Fighting For The Injured In Illinois For 25 Years

The statute of limitations is the law which states how long you have to file a lawsuit. When you wait too long, your case will be dismissed and you will not be able to collect any compensation for your injuries. It can be a technically challenging area of the law, and you should get specific legal advice about your own case.

For most cases, it is two years from the date of accident. However, it may be extended in some situations, such as when there was a minor who was injured or the injured person was not able to manage their own affairs. There may be other situations as well.

For cases involving local governmental entities such as a city, county, or school district, it is generally one year from the date of accident.

We strongly recommend that you do not wait until the statute of limitations is about to expire to hire a lawyer. Many reputable law firms including ours will not accept a case with a limited amount of time before the statute of limitations expires because it increases the odds that something may be missed or a mistake might be made.

We work on a contingency basis, which means that we do not charge anything (even for the initial consultation) unless we are able to get a verdict or a settlement for you. When we get a settlement or verdict in your favor, in most cases, we charge one-third of the verdict or settlement. Some law firms increase the fee up to 40% for simply filing a lawsuit.  We do not think that is appropriate and will not do that.

We also advance the case file expenses which are necessary to prosecute your case such as court filing fees, doctor’s fees, and court reporter’s charges. These frequently amount to thousands of dollars. This money must be reimbursed to us out the settlement of your case. However, if your case is lost, we will not ask you to reimburse us for that money.

That is something that is impossible to say at the outset of a case. We prioritize handling cases the right way and getting the client the best result possible consistent with their own goals, values, and tolerance for risk. Firms that promote themselves as getting “quick settlements” are often getting their clients cheap settlements. We don’t operate that way.

There are some cases which can be settled without a lawsuit ever being filed, and for those cases, the answer is no. For other cases, getting a fair settlement offer may require filing a lawsuit. That does not mean that your case will go to trial. The statistics are that over 95% of all lawsuits that are filed are resolved short of going to trial. Unless yours is one of the cases that does have to be tried, there will almost never be a situation where you actually have to go to court for your case. Most of the work that happens in your case will be done either in the office, over the phone, or on-line.

If you have a lawyer try to tell you what your case is worth without actually doing the hard work to evaluate both the liability issues and the nature and extent of your injuries and damages, one of two things are true. One is that they are doing a sales job on you. The other is that they don’t know what they are doing. Neither of these is good for you.

There is a process which our office uses to evaluate cases for settlement, and we explain it in our free report, “How Much is My Case Worth?” which we offer for free, immediate download.