- Should I call a lawyer even if I may not have a case?
Yes, you should call a lawyer. We are trained to know the law and how the law applies in different situations. We may be able to help you if you call, but we can't help you if you don't call. Since there is no charge for an initial consultation, there is nothing to lose by calling.- Do I need to pay for an initial consultation to find out if I have a case?
No. Your initial consultation with us is free. Please click the Do I Have a Case?" button on the home page to receive a free consultation via E-mail or call us at 630/916-2005 and state that you are calling regarding a Case Assessment.- I don't believe in lawsuits, but I was badly injured. Can you still help me?
Our legal system permits and even encourages people with legitimate injuries which were caused by another person or company to make a claim for the injuries. A large part of our civil justice system is founded on the basic notion that if a person or company acts negligently or wrongfully, then they should have to pay anyone who is injured by the wrongful conduct. Therefore, while frivolous suits are bad for everyone, you should not hesitate to call a lawyer regarding a legitimate injury.
Also, injury claims are frequently settled without a lawsuit. If you fail to make a claim simply because you do not believe in it, then you will suffer while the wrongdoer or insurance company profits.- How long do I have to make a claim?
In Illinois, most personal injury claims must be brought within two years. There are exceptions in certain types of cases which may make the period shorter or longer. If you are injured in some type of accident, you should call a lawyer as soon as possible.- How do I pay my lawyer?
In personal injury cases, the lawyer is usually paid a "contingent fee." A contingent fee is calculated on the basis of the amount of money recovered for the client. Usually, the attorney retainer agreement calls for a contingent fee of one-third, plus out-of-pocket costs. This means that the lawyer is paid the agreed percentage (33 1/3% in most cases) of the total settlement. In addition, the lawyer is reimbursed from the settlement for any out-of-pocket expenses advanced by the lawyer during the time the claim was pending. Out-of-pocket expenses include such things as filing fees, deposition fees, expert witness fees, and other similar expenses.
Different percentages may apply to certain types of cases. For example, the contingent fee for medical malpractice cases is calculated on a sliding scale that is set by law in Illinois and decreases the fee as the amount recovered increases. The exact fee is determined based upon the amount of recovery, but will not exceed 33 1/3% of the amount recovered.- What do I do if I am involved in an auto accident?
Stop your car:
Never leave the scene of an accident in which you or your car were involved, no matter how slight the collision. If you fail to stop, you may be committing a crime even if the accident was not your fault. You should stop your car where it does not present any further danger to other people, vehicles, or property.
Call the police:
It is important that the police investigate the accident to document the facts and circumstances surrounding the accident as well as the identities of anyone involved and any witnesses.
Get Names/Addresses of Witnesses:
It is very important that you write down the names and addresses of witnesses. Do not assume that the police will do it. Usually, the police will identify witnesses on the police report. However, sometimes witnesses will leave before the police arrive or the police for one reason or another may neglect to talk to a witness. Eye witnesses to an accident are frequently the most important part of a case, so it is important to know who they are.
Obtain Medical Help:
If you or any of your passengers are injured, you should seek medical help right away. If you do not develop problems until later, you should follow-up with medical care as soon as possible because it is important to your health and it is important to document your injury.
Notify your Insurance Company:
You are required under your auto insurance policy to notify your insurance company immediately if you are involved in an accident. It is very important that you send the required notice (check your policy or call your agent for what must be in the notice) to your insurance company the same day as your accident, if possible. If it is not possible to notify your own insurance company of your accident the same day, you should notify them as soon as possible. Notice should be in writing and you should obtain a receipt (certified mail - return receipt requested, Federal Express or similar, or a signed receipt from whomever you personally deliver the notice to at the insurance company or agency).
Take Photos of Your Car:
Even if your insurance company or the other driver's insurance company took photos of your car, you should take photos which show the damage that was done in the accident. Photos of the damage could be crucial pieces of evidence later on and you should not trust anyone else to take the pictures. A 35mm camera (even a disposable camera) is preferable to Polaroid pictures. You should take too many, rather than too few, photos and you should take them at varying distances so that you are sure that at least some of the pictures will show the proper perspective. If you have the pictures developed and they do not show the damage clearly, you should take more pictures.
Paying Your Medical Bills:
Your own auto insurance policy will usually pay the bills for reasonable and necessary medical care if you are involved in an auto accident, regardless of who was at fault in causing the accident. The amount your company will pay is limited to the maximum specified in your insurance policy. Those payments are called "medical payments" and are governed by the Medical Payments Coverage in your policy.
If you have health insurance, that insurance company is also probably obligated to pay the medical bills. The bills are only paid once, of course, and it is up to you to decide which company to submit the bills to.
Have Your Car Repaired:
If you have collision coverage under your own insurance policy, your company will pay to have your car fixed regardless of who caused the accident. If the other driver was at fault, his/her insurance company is legally obligated to pay a reasonable amount to have your car fixed. But, the other driver's company may not promptly pay for the repairs to your car for any number of reasons. For example, they may not agree right away that their policyholder was at fault.
If your own insurance company pays for the repairs to your car, you must pay the deductible specified in your policy even if you weren't at fault. If the insurance company for the other person involved in the accident pays for the repairs to your car, you are not required to pay a deductible.
Renting a Car:
If you have rental car coverage under your own policy, your insurance company will pay for a rental car for a reasonable time after the accident. There will be a limit to the daily charge that your insurance company will pay and you should check with your company regarding that limit.
As with having your car repaired, the insurance company for the at fault driver is obligated to pay for a rental car for a reasonable period while your car is being repaired. However, the at fault driver's insurance company may not do so right away so it is usually easiest to go through your own insurance company.- I was injured in an accident and someone from the insurance company called me. Do I need to talk to them?
You should always talk to a lawyer before talking with anyone about your injury, the way the injury happened, or anything else about your potential claim. You may not understand the significance of questions you are asked by an insurance adjuster and anything you say could be used against you later if it turns out that you have a legitimate claim. Insurance adjusters work for insurance companies and it is often their goal to pay as little as possible to the injured person.
It may be reasonable to talk to the insurance adjuster at some point, but you should talk to a lawyer first. Your lawyer will know how to best interact with the adjuster.- What if the injured party is killed in the accident or dies later?
The case can still be carried on by family members or other relatives.- What if the person that caused the injury or accident died in the accident or died later?
The case can still be brought against the estate of the wrongdoer. Any insurance that the wrongdoer had at the time of the injury will almost certainly still apply even if the wrongdoer is dead.- How long will it take to settle my claim?
Claims may settle within days or weeks or it could take years. Many factors go into how quickly a case settles and every case is different. Some of the factors which determine how long it takes to settle a case include the seriousness of the injury, complexity of the case, which insurance company is involved for the wrongdoer (some companies tend to settle cases more quickly than others), and how clear it is that the other person was at fault in causing the injury.- How much is my case worth?
While this is a very reasonable question, it is also nearly impossible to answer until all of the facts and circumstances are known. While it may be possible for a lawyer to make an educated guess as to a very wide range of the possible worth of your case before all facts and circumstances are known, it is not reasonable to expect anything more definite than that. You must also keep in mind that any preliminary opinion is subject to change, perhaps considerable change, as more facts become known.
Even after most or all facts are known, the most a lawyer can do is give you an educated guess based on his or her experience as to what a jury might award you if the case goes to trial. Starting from there and then factoring in such things as the likelihood that a jury might award nothing, the lawyer can tell you what amount is reasonable for you to accept in settlement.
If, during an initial consultation with a lawyer, or at any time before all facts and circumstances are known, a lawyer claims to tell you precisely what your case is worth or what you can expect, the lawyer is either not being honest or is not skilled enough to be handling your case. Even the best lawyer, after learning all the facts, can only give you his or her opinion regarding the range of a possible jury verdict or reasonable settlement.
In Illinois, the law allows a person injured by the wrongdoing of another person or company to collect the following types of compensation:
- Past and Future Medical Bills
- Past and Future Lost Wages or Income
- Pain and Suffering
- Loss of a Normal Life (for example, disability)
- Disfigurement (for example, scarring or loss of a limb)
- Aggravation of a Pre-Existing Condition (for example, if a problem you had before the accident is made worse by the accident)
- Wrongful Death (certain family members are entitled to be compensated when a relative is killed)
- Survival Damages (the estate of a person who ends up dying from an injury may be entitled to payment for the conscious pain and suffering experienced by the deceased victim prior to death)
While medical expenses and lost wages may be relatively easy to calculate, the other damages listed above are more difficult to determine as there is no specific formula to calculate them. The amount of money to which an injured person is entitled for the various types of damages depends upon many things, including the severity of the initial injury, the degree to which a person recovers from the injury, and the degree to which the person is expected to recover in the future.
In a wrongful death case where the injured party dies, the amount of money to which the deceased's family may be entitled is affected by many things, such as the financial support the deceased provided to the family and whether the deceased and the surviving family members had a close relationship.- I want to know about my case, but my lawyer never calls me and won't return my calls. When I finally talk to my lawyer, he doesn't know much about my case and he seems like he is in a hurry to get me off the telephone. Are all lawyers like that?
No, all lawyers are not like that and you probably should get a new lawyer. Your case is the one that is the most important to you and it should be just as important to your lawyer. If your case is not important to your lawyer, he shouldn't be your lawyer.
Lawyers are busy people. If your lawyer is not busy, that is probably a good sign that you should hire someone else. However, being busy is no excuse for your lawyer not keeping you informed and for not returning your telephone calls. If your call is an emergency, your lawyer should drop what he is doing to talk to you. If the lawyer is not in the office and your call is an emergency, another lawyer in the firm or someone on the staff should help you immediately.
If your call is not an emergency, you should leave a message for the lawyer and you should expect to receive a return telephone call within one or two days. If you call your lawyer and he tells you that he is too busy at that moment to speak with you or that he needs to review your file to answer your question, you should not be concerned so long as the lawyer promises to call you back later that day or the next day and actually does call. You may have caught the lawyer in the middle of talking with another client or preparing court papers so it is reasonable that he cannot talk to you right then. Also, good lawyers have many other cases that they are handling and it is not possible to remember everything about all of the cases. If your lawyer wishes to review his file so that he can answer your question thoroughly and accurately, that is the sign of a good lawyer (provided, of course, that he actually calls you back promptly).- Since my accident, lawyers or people who claim to work for lawyers contacted me by telephone or in person wanting me to hire them for my claim. Is that proper and how should I handle it?
In Illinois, the Code of Professional Ethics says that a lawyer may not directly solicit a case from a person who is in an accident. If you receive calls from lawyers or people working for lawyers trying to solicit your case and you did not ask them to call, you should report them to the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, the ARDC, at 312/565-2600 or 800/826-8625.- How do I find a good lawyer?
Don't be afraid to ask questions when you first talk to a lawyer. If you do not get straight answers that you understand, it is a good indication that you should keep looking. Among other things, you should look for a lawyer that has been practicing for a long time and has experience with your type of case. There is rarely a good substitute for experience, although experience may come in different forms.
The number one rule when it comes to finding a good lawyer is: Do not be afraid to ask questions about the lawyer's skill, experience, and expertise. If the lawyer cannot clearly answer your questions or is offended that you asked them, continue your search for a lawyer.- Do I have to file a lawsuit to make a claim?
No. Many claims are settled without the necessity of a lawsuit. If a claim can be settled without filing a lawsuit, it usually means that the claim is resolved more quickly and less expensively than if a lawsuit must be filed. It works to the benefit of everyone involved if a claim can be settled with the wrongdoer's insurance company without having to file a lawsuit. That is why we try to settle every claim before a lawsuit is filed. Sometimes that is not possible, but we try to do it anyway.- Why aren't all claims settled before a lawsuit is filed?
Sometimes the insurance company for the wrongdoer thinks that they are not responsible for the accident or they may think that the injury is not related to the accident. They may also think that you recovered better from the accident than you actually did. In cases like that, they probably will not offer as much money to settle the claim as you are willing to accept. Under those circumstances, and many others, there is no choice left but to file a lawsuit.- How long after I hire my lawyer should I expect a lawsuit to be filed?
There is no set time. Sometimes a lawsuit will literally be filed the same day or the next day if, for example, the statute of limitations (the legal deadline for filing a lawsuit) is about to expire. Other times, the lawsuit may reasonably not be filed for many months or a year or more. For example, your lawyer may need to gather enough information to file the lawsuit and that can take a considerable period of time under some circumstances. Also, it may be wise to wait until the extent of your recovery is known before filing a lawsuit. Additionally, negotiations with the insurance company for the wrongdoer can sometimes take a long time and it could be best to wait and see whether the claim settles before filing a lawsuit.
Your lawyer should be able to discuss with you very early on when a lawsuit should be filed. The lawyer may reasonably not be able to tell you exactly when the suit will be filed, but he or she should be willing and able to discuss the factors that go into that decision.
Common Questions & Answers about Legal Representation
This article was edited and reviewed by FindLaw Attorney Writers | Last reviewed March 26, 2008
This article has been written and reviewed for legal accuracy, clarity, and style by FindLaw’s team of legal writers and attorneys and in accordance with our editorial standards.
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