Chicago Accident Attorneys Can Help You Get Compensation
Accidents are the cause of death for hundreds of Chicagoans every year and the injury of hundreds more. These statistics include motorcyclists, bicyclists, drivers, and pedestrians. Victims in these accidents can suffer injury and property damage that ranges from the minor to the catastrophic.
Some studies indicate that 98 percent of auto accidents are the result of a distracted driver. There are many things that can cause this distraction, from changing the radio station to trying to read. If you have been the victim of an auto accident in which the at-fault driver was distracted, you may have grounds for a personal injury claim.
Personal injury claims are a special type of lawsuit that deals with recovering damages from the person who caused your injury. The blanket term “personal injury” covers many different types of cases, including slip and fall cases and dog bites. Personal injury claims are not criminal cases, but civil ones. This means that the defendant will have to pay you for your damages if they are found to be guilty. Because an auto accident can result in serious injury and death, it isn’t uncommon for a person to be tried both civilly and criminally. Whether the state decides to press criminal charges or not, you can still file and win a civil case for the incident.
All awards in a civil case are financial ones and are calculated based on a number of factors. The most obvious, and easiest to determine, are those that equal the amount of money you have paid out because of the accident. These damages are clearly based on actual financial costs and are thus called economic damages. Lost wages and medical bills are two forms of economic damages.
The other type of compensation you can receive are called non-economic damages and they are based on more esoteric factors. This is, obviously, difficult to calculate because it is very hard to convert something like pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life into dollars. Still, the court believes it is worth recompensing you for, so they will set an amount to address it. While some states place a cap on non-economic damages, Illinois does not, so there is no upper limit to what you might be awarded.
If you have been injured in an accident, whether you were a driver, a cyclist, a motorcyclist, or a pedestrian, contact a Chicago accident attorney right away. Attorneys can help injured parties decide whether a lawsuit is their best option for recovering damages. Whether your case proceeds to trial or is settled, having an attorney on your side greatly increases your odds of success.
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Discovering The Truth About Accidents
