Category: Personal Injury

You must file your claim within a certain time frame or you may lose your right to seek compensation. It's best to consult with an Illinois catastrophic injury attorney as soon as possible to ensure that you meet all necessary deadlines and requirements.

In Illinois, insurance companies have a grace period to contest or affirm a claim. The law grants these companies at least 45 working days to process and settle the client’s claims. The insurer expects the claims to get filed within 15 days after the incident, be it an auto accident, hospitalization, or home fire.  

Comparative negligence is a partial legal defense that reduces the amount of damages that a plaintiff can recover in a negligence-based claim. It reduces damages based upon the degree to which the plaintiff's own negligence contributed to the injury. A comparative negligence defense can be raised in any injury claim if the defendant feels like the injury victim (plaintiff) was partly responsible for causing his or her own harm.

A 2016 study by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine researchers found that medical malpractice caused over 250,000 hospital deaths in the United States. This figure represents around 9.5% of total annual deaths in the nation. The figure is also higher than fatalities caused by respiratory diseases, Alzheimer’s, stroke, or accidents.

The wrongful death settlement in Illinois is not distributed equally to each person who is eligible to receive compensation under the law. The court will decide how the settlement monies will be split up at a separate hearing. For each person who is eligible to receive compensation in wrongful death litigation, the court will attempt to estimate their reliance on the deceased and will then attempt to split the settlement funds proportionately.

In many cases, insurance companies contact brain injury victims soon after an accident happens. They often attempt to settle these types of cases out of court, before the person realizes the extent of his or her injuries and how they will impact the victim’s future. Most of the time, the settlement offers they make are for substantially less than victims’ claims are worth. 

Bike-share programs like Divvy provide an alternate means of transportation in Chicago, but they don't come without safety concerns of increased accidents and injuries.

Many rideshare drivers work for Uber and Lyft to earn more money, but drivers must log in to different apps to pick up rides. Current rideshare data shows that 75% of drivers drive for multiple rideshare services, with the most popular being Uber and Lyft.

Amusement park owners and ride operators may be held liable for accidents and injuries if they don't adhere to strict compliance with laws and regulations.