Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer
Award-Winning Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer - Securing Justice
for Illinois Injury Victims - Over $450 Million Recovered
What to Look for in a Personal Injury Attorney
Did you suffer an injury in an accident? Unfortunately, you likely have plenty to deal with before even beginning to worry about obtaining the financial compensation you deserve.
You have likely been overwhelmed receiving medical care and attempting to recover from your injuries. However, if the harm was severe enough, you are likely in no condition to handle the financial recovery process involved in getting paid for your damages.
At Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, LLC, our Chicago personal injury attorneys can quickly assess your claim and handle all aspects of your compensation while you heal. Below are the primary reasons why hiring a personal injury attorney for legal advice now is the best course of action to move your case forward.
You Need Legal Representation Because Liability Needs to Be Determined
When you have been injured in an accident, receiving compensation is not a sure bet. If you have filed a claim with insurance, the first thing that must happen is that the insurance companies will see if someone else was responsible for an accident. This process is the same for an auto accident or a homeowner’s insurance claim.
Determining liability is a process, especially when dealing with an auto accident. The insurance company will insist on getting your side of the story of what happened. However, you should avoid providing any oral or written statement without first talking to a personal injury lawyer who can protect your rights.
Speaking directly with an insurance adjuster or having any contact with the insurance company could be detrimental to the outcome of your case in the amount of compensation you will eventually receive.
When to Tell Your Side of the Story
Using a personal injury attorney can ensure you are better equipped to tell your side of the story before anyone determines liability. In addition, speaking to a personal injury attorney can protect you from many of the abuses and strategies insurance companies use on unsuspecting injured people.
Insurance companies are in the business of generating profits for their shareholders, often to the victim’s detriment, who receive far less than the value of the victim’s personal injury case. Working with the right personal injury lawyer in developing an attorney-client relationship can help you avoid the tactics used by insurance providers.
The Insurance Company Is Difficult to Deal With
Insurance providers and their adjusters negotiate financial settlements every day and handle claims in civil court year-round. Their attorneys have years of experience in minimizing payouts to the accident victims’ detriment.
Most personal injury cases are resolved out of court. Unfortunately, many accident victims choose to handle the case without legal representation hoping for the best outcome to resolve their legal matter.
Many personal injury victims do not know how to protect their interests, especially when negotiating a settlement offer. Alternatively, using the right personal injury attorney, the insurance carrier cannot push the victim around and must go through their experienced attorney and personal injury law firm.
The Lawyer Knows What Your Case Is Worth
Nearly all injury claims are complex, making it difficult to determine their actual valuation, especially when numerous elements are involved, including personal injury damages like hospitalization costs, medical expenses, lost wages, future lost earnings, permanent disabilities, pain, and suffering.
However, without a personal injury attorney specializing in accidents, medical malpractice, product liability, and other civil cases involving severe injuries, the victim likely has no idea what they should receive for their damages.
Victims handling their personal injury claims should be well aware that the insurance carriers know precisely how much they’ll pay to minimize the claim when covering hospitalization costs, medical bills, future lost earnings, lost wages, permanent or temporary disabilities, pain, and suffering.
Resolving Claims for Maximum Compensation
Without the right personal injury lawyer, the victim is at an information disadvantage if they file the claim independently without any extra help. Using an attorney specializing in personal injury law can level the playing field when resolving accident claims.
Using personal injury law firms that represent accident victims can help. Personal injury lawyers will file claims on behalf of their clients and handle all compensation elements to ensure that the injured victims receive a fair settlement.
Taking Personal Injury Cases to Trial
In some cases, the insurance companies refuse to make a good-faith offer based on the actual value of the case. When this occurs, personal injury lawyers will file civil suits against the defendants and take the cases to trial.
A competent attorney with extensive trial experience and a proven track record will take the time necessary to build a solid case to achieve a fair trial verdict.
To take the case to trial, an experienced personal injury lawyer will hire accident reconstruction experts to show precisely what occurred, life care planners to provide income loss information, and medical professionals with the expected expertise to discuss the severity of the victim’s injuries and the best possible outcome.
You are Dealing With Things Other Than the Legal System in Resolving Your Personal Injury Case
Needless to say, when you are filing a claim for accident injuries, you are preoccupied with other things. Even under the best circumstances, you have an injury that takes up your time and focus.
With minor injuries, you are still in pain and distracted. There is no way to handle your family life, injuries, and personal affairs while filing your claim simultaneously.
Even if you do, you cannot be fully effective when you are addressing your medical situation. A personal injury lawyer makes it easy for you by handling the details. They will worry about the strategy, applying their own experience.
All you need to do is answer the questions that your lawyer instructs you to and provide the information they request. Then, you can worry about recovering and getting the medical help that you need.
A Personal Injury Lawyer Can Litigate Your Case in a Personal Injury Lawsuit
Filing a claim with the insurance company is just part of your case. Ideally, your case would even settle early without needing to do anything further. But, unfortunately, that does not always happen with personal injury cases.
The threat of litigation keeps insurance companies from trying to get away with too much in settlement negotiations. Lawsuits cost them money to defend, and they are trying to avoid that cost.
When you have a lawyer on your side, the insurance company always knows that you can file a lawsuit if they are not reasonable when negotiating a settlement.
The litigation process is challenging to navigate for anyone. The challenge is even more overwhelming if you are dealing with long-term injuries.
Your personal injury lawyer knows how to navigate the court system and can draft and litigate your complaint if it is necessary. However, you would need to file a lawsuit in many cases to get the insurance company to take you seriously.
Finding the Best Personal Injury Attorneys
It is best to hire a personal injury attorney in nearly every case if another’s negligence or intentional act has injured you. Exactly how do you know what to look for in a personal injury attorney?
In automobile accident cases, the party at fault is likely contentious within moments after the accident. In a medical malpractice case, the doctor may refuse to admit that they made a mistake that led to your injuries or the wrongful death of a loved one.
Searching for Experienced Lawyers
There are numerous ways injured victims can find a competent personal injury attorney, including a lawyer referral service, friends and acquaintances, a lawyer directory, and other attorneys.
Hiring just any lawyer instead of the right attorney or using a lawyer solely to have legal counsel might not prove beneficial to injured victims with serious injuries or extensive property damage.
- Lawyer referral service– A lawyer’s referral service is not a paid attorney advertising site but a database of qualified lawyers looking to meet new clients with a potential personal injury case. The lawyer referral service provides contact information on those lawyers with extensive experience as recommendations to all potential clients that utilize the service who have a likely personal injury claim. Different groups and organizations maintain a referral service with attorney listings, including the American Bar Association, State Bar Association, and others, to help find the right personal injury law firm with the best lawyers.
- Friends and acquaintances– Talking to friends, social groups, and coworkers who have sought legal counsel and representation for their personal injury claims can provide a valuable resource defining the community’s best personal injury lawyer. Typically, if someone you know says good things about their lawyer, the attorney likely has provided an excellent legal outcome and settlement goal in their case. However, different individuals have different responses to their personal injury attorney’s style and personality that might not fit yours until you’ve met with them, discussed your personal injury case, and determined that you feel comfortable with the right lawyer at their law firm.
- Lawyer directory – An accident victim can find many lawyers with experience in personal injury who represent plaintiffs through a lawyer directory in their community, through online chats, or websites. These directories provide potential clients with their personal injury lawyers’ comprehensive profiles and information needed to hire a personal injury attorney to handle their case.
- Other attorneys commonly refer cases between each other, knowing who specializes in unique practice areas that they know will provide the personal attention needed to win the case. However, unlike a referral from a family or coworker, it’s essential not just to take another attorney’s referral as the best option. You can always choose a good lawyer after a free evaluation and initial consultation. Most personal injury lawyers will provide a free consultation to sit down, discuss the case’s merits, examine medical records, review the police report, and provide numerous legal options to move the case forward. Sometimes, the law office will employ less experienced attorneys who will participate in the case and handle routine tasks while the highly experienced personal injury lawyer talks directly with the insurance company and defendants or builds the case for trial.
You Need an Advisor Throughout the Process
Beyond helping their clients get the best possible settlement, lawyers also can act as your counselor throughout your personal injury claim process. Dealing with personal injury settlements and lawsuits is scary for anyone, and they need a place to turn for advice.
In addition to legal help, your personal injury lawyer may give you timely advice as someone who has seen this before. Legal counsel can be invaluable as you deal with a stressful and challenging time in your life.
Your law firm with a focused practice on personal injury may not be there to be your friend, but they are the best counselors and advisors that you must have through the legal process. Now that you know what to look for in a personal injury attorney, you know that hiring the best lawyer can provide peace of mind in a positive outcome for your personal injury case.
Satisfied Clients Hire Our Personal Injury Attorneys Over Other Lawyers
Were you injured in a Chicago car accident, hurt by a doctor’s mistake, the victim of a slip and fall, or harmed by a defective drug? Did you lose a loved one through a wrongful death caused by someone else’s negligence or intentional act?
At Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, LLC, our attorneys are experienced in resolving personal injury cases against everyone responsible, including the person at fault and third parties that might also be named defendants.
All sensitive or confidential information you share with your personal injury lawyer remains private through an attorney-client relationship. In addition, we accept all personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning you do not pay any upfront fees until after the case is resolved successfully through a jury trial verdict or negotiated settlement.
Call the lawyers at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers at (888) 424-5757 to schedule a free consultation and to receive a comprehensive case evaluation.
Resources:
Our law firm is committed to zealously representing clients in trucking accidents, nursing home negligence, medical malpractice, and premises liability.
All content undergoes thorough legal review by experienced attorneys, including Jonathan Rosenfeld. With 25 years of experience in personal injury law and over 100 years of combined legal expertise within our team, we ensure that every article is legally accurate, compliant, and reflects current legal standards.