Personal injuries come in a variety of different forms, and every victim is affected in their own way. When a personal injury resulted from someone else’s negligent dereliction of their duty of care, the victim can pursue compensation for their damages in court.
This is possible through a personal injury lawsuit. Personal injury lawsuits can help individuals who suffer injuries through slip and falls, car accidents, product malfunctions, and medical malpractice, to name a few. If successful, a personal injury lawsuit can recover damages for medical expenses, lost income, and pain and suffering, but only if it is filed within the appropriate window of time.
To learn more about when to file your claim and how much you stand to recover, reach out to our dedicated personal injury lawyers at Rhatigan Law Offices by calling us at (312) 578-8502 today and obtain a free initial case assessment.
How to Tell if You Have a Personal Injury Case
Understanding personal injury claims can be difficult because this area of law is so vast. Numerous cases, claims, and accidents may constitute a personal injury, and you need an attorney with experience dealing with injuries like yours to help you.
The key element of personal injury cases is that the plaintiff must have bodily injuries. Injuries do not have to be severe or life-altering to be eligible for a personal injury case, but they should cause real and articulable damages. For example, pain and medical bills are common damages in personal injury cases.
Personal injury claims often stem from accidents, although intentional torts may also lead to personal injury cases. If you have physical injuries from some sort of accident, like a car crash or a work-related accident, there is a good chance you have a personal injury claim on your hands.
Finally, someone else should be responsible for the accident that caused your injuries. If you were injured due to your own negligence or clumsiness, you cannot file a personal injury case. However, if someone else caused the accident, we can file a lawsuit and present evidence to prove that the defendant is responsible.
Common Types of Personal Injury in Aurora
Personal injury law covers a wide range of situations. Any situation where another party breached a duty of care that they owed to someone else, thereby causing injury to that person, could be considered within the world of personal injury. Our personal injury lawyers have highlighted just a few of the most common types of personal injury lawsuits below.
Slip and Falls
Whenever a property owner invites someone else onto their property, they are responsible for taking appropriate measures to prevent the visiting party from suffering foreseeable harm.
To determine whether the owner met their duties in your case, you will first have to distinguish whether you were a licensee (one who enters the property for the business interests of the owner) or an invitee (one who enters the property with no business interest).
Slippery floors, unstable footing, and poor lighting are some of the most common causes of personal injury lawsuits for premises liability in Aurora.
Car Accidents
Every year, car accidents are a leading cause of fault-based injury, not just in Aurora but across the country. However, not every injurious car accident involves two cars or two drivers. In fact, the most serious car accidents are often those involving motorcyclists, bicyclists, and pedestrians.
Always call 911 at the scene of your accident and seek immediate medical attention, even if you are not sure whether you have suffered injury.
Defective Products
You can sue for injuries caused by a defective product, even if you were not the purchaser of the product, so long as your injuries were a foreseeable consequence of the defective product.
Depending on the product in question, the manufacturer or retailer may incur liability if the product is not safe to use as intended or does not feature explicit instructions on safe use. Because liability for a defective product is not always clear, you can benefit from the assistance of a seasoned Aurora personal injury attorney.
Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice causes harm at our most vulnerable points. This could come in the form of new injuries or the unnecessary exacerbation of an existing condition. Surgical errors, misdiagnosis, and prescription errors are some of the most common examples of medical malpractice.
Medical Treatment You Might Need After an Accident
It is imperative that you go to a hospital immediately after a car accident. Even if you do not believe your injuries are that bad, a doctor might say otherwise. Keep a thorough track of your treatments and expenses, as they may be grounds for substantial damages.
First, you may need emergency treatment for your injuries. If necessary, get an ambulance to take you to the hospital. Common forms of emergency care include scans, X-rays, surgery, dressing wounds, and more. You might be in the ER for a while, depending on the extent of your injuries.
Next, speak to your doctor about your potential long-term medical needs. Many injured victims need repeat doctor visits, physical therapy, medication regimens, and other forms of care that may last long after the accident is over. Such care is often inconvenient, uncomfortable, and expensive.
It is crucial that you receive medical treatment immediately. The longer you wait, the worse your injuries may become, and the more expensive your medical care might be. Additionally, receiving treatment promptly means your medical records may be more accurate and complete, which will be beneficial if we need to present them as evidence of your injuries in court.
Evidence and Records You Should Obtain in a Personal Injury Case
Your personal injury case will hinge on the records and evidence we can obtain demonstrating how the defendant is responsible. What evidence may be available will depend on the circumstances of the accident and your injuries.
Much important information may come from records related to the accident or your injuries. For example, our personal injury attorneys may need copies of your medical records to help us prove the extent of your injuries and the cost of medical care. Police records are typically inadmissible in court, but they may lead us to admissible evidence uncovered in a police investigation.
Physical evidence may also shed light on how your accident happened. If you were hurt because of a defective consumer good, or a dangerous weapon or instrument was involved, we need the physical item. If certain objects are too large to move into a courtroom, photos and videos of the object will suffice.
Some evidence may come in the form of witness testimony. Witnesses with clear memories of the accident may provide very strong testimony in court. While testimony is not always the most solid of evidence, it can be very persuasive when a witness is confident in what they saw and what they know.
Damages for a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Aurora
Compensation is available for individuals who suffer harm as a result of someone else’s negligence. When it comes from a court verdict, this compensation is known as damages. It is important for injury victims to know how an Aurora court will calculate damages so that they have an understanding of what their case is worth.
Economic Damages
The first step in calculating your damages will be to assess all of the direct financial consequences that resulted from your accident and injuries. Primarily, this will include all medical expenses incurred from the diagnosis, treatment, and recovery from your injuries.
In many cases, you can also claim lost wages, missed career advancement opportunities, and the cost of necessary alterations made to your home in your calculation of economic damages.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages are what separates a lawsuit from an ordinary insurance claim. These compensable harms are calculated based on the personal pain and suffering that the victim experiences.
The injurious experience as well as the injuries themselves can impact each victim differently, so it is important to discuss your story with a dedicated Aurora personal injury attorney to get a reasonable idea of what your case could be worth.
Punitive Damages
A third type of damages, known as punitive damages, is not available in every case. Illinois courts will only award punitive damages in situations where the defendant’s behavior was intentional or constituted gross recklessness that deserves additional punishment. Discuss the potential for punitive damages in your case with an Aurora personal injury lawyer.
Am I Allowed to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit if I Caused the Accident?
Fault is often difficult to determine in personal injury cases, and many plaintiffs share a bit of the blame. If you are somewhat responsible for the accident that caused your injuries, you might still be able to sue, depending on how much of the blame is yours.
If you fully caused the accident and your injuries, you cannot sue someone else for your damages. However, if someone else caused the accident, but you might have contributed to it in some small way, you may still file a case. If you do, the court may apply comparative negligence laws.
Courts in Illinois may apply a modified comparative negligence law under 735 I.L.C.S. § 5/2-1116. Under this law, your damages may be reduced in proportion to your share of blame as determined by the court. If a plaintiff is 10% responsible, their damages will be reduced by 10%.
This rule only extends so far before you cannot recovery anything. If you are more than 50% responsible, you may be totally barred from recovering damages.
How Long Does It Take to Receive Money in a Personal Injury Case?
A top concern among personal injury plaintiffs is when they will receive fair compensation. You might have expenses waiting to be paid, and you can only wait so long. Ultimately, how long it takes to receive the money varies from case to case.
If you pursue a full trial in court, it might take longer to recover any money. Trials take a long time to prepare. You might work with a lawyer on your case for many months or more than a year before going to court. The trial itself might last for several weeks before a verdict is rendered in your favor.
Even if you win your case, the defendant might still refuse to pay. We can seek help from the court to compel the defendant to pay if necessary, but this may take more time.
If you settle with the defendant, you may receive money much faster, depending on how long settlement negotiations take. Sometimes, negotiations are fast, as both parties are eager to get the case over and done with. In other cases, negotiations take longer, especially if the parties are acrimonious and unwilling to cooperate or compromise.
Statute of Limitations for a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Aurora
Personal injury claims are not available forever. According to Illinois’ statute of limitations, personal injury victims generally only have two years from the date of their injury to initiate their court case by filing their formal complaint.
While limited exceptions may apply in certain cases that could extend the deadline, courts take the statute of limitations very seriously. If you miss your filing window, you likely will not be able to recover through a lawsuit, so reach out to a seasoned Aurora personal injury lawyer before it is too late.
Talk to Rhatigan Law Offices About Your Personal Injury for Free
When you call our dedicated personal injury lawyers at Rhatigan Law Offices at (312) 578-8502 right now, you can get access to a free initial case assessment.
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