Seven major highways intersect Elgin, and a traffic accident can happen at any time. In the blink of an eye, you could suffer a severe injury that leaves you unable to work and struggling to pay medical bills.
Yet when you turn to the at-fault driver’s insurance company for help, they may reject your claim or seriously undervalue your damages. How can you get the help you need to recover?
Our experts at The Personal Injury Lawyers™ are available to help. Our skilled legal team has handled hundreds of car accident cases, and we’ll use our experience to achieve the best possible settlement for you.
We offer a free case review with no obligation so you can get the information you need to plan your next steps. Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns about your car accident.
How Can an Elgin Car Accident Attorney Help With Your Car Accident Claim?
A car accident claim can be more complex than you might think. Many people assume they will file an insurance claim and get a check to cover their medical bills, property damage, and other expenses.
Unfortunately, securing the full amount you deserve isn’t always that easy.
Common difficulties with a car insurance claim include:
Fault Disputes and Shared Fault
You believe the accident wasn’t your fault, but the other driver tells the responding police officer a very different story about what happened. The officer will analyze evidence at the scene and interview other witnesses, if there are any, but in many cases, it may not be clear who is at fault.
As a result, the police report could be inconclusive, suggest both drivers are to blame, or point toward you as the responsible party.
Here’s another possible scenario: You think you made an error that may have contributed to the accident, but you’re not sure. The other driver also made some questionable choices.
You don’t really know who caused the accident, but you suspect it might be you.
Again, the officer will try to determine all the contributing factors. Sometimes, both drivers share the blame for an accident—but who pays for the insurance claim?
Under Illinois’ modified comparative negligence law, the party who is less than 50 percent at fault can collect damages from the party who is more than 50 percent at fault. Any percentage of responsibility assigned to the less culpable party is deducted from their final settlement.
For instance, if you are 15 percent responsible, you may be able to collect 85 percent of your damages from the other driver’s insurance company.
This brings us to another common question: Who decides fault in a car accident?
Sometimes, people assume that the responding officer will assign percentages of fault, but that isn’t their job. Instead, the officer will simply note all contributing factors on the police report.
Ultimately, the insurance adjusters for both parties will negotiate and usually reach an agreement on how much fault each party has. The problem with this arrangement is that both adjusters are working in the best interests of their respective companies.
Each of them aims to spend as little money as possible on the accident claim.
To some extent, your insurance adjuster will argue in your defense. They don’t want to pay the other driver’s claim; still, they could still agree to a higher percentage of fault than you actually have.
By contrast, an experienced car accident lawyer will strive to protect your interests and fight for the settlement you deserve. If we feel the insurance companies have overestimated your contributions, we’ll argue for another evaluation of the facts and work to demonstrate why the other driver was more at fault.
Undervaluing Damages
In some cases, the insurance adjuster may be in a hurry to settle your claim.
Often, a first offer from the insurance company is a lowball one that won’t cover all your damages—especially if it arrives quickly after the collision. The insurance adjuster might hope you accept their first offer and absolve them of any further responsibility before you realize how many losses you have.
But what is your claim really worth? The best way to find out is to discuss your accident with a personal injury lawyer.
Valuing a car accident case can be complex and requires consideration of multiple damages:
- Medical bills and related expenses. These should include current and future costs, but sometimes, an adjuster will try to settle while you’re still in treatment. We’ll also review out-of-pocket expenses that can be overlooked by insurance companies, such as paying for prescriptions, buying mobility aids, adding accessibility options to your home, obtaining physical therapy devices or equipment, hiring someone to help with tasks you can’t do anymore, etc.
- Lost income and reduced earning potential. We’ll inquire about the time you missed at work to ensure you recover your lost wages, including any PTO you expended taking time off to recover. Additionally, we’ll fight for compensation if your injuries cause a permanent impairment that interferes with your ability to work.
- Property damage. You should be appropriately compensated for damage to your vehicle and other personal belongings, such as a laptop or phone.
- Non-economic damages These include pain and suffering, loss of consortium, and other losses that are difficult to quantify. Insurance companies often use a “multiplier method” formula based on the severity of your injuries, but if they underestimate the degree of injury you suffered, you could receive an offer that’s too low.
- Wrongful death damages. In the event that a loved one passes in a car accident, wrongful death damages might include final medical bills related to the accident, funeral and burial expenses, loss of consortium or companionship, loss of financial support, and more.
Most people don’t know how to calculate the value of their claim or discern a good offer from an insufficient one. However, an Elgin car accident lawyer can help you arrive at an appropriate value for your claim and compare it to any offer you receive.
If the offer is too low, we’ll negotiate for a more equitable number so you can receive the full amount you deserve.
What if You Are Hit by a Car While Walking?
In 2022, Illinois had 197 traffic fatalities involving pedestrians. Unfortunately, vulnerable road users like those on foot or on a bicycle are at much higher risk of severe injuries in a car collision.
Even at lower speeds, a several-ton vehicle can do significant damage to anyone in its path. But who is at fault in these accidents?
Illinois law is based on the expectation that both drivers and pedestrians should behave carefully and try to avoid collisions. Although pedestrians typically have the right of way at crosswalks and intersections, they are expected to use “reasonable care” when crossing a road.
Generally, this means employing common sense safety efforts, such as looking both ways before crossing and staying off the road when a car is coming.
Getting to the Bottom of Pedestrian Accidents
However, interpreting these laws in a car accident case can become difficult. As with other car accidents, the vehicle driver and the pedestrian could have different perspectives on how the crash occurred.
Here are a few examples of issues that may arise from a pedestrian accident:
- Sometimes, the driver claims the pedestrian darted out in front of the car, leaving them no time to stop. On the other hand, the pedestrian might say they were already in the intersection, and the car barreled through without stopping.
- In other cases, the motorist claims not to have seen the pedestrian until it was too late, especially if the accident happened at night or in poor visibility conditions.
- Because of the higher likelihood of severe injuries, there are also many situations where the injured pedestrian doesn’t remember the accident clearly. They could have suffered a head injury or required anesthesia or pain medication that clouded their memories. It can be hard to argue with the driver’s explanation of an accident without knowing what actually happened.
As discussed in a previous section, Illinois law recognizes shared fault, and in some cases, the pedestrian may be assigned a degree of culpability, even if the driver was also careless. However, in situations where the driver was engaging in dangerous behavior like speeding, running a red light, ignoring other traffic laws, or driving under the influence, the pedestrian’s fault may be minimized.
Still, it’s not always easy to determine all the contributing factors in a pedestrian accident and how much fault each party has. Sometimes, the insurance company may assign fault in a situation where the pedestrian did nothing wrong, or they might overestimate the pedestrian’s responsibility.
These situations can cost the injured person some or all of their potential settlement.
If you’ve been injured as a pedestrian, a car accident lawyer can assist you in learning more about your accident. We’ll search for more evidence, including witnesses, photos or video of the collision, electronic records, and more.
Even if you don’t remember how the accident happened, we may be able to find evidence of fault, and we’ll fight for a fair evaluation of your role in the collision.
Are You Out of Luck if You Experience a Hit-and-Run Accident?
These situations are not ideal, but in many cases, we may still be able to recover some or all of your damages.
The first step is trying to identify the hit-and-run driver. To this end, you should report the accident to the police immediately and try to remember any identifying details about the vehicle.
Writing down the license plate number is always helpful, but depending on the circumstances, you may not get a chance to see it. If this happens, try to describe the vehicle in as much detail as possible, as well as the driver, if you managed to get a good look at them.
Can a Hit-and-Run Accident Be Solved?
Many hit-and-runs go unsolved due to a lack of evidence and sometimes limited police resources, but your attorney will review the evidence and try to learn more. We may have an investigator visit local homes or businesses near the collision site to find additional witnesses.
Sometimes, we may even speak to someone with doorbell or security camera footage of the accident. If we find any valuable evidence, we’ll pass it on to law enforcement and pursue a claim on the at-fault driver’s car insurance.
However, in some cases, there is simply no more evidence to be found, even after an exhaustive search. When this occurs, we will consider other options for addressing your damages.
The best solution is to use your uninsured motorist coverage, which includes coverage for hit-and-run accidents. This is true even if you are not in your vehicle but were hit by a car as a pedestrian or bicyclist.
Fortunately, Illinois requires at least $25,000 in bodily injury coverage for uninsured motorist accidents, although you can purchase higher amounts. Increasing your coverage is recommended, as it may be the only option you have in a hit-and-run accident or any collision with an uninsured motorist.
If your injuries are severe, you could have hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills and other damages. Still, the insurance company doesn’t have to pay anything beyond the policy limit.
If your uninsured motorist insurance is insufficient for all your damages, we will consider if there are any liable third parties, such as a manufacturer of defective safety equipment. However, this is rarely a viable option in hit-and-run cases.
To protect yourself from these unfortunate circumstances, we advise buying as much uninsured motorist coverage as possible.
Where Can You Learn More From an Elgin Car Accident Law Firm?
Our Elgin personal injury lawyers are experts in car accident litigation. Our experienced team is always ready to review your car accident case, answer questions, and explain your options for pursuing compensation.
If there’s a way to recover damages in your case, we’ll find it. The Personal Injury Lawyers™ has recovered millions of dollars for car accident victims and their families. Please contact us today at 312-999-9990 for a free consultation about your accident.
