Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer

A serious injury changes everything at once. The phone will not stop ringing, the bills arrive before the first word from the insurer, and the person who hurt you already has a team working to pay you as little as possible. Our job is to level that field. From the first day we preserve the evidence, document every consequence of the injury, and deal with the insurance companies so you can focus on getting well.

The legal point that matters most at the start is time. Illinois gives most injured people two years to file suit, but a claim against a city, a school district, or the CTA has one year, and the evidence that proves fault starts disappearing within days.

Injuries and claims we handle

We represent people injured in car, truck, motorcycle, and rideshare crashes, in falls caused by dangerous conditions, by defective products, and by dog bites. We also represent families who lost someone to another’s negligence. Most of these matters fall into three groups.

• Auto, rideshare, and slip-and-fall cases. We preserve evidence on day one and build every file as if a jury will see it, because insurers value cases differently when the firm is ready to litigate them.
• Serious and catastrophic injuries. Brain and spinal cord injuries, multiple fractures, severe burns, and fatal losses. Trial preparation starts in the first week: every insurance policy is investigated, and life-care planners are engaged where future care has to be proved.
• Workplace injuries. A workers’ compensation claim against the employer, plus a separate claim against any responsible third party, such as a contractor, an equipment maker, or a driver.

If you are not sure whether you have a case, call us. The conversation is free, and if we do not think a claim is worth pursuing, we will tell you so plainly.

Illinois filing deadlines for injury and wrongful-death claims

A strong claim is worth nothing if it is filed a day late. Most personal injury lawsuits in Illinois must be filed within two years after the cause of action accrued, which is usually the date of the injury (735 ILCS 5/13-202). A wrongful-death action must be filed within two years after the death, or within five years if the death resulted from violent intentional conduct (740 ILCS 180/2). The action is brought by the personal representative of the person who died, for the benefit of the surviving spouse and next of kin.

Shorter deadlines apply when government is involved. A civil action against a local public entity or its employee must be filed within one year from the date of the injury or the date the cause of action accrued (745 ILCS 10/8-101(a)). The Tort Immunity Act defines local public entities to include counties, municipalities such as the City of Chicago, school districts, park districts, and forest preserve districts (745 ILCS 10/1-206). The Chicago Transit Authority has its own statute, which also requires suit within one year (70 ILCS 3605/41). The State of Illinois and its agencies are outside that definition and follow other rules.

Children are treated differently. If the injured person was under 18 when the claim arose, the two-year period generally runs from the eighteenth birthday (735 ILCS 5/13-211(a)). Confirm it before relying on it, because the one-year rule for local public entities may still control a claim against one of them.

Workplace injuries: workers’ compensation and third-party claims

A work injury in Illinois runs on its own clock. Notice of the accident must be given to the employer as soon as practicable and no later than 45 days after the accident (820 ILCS 305/6(c)). The application for compensation must be filed with the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission within three years after the accident, or within two years after the last payment of compensation, whichever is later (820 ILCS 305/6(d)).

When someone other than the employer is legally responsible, such as a negligent driver or the maker of a defective machine, the worker may sue that party for damages even though the employer is paying compensation (820 ILCS 305/5(b)). The employer is generally reimbursed from that recovery for the compensation it paid and shares in the costs of obtaining it, so the two claims have to be managed together.

Illinois law also makes it unlawful for an employer to discharge or threaten to discharge an employee, or to refuse to rehire or recall the employee, because the employee exercised rights under the Workers’ Compensation Act (820 ILCS 305/4(h)).

How Illinois divides fault between you and the other side

Illinois uses modified comparative fault (735 ILCS 5/2-1116). If you share some of the blame, your damages are reduced in proportion to your share of fault. If the jury finds your fault was more than 50 percent of the cause of the injury, you recover nothing. That is why insurers work so hard to shift blame onto you, and why we build the record from the start to keep the fault where it belongs.

When more than one defendant is responsible, the shares matter in a second way. Every defendant found liable is jointly and severally liable for past and future medical expenses. For other damages, a defendant whose fault is less than 25 percent of the total is only severally liable, while one at 25 percent or more is jointly and severally liable (735 ILCS 5/2-1117). That is why we identify every responsible party and every policy behind each one.

Damages, medical bills, and health care liens

Compensation in an injury case can include past and future medical bills, lost wages and reduced earning capacity, the cost of rehabilitation, and the pain and suffering that numbers never fully capture. In the most serious cases it also includes the effect on your family and your daily life. Putting the right value on all of that, and proving it, is the difference between a quick offer and a fair recovery.

Medical providers who treat you often assert liens against the recovery. Under the Health Care Services Lien Act, the total of all liens under the Act cannot exceed 40 percent of the verdict, judgment, award, settlement, or compromise, and no single licensed category of health care professional or provider may receive more than one-third of it (770 ILCS 23/10). The Act governs the liens of health care professionals and providers. Other reimbursement claims, such as those of health plans, are reviewed under their own terms before any settlement is signed.

The founding attorney holds a J.D. with a Health Law Certificate from Saint Louis University School of Law and has served as in-house general counsel for multi-site healthcare organizations. That background is put to work in the medical records, the treatment timelines, and the lien negotiations that determine what reaches you after a settlement.

The first days after a crash or fall

If you are still in the first days after an injury, four things help more than anything else.

• Get medical care the same day, even if the pain seems mild.
• Obtain the police report and its number.
• Photograph everything, including the damage, your injuries, and the scene.
• Do not give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurer, and do not sign anything, before speaking with a lawyer.

That last call, friendly and quick, usually costs more than it is worth. Keep every bill, every appointment card, and a short daily note of your symptoms and missed work. Those records become the evidence of your damages.

Preparing each injury case for trial

Fair settlements are won in the preparation, not at the negotiation table. From the first week we build the file a jury would see: preserved evidence, treating-physician records, witness statements taken promptly, and a demand backed by exhibits rather than adjectives. When an insurer will not be fair, we file suit. The founding attorney, Abdul Kadir Mohamed, is licensed in Illinois and Missouri, has fifteen years of legal practice, and has tried serious injury cases involving individuals and municipalities to jury verdicts.

The attorney reading your file is the attorney arguing your case. We check conflicts and give you a candid assessment before we begin. You hear from us at least every 30 days, whether or not there is news. The case runs on your goals: you decide, we advise, and every offer reaches you in writing with the complete worksheet.

How the contingency fee works

We handle injury cases on a contingency fee. That means the attorney fee is a share of any recovery, and if there is no recovery you pay no attorney fee. Illinois requires the agreement to be in a writing signed by the client. It must state how the fee is determined, including the percentage that applies at settlement, trial, or appeal, which litigation expenses will be deducted from the recovery, and whether those expenses come out before or after the fee is calculated (Ill. R. Prof’l Conduct 1.5(d)(2)). We explain the percentage and case costs in writing before you sign, including any expenses you would owe whether or not you recover. At the end, you receive a written statement of the outcome and how your share was calculated.

In cases that warrant it, we associate experienced trial co-counsel at no increase to your fee percentage. A fee may be divided between lawyers in different firms only if the client agrees to the arrangement, including the share each lawyer will receive, the agreement is confirmed in writing, and the total fee is reasonable (Ill. R. Prof’l Conduct 1.5(f)).

Common questions about Chicago injury claims

What does it cost to start?

Nothing. The injury consultation is free, and injury cases are handled on contingency. The fee comes out of a recovery, and its terms are set out in a written agreement before work begins.

What if I was partly at fault?

You may still recover if your fault is not more than 50 percent of the cause, and your damages are reduced by your share (735 ILCS 5/2-1116). Let us look at the facts before you assume you have no case.

Does my immigration status affect my claim?

Anyone injured in Illinois may bring a claim.

Should I talk to the other driver’s insurance adjuster?

You may report the claim, but we recommend that you not give a recorded statement or sign a release or medical authorization until you have spoken with a lawyer. Once we represent you, the adjuster deals with us.

Will my case go to trial?

Most injury cases resolve before trial, but no one can promise that a particular case will. We prepare every file as if it will be tried, and the decision to accept an offer or go to trial is always yours.

Related resources

General information only; not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship.