Naperville Slip and Fall Lawyers
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Naperville Slip and Fall Lawyers
In the best of scenarios, tripping or slipping is embarrassing. It might make you look silly for just a moment. In the worse of scenarios, an accident like this can cause serious injuries. If you are here reading this page today, you are likely suffering from serious injuries after a slip and fall. You may be struggling to go about your normal day. Maybe you are missing work. Our Naperville slip and fall lawyers understand the struggle that people go through after they are involved in a slip and fall. We want to be there for you during this difficult time. If you are suffering, losing money, and don’t enjoy life like you did before the slip and fall, please call our office right away. Get set up with a free first consultation. Continue reading to hear a story of a former client of ours. Then read until the end to learn what case mistakes you should avoid making while navigating through a slip and fall claim.Naperville Slip and Fall Client Story
Disclaimer: The names and some details of this story have been changed to protect the identity of our client. Brad was waiting for five o’clock so he could leave work and head home. He was having guests over tonight and there were still things he needed to get done for him to be ready. He had to stop by the store before he could go home and set up. It was halfway through the day at work when he realized he never picked up soda for the party. For the last fifteen minutes of work, Brad kept checking the clock willing it to move faster. He was hosting all his friends for a housewarming party. He had just moved into a new house a month ago. It was his first place he had bought on his own. There were no roommates to worry about appeasing and no girlfriend to hog the covers This was his place. He was extremely proud of himself. As he worked away the last fifteen minutes of the day, he ran through his to-do list in his head. He needed to stop quickly at the store, get ice, last minute vacuuming, etc. Finally it was five. He said goodnight to his co-workers and shut down his computer. On the ride home, he put his Bluetooth on and called his friend who was going to bring the food to the party to let him know that he was going to be home within the hour, assuming the traffic stayed light. He was excited to have a big party. His aunt once told him that having that first big, happy event really made a house a home. It would set him up to associate the house with good memories. As he pulled up to the grocery store, he checked the time. He was probably going to make it home before his friend got there. He strolled into the store and headed towards the soda aisle. He has only grabbing a few liters of soda so he decided against using a cart or a basket. He picked out a few varieties. With the soda in his arms, he decided that while he was here, he would quickly grab another couple bags of chips just in case. As he rounded the corner to the chip aisle, he slipped in something. The soda went up in the air, his feet flew out from under him and he landed hard on his elbow. It appeared that a glass jar of juice at the end cap display had been dropped on the floor and spilled everywhere. Brad got up and tried to grab the soda that he dropped. That’s when he felt the shooting pain in his elbow. A worker came over and asked if he was okay. He explained that he slipped on whatever was spilled beneath him. He decided to make an accident report to the manager of the store. During which, he snapped a few photos of the spill. It was a glass jar of concentrated apple juice that someone had dropped. Brad noticed there were no signs up indicating the spill. The worker and the manager apologized profusely. He was embarrassed that he caused such a scene but his elbow was really hurting. He held it close to his body and it was clear he was not going to be able to carry out the sodas alone. After the accident report was filed, he left the store empty handed. His elbow was bothering him so much. Frustrated and angry from the pain, Brad made a call over to his friend. He told him about the slip and explained that his elbow felt terrible. His friend suggested he head right to urgent care. It was not without some persuasion that Brad agreed to call off the party and go to urgent care. He arrived, paid the fee to be seen, and waited in the waiting room. Brad was devastated that he was going to have to cancel the party. He was also sweating from the pain. He winced every time he tried to move his arm. During the course of his visit at the urgent care, they performed x-rays on the area. After a very long wait, the doctor came in with the image in hand. He showed him on the display that he had in fact broken his elbow during the fall. Brad hoped he would not need surgery. He knew he was going to have to work something out with his boss until he could properly use his arm to type which at the moment was cast in a way that would make it nearly impossible to do so. He got home late that night, upset about the events of tonight which were supposed to have been joyous. While browsing the internet about his injury, he realized that he may be entitled to compensation. He found our website and made a call to us the next day. We got him set up with a free consultation as soon as possible. During his consultation he had three main questions:.- How much does it cost to hire a lawyer?
- How long will this claim take?
- What is my claim worth?
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How much does it cost to hire a lawyer?
Brad mentioned to us that he had just bought his first home. That, on top of all the medical bills he was going to have to pay was making his finances a little tight budgeted. He was worried about being able to afford our representation. We were glad to tell Brad that when he hires a personal injury lawyer for a slip and fall claim, he does not need to worry about paying any upfront fees. In fact, no one will ever have to give us a retainer fee. We work on a contingency fee basis. We do not get paid unless we win your claim. The law firm absorbs the costs of the case. A small percent of the compensation award pays those expenses back as well as the fees for our representation.How long will this claim take?
When Brad asked us how long the claim would take, he wanted to know when he could expect the compensation award. We told him that his patience is very important right now. We first needed to know when he was going to reach maximum medical improvement. Until then, we would not know the full extent of his damages. We never want to rush a case because that means that you might risk losing out on compensation. For example, if Brad needed a second surgery several months from now because his elbow was not improving from physical therapy, but we settled the case before then, we would not be able to get compensation for the surgery. Once we knew he reached maximum medical recovery, the speed at which the case resolved would depend on how cooperative the insurance company was. If they were reasonable, this case would settle sooner.What is my claim worth?
We explained to Brad that it would be irresponsible for us to promise him a certain amount of money right now before we had done a thorough investigation on his case. We need to know exactly how much loss you have suffered from your slip and fall. We look to see how much money you have lost out of as well as how much this accident has affected your life. Your case value is determined based on your medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, etc. When you reach maximum medical recovery, we will know that you are done paying medical bills. Then we can better determine the case value without worrying that there will be more expenses.Slip and Fall Case Mistakes
When you have suffered serious injury in a slip and fall claim because of someone else’s carelessness or negligence, you deserve justice. Unfortunately, these claims can be tricky. There is a lot of room for error especially if you have never gone through something like this before. The following are mistakes you should avoid making if you want justice for your damages.Waiting to Receive Medical Care
If we look to the example of Brad, we can learn an important lesson about getting medical care right away. Brad was reluctant to go to the doctor. He was looking forward to his party. He thought maybe the pain was just a bad bruise that would eventually go away. Thankfully, his friend convinced him to go to urgent care. When you get hurt, you need to seek medical care right away. First and foremost, you do not want your injuries to get any worse. You also do not want the insurance company to have any reason to reduce the value of your claim. If they notice that you did not seek medical care right away, they might try to say you lied about how badly hurt you were. They may also claim that your injuries were from something else. Thankfully for Brad, he not only filed an accident report, but he got to the urgent care center right away.Recent Blog Posts
Ignoring Advice from Your Doctors
Something you need to know about the insurance companies is that they have tricks up their sleeves to get them out of paying your compensation award. One of those tricks is having private investigators sometimes follow plaintiffs to catch them doing something that defies the advice and restrictions given to them by their doctor. If you were told by your doctor to avoid certain activities, you should always listen to them. Not only will it aide in your recovery, but you are also eliminating the opportunities to give the insurance companies any leverage over you. If the doctor tells you to go to follow up visits, you need to prioritize doing that. The insurance company would love nothing more than the excuse to say you are lying about how badly hurt you are so they can reduce the compensation that they offer you.Talking to the Insurance Company
The insurance companies, as you may have already gathered, are not your friends. At the end of the day, they are a business that aims to make a profit. Your slip and fall claim is an expense to them that they are tasked with trying to reduce. The insurance company may have representatives reach out to you shortly after the accident to try to get you to agree to give them a recorded statement about this incident. They will make it seem like you are allowing them to help you get this all resolved sooner. You should not fall for this act. These insurance companies do a really good job at positioning themselves as your pals when you get hurt. They have great commercials and advertisements that want you to believe that they are in your corner. Do not fall for it. You cannot trust them to give you justice. If they call you to get a recorded statement, you have the right to hang up the phone. You do not have to talk to them. Nothing in the law requires you to give them a statement of any kind. Let your lawyers talk to them so your rights are always protected.Delaying Reaching Out to a Lawyer
You do not have forever to file your claim. The sooner you reach out to a lawyer, the better. These cases take time to set up for success. If you wait too long to file your claim, you could miss out on receiving compensation. According to the laws in Illinois, you have two years from the date of your accident to file your claim. If you try to bring your claim after this date, you will automatically be denied. Don’t wait to talk to a lawyer. You need to make sure that you are on the right path to justice and having a lawyer by your side early on will ensure that you are. Also, as time goes on without a lawyer working to build a case for you, your evidence may disappear and your witnesses could become untraceable or they may forget key details that could have helped us. Don’t wait to call a lawyer. Set up your free consultation today.Bringing on the Wrong Lawyer to Handle Your Claim
When you are looking for a lawyer to handle your claim, you need to make sure this is the best possible person to be handling your claim. You should be looking for someone who handles personal injury cases, specifically slip and fall claims, on a regular basis. They should have a long list of people they have helped get justice for. They should also be someone who is going to pick up the phone when you call. These cases can sometimes go on for a while. You don’t want to be stuck with a lawyer who is going to forward all of your questions and concerns to someone else. The right lawyer will be as invested in the success of your case as you are. They should make this process easy for you. You only get this one opportunity to get justice for your case. Choose your lawyer carefully.Call Our Naperville Slip and Fall Lawyers Today
If you have suffered serious injuries after being involved in an accident due to someone else’s negligence, you deserve to have strong representation. Please let our lawyers fight tirelessly for your justice. Call us today to set up a free initial consultation.Client Reviews
“They will give you undivided attention and do everything in their power to meet your needs.”
– Lindsay O’Connell Vega