A popular tourist destination in Illinois, Aurora is home to museums, an arts and theater district, local sports, and many recreational opportunities. But if you’re injured by a negligent driver, you might have to take an unexpected trip to the hospital.
Next thing you know, you could be swamped with medical bills, forced to deal with painful injuries, and forced to miss time at work.
At The Personal Injury Lawyers™, we know how devastating a car accident can be, and we’re here to help you put your life back together. We’re always available for a free consultation to advise you on the options for recovering damages.
Even if you’re unsure who is at fault or whether an insurance policy will cover your damages, we’ll help you get the answers and advice you need. Please contact us today to learn more.
Why Do You Need an Aurora Car Accident Attorney?
Car accident claims can become complicated quickly. Once an insurance adjuster gets involved, they will look for every avenue to reduce the amount of your claim.
In many cases, we find the adjuster has undervalued the injured person’s damages or attempted to blame the injured party for the accident.
Unfortunately, these common issues are difficult for the typical layperson to handle. Unless you’re an insurance or legal expert, you probably don’t know how to calculate the value of your claim.
Additionally, arguing with the insurance adjuster about fault is unlikely to work out in your favor.
In fact, even giving a simple statement about what happened to the insurance company can be a risky proposition. Insurance companies usually record their phone calls, and the adjuster will review every word you say for any hint you might have been at least partially responsible for the accident.
Sometimes, the injured person tries to explain why they weren’t at fault, and the adjuster misinterprets their statement to mean something else entirely.
For these reasons, trying to recover a fair settlement from the insurance company can be frustrating. Fortunately, an experienced car accident attorney can assist you in the following ways:
- If there is any question about fault, we’ll investigate the accident thoroughly, assemble evidence to support your case and build a solid argument to show why the other driver is all or primarily responsible.
- Even if you are partly responsible for the collision, you may still be able to recover some damages under Illinois’ modified comparative negligence statutes. However, the insurance adjuster could overestimate your level of culpability. We’ll fight for a fair estimation of your contributions and work to ensure the adjuster doesn’t assign more fault than they should.
- We’ll review your injuries and the ramifications, such as medical bills, lost income, and additional expenses. Once we’ve determined what your claim is worth, we can help you compare that number with any offer the insurance company makes.
- If the insurance company’s first offer is too low (which is very common), we’ll negotiate for a better deal.
How Do You Prove Fault in a Car Accident Case?
If there is a dispute about fault in your case, you may have concerns about showing the other driver is responsible. We recommend contacting a lawyer as soon as possible so we can begin learning more.
Sometimes, evidence may be lost after weeks or months, so a prompt investigation is more likely to turn up the evidence we need.
Immediately after the accident, you can gather some evidence yourself and help protect your rights by taking the following steps:
- If at all possible, take pictures of the accident scene with your phone. Be sure to focus on the damage to both vehicles and capture all angles.
- Widen your perspective and photograph the surrounding area as well. In particular, get pictures of any tire marks or debris, which can be valuable evidence in a car accident case. Shots of surrounding structures and foliage may also be helpful.
- If your injuries prevent you from leaving the car and taking pictures, ask a friend or family member to photograph your car and the accident scene as soon as possible.
- Always report the accident to the police right away. A police report is also a critical piece of evidence in many cases, although it has some limitations that we will discuss later.
- Seek immediate medical attention for your injuries, even if you don’t think they’re particularly bad. Many people underestimate the severity of their injuries during the chaotic time following a car accident. Once the adrenaline rush wears off and the injured area becomes swollen, you may be in much more pain or develop new or worsening symptoms.
Do I Need a Copy of My Car Accident Police Report?
It’s a good idea to secure a copy of your report so you can discuss it with your attorney. Different law enforcement agencies may have their own time frames for producing a report after a car accident.
In most cases, the police report becomes available within a week to ten days of the accident, although it may be sooner or longer, depending on circumstances.
The Aurora Police Department has instructions for obtaining a car accident report. If your accident was in another jurisdiction, contact the local law enforcement agency that responded for more information.
Your attorney can also assist you if you have difficulty obtaining your report.
What Does the Car Accident Police Report Say About Fault?
While a car accident police report contains information that is instrumental in determining fault, it is not the responding officer’s job to definitively decide responsibility. Their job is to interview the drivers and other involved parties—such as passengers and witnesses—and observe evidence at the scene.
Once the officer gathers as much information as possible, they will complete a report, including contributing factors for the collision.
It’s notable that there can be multiple contributing factors, and both drivers may be responsible for some contributions. For instance, the report might show that one driver was speeding while the other was distracted.
How Does Shared Fault Affect Your Car Accident Claim?
As discussed earlier, shared fault is possible in Illinois car accident cases and doesn’t necessarily mean that you are entirely out of luck. If your share of responsibility is lower than 50 percent, you can still collect damages from the other party’s insurance—minus the portion of fault assigned to you.
This is good news for a driver who made a small mistake while the other driver was primarily at fault. However, there are still several potential pitfalls that could reduce your settlement:
- The insurance company might overestimate your contributions. Even a small exaggeration could remove thousands of dollars that you deserve from your final settlement.
- You might be assigned some fault when you had none. Sometimes, this is because of how the other driver described events. Alternatively, the insurance adjuster might identify something in your statement, or the police report that they believe indicates you were partially responsible.
- If the insurance adjuster incorrectly decides you were at least 50 percent at fault, they can justify rejecting your claim entirely.
To complicate matters, some drivers actually take responsibility for an accident at the scene when they did not contribute. It sounds surprising, but many people mistakenly believe they made a mistake or were at fault.
Regardless of who you think is at fault, we encourage you not to claim responsibility after an accident. You should answer the responding officer’s questions honestly, but it is not necessary to give an opinion on fault.
Who Actually Decides Fault in a Car Accident Case?
Most of the time, this decision is made by insurance adjusters for you and the other driver. Both adjusters will have the goal of saving their company as much money as possible.
They will each review the claim and may negotiate with each other until they agree on a breakdown of fault.
What’s missing in this equation? Someone representing your interests. If you do not have an attorney, your settlement will be decided by people who are trying to save an insurance company money.
Your insurance adjuster will defend you to a point because placing responsibility on the other driver gives them a reason to avoid paying a liability claim. However, they may eventually agree to a fault estimation that exaggerates your contributions, and they won’t be as concerned with ensuring all your damages are appropriately valued.
For that, you would benefit from the assistance of an experienced car accident attorney.
Won’t My Car Insurance Pay for My Damages?
This is heavily dependent on what kind of car insurance you have and the details of your accident. Unfortunately, it’s easy to forget what kind of coverage you have, especially if you bought your policy years ago and haven’t made any changes.
If you have questions about your coverage, you should be able to log into your insurance company’s portal and review what policies you have.
In general, the at-fault driver’s liability insurance (which is required in Illinois) is supposed to pay for the damages of other injured parties. Your liability insurance does not cover your own injuries or property damage.
If you are at fault for the accident (at least 50 percent), and you only have the minimum required coverage, you will be responsible for your own medical bills and property damage.
However, if you have optional policies for Medical Payments and Collision, these will cover medical bills and car repairs if you are at fault or are unable to prove another party is at fault.
Before you jump to conclusions about what will or won’t be covered by your insurance, we encourage you to speak with an attorney. First, we’ll review the details to ensure you’re actually at fault—again, many people wrongly assume responsibility for a collision.
We can also study your insurance coverage and explore any additional options for recovering some or all of your damages.
What if an Uninsured or Underinsured Driver Hits You?
Depending on your specific situation, there may be several options we can pursue. First, we’ll look at your uninsured motorist coverage.
In Illinois, motorists are required to carry at least $25,000 in uninsured motorist bodily injury insurance, with a total of $50,000 in coverage per accident. So, if you have car insurance, you have at least this much protection for your medical bills and related costs.
However, this required policy may not cover every situation. If your medical bills exceed $25,000, you could have a coverage gap. Or, the other driver might have minimum coverage that doesn’t pay for everything.
Additionally, uninsured motorist property damage insurance is optional in Illinois, so some drivers may lack coverage for vehicle damage.
Fortunately, many drivers have underinsured motorist coverage, which is only required if you purchase higher amounts of uninsured motorist coverage in this state. However, the insurance company should offer you both types of coverage, and if you purchase underinsured motorist coverage, it will help fill the gap left by another driver’s liability policy in some situations.
If you have extremely high medical bills from a severe injury, it’s possible you may max out both your own insurance and the other driver’s. When this happens, we will consider other possibilities for recovering your damages.
In some cases, we might be able to sue the other driver directly, but if they have no or few assets, this may not be a viable option. Occasionally, a third-party lawsuit could be possible if another party contributed to your injuries.
For instance, if a defective car part worsens your injuries, you might have a claim against the manufacturer.
However, these options are not available in every situation. For this reason, we recommend buying as much uninsured/underinsured motorist insurance as you can because it’s the most reliable option when the at-fault driver lacks sufficient coverage.
How Can You Get Help From an Aurora Car Accident Law Firm?
If you have questions or concerns about your car accident claim, please contact The Personal Injury Lawyers™ for a free consultation at 312-999-9990. Founded by attorney Robert S. Fakhouri, our firm has recovered millions of dollars in compensation for injured people and their families.
Our experienced Aurora personal injury lawyers are available to discuss your case, explain your options, and answer any questions you have.
