When you sustain a personal injury in the Chicago area, and another person’s negligence is the direct cause of your injury, you have the right to receive compensation for your medical treatment and related expenses. If you’re injured this way, speak immediately with experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer Joseph Dooley. In personal injury law, “damages” are the award paid as compensation for a loss or an injury. The law recognizes both “general” damages and “special” damages (also called non-economic and economic damages). While every personal injury case is unique, general damages typically include physical pain and suffering, disfigurement, physical impairment, mental anguish, a lower quality of life, and the loss of companionship sometimes paid to family members in wrongful death cases.
Special damages financially compensate the plaintiff/claimant for the verifiable, quantifiable losses suffered by the plaintiff due to the defendant’s actions. Special damages are out-of-pocket expenses that are determined simply by adding up all of the plaintiff’s quantifiable financial losses. However, these losses or expenses must be proven with documentation and specificity. Special damages are usually easier to calculate than general damages. If your neighbor’s child breaks your window playing baseball, and the window repair costs $50, your negligent neighbor is liable for special damages of $50. It’s basically that simple, but you will need to keep and make copies of any and all paperwork and receipts generated by the accident and injury.
The specific types of compensation awarded to personal injury victims in Illinois may include:
- Reimbursement for medical costs: If your personal injury claim prevails, in most cases you will receive compensation for past, present, and even future medical bills.
- Compensation for lost income: If you missed work, you are entitled to compensation. You can also seek compensation for future income that you would have earned if not for the injury.
- Compensation for disability and disfigurement: If a personal injury causes permanent disability or permanent disfigurement, you may receive additional monetary damages.
- Property damage reimbursement: If property is damaged, you’ll receive the fair market value of the item.
- Emotional distress: Emotional distress covers problems such as anxiety, sleeplessness, and fears resulting from your accident. Damages for emotional distress are harder to prove and are not a part of every personal injury case.
- Punitive damages: These are monetary awards that punish a defendant for his or her negligence. Punitive damages are rarely awarded in Illinois personal injury cases and are only awarded when the defendant acted with provable hostile intent or indifference.
Illinois doesn’t impose a limit (or a “cap”) on the amount of damages you may receive in a personal injury case. However, there is a two-year time limit – from the date of your injury or the date it’s discovered – for filing a personal injury claim in Illinois, so you need to act promptly.
If you suffer a serious injury, or if the facts regarding even a minor injury are in dispute, do not under any circumstances deal directly with the negligent party’s insurance company; anything you say could – and will – be used against you. Don’t sign anything, either. Signing forms from insurance companies may waive rights that you do not want to waive. Let a good Illinois personal injury lawyer handle negotiations for you with the insurance company.
Whenever you suffer a severe personal injury due to someone else’s negligent action, obtain the services of an experienced personal injury attorney immediately. When a good personal injury lawyer represents you, you may receive compensation for your medical expenditures, lost wages, emotional suffering, and more. Always make and keep copies of any medical, legal, or insurance paperwork generated by any serious injury. Take – or have someone else take – photographs of your injuries both before and after treatment. Don’t accept any offer from an insurance company without first consulting with a good personal injury lawyer. Experienced personal injury attorney Joseph Dooley will answer your legal questions, address your concerns, and fight aggressively to win the compensation that you need and the justice that you deserve.
Let Your Lawyer Handle It
Everyone who is in business is in business to make profits, and insurance companies are no exception. However, when an insurance company refuses to pay a legitimate claim by an injury victim, that’s not right. Sometimes an insurance company will just stall for time and hope you go away; in other cases, they’ll offer a settlement that’s far less than the actual losses you’ve suffered. They may even try to dissuade you from filing any claim at all. In most cases, you have only two years from the date of your injury to file a personal injury claim in Illinois, and some insurance companies will try to bewilder and confound you until you can no longer legally seek damages. Don’t put up with it. If you’ve been injured in the Chicago area because of another person’s negligence, take your case to experienced Chicago personal injury attorney Joseph Dooley without delay.
Under Illinois law, when you sustain an injury, and someone else’s negligence caused that injury, you’re entitled to file a personal injury lawsuit and recover damages. Before you speak with an Illinois personal injury lawyer, don’t give an insurance company any statements, documents, or signatures. Insurance companies will use anything they can find to justify not paying you. Let a knowledgeable personal injury attorney review your case and determine if you have legal grounds to file a lawsuit.
Don’t worry if an insurance company initially denies your claim, stalls for time, or even suggests that you caused your own injury. Your attorney will handle the case on your behalf. A good personal injury lawyer with fight aggressively and tenaciously for the compensation you need and the justice you deserve, so there’s really no reason for you to talk to an insurance company at all. In the Chicago area, talk to experienced Chicago personal injury attorney Joseph Dooley before you deal with any insurance company. If you’ve been injured due to another person’s negligence and you’re and fighting with an insurance company right now, make that call today.