malpractice Claim Against Someone Besides a Doctor?
Yes. All medical professionals, not just doctors, owe their patients a duty of care. If they violate that duty and you suffer harm because of it, you could have a medical malpractice case on your hands. Other medical professionals who may be guilty of medical malpractice include nurses, dentists, physical therapists and anesthesiologists.
When Are Property Owners Held Responsible for Accidents on Their Premises?
Property owners have a legal duty to make sure their premises are safe for other people. If they fail to do that and someone gets injured as a result, they may be held liable. For instance, if you fell on ice in front of someone’s home and that homeowner neglected to put ice on the ground, an Elk Grove personal injury lawyer can help you pursue a premises liability claim. Likewise, if you suffered a slip and fall accident at a grocery store due to spilled juice, you may be able to hold the grocery store owner responsible.
Do I Have to Make a Statement to the Insurance Company?
After an accident, the defendant’s insurance company may call you and ask you to provide a statement. You are under no obligation to give them a statement. In fact, it is in your best interest not to do so. They may misconstrue what you say and use it to try to devalue your case.
If I’m Hurt in a Truck Accident, Is the Truck Driver the Only Liable Party?
No, not necessarily. Unlike accidents involving passenger vehicles, truck accidents can have more than one liable party. For example, if a truck accident occurred because the truck driver was inexperienced, the trucking company may also be responsible for failing to train the driver properly. Other liable parties in a truck accident may include truck manufacturers and the owner of the cargo.
Should I Take My Case to Trial?
The majority of personal injury cases never make it to trial. They instead get settled out of court. However, that does not mean that your case can’t go to trial. If the defendant’s insurance company will not offer you fair compensation, your Elk Grove personal injury lawyer may advise you to go to trial. He or she can provide a strong argument in front of the judge and jury.
What first steps should be taken in the wake of an accident?
There are steps that victims must take in the immediate moments of an accident that are imperative for several reasons. At the scene, it’s crucial to move vehicles out of harm’s way (if possible); this can prevent further damage from occurring. In addition, those at the scene should call emergency services and law enforcement. Having help at the scene can ensure that injured parties receive medical treatment and that the accident scene is secured and investigated by law enforcement. Taking these steps can ensure proper care and offer key evidence for victims should they take legal action.
What should a victim do when the insurance adjuster or defendant’s lawyer contacts them?
If possible, it’s in the victim’s best interest to direct the insurance adjuster and defendant’s lawyer to their Elk Grove personal injury lawyer. There are several reasons for this. Not only does it help to reduce the stress of talking to someone who may be building a case against the victim, but it can also prevent the victim from inadvertently admitting fault or minimizing their injuries. Unfortunately, when the victims speak with the opposing side without a lawyer, they put themselves at risk of reduced compensation or claim denials.
How much money can I obtain from the responsible party should I take legal action?
The claim’s value is contingent upon the losses and damages the victim has experienced. No specific value can be assigned to a case without a clear picture of the details. A lawyer will carefully review the case and look at several factors, such as whether the victim was in part responsible for the accident and the extent of damages.
How long does a victim have to take legal action after an accident has happened?
The statute of limitations is the length of time someone has to take legal action upon discovery of their injuries or at the time the injury occurs. In Illinois, the statute of limitations for personal injuries is two years. Because of this, it’s important to move forward quickly to avoid the timeframe expiring.
What exceptions must be present to extend the statute of limitations?
In some situations, the statute of limitations can be extended, however, the process can be complicated, and it will be necessary to speak with a legal professional. Examples of circumstances that may allow for the timeframe to be extended include:
- Cases involving minor children
- Being unable to locate the defendant
- Administrative issues
- Other special situations that require legal help
What Are The Benefits Of Retaining A Personal Injury Lawyer?
Retaining a personal injury lawyer means having a legal professional on your side who will zealously represent your legal interests. You can retain a personal injury lawyer and make sure that you will file your case within the applicable statute of limitations period. You can receive many different benefits by having a personal injury lawyer on your side. Personal injury lawyers request medical records and scrutinize medical bills to make sure that you receive just compensation for your injuries. By having a legal professional handle these problems you can rest assured that all the deadlines are being met. Trying to handle a personal injury case by yourself will only cause you to miss important deadlines.
A personal injury lawyer in Elk Grove, IL can also plead your case in court if your case proceeds to trial. The majority of cases in the United States do not proceed to trial. However, if your case happens to go to trial you want to have an experienced attorney on your side who can help you establish liability. You are also more likely to obtain the financial compensation you deserve if you have a personal injury lawyer representing you.
Will My Communications With A Personal Injury Lawyer Remain Private?
The communications between you and your attorney are protected by the attorney-client privilege. The privilege continues to operate even after the legal representation comes to an end. You are encouraged to be clear and honest with your personal injury lawyer. By explaining clear details and important information to your Elk Grove, IL personal injury lawyer you will be able to assist with your legal representation. You do have to worry about a personal injury lawyer sharing every detail about the case and your life.
Elk Grove Personal Injury Law Infographic
How Do I Know If I Have a Case?
In general, people have a duty of care to others simply because we share this world and cannot just go around acting however we please. And when our actions cause an accident and someone else was hurt, we may be held liable for their injuries and losses. Victims are encouraged to come forward and have a lawyer assist them in the aftermath of a serious accident. For personal injury cases, the most important thing you’ll have to do is prove that these negligence elements are true:
- The defendant owed a duty of care to the plaintiff
- The defendant breached this duty of care
- The defendant’s negligence was a primary factor in the resulting injury
When meeting with a new potential client, one of the most common questions we get is about whether there is a strong case for legal action or not. What many people don’t realize is that they have more options than believe they do, especially if they were the victims of a personal injury incident. Remember, insurance companies are still for-profit and may pressure you into accepting a settlement offer that is much lower than your total in losses, injury, pain and suffering, and inconvenience. We are accustomed to fighting for victims who were wrongly injured because someone decided to be reckless.
An example of breached duty of care is a driver who failed to abide by traffic laws which then caused a collision with another vehicle. Whether a duty of care was owed or not, and what that duty was, depends on the circumstances of the event. A person may be found negligent if they engaged in behavior or inaction that was reasonably unsafe and another person in a similar situation would not have done the same. As your lawyer can explain during a consultation, a reliable proof will be influential in showing that the defendant breached their duty and should be held responsible for their actions or lack of care.
We know that accidents can uproot a person’s life and affect many areas such as their career, personal relationships, financial stability, and future. We are here to advocate for you and ensure you have all the information you need to decide for yourself what to do next. We can assess your situation and offer advice on how to proceed if you wish to do so. We want people to understand their rights, and by having their questions answered, they feel more empowered to take on the situation at hand. For a consultation with a member of our legal team, call Therman Law Offices, LTD today.
Elk Grove Personal Injury Law Statistics
According to the National Safety Council, motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of personal injury in the United States. In 2021, there were over 6 million car accidents in the United States, resulting in over 3 million injuries and 40,000 fatalities.
Contact Therman Law Offices, LTD To Schedule A Free Consultation
If you are seeking the assistance of a personal injury lawyer contact Therman Law Offices, LTD today. Taking legal action is never easy, especially when in the process of recovering from injuries. To learn more about how our Elk Grove, IL personal injury lawyer can assist, schedule a consultation with Therman Law Offices, LTD before it’s too late. Contact the office at (847) 744-8400 to learn more about the legal services we offer.