Posted on August 24, 2022 in Personal Injury

Some personal injury claims are relatively simple. You were stopped completely at a stop sign when a drunk or speeding driver rear-ended you. There is video footage of a grocery store employee spilling a drink and then walking away a few minutes before you slipped and fell. Your injuries are fairly minor and you will be able to return to work within a few weeks. These cases are more likely to result in a settlement and a fair payout that covers medical expenses, lost wages, and maybe the cost of a totaled vehicle. Other cases are much more complex. You have sustained a life-altering injury and will always need a home health aide. There is a disagreement over whether what your doctor did caused harm to you. The truck driver who hit you claims that you caused the crash. In these cases, one tool your attorney may use is the expert witness. 

What is the Role of an Expert Witness?

An expert witness is someone who can provide credible testimony about what they believe is true in your case. They step in when there is a factual, rather than a legal, dispute that the parties cannot agree on. There is no specific certification that an expert witness must hold, but they must be regarded as an expert in the topic matter they are going to testify about. In Illinois, an expert witness must be qualified by their “knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education.”

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 Posted on August 12, 2022 in Medical Malpractice

People tend to trust their doctors completely. We are taught from a young age that the doctor knows best and is doing everything they can to help us. Unfortunately, doctors are not always right, and they are not always careful. If you have ever had a serious concern brushed off, or found that a prescription drug caused more harm than it prevented, you are not alone - and you may have been affected by medical malpractice. Some types of malpractice have an immediate effect, so you know right away that something has gone wrong. Other forms are more insidious, sometimes taking years to become apparent. If you have been harmed by a doctor’s mistake or failure, then you may be able to recover compensation. Our attorneys can assess your case to determine whether you have grounds for a lawsuit. 

Shockingly Common Forms of Malpractice by Medical Professionals

Medical malpractice cases usually fall into one of a few categories. These common types of malpractice include: 

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 Posted on July 26, 2022 in Car Accident

After a serious car accident leaves you injured and in pain, it can be hard to figure out your next steps. You probably have a lot on your plate, like trying to get the time you need off from work, attending doctor’s appointments, and trying to secure help with some of the daily tasks you cannot do alone with your injuries. Handling the legal side of your claim might seem deceptively easy - the insurance company calls you with a nice-sounding offer, you say yes, and you get the money. Right? But it is rarely that simple. Insurance companies are not interested in adequately compensating you for your injuries and other losses associated with the accident their customer caused. They are interested in paying out as little as possible. A lawyer can take on the fight for you to help you get the settlement you deserve, not the settlement a corporation feels like offering. 

Why You Should Work With an Attorney After a Car Crash Injury

There are a number of pitfalls that unrepresented parties can fall into. Represented parties are more likely to receive fair settlements and less likely to be taken advantage of. Reasons you should consider working with a lawyer after a car accident include: 

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 Posted on July 12, 2022 in Slip & Fall

Slip-and-fall accidents are to be expected during wintertime. Snow and ice can be easily tracked into a store, and parking lots can be difficult to keep clear. Liability for a fall injury caused by winter weather can be tricky to determine because property owners are not always responsible for weather-related hazards. In the summer, unless it is raining, it is much less likely that weather can be blamed for a slip. Retail managers and those who run other businesses open to the public have a duty to keep their establishments reasonably safe. If someone has slipped and fallen on their premises, there is a substantial likelihood that the business can be held responsible under a premises liability theory. If you were injured when you slipped and fell in a business, you may be entitled to recover compensation and should contact a qualified attorney for a case evaluation. 

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 Posted on June 23, 2022 in Car Accident

Intoxicated drivers are famous for causing truly terrible car accidents like head-on collisions and even rollover accidents. When a drunk driver caused your accident, it is very likely that either you or a bystander called the police and they responded to the scene. Most of the time, an intoxicated driver who has caused a crash will be arrested promptly and charged with a DUI. If that is the case, proving your case against them in civil court is likely to be fairly easy. However, if the driver was not criminally charged, this does not mean that you will not be able to prove in civil court that they were intoxicated for the purposes of winning your case against them. If you were hit by a drunk or high driver who escaped criminal liability, it is important that you work with an experienced personal injury lawyer to file a claim against them. 

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 Posted on June 13, 2022 in Car Accident

After some car accidents, it is very clear whose fault it was. For example, if one driver was going the wrong way down a one-way street, the blame is very clearly on the wrong-way driver. In other accidents, the fault may be shared between two or more drivers. This is often the case with pile-ups, which are rarely caused by one single individual. However, there is usually one driver who is more responsible than others involved. If you were injured in a car accident caused by a careless driver, you may be able to recover compensation even if you were partially at fault. If you believe that your own actions may have contributed to the accident in any way, it is critically important that you speak to an attorney as soon as possible after the accident, and definitely before you speak to an insurance agency. Car insurance companies are notorious for misusing admissions of partial fault in order to deny a valid claim. 

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 Posted on May 25, 2022 in Car Accident

In Illinois, you are required by law to file a police report after most traffic accidents. Aside from being the law, it is generally a very good idea to file a report anyway. Ideally, the police should respond to the scene and conduct their own independent investigation. The results of a police investigation can make or break a car accident claim.

Courts and insurance companies alike tend to take the word of police officers at face value. A report showing that you were not at fault and the other driver was can streamline the process of recovering compensation. If you are able to wait at the scene to give a statement, you should. If your injuries dictate that you must be transported to the hospital right away, do not worry. The police will be able to take your statement later. Your next phone call should be to an attorney.

3 Reasons the Police Report is Critically Important to Your Claim

While some people are understandably hesitant to interact with the police, doing so is a necessity after a motor vehicle crash. A few reasons you really do need to contact the police after a car accident include:

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 Posted on May 13, 2022 in Slip & Fall

There are more moving parts to a slip and fall claim than you might think. It seems like it should be simple - you were walking through a store or restaurant, there was liquid on the floor, and you slipped on it and got hurt, so the person or entity charged with maintaining the premises pays. In real life, it is not always quite that simple. Slip and fall cases can be a bit more complex than they initially appear. The simple fact that you did slip in something and fall down is not generally enough to show that the premises owner or manager was somehow negligent in causing your injuries. Your attorney will want to conduct a more thorough investigation, which is why calling one as soon as possible after the accident is so important. The faster you get an attorney on your case, the more evidence is likely to be available.

What Legal Rules Apply to Slip and Fall Accidents?

Aside from showing that you slipped and fell and got hurt, you will also need to prove that there was some amount of carelessness or wrongdoing on the part of the person tasked with keeping the premises safe. This can be easier said than done. Some legal rules that could affect your claim include:

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 Posted on April 26, 2022 in Car Accident

Even at the slow speeds typically involved in parking lot collisions, getting hit by a car while you are walking can be incredibly harmful. A car does not need to be moving very fast at all to seriously injure a pedestrian who does not have the benefit of a car protecting them. Pedestrian accidents are very common in parking lots because vehicles and people on foot are expected to share space. There are no sidewalks in parking lots, so people have to walk through the same areas cars are driving in. Drivers should be well aware that there are people walking around and must take care to avoid them. If you were hit by a car in a parking lot, you should speak to an attorney to find out what rights you may have. You could be entitled to compensation.

What Do I Need to Prove in Order to Recover Damages?

One of the things you will need to demonstrate is that the driver who hit you was negligent. It is fairly rare for a driver who was using the appropriate level of caution to hit a pedestrian, but this is sometimes shown to be the case. Some common types of careless conduct that cause drivers to hit pedestrians in parking lots include:

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 Posted on April 08, 2022 in Construction Accidents

People go to work every day without ever thinking about the risks they face when they walk in the company door. Employees hardly consider if they are developing a long-term injury or serious illness from the tasks they are completing while on the clock. Because workplace injuries are much more common than any of us would like to think, all members of the workforce should be aware of the common causes behind those injuries and the steps to take in the event they experience one.

Common Causes of Workplace Injuries

There are certain jobs that come to mind when discussing workplace injuries. This list may include construction workers, steelworkers, and roofers. Realistically, however, some of the most common job-related injuries can happen in just about any setting, including an office cubical.

Examples of some of the most common causes of workplace injuries include:

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