A pleasant drive can be shattered by the negligent actions of another motorist, leaving you with painful injuries. The ramifications can spread to your career, forcing you to miss work for weeks or even months, or affect your home life, preventing you from doing your typical tasks or caring for your children.
You need help with the financial and personal effects of a serious car accident injury, but filing an insurance claim sometimes results in more challenges, especially if the insurer blames you for the accident.
At The Personal Injury Lawyers™, we understand the overwhelming impact a car accident can have on your life, and we’re here to help you rebuild and move forward. We offer free consultations to discuss your options for pursuing compensation.
Whether you’re uncertain about fault or the extent to which insurance may cover your losses, we’re committed to providing the guidance and answers you need. Reach out to us today to learn how we can assist you.
Why Should You Contact an Oak Lawn Car Accident Attorney?
Filing a car accident claim can be deceptively simple. Most insurance companies encourage you to file a claim right from their app, add a few photos, and then you’re done.
But navigating the rest of a car accident claim can quickly become troublesome. Insurance adjusters often work hard to minimize payouts, frequently undervaluing the injured party’s damages or attempting to shift blame onto the victim.
Unfortunately, these tactics can be frustrating for someone without a background in law or insurance. Most people don’t know how to assess the value of their claim accurately, and disputing fault with an adjuster rarely leads to a favorable outcome.
Even providing a basic statement to the insurance company can pose risks. Calls with insurance representatives are typically recorded, and adjusters meticulously analyze every word for indications that you might share some responsibility for the accident.
In some cases, attempts to clarify your position can be misconstrued, leaving you vulnerable to further challenges.
Contacting a car accident attorney as soon as possible is the best way to protect your legal rights after a car accident. If there are questions about fault, we’ll investigate exhaustively, gathering evidence and assembling a solid case to show you were not at fault.
Then, we’ll carefully calculate the value of your claim so you won’t have to wonder if the insurance adjuster has made you a fair offer. Should their first proposal fail to cover all your damages (which is not unusual), we can negotiate for a better deal.
But What if I Was at Fault?
Taking responsibility for your mistakes is admirable, but you should not claim responsibility for an accident at the scene for several reasons:
- People who think they are at fault in accidents are often wrong. With only one perspective on the accident, you may not know everything that transpired. Accidents also happen quickly, and many people are confused about what happened or in what order.
- Maybe you know that you made a mistake, and then you had an accident. It’s easy to assume a cause-and-effect relationship, but that’s not always true. It’s possible your error didn’t make any difference, and the collision would have happened anyway.
- Fault can be shared. Many car accidents are due to a combination of mistakes by both drivers. Under Illinois law, this does not necessarily preclude recovering damages. If your percentage of fault is less than 50 percent, you can still recover compensation from the more responsible other driver. The percentage of fault assigned to you will be taken from your final settlement, so if you’re 10 percent responsible, you can recover 90 percent of your damages.
Of course, you should be honest when answering questions for the responding police officer. However, you do not need to share your opinion on fault or volunteer information other than what you were asked.
Once you’ve left the accident scene, you may be inclined to contact the insurance company, but we recommend speaking to a car accident lawyer first.
What Happens When the Other Driver is Uninsured or Underinsured?
In Illinois, the minimum required car insurance coverage includes $25,000 in bodily injury liability per person ($50,000 per accident) and $20,000 in property damage liability. However, you have the option to purchase a policy with higher limits.
Uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage of at least $25,000 ($50,000 per accident) is also required.
Most motorists have at least the minimum coverage, but some do not. If the at-fault driver is completely uninsured, your uninsured motorist insurance should pay for your injuries up to the policy limit.
For this reason, buying more than the required minimum is a good idea if possible.
What happens if you’re hit by a driver carrying only the minimum coverage and you sustain serious injuries? Your medical expenses and other damages might surpass the policy’s coverage limits in such cases.
Even a few days in the hospital could total more than $25,000, and severe injuries might require weeks of hospitalization.
If you have underinsured motorist coverage, you can make a claim on your own policy—but do you have this coverage? It’s not required for drivers who only buy the minimum in uninsured motorist coverage, although it is required at higher amounts.
Insurance companies must offer it, and the insurance agent who sold your policy probably recommended it.
However, some drivers choose the least expensive options to save money, and it can be hard to remember exactly what kind of insurance you purchased. In some cases, the injured person finds out after their accident that they don’t have underinsured motorist coverage.
This can be a devastating realization, but an attorney might be able to find other solutions.
Another potential problem could arise if you have underinsured motorist coverage and your own policy limit isn’t enough to cover your damages. These situations can be scary, but your car accident lawyer will search for alternatives.
In some circumstances, we may be able to sue the at-fault driver, but we won’t recommend this course of action if the other driver can’t pay the judgment.
What Is a Third-Party Claim?
Occasionally, we might be able to file a third-party claim if another party had some fault for your accident or injuries. For example, the manufacturer could be at fault if a defective car part led to or worsened the accident.
In a few specific situations, we can file a “dram shop” claim against a bar or other establishment that overserved an intoxicated patron who then drove drunk and caused a collision.
However, it’s necessary to show evidence that the alcohol contributed to the driver’s intoxication and that their intoxication was at least one cause of your injuries. We’ll need to act quickly to find this evidence, so if you were in an accident caused by a drunk driver, please talk to a lawyer right away.
It’s essential to remember that these third-party claims are only available in some cases, and the most dependable option is to have robust uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UI). Buying a more extensive UM/UI policy is a good way to protect yourself if you can afford it.
In fact, it may even be used in pedestrian or bicycle accidents if the driver who hits you has insufficient insurance.
What if You Are in an Accident With a Large Truck?
Tractor-trailer accidents are often devastating to involved parties who are not inside the truck. Large trucks can weigh up to 80,000 pounds and, in some cases, take up to the length of a football field to come to a stop. When they strike passenger vehicles, the damage is usually severe, causing serious injuries to the occupants.
Fortunately, federal trucking regulations are in place to reduce the risk of tractor-trailer accidents. Truckers are required to undergo strict training, take drug and alcohol tests, and follow numerous regulations, such as time limits to prevent tired driving.
As a result, most truckers drive safely and avoid serious accidents. But when a truck/car collision does occur, it has a high chance of being deadly or causing severe injury, particularly for those in passenger vehicles.
In 2021, there were over 11,000 accidents in Illinois involving large trucks, but most only resulted in property damage. However, 103 of those accidents led to fatalities, including 97 people in passenger vehicles and five pedestrians.
Of the 1,817 injury crashes, 292 involved “A-injuries,” or serious injuries, including 284 passenger vehicle occupants.
What Insurance Coverage Do Truck Drivers Have?
Most truckers are required to carry $750,000-1,000,000 in liability insurance, far more than is required for passenger vehicle drivers. This is mostly due to the increased risk of injury in collisions with large trucks.
However, the insurance adjuster will still try to avoid paying any more than necessary. Because these claims tend to be for more significant amounts, the adjuster will likely spend more time on a truck accident case, studying every detail and searching for opportunities to reduce or eliminate your settlement.
Who Is at Fault in a Large Truck Accident?
Proving fault can be difficult in any motor vehicle accident, but it may be even more challenging in a truck accident. There are multiple potentially liable parties in a truck accident, including:
The Driver
Although most truckers are well-trained, careful drivers, the possibility of driver error still exists. Even a small mistake can cause serious consequences when driving a big rig.
However, the truck driver may insist the vehicle driver was at fault, and disputes are common. Additionally, the vehicle driver may be suffering from severe injuries, and recalling what happened could be difficult.
For these reasons, we advise you to contact an attorney as soon as possible after your accident so we can go to work protecting your rights.
The Trucking Company
Sometimes, the company may be at fault if it didn’t perform due diligence and hired a driver with a poor driving record or if it didn’t require a drug test or background check.
However, negligent hiring isn’t the only possible issue. In some cases, the company could be at fault for failing to perform regular maintenance on the truck, leading to a malfunction that caused an accident.
Finally, the trucking company might be liable if it pressured drivers to make unrealistic mileage goals. In some cases, drivers may believe they can only keep their jobs if they deliver their cargo in a time frame that doesn’t allow proper rest periods, for example, or they might feel pressured to speed.
A Third Party
There are several potentially liable third parties to consider:
- If a mechanic worked on the truck and made an error that led to an accident, they might be at fault.
- However, the mechanic is not responsible for a defective part, like bad brakes or a faulty tire. If this is the cause of the collision, the manufacturer could be liable.
- Sometimes, the truck is loaded and unloaded by a third party, such as retail store staff, warehouse workers, etc. When cargo isn’t loaded properly, it can increase the risk of an accident, especially one in which the trailer flips (which can be extremely dangerous for any nearby car occupants). For example, placing heavy items higher up or failing to secure large items can increase the risk of flipping, particularly when the truck travels around a curve.
Proving third-party liability can be challenging, and the sooner we get started on your case, the better chance we’ll have of finding the necessary evidence.
Where Can You Learn More From an Oak Lawn Car Accident Law Firm?
If you have questions or concerns about your car accident claim, don’t hesitate to contact The Personal Injury Lawyers™ at 312-999-9990 for a free consultation. Our firm has helped car accident victims and their families recover millions in compensation.
Our experienced Oak Lawn personal injury law firm is ready to evaluate your case, explain your legal options, and provide answers to all your questions.
