As per the latest available data, there were 1,405 car accidents in Champaign, Illinois in 2022. Of them, about 75% resulted in property damage. However, about 34% resulted in injuries too, and 4 people lost their lives in car accidents that year alone. [1]
While an accident is usually over in a matter of seconds, its aftermath could mean your life may never be what it once was. You don’t have to suffer for someone else’s negligence. Contact a Champaign car accident lawyer from our team who’ll fight in your corner and help you get justice.
What to Do After a Motor Vehicle Collision in Champaign
Experiencing a car accident can be downright horrible, not just because you may feel overwhelmed but because it may have also caused serious injuries. Call 911 as soon as you can to get first responders on the scene. Keep calm and follow these steps to safeguard your rights.
- Record Evidence – The photos and videos you take will serve as evidence to establish fault and quantify your damages. Don’t forget to exchange information with the other driver as well.
- File a Police Report – Make sure your statement in the police report paints a comprehensive picture of how the accident happened.
- Don’t Admit Fault – Don’t say anything to the other driver, their insurance company or attorney giving them the impression that you admit the car accident was your fault.
- Get an Accident Lawyer – You’ll need an experienced personal injury attorney in your corner who can pursue all legal options against all liable parties to get you the compensation you deserve quickly.
You Have Limited Time to File a Car Accident Personal Injury Claim in Champaign, IL
It’s your responsibility to file the claim for your Champaign car accident before the statute of limitations expires.
For personal injury claims in Champaign, IL, the statute of limitations is two years from the date of the accident. It’s five years for property damage and two years from the accident date for wrongful death lawsuits.
Even if your claim is very strong, it will be disallowed if this defined time limit has passed.
Figuring out how the statute of limitations will be calculated in your case can be challenging which is why working with Champaign car accident attorneys soon after the accident is vital in ensuring you’re not prevented from winning damages on a technicality.
Types of Cases Our Champaign Car Accident Attorneys Handle
Our personal injury law firm is highly experienced in handling all manner of Champaign car accident cases. We remain focused on securing maximum compensation for you so no matter what type of accident you were in, you get the best possible chance of regaining control of your life.
- Rear-End Accidents – These accidents happen when drivers don’t maintain a safe distance from the car in front or tailgate, only to end up crashing straight into it from behind.
- Sideswipes – Drivers making unsafe lane changes will often crash into the side of another vehicle, and depending on the speeds involved, a serious accident can occur with the other car even rolling over.
- Hit and Run Accidents – At-fault drivers may panic after an auto accident and flee the scene to avoid getting caught. Our Champaign car accident lawyers will exercise all legal options to ensure they don’t evade justice.
- Frontal Collisions – We routinely deal with frontal or head-on collisions where two cars collide from opposite directions, leading to serious injuries.
The Most Common Causes of Champaign, Illinois Car Accidents
The circumstances playing a role in accidents are different in every case but there tends to be a common thread in them all. We usually see some common causes behind many accidents in Champaign, such as:
- Drunk Driving – Impaired driving by people who’ve had too much to drink or are under the influence of drugs is one of the most common causes of car accidents in Champaign.
- Distracted Driving – Drivers not paying attention to the road and being distracted by their phones or other passengers in the car often cause accidents with catastrophic injuries.
- Ignoring Traffic Rules – Rules of the road are meant for everyone’s safety. Breaking them by ignoring speed limits, running stop signs, not yielding to traffic, and similar irresponsible behavior results in crashes.
- Vehicle Faults – Manufacturing defects in the vehicle or a part can prevent the driver from safely operating the vehicle, rendering them unable to avoid an auto accident.
Do You Have an Auto Accident Case?
You’re owed a duty of care by other drivers on the road. They must obey all traffic laws and drive safely to avoid injuring anybody in an auto accident. You’ll need to establish this duty of care was breached by the at-fault driver’s negligence resulting in the accident that injured you.
Once you’ve successfully established they were at fault, you’ll have a solid claim for damages in which the chances of winning maximum compensation are fairly high. This is best done with the help of expert Champaign car accident lawyers who understand what evidence needs to be collected and how it must be presented.
Legal Liability in Car Accident Claims
The other driver may not be the only party responsible for your Champaign car accident. There may be others who are liable to pay compensation for your pain and suffering. Your accident lawyer will evaluate all facts of the case to identify every potentially liable party and recover compensation from them.
- Employer’s Liability – You could seek compensation from an employer if the accident was caused by their employee on a work trip.
- Car Manufacturers – If there were known defects in the vehicle you were in and the manufacturer hid them, they could be held liable for your accident.
- Government Liability – Government agencies can be held liable for negligence, such as improper road maintenance, or when accidents occur in government vehicles.
- DRAM Shop Liability – Under DRAM shop laws, a claim for damages can be filed against an establishment that served alcohol to a visibly intoxicated customer that later drove and caused an accident.
Proving Fault for Car Crashes in Champaign, IL
The at-fault driver has to provide compensation if you suffer injuries in the accident as Illinois is an at-fault state. You’ll need to file a claim with the other driver’s insurance company for any economic and non-economic damages.
How much you ultimately receive will also be influenced by whether you share a percentage of the fault for the accident.
This is due to the state’s modified comparative negligence laws. In all accidents, the percentage of fault all parties share is assessed. Your payout will be reduced by your share of the fault.
For example, if you were found to be 20% at fault for the accident and won $1 million in damages, the final payout would be $800,000.
Financial Compensation We Can Secure for Champaign, IL Car Accident Victims
The financial compensation differs for every car accident case in Champaign. How much you receive will be influenced by many factors, including your share of the fault, the insurance policy limits of the defendants, and the number of defendants liable.
Our car accident lawyers have more than two decades of experience securing big settlements worth millions of dollars for our clients. You’ll benefit from this expertise when you have our Champaign personal injury attorneys in your corner. Some of the recent major settlements we’ve won include:
- $18.5 million for a victim suffering permanent injuries in a head-on semi-truck crash
- $14.1 million in a wrongful death case for the family of a motorcyclist hit by a truck
- $7 million for a pedestrian struck by a company car working for a national medical supplier
Factors Affecting Car Accident Settlement Amounts
Car accident settlement amounts are influenced by a variety of factors, including but not limited to insurance policy limits and how serious your injuries were. The factors dictating how much money you can receive also include:
- Amount of Losses – The higher the cost of injuries and property damage you’ve suffered because of the accident, the more likely you are to get a bigger settlement.
- Share of Fault – Your compensation award can also be reduced if a percentage of the fault is assigned to you. Up to 50% of the fault can be assigned to you and your compensation will be cut by exactly the percentage of your fault.
- Strength of Evidence – Strong evidence is vital to create a solid legal foundation for your claim. The insurance company will then find it difficult to make a lowball offer when presented with irrefutable evidence.
- Witness Testimonies – Eyewitnesses who saw how the accident unfolded can provide objective testimony, which will further solidify your claim and enable you to seek maximum compensation.
The Most Common Car Accident Injuries
Despite cars being safer now than ever before, more often than not, automobile accidents result in serious injuries leading to lifelong disability and even death. Some of the most common injuries seen in accidents include:
- Broken Bones – It’s all too common for bones in different parts of the body to break due to the sheer force of impact in an accident, potentially causing permanent disfigurement and disability to those injured.
- Traumatic Brain Injuries – These injuries result from blunt force trauma to the head and may cause internal bleeding and death. Fatal outcomes are more likely if the driver or passengers aren’t wearing seatbelts.
- Paralysis – Spinal cord injuries suffered by car accident victims can result in paraplegia and quadriplegia, which is the paralysis of various limbs, thereby significantly reducing the victim’s mobility.
- Internal Bleeding – Severe internal bleeding causes hemorrhagic shock or death if emergency medical treatment is not received.
Damages Our Champaign Car Accident Lawyers Can Help You Recover
Based on the unique nature of your case, our Champaign car accident lawyers will work hard to get you all of the damages you’re entitled to.
As an accident victim, you’re entitled to receive full and fair compensation for economic damages such as all medical expenses, property damage, lost wages, and future medical bills.
You can also receive non-economic damages for your pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of income potential, and loss of enjoyment of life.
If your loved one was killed in an accident, you can file a wrongful death lawsuit to claim burial and funeral expenses, medical bills, loss of companionship, and loss of consortium.
Champaign, IL Motor Vehicle Accidents Statistics
A deep dive into the most recent data available from the 2022 report from the Illinois Department of Transportation [2] reveals the following:
- Angle or T-bone crashes totaled 287 with 78 injury crashes
- The most number of accidents, 251, occurred on a Friday
- Of the 39 drunk driving accidents, only 1 proved to be fatal
- Defective vehicle brakes resulted in 11 car accidents
- 1 death was recorded in a total of 40 semi-truck accident cases in Champaign
- 135 accidents happened during rainy weather conditions
The Time It Takes to Settle Car Crash Personal Injury Cases
Expect your Champaign, IL car accident settlement to arrive about six months after you file the claim. If the insurance company doesn’t delay matters you can even get a settlement much earlier. In case there’s a delay or they don’t want to offer a settlement, the case will then go to trial, which can take much longer to wrap up.
Hiring Champaign car accident lawyers fast helps prevent unnecessary delays. The insurance company can’t drag its feet on your settlement unnecessarily as our accident lawyer will proactively take the case to trial and seek a favorable verdict, enabling you to win maximum compensation for your troubles.
The Cost of Hiring a Champaign Car Accident Attorney
Our law firm will take your auto accident case on a contingency fee basis. This means you don’t pay us anything. Our experienced personal injury attorneys will handle everything for you, including the trial, without requiring any upfront payment. This empowers you to have the best legal representation for your car accident claim without any financial burden.
We only get paid once you get paid. Our fee will be a percentage of your confirmed settlement offer. This arrangement keeps us motivated and focused to win as much compensation as possible for you. We’ll rely on our over two decades of experience to win big and ensure you’re fairly compensated.
How Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers Handle Auto Accident Cases
Focused on achieving the best outcome for your case, our law firm diligently follows a results-oriented process to hold accountable all those who played a role in your accident. Here’s what the process entails:
- Free Case Evaluation – We’ll provide a free consultation, laying out all legal options available to you and a general idea of how much you can expect to receive as compensation.
- Securing Evidence – We work with the best experts in the field to independently investigate your auto accident and secure all relevant evidence establishing the negligence of all liable defendants.
- Negotiations – We negotiate with insurance companies from a position of strength with the ultimate goal of obtaining the best settlement offer.
- Going To Trial – Our national trial lawyers will proactively take the case to trial and get a favorable jury verdict, resulting in a significant payout for you.
Contact a Champaign Car Accident Lawyer Today!
At Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, we have decades of experience in handling auto accident cases. We’ve relied on our expertise in personal injury cases to win millions of dollars in settlements for innocent victims and their families. Since we work on a contingency fee basis, you don’t pay our accident attorneys a single cent until you have a confirmed settlement offer in hand.
Just give us a call at (888) 424-5757 at any time. Our Champaign car accident attorneys are standing by to provide a free consultation. We’ll work tirelessly until you get a settlement that you’re happy with. There’s no risk in reaching out because if you don’t win, you don’t pay us anything.