Belleville Personal Injury Lawyer

Have you been a victim of someone’s negligence, carelessness, or recklessness in Belleville, IL? Have you sustained ghastly injuries just because someone didn’t do what they should have? Have you been in the hospital recuperating because of these injuries? 

If yes, you may be able to seek compensation and collect damages for your hurt and trouble. But to do that, you’ll require the help of an experienced Belleville personal injury lawyer who knows and understands Illinois’ peculiar injury laws and can help you get the settlement you deserve. 

The injury law attorneys at Morelli Law Firm can evaluate your case for merit, fight for your rights, assess the value of your claim, file a personal injury claim with the appropriate agencies, review the insurance company’s offer, and represent you in a court of law if necessary. 

The Basis for Filing a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Belleville, IL

Sustaining an injury doesn’t automatically make you eligible to file a personal injury claim in Illinois. Your case has to meet some requirements and standards before you can file a claim. 

This is a very vital part of the claims process. You must prove negligence or malicious intent on the defendant’s part. And to do that effectively, you have to consider the following crucial elements:

• Duty – This is the obligatory expectation of acting in a safe manner that doesn’t put anyone else in harm’s way. For example, a property owner who has an unfriendly or aggressive dog has an obligation to keep the dog leashed.
• Breach of duty – When someone refuses to act or behave in a manner that’s reasonably safe and puts other people in danger, they have breached that duty. Following the dog example above, if the dog is intentionally or unintentionally unleashed, that’s a breach of duty.
• Causation – This requirement is fulfilled if the breach of duty leads to an accident or injury. If the above-mentioned dog attacks a house guest and bites the guest, that easily translates into causation.
• Damages – If the injuries result in damage or losses i.e. the victim has to spend money they otherwise wouldn’t have, that’s called damages. So, in the dog’s scenario, if the dog’s bite leads to injuries that require a trip to the hospital, impedes the guest’s ability to work and earn a living, or costs them something, that’s known as damages. 

Every valid personal injury case in Belleville, IL, must have all four elements present before your lawyer can begin the claims process.

When’s the Best Time to File a Personal Injury Claim?

Immediately after the accident or right after you’ve sought medical treatment. If your injuries are obvious, you have to start the process of filing a compensation claim as soon as you can. 

While you could try to do it by yourself, it’s generally wiser to have an experienced O’Fallon personal injury attorney begin the process for you. This way, you can focus on recovery, while your lawyer pursues your compensation. 

That being said, there are injuries with delayed symptoms; so they don’t show up until much later. Some examples of these injuries include whiplash, concussion, head trauma, spine injuries, back and neck injuries, and psychological issues like PTSD.

Legal Time Limits

If this happens, you may still be able to file a compensation claim if the statute of limitations or deadline for filing a claim hasn’t elapsed. Illinois has a two-year deadline within which you must bring legal action against errant parties if you want to receive compensation. 

If you wait too long before filing your claim, it could get in the way of you getting adequate compensation. Unfortunately, many victims are often reluctant to file their claims, thinking that they have time, and the insurance companies are counting on that.

They understand and know that the longer it takes for you to file your claim, the higher your chances of getting that claim denied. Don’t be one of those victims. If you have been hurt in any way, it is better to file early so that you can get your settlement on time. 

While there are exceptions to this two-year statute of limitations, it is generally best not to rely on these exceptions. Some victims have done this and regretted it because they were either time-barred (late according to the court’s date) or had their claims denied outrightly. 

Available Personal Injury Claim Compensation

Before a lawyer helps you file your claim, they’ll evaluate the extent of your injuries before filing. Understanding your injuries will help them file a claim for the right kinds of damages you may have suffered In Illinois, you can file a compensation claim for the following damages:

Economic Damages

These are monetary losses that you can easily quantify through the use of receipts, invoices, and bills. They include:

• Medical expenses
• Property damage
• Lost wages
• Household maintenance expenses
• Reduced ability to earn an income

As long as there are receipts, pay stubs, or other clear proof of these expenses, you may be able to get compensation for them. 

Non-Economic Damages

These are much harder to quantify as they include conditions or losses that you can’t easily put a price tag on. This is mostly because their effects are relative. 

For example, even though two people are receiving treatment for PTSD from the same doctor, the psychologist might be prescribing two entirely different treatment protocols for both patients because of their personal experiences. These include:

• Pain and suffering 
• Mental anguish
• Post-traumatic stress disorder
• Emotional trauma 
• Depression
• Scarring and disfigurement
• Loss of consortium

Depending on the circumstances of the case, your Belleville lawyer may also seek punitive damages just to punish the at-fault party if they feel that the defendant displayed an egregious disregard for personal safety or intentional malice.

Cases We Handle at Morelli Law Firm

Our highly experienced personal injury lawyers serving Belleville, IL, can handle personal injury claims and laws brought on by the following:

• Car accidents 
• Truck accidents
• Construction accidents
• Nursing home abuse
• Railroad accidents
• Medical malpractice
• Defective drugs
• Sexual harassment
• Wrongful death

Contact a Belleville Personal Injury Lawyer

With the help of the good Belleville personal injury lawyers at Morelli Law Firm, you can start piecing your life together again and beginning the recovery process. We have helped clients like you recover significant compensation for the injuries that someone caused them.

We have recovered over $1 billion for clients while facing huge corporations with infinite resources. We have the tenacity, dedication, and commitment to bring your case to a logical conclusion. Contact us today for a free case evaluation and one of our personal injury lawyers in Belleville, IL, will be in touch shortly.