The negligence, recklessness, and intentional misconduct of others cause injuries and damage to people daily. If you sustained injuries due to someone else’s negligence in Illinois, it is your right to seek compensation for your losses.
Getting compensation for your damages is possible with the help of an experienced personal injury attorney at Nessler & Associates. Whether you were hurt in a car accident or sustained injuries from medical malpractice, your attorney can help you gather evidence and file a personal injury claim with the responsible party’s insurance company.
What Should I Know About the Illinois Legal System?
According to Illinois law, you can hold a party responsible for reckless, intentional, willful, or wanton actions. To start your personal injury claim, you need to prove that someone else was at fault for your injuries by meeting the burden of proof based on evidence.
The elements you need to prove include:
- Duty: The party owed a duty of care or responsibility to you.
- Breach: They breached their duty of care to you.
- Injuries: The breach caused your injuries.
- Losses: You suffered actual and non-economic damages because of your injuries.
Do I Still Have a Case if I’m Partially at Fault for My Injuries?
The state of Illinois follows modified comparative negligence when assigning fault in personal injury cases. A court will reduce your compensation by your percentage of fault. However, you can only win compensation if your liability is less than 50%.
For example, the court might reduce your damages by 35% if you are found 35% at fault for the accident. You are not entitled to compensation if a court decides that you are responsible for more than 50% of the accident that resulted in your injury.
If you believe you share fault for an accident, consult an attorney before filing a lawsuit. A Chicago personal injury lawyer with Nessler & Associates can help assess your percentage of responsibility and determine your legal options.
How Long Do I Have to File a Personal Injury Case in Illinois?
Illinois requires filing your personal injury lawsuit within two years of the date of the injury. Therefore, you must reach out to an attorney as soon as possible after suffering damages from wrongful conduct to ensure that you can file your claim on time.
Your attorney may identify scenarios in which your case may be subject to laws extending the filing deadline. Several circumstances may alter the standard timeline, including:
Legal Disability
People with a legal disability in Illinois are those 18 years or older with mental disability, physical incapacity, or developmental disability who cannot manage their affairs. If a loved one suffers a legal disability at the time of the accident, they have two years to file a lawsuit upon the removal of the disability.
A legal disability also includes children under 18 years of age. They can take legal action within 2 years after they reach the age of 18.
Medical Malpractice Cases
Medical malpractice lawsuits in Illinois have a two-year statute of limitations. If you did not discover your injury from the medical malpractice until 4 years after it occurred, you might be able to file a lawsuit within 4 years from the date you found it.
The statute of limitations allows you to file a medical malpractice lawsuit up to 8 years after the medical malpractice occurred if you were under 18. However, you must file your case by the date of your 22nd birthday.
Types of Cases Personal Injury Attorneys Can Handle in Illinois
The lawyers at Nessler & Associates handle all types of personal injury cases for clients in Springfield and throughout the state of Illinois. We can review your case to determine the best legal strategy to take after you’ve suffered damages in personal injury incidents such as:
Car Accidents
Car accidents can involve negligent drivers speeding, drunk driving, and distracted driving. In Illinois, 12.5% of fatal distracted driving accidents involved at least one driver using a cell phone in 2020. Additionally, alcohol was a factor in 24.1% of the 1,193 deaths in motor vehicle accidents.
Our attorneys will guide you throughout the process and fight on your behalf to receive the compensation you’re due. They can conduct the following on your behalf:
- Review police reports
- Interview witnesses and record their observations
- Evaluate accident site photos to determine liability in the accident
- Assess your medical bills and other financial losses as a result of the accident
- File your claim with the responsible driver’s insurer
If the insurance company offers a low settlement, an attorney can negotiate a fair settlement on your behalf and take your case to court.
Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice occurs when a doctor’s negligence causes you to suffer harm. Medical malpractice can arise as the result of:
- Surgical errors
- Diagnostic errors, including misdiagnosis
- Errors with medications
- Insufficient monitoring after a surgery
- Birth injuries involving the use of assistive devices and lack of monitoring
As Illinois medical malpractice lawyers, we believe that patients and their families deserve a thorough investigation of their cases and a clear understanding of their legal options. We can initiate an immediate investigation into your case and preserve medical records as evidence.
We can also consult medical experts who will testify about how the service provider could have prevented the negligence if they had followed the appropriate medical procedures. Our lawyers can negotiate with medical providers, hospitals, and insurance companies on your behalf.
Workers’ Compensation
Occupational injuries, such as broken bones, cancer, and other illnesses, can leave you incapable of working and providing for your family. You may receive workers’ compensation benefits from your employer’s insurance company, but they may deny your benefits.
An Illinois workers’ compensation lawyer can help you establish your claim and negotiate with the insurer for a fair compensation offer. We also represent your interests before the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission when there is disagreement about the medical treatment of your injuries.
Nursing Home Abuse
Nursing home residents have a right to live in a safe environment free from abuse and neglect and abuse. Yet, according to the National Center for Elder Abuse, for-profit nursing homes are associated with poor quality of care and low staffing levels, increasing the likelihood of elder abuse. The Illinois Adult Protection Services program received 20,567 reports of suspected abuse and neglect in 2021.
Our Illinois nursing home attorneys can help you file a lawsuit on behalf of a family member who suffered elder abuse in a nursing facility. We acquire witness testimonials and nursing home records to collect evidence of neglect and abuse. An attorney can also consult with a medical expert to prove that your loved one’s condition is due to abuse or neglect.
Institutional Sexual Abuse
Sexual abuse at a church, youth group, or another institution where people have placed their trust can cause long-term psychological and emotional harm when their abusers aren’t held liable. The Illinois Attorney General’s office reported in 2018 that the Catholic dioceses in Illinois received 690 reports of clergy abuse. However, they only publicly identified 185 of these clergy members as credible abusers.
Obtain legal guidance from a clergy abuse lawyer at Nessler & Associates to learn your legal options and eligibility for compensation. We will listen carefully to your story, evaluate all evidence available, and develop an aggressive strategy to help you recover compensation from the institution responsible for your abuse.
Wrongful Death
Your family may wonder how to obtain financial support after a loved one’s untimely death from an auto accident, workplace incident, or medical malpractice. An Illinois attorney specializing in wrongful death cases can help you recover financial damages from the negligent party.
Compensation for a wrongful death claim can go to the family members, such as the surviving spouse and next of kin. Our attorney can look into who is eligible to receive compensation in your family after filing a wrongful death claim. In the case of no spouse and next of kin, medical personnel in charge of the person’s medical care until their death can receive damages up to $450.
What Compensation Can You Recover in an Illinois Personal Injury Claim?
Our Illinois personal injury law firm can pursue maximum financial restitution on your behalf for your claim, including:
- Medical bills for all reasonable and future medical care and treatment to address the harm caused by another person.
- Lost wages, including any benefits, bonuses, commissions, and future income you would have received if not injured.
- Emotional distress to compensate you for your mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety, after your accident.
- Pain and suffering damages for the physical and emotional pain you would otherwise not have to endure if your injury and incident never happened.
- Loss of consortium for a spouse who lost intimacy and companionship because of wrongful conduct.
Start Your Personal Injury Claim With Nessler & Associates
The law firm of Nessler & Associates can assist you in pursuing a claim with our extensive experience in personal injury law, from medical malpractice to workplace injuries.
Through our office in Chicago, Illinois, and other locations in Rockford, Decatur, Champaign-Urbana, and Springfield, we help injured people understand and recover compensation for their injuries.
Contact us online or call our law office at (800) 727-8010 to schedule a free consultation.