FAQs

How Long Do I Have to File a Personal Injury Claim in Illinois?

There are two time limits for personal injury cases in Illinois: The legal one and the practical one. 

Under Illinois law, most personal injury claims are subject to a two-year statute of limitations. You must file a lawsuit within the two-year statutory deadline, or the court will dismiss, with very limited exceptions. 

In practical terms, most of your important evidence will probably degrade well before two years. Don’t wait until bills pile up and complications arise. By that time, your opportunity to take pictures of the scene, document your injury, contact witnesses, and so on has probably passed.

Don’t wait until the deadline to Claim Your Justice™. Contact an experienced Chicago, IL, personal injury attorney as soon as possible after your accident.

Will the Insurance Company Retract My Offer if I Hire a Lawyer?

After you hire a lawyer, you should hope that the insurance company takes back any offer they gave you. That’s because this initial round of offers is often very low — sometimes to the point of being insulting.

Once the other side knows you’re serious about getting full compensation, that initial offer will be off the table. Insurance adjusters know that top lawyers do not settle for less than their clients deserve. Call us today to get started.

Is X amount of $ Enough for My Injury?

If you’re wondering about an initial offer from an insurance company, there’s a good chance that what they offered is not enough for your injury. Even if it seems like a large amount, it’s probably a good thing you were skeptical.

Extended hospital stays, expert treatment, long-term care, rehabilitation, time out of work, emotional pain: These are only a few of the line items that go into the total cost of your injury. All of this adds up very quickly.

It takes time and effort to calculate all of these costs based on your unique situation. Insurance companies do not typically put in this time before they make their initial offers.

Here’s the bottom line. The insurance offer is probably not enough. Here are some red flags:

• If only a few select losses (only medical bills and time off of work, for example) are represented in the settlement offer, it’s not enough. 
• If the offer comes from statistics and not from data specific to your situation, it’s probably not enough. 
• If the offer comes a few hours, days, or even weeks after the accident, it’s probably not enough. 

Call us to Claim Your Justice™. We’ll work towards securing the amount you truly deserve.

How Much Is Pain and Suffering Worth?

Some states put caps on the amount you can recover for pain and suffering. The Illinois Supreme Court has deemed this type of capping unconstitutional. Instead, you would want to look at case law and the specifics of your situation.

The defense will probably do everything it can to minimize the amount you recover. Some of their tactics might seem underhanded. Each case is different, but here are some of the ways our clients have prepared to fight back against the relentless claims that they are not in pain:

• Avoiding talking about the case with anyone except us
• Signing off of social media entirely for the duration of the case
• Setting all internet accounts to private mode and discontinuing their non-essential use
• Canceling social gatherings and recreational activities
• Focusing entirely on recuperation or on processing grief
• Keeping every appointment they make with medical professionals unless there is a documentable emergency preventing attendance
• Trusting us to handle all communications with other parties in the case
• Maintaining a daily written account of moods, pain levels, and general feelings

How Do I Prove Liability in a Personal Injury Case?

Most personal injury claims are brought under the Illinois comparative fault standard. The court requires you to prove negligence in order to hold a defendant legally liable for their damages.

There are some exceptions. For example, strict liability applies to dog bite injury cases. For most injuries, you have to prove that another person (or company, or government) is to blame.

A successful personal injury case is always built on top of a strong, sturdy foundation of well-documented supporting evidence. The best way to prove liability is to start strong: Hire our top-rated Schaumburg personal injury lawyers immediately after your accident. We will gather and prepare all of the evidence you need to Claim Your Justice™.

What Compensation Is Available Through a Personal Injury Claim? 

After proving liability, you must prove the extent of your losses. Most personal injury damages are meant to be purely compensatory in nature. 

In other words, you can recover the losses you suffered as a result of the defendant’s negligence. Our Illinois personal injury lawyers can help you get maximum compensation for both economic and non-economic damages, such as:

• Emergency room care
• Other medical expenses
• Rehabilitative services and support
• Loss of current and future income
• Pain and suffering
• Permanent impairments
• Long-term disability
• Disfigurement
• Wrongful death

Do I Need To Go to Court?

The majority of personal injury claims are resolved outside of litigation. This process is called settlement. 

Basically, our attorneys show the other side that they don’t have a chance of winning a trial. In exchange for you dropping your claim without the cost and delay of court, your opponents sign a binding contract to pay you what you deserve.

However, there’s always a chance that your case could go to court. Sometimes, insurance companies want an official trial, resist certain claims per their internal policies, or simply do not recognize a fair settlement deal until well into the court process.

We take whatever action is needed to protect your interests, including arguing your case in open court. Our trial-tested Chicago personal injury attorneys don’t back down — they have the skill and experience to help you recover the maximum available compensation.

Can I Afford a Top Personal Injury Lawyer in Illinois?

Yes: You can afford one of our lawyers. Regardless of your current financial circumstances, you always have enough to hire our top-rated Illinois personal injury attorneys. 

We handle these cases using contingency fee agreements. You pay nothing until we help you recover financial compensation for your losses. No recovery, no fee. Period. 

How do we do it? We take cases we believe we can win.

We don’t get paid until you get paid. When you get a settlement or a court award, our office receives a portion of it to pay for our time and dedication to your cause. That means we’re both ethically and financially motivated to get you the best possible outcome.

We’re serious: There are never any upfront costs or out-of-pocket fees. Further, if you have a property damage claim in addition to your personal injury claim, our law firm will take care of it — free of charge. Finally, your initial consultation is absolutely free and offered with no obligation to hire us.

Will My Lawsuit Punish the Person I’m Suing?

Our office seeks justice on behalf of injured people. We do this in the context of Illinois personal injury court, which focuses on financially balancing losses and responsibilities. Criminal law is more focused on punishment, and we are civil litigation attorneys.

We do sometimes argue cases that involve punitive damages. This is a special type of above-and-beyond personal injury award in Illinois. Courts might assign this when there are egregious circumstances: drunk driving, reckless behavior, malicious actions, and so on.

Sometimes, fairness involves seeking civil punishment. Sometimes, it is enough for a responsible party to make you whole financially. Whatever it takes, we are here to help Claim Your Justice™.

It also bears mentioning that suing small businesses or individual homeowners is not a sure path to their financial ruin. Paying for personal injuries is one of the reasons they carry business or home insurance.

How Do You Schedule a Free Personal Injury Consultation?

At SJ Injury Law, our Schaumburg personal injury lawyers are strong, experienced advocates. We know how to hold defendants and insurance companies accountable. We make our services as accessible as possible.

To set up a free, no-obligation initial consultation, you can call us today at 847-434-3555. We meet at hospitals, in our offices, in other private locations, or even online.

From our offices in Chicago and Schaumburg, We represent injury victims throughout the greater Chicago area, including in Cook County, Will County, McHenry County, and Kane County. We’re here for you — all you have to do to get started is call.