PROTECTING YOUR RIGHTS WHEN YOU A LOVED ONE ARE INJURED
Car Accident Attorneys in South Holland, IL
Car accident attorneys in South Holland, IL. Injuries from car accidents create immediate economic, mental and physical burdens. You need a fierce South Holland, IL car accident lawyer that you can trust to be made whole again. Speak to Burger Law‘s car accident attorneys today at (312) 500-HURT or complete our online form for a no-risk, no-obligation case evaluation.
If a reckless driver injured you in South Holland or anywhere in Illinois see what compensation you may be eligible for by completing our free personal injury calculator.
It is hard to know what to do after a car accident injury. You might not be certain what the best treatment options are for you, how to file a claim and if there is anything else you can do to make sure that you get justice for your injuries. Call the police, then get medical attention. Then call Burger Law.
The last thing on your mind after an injury should be worrying about how to battle an insurance company or understanding legal jargon. Our law firm has a proven track record of defending our client’s recovery and holding negligent drivers and insurance companies accountable.
You deserve to have an outstanding team fight for your recovery during your car accident claim. Speak to a lawyer at (312) 500-HURT or complete our online form now. Our auto accident law firm, does not charge you until we successfully win your claim, and we never accept anything but full compensation. Do not settle for less than you deserve.
South Holland, IL Car Accident Attorneys With a Proven Track Record of Victories
In any type of tort claim, the outcome matters. You want to have trust in your lawyer’s abilities, and that they will do everything possible to make sure you get 100 percent of the recovery and compensation you are owed. Any personal injury lawyer can say they will fight for you, but not all of them can prove it. Click the links below to read about some of our car accident results:
Steps to Take After a Car Accident in South Holland, IL
Car Accidents are traumatic events. Knowing what to do when one happens can absolutely make the difference in your case, however, it can be hard to make the right choices when you are still in shock from the accident. The following are the steps you should take both immediately following an accident, and in the ensuing weeks:
Get to the side of the road if you can — If you are not too injured to move and your car can drive, pull over to the side of the road. If your car will not drive, put on its emergency lights and wait to exit your vehicle until there is no oncoming traffic. If you are seriously injured and cannot move, wait for emergency personnel to arrive, as trying to move can make your injury worse. Assess whether anyone else in the vehicle is hurt. Render aid if you can.
Call 911 for emergency medical assistance, or a non-emergency line for police — If someone needs EMTs and/or an ambulance, always call 911. Either way, call for police so they can interview you and the other driver and make their report. Police have the training and experience to assign liability in a crash and a police report is a crucial piece of evidence. If you do not know if you require emergency services or not, always call 911 and let the operator decide if your accident is an emergency.
Talk to the other driver — Once you can do so safely, communicate with the other driver. Make sure to get a copy of their insurance card and their contact info. If the other driver admits fault, ask some follow-up questions to see if they will admit how they were negligent. You do not have to be confrontational, you are just asking for information.
DO NOT admit fault — In conversations with police, the other driver and an insurance company, you can offer a brief description of events from your point of view. But never admit fault. There may be details you are not immediately aware of, and admitting fault will make it very hard to seek a compensation.
Collect evidence from the scene — Take pictures of all the vehicles involved and the surrounding area, including any tire marks or property damage to nearby structures. If any bystanders saw the crash, get their name and phone number so they can back up your version of events when you make a claim.
Get medical treatment — If you were not treated at the scene or taken to an emergency room by ambulance, go to an emergency room immediately after an accident or later that day, or see your primary care physician in the day or days after the accident. Medical treatment is not only necessary to ensure you recover physically, but you will need proof of an injury and your treatment to get compensation for your injuries.
Speak to South Holland, IL car accident attorneys — If you were injured because someone else broke the rules of the road, chances are a lawyer is the only way to be fully compensated for your injuries. Ask them a series of questions, such as how they take their attorneys’ fees, if they have won your type of case before, how much they think your claim is worth and if they are ready to fight for you at trial.
Continue medical treatment — Make sure you go to every appointment, whether that means surgery, physical rehabilitation or spinal adjustments with a chiropractor. This is important not only so you can reach maximum medical improvement, but can get the full extent of your damages once pain and suffering is taken into account. You can learn more about how pain and suffering is calculated on our blog.
Burger Law has helped hundreds of injured parties in South Holland and throughout Illinois navigate the confusing aftermath of a car accident claim. Get in touch with our car accident attorneys now at (312) 500-HURT if you have any concerns about what the next steps are after an accident.
What Kind of Hurdles Are There In South Holland, IL Car Accident Claims?
Ideally, the negligent driver’s insurance company would have enough coverage and the willingness to fairly compensate you for your injuries. But, unfortunately, it is not uncommon to see that complications arise and the insurance adjuster refuses to fulfill their obligation to compensate you. Some of the issues our car accident attorneys see on a daily basis in South Holland, IL include:
The negligent party has no insurance —Illinois has minimum insurance requirements for all drivers. But not everyone actually pays for it, and that can cause doubt about how to proceed. Our car accident attorneys now how to file uninsured motorist claims for our clients against their own insurance companies . However, filing a claim is not made easier because it is the insurance company you have been paying into – an attorney is usually still required to secure a full recovery.
The other party does not have enough insurance — Depending on the policyholder’s policy limits, they may not have sufficient to fully compensate you. If are owed more money than what’s on the at-fault driver’s policy limits, we can make a underinsured motorist claim on your own policy. Sometimes, we can discover umbrella policies that your accident falls under.
The negligent driver will not admit fault — There are some reckless people out there who refuse to take responsibility for their actions. If the other driver will not admit fault, we will conduct a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding your accident and take sworn depositions so the question of their liability is no longer in doubt.
The insurance company will not to be fair —Insurance adjusters utilize a lot of deceitful tactics to avoid paying out claims, and you will need an attorney to stand up to them. If they continue to lowball you after our settlement demand letter, we will not hesitate bring a claim against them in court, proceed to discovery and prepare to present your case to a jury. Often, simply the presence of tough and experienced trial car accident attorneys like those at Burger Law is only a matter of time before they give in to our demands; they know they have no chance if we go to trial. Many high settlements are offered right before a trial is set to begin.
Our car accident attorneys know that you want to be compensated quickly. However, if you have a more complicated case and the other side does not want to see reason, we are prepared to take them all the way through trial. We do not stop fighting for our South Holland, IL clients until they are compensated. We have dealt with all of these issues and more hundreds of times and have won countless Illinois car accident cases in jury trials.
Car Accident Attorneys in South Holland, IL — Resources to Help With Your Car Accident Claim
Our team has literally written the book on mistakes people make in auto accident claims, which you receive for free by filling out the form below, reference to have a better understanding of how what to expect. You can also look through our FAQs and legal glossary to better understand the claims process.
Most Common Types of Car Accidents in South Holland, IL
No two car accidents are exactly alike, but they generally happen for similar reasons. Common examples are:
Backup Accidents — According to the National Safety Council, 25% of crashes can be blamed on poor backing procedures, and those accidents cause more than 500 deaths and 15,000 injuries every year, many of them to children in parking lots.If someone else backed into you or your car, the insurance adjuster will likely dismiss your claim, as the trailing driver is almost always liable in rear to front accidents. Knowledgeable car accident attorneys can find the evidence needed to prove how the other driver caused the accident.
Carpool and Rideshare Accidents — Uber or Lyft accidents themselves are not too different from any other motor vehicle wreck. However, while policy limits tend to be higher, there may be multiple parties at fault including the company, driver and a third party driver. A car accident lawyer can help level the playing field.
Fatal Car Crashes — There is nothing as tragic as having a loved one taken away too soon. While nothing can truly compensate you for your loss, a wrongful death claim can deliver a feeling of recognition, and ease the financial burden their loss placed on you.
Head-on Collisions — Head-on collisions are especially dangerous because both vehicles are usually moving at full speed, and the driver and front passenger are susceptible to debris and being flown from the car. They account for just two percent of all car accidents, but are responsible for one out of 10 traffic-related deaths. In addition to fatalities, they can lead to incredibly serious injuries.
Intersection Accidents — Based on data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, one out of five motor vehicle accidents happen at intersections. Intersection accidents are often caused by drivers not paying attention and drunk driving and failure to yield.
Multi-Vehicle Accidents — Sometimes there are “chain reaction” accidents where more than one driver is negligent. Everyone’s insurance company will try to blame someone else. Burger Law’s South Holland, IL car accident attorneys will ensure that every liable party is held accountable.
Road Construction Accidents — Construction companies have a responsibility to ensure their construction sites are safe for drivers, including having proper warning zones and that dangerous locations are cordoned off. In addition to another driver, we can sue a construction company if they were negligent and their negligence injured you.
Burger Law’s South Holland, IL car accident attorneys have seen claims involving any conditions and circumstances imaginable — and won them. We know how to gather the facts to substantiate your claim and prove how the other party injured you.
How Is Compensation Calculated in South Holland, IL Car Accident Claims?
Your compensation is intended to reimburse you for two things: economic damages, such as medical expenses and lost wages, and non-economic damages, commonly called pain and suffering A knowledgeable car accident attorney like those at Burger Law know how to calculate the full extent of someone’s damages. We will make sure the other side understands just how much their negligence has affected you, and demand they compensate you for all of it.
To calculate your damages, we first need to total all of your economic damages. This includes:
Money lost from time spent off work recovering and lost earning potential
Any medical appointments, surgeries, medications and/or evaluations
Assistive devices such as crutches
Medical costs you might have in the future, such as additional surgeries, replacement assistive devices, or eventual replacement of artificial joints
In the event of future economic damages, we work with economic experts to value how much those will cost in the future, and adjust our settlement demand to incorporate expected inflation.
After knowing the full extent of your economic damages, we will calculate how much you should be compensated for for your non-economic damages. Typically, your attorney will use the “multiplier method,” multiplying your economic damages by a number between 1.5 and five.
For example, if you have $30,000 in economic damages, and your injuries caused you to be in pain for two weeks, your car accident attorney might demand a multiplier of three. Therefore:
$30,000 X 3 = $90,000
Your final compensation would then be $120,000.
Most claims use a multiplier of three, and multipliers of four and five are usually reserved for catastrophic or long-lasting injuries.
What Kind of Things Affect How Much My Claim Is Worth?
More serious injuries result in higher compensation. Factors that help determine what your claim is worth include:
The type and severity of your injuries
The extent of your medical care, and if you will need more treatment down the road
If your injuries resulted in disfigurement or mental or physical impairment
Your wage loss damages
If you can no longer earn a living as you used to and have lost earning capacity damages
If your injuries affected your quality of life and independence
If you bear partial responsibility for your accident
Often, insurance adjusters try to devalue claims by saying they only have to six weeks of treatment, you waited too long to get treatment, they do not need to pay wage loss damages if you had paid-time off or by blaming your injuries on you. We fight back against bullies so they know that will not work. In our more than 30 years of experience standing up to people who do not want to do the right thing, and to date have secured over $200 million in compensation.
What Is the Statute Of Limitations For Car Accident Claims in South Holland, IL?
Each state has its own statute of limitations for injury claims. Pursuant to 735 ILCS 5/13-202, Illinois’ is shorter than most other states at just two years. There are three noteworthy exceptions:
For wrongful death claims you have two years from the date of that loved one’s death – not the date of the accident.
If you or your loved one was a minor when the accident occurred, you have until their 20th birthday.
If you or your loved one was under a “legal disability” at the time of the accident, you have two years from the date the disability was removed. If you came under a legal disability after than accident but within the two-year time limit, that time is not counted against you. In Illinois, “legal disability” means:
Someone who, either by mental or physical disability, is not able to manage their person or estate
A person with a mental illness or developmental disability that keeps them from managing their person or estate
Someone who, because of “gambling, idleness, debauchery or excessive use of alcohol or drugs,” cannot manage their estate to the extent that it causes them or their family to “want or suffer”
Two years may sound like a long time, but the clock starts ticking the second your accident happens. Do not hesitate to call a car accident attorney right away after your accident. If you are wondering if any of the exceptions apply to you, speak to an attorney at Burger Law today at (312) 500-HURT to go over the specifics of your case.
Other claims we handle in South Holland, IL include:
Speak to Our South Holland, IL Car Accident Attorneys Today
Burger Law’s car accident attorneys are committed devoted to getting each of our South Holland, IL clients the best possible results in their claims. You did not ask to be put in this situation, and you should not have to pay for another person’s mistakes. We will fight back against bullies like resistant insurance companies. To start on your true road to recovery, speak to Burger Law‘s car accident attorneys now at (312) 500-HURT or complete our online form for a complimentary case evaluation.
This law firm is absolutely amazing. They took on my case, when nobody else would! They fought hard for me when it seemed there was no hope. They kept me informed and always asked for my input before making decisions on my case. Gary puts himself into every case unlike most law firm owners. Gary and his team really care about every one of their clients, and fights hard to get you a fair settlement. They actually won my case out of court, and then reduced my fees to make sure I could get my car fixed and be able to get back to some normality. I would recommend Burger Law over and above any other firm! If you go somewhere else you aren’t getting the best!
Shaunda S.
7 months ago
I am very happy with the staff at Burger Law. I mostly worked with Michael Sheldon, and he did an amazing job. I trusted him completely with my case, and he did not disappoint. I would definitely recommend this team if your ever in need of good attorneys.
Emelia M.
3 months ago
Burger Law Firm is fantastic. Laura and Genevieve were so amazing and helpful throughout the entire process. They helped me with my personal injury case every step of the way and succeeded at getting me the results I desired.
Helen L.
a year ago
We had a great experience with Burger Law for representing us after a serious car accident. Truly impressed by how professional and supportive the entire team is. And, many thanks to Genavieve and Laura – you are amazing!
Judy M.
a year ago
They did an amazing job on my case! Communication with them was great!!! Kept me informed and in the loop with everything that was going on!!! Will definitely be the 1st ones I’ll call if ever I’m in another accident!!! Thank you very much!!!
Chelsea C.
5 months ago
Let me tell you something about Burger Law.. they are so attentive and kind. Jennifer is my savior!! I love the whole team!!! They are truly a miracle team!! I appreciate their business and would recommend it to others.
David D.
2 months ago
Absolutely the best law firm in the St. Louis area. No matter the size of your case you are treated as if you are the only client on the roster. Will explain anything thoroughly and they work around your availability. Very impressed and appreciative of the service.
Lisa B.
11 months ago
Gary and Casey took great care of me for 2.5 years as my lawsuit was finally settled. I feel he helped me achieve justice for me and my 4 children after their father died from medical malpractice and neglect. Thanks to Gary, my kids now have a great start to their college and adult lives. Thank you Gary and Casey, for fighting for us so hard at our most trying and difficult time in our lives thus far. Love and God bless from my family to yours!
Genevieve and Laura have assisted me in my personal injury claim and have made the process so much less stressful. They are extremely knowledgeable, professional, and attentive. Laura is always on top of everything and very sweet. I had no idea how to navigate this process and they have made me feel at ease and like they truly cared about the outcome.
Cara Barton
It has been a long 4 years, but it is finally over! Burger law did a great job handling my case. Grant Doty answered all my questions, promptly returned my phone calls, frequently kept me updated and insured me that he was fighting for me. Jennifer Zini also did a wonderful job, great customer service. It was pleasure getting to know the Burger Law team!
S. Alred
After a driver unexpectedly pulled out right in front of my motorcycle & I suffered injuries, the at-fault driver’s insurance company offered me a $10,000 settlement. I hired Burger Law & they won a $109,000 settlement. I was very happy with the outcome. They were easy to work with & fully explained each step of the process & kept me informed along the way.
At Burger Law | St. Louis Personal Injury Lawyer, we are a team of personal injury attorneys who have earned many distinctions and peer-reviewed awards for our civil litigation and trial work in Missouri and Illinois. A few of the honors we have earned include the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, Top 100 Trial Lawyer Award, a Martindale-Hubbell AV rating, Super Lawyers selection as one of the top attorneys in the field of personal injury and board certifications in Civil Litigation.
Personal injury lawyers who demand justice in Southern Illinois. The role of a personal injury lawyer in Southern Illinois should be more than just getting you a great settlement…
This page has been written, edited, and reviewed by a team of legal writers following our comprehensive editorial guidelines. This page was approved by Founding Partner, Gary Burger who has more than 30 years of legal experience as a practicing personal injury trial attorney. Gary’s robust legal knowledge is recognized by his peers as demonstrated by his industry awards and frequent Continuing Legal Education (CLE) lectures.
NO FEES UNTIL WE WIN YOUR CASE
Get a Free Case Evaluation
We offer free consultations and are available 24/7 to take your call. Live chat, text, and virtual meetings are available.