Chicago, Illinois Personal Injury Attorneys
Ferris, Thompson & Zweig, Ltd.

I was injured. Can I file a lawsuit against the party that caused my injury?
In general, when a person is injured as a result of another person's negligence, the injured party may pursue a claim against the party or parties that caused the injuries. You are entitled to compensation for your injuries if it is found that a defendant was negligent and that such negligence was a cause of your injury. Any personal injury case depends on liability, damages, and whether or not you can collect from the negligent party or parties. Illinois has adopted the doctrine of modified comparative negligence meaning a claimant's action is barred if his negligence is more than 50 percent of the proximate cause of his injuries. Otherwise, the claimant's recovery is diminished in proportion to his degree of fault.

Personal injury law attempts to cover all areas and types of injuries suffered by individuals. Some of the most common areas are automobile accidents, premise liability, medical malpractice, and product liability, among others. Whether or not you are entitled to compensation may depend on the type of accident that caused the injury.

How can I determine how much my claim is worth?
Attorneys are prohibited from promising that they will obtain a certain amount of money for you. For purposes of settlement, a claim is valued upon an estimate of what a jury would likely believe the case to be worth, taking into account the severity of the injury, the effects of the injury on your life and the negligence of the other party. If you were partially at fault for the accident, the amount of damages will be reduced proportionately. Any settlement will be reduced if there appears to be a good chance that the claim will not be successful. Other factors that may reduce the damages include past medical history, pre-existing injuries, and prior claims history.

Considerable compensation may be commanded if your injuries are severe requiring extensive medical treatment, absences from work and permanent injuries. This is especially true if you were a healthy, productive, young worker prior to the accident. That is because an important factor in the value of your claim is the difference between your quality of life before the accident as compared to after the accident.

How do I notify the person who injured me that I want to file a lawsuit?
To be able to file a lawsuit you must formally notify every party involved in the lawsuit, through the use of a summons. The summons is usually delivered in person or served to the individual being sued or household member, by a sheriff or process server. The summons will notify the person who is being sued what they must then do to protect their rights and the deadlines by which they have to file their answer to the complaint, which tells the person why the action was brought against them and what the demands are.

What can I do to strengthen my case?
You should maintain an accurate record of all medical treatment, hospitalizations, surgeries, and prescriptions. Also remember to tell your doctor of any complaints you might have, because doctors’ records are often a good sources of information for the insurance companies to evaluate your claim. Notate all statements from witnesses who witnessed your accident, what they saw, and their contact information and allow your attorney to review the notes. Taking photos of the scene, the vehicles, and any injuries you sustained can also be very helpful to have. Pictures help to capture the degree of damage to the vehicles and offer an explanation as to what might have happened during the accident. The more information you are able to provide to your lawyer, the easier it will be for him or her to determine if your claim will be successful.

Is there anything I should avoid doing?
If you’ve hired an attorney, you should resist talking to any insurance company other than your own and instead refer the insurance company to your attorney. Avoid any written or recorded statements with out the approval of your attorney because they could later be used against you. Do not sign an authorization allowing the insurance company to obtain your medical records. With out an attorney first reviewing the release, you might be enabling the other insurance company access to personal information.

How do I know if I have a Personal Injury claim?
To have a personal injury case, you must be able to show that you have been injured. This may be a physical injury or it may be an emotional injury. In addition, you must be able to show that someone else (the defendant) is at fault for your injury under a negligence, strict liability or intentional misconduct theory. In some cases, it may be necessary for you to show that the other party is more at fault for the injury than you are.