A car accident can become a life-altering experience. After all, there are so many things to consider: property damage, filing insurance claims, dealing with insurance companies, tracking down witnesses, and documenting the accident, among other things. With so much going on, hiring a car accident or personal injury attorney is almost always a wise decision.
At Marker & Crannell, Attorneys at Law, our attorneys provide diligent and experienced advocacy, with the goal to protect you and fight for your best outcome. We serve Naperville, Illinois, and neighboring areas, including Bolingbrook, Aurora, Romeoville, Joliet, Plainfield, Lisle, Wheaton, and Woodridge. Reach out for a consultation, and one of our attorneys will help develop a plan for your specific situation.
Illinois Is an At-Fault State
Illinois is known as an “at-fault” state. This means that the responsible party for a car accident is liable for the property damage and personal injury caused to the car accident victims. However, one important thing to note is that the at-fault party must be guilty of negligence in order to be liable for damages and injuries.
Proving negligence is not an easy task. It requires a keen understanding of what constitutes negligence and how to prove it. Accident victims, with everything going on around them, may not have the time and energy to investigate, document, and put together the evidence needed to prove negligence. That is why an experienced car accident attorney can make a significant difference. Similarly, an injured person must reasonably document and prove that the collision caused the injuries they are claiming. Our attorneys can help prevent the at-fault driver’s insurance company from trying to blame your accident-related injuries on something else.
Hiring a car accident or personal injury attorney can help accident victims get the fair compensation they deserve by clearly proving that the at-fault driver was negligent, and that his/her negligence is the cause of your injuries.
Dealing with Personal Injuries
Personal injuries can be devastating. The pain and disruption they cause can completely alter an accident victim’s life. Understanding the full extent of personal injuries can be quite complicated:
- There are obvious physical injuries, such as broken bones, torn ligaments and tendons (e.g. rotator cuff tears), spinal disc herniations, lacerations, bruises, and physical limitations.
- There are emotional and psychological injuries that can be just as, and sometimes more, disruptive than the physical injuries. These injuries can produce debilitating conditions such as post-traumatic stress.
- Lastly, there are long-term injuries. These injuries must be considered in the aftermath of an accident, usually after the dust settles and our clients find their “new normal.” It may take weeks, months, or even years to fully identify and evaluate the long-term consequences of an injury victim’s injuries.
That is where our personal injury attorneys’ experience can make a significant difference. Our attorneys can help accident victims understand the process, sort through what is related to the crash and what is not related, and help clients understand the short, medium, and long-term nature of their injuries. Using our experience and understanding of personal injury cases, we can quickly determine if an insurance company’s settlement offer is fair.
Accident victims may be prepared to jump at the first offer from an insurance company just to get things over with. Never accept the first offer from an insurance company and don’t accept any offer without first taking advantage of a free consultation to make sure the offer is fair.
Insurance companies almost always lowball victims on the first offer. An experienced personal injury attorney knows this perfectly well. A trusted personal injury attorney can work to fight for car accident victims’ fair compensation.
Ultimately, hiring a professional personal injury attorney can help accident victims assess the extent of their injuries in order to seek fair compensation. This assessment involves working with doctors to determine the likelihood of a full recovery. In some situations, a full recovery may not be possible. Therefore, getting fair compensation for these injuries is a must.
Negotiating with Insurance Companies
When attempting to settle a claim, an injured person, or their attorney, must negotiate with the insurance company. The negotiation is similar to when buying a car. The insurance company wants to pay you as little as possible to go away. The injured person wants as much money as possible. Unfortunately, accident victims must work against insurance companies on top of the pain and suffering they are already going through.
By hiring one of our experienced car accident attorneys, you will have a knowledgeable, experienced advocate fighting for you. We can handle the heavy lifting, allowing you to focus on recovering from your injuries. We know how insurance companies try to lowball accident victims. Our attorneys work hard to ensure our clients get fair compensation based on their unique injuries and the pain and suffering that goes along with it.
Sometimes dealing with an insurance company after an car accident can feel like adding insult to injury. The adjuster for the insurance company is not your friend, they are not on your side, they are not a “good neighbor.” Their job is to pay you as little as possible to close the claim so as to continue raking in substantial profits.
Above all, accident victims should know that it is never good to accept the first offer. It is a good rule of thumb to file the claim as soon as possible, but wait before accepting an offer. Having an experienced personal injury attorney can help put pressure on insurance companies to make a fair offer. Insurance companies may try their best to avoid paying their fair share. With a top-notch attorney helping accident victims, insurance companies have no choice but to play fair.
Finding the Right Personal Injury Attorney in Illinois
At Marker & Crannell, Attorneys at Law, we fight for our clients’ rights to fair compensation. We strive for our clients to get the best treatment possible, including from insurance companies. Achieving that outcome involves going the extra mile to help our clients prove their claims. We serve Naperville, Illinois, and the neighboring areas of Bolingbrook, Aurora, Romeoville, Joliet, Plainfield, Lisle, Wheaton, and Woodridge. Call today for a free consultation.