Personal Injury Lawyer Collinsville, IL
No one who has been injured due to the negligence of another should be responsible for their own compensation. You should speak to a personal injury lawyer about your claim if this happened to you.
Hipskind & McAninch, LLC is a personal injury law firm representing accident victims in Missouri and Illinois who have been injured due to negligence. We work on a contingency basis, meaning you don’t have to pay our personal injury attorneys to fight for your rights under the law.
Types of Personal Injury Claims
Personal injury is a vast area of the law, and many different types of claims exist. Here is an overview of the most common types of cases our personal injury accident attorneys handle.
Car Accidents
Car vs. car crashes, motorcycle accidents, commercial truck accidents, pedestrian accidents, and bicycle accidents are just a few of the types of claims we handle. We also represent the families of loved ones in fatal crashes. Car accidents are so prolific that most drivers will be involved in an injury crash at some point in their lives.
Slip and Falls
Similar to a car accident, a slip-and-fall accident is very likely to occur at some point in an individual’s lifetime. Falls account for 8 million ER visits nationally, and one million of those are due to accidental slips and falls.
Medical Malpractice
Doctors and other medical staff have a duty to provide qualified and competent care to their patients. When they fail in that duty, a personal injury law firm with experience in medical malpractice claims can help injured patients seek justice.
Product Liability
Product manufacturers have a duty of care to ensure that their products are safe for their clients. Because product cases often cross state lines where different laws apply, you’ll need to ensure that a personal injury attorney handles these types of claims.
Workers’ Compensation
With workers’ compensation claims, you do not have to demonstrate that your employer or other individuals involved were negligent. Your injuries should be covered by your employer’s workers’ comp insurance company.
The following chart shows the most common types of workplace injuries. All would be covered by workers comp:
Reimbursement for Personal Injury Claims
Most personal injury cases start with a claim to the defendant’s insurance company. For example, if you’re injured in a car accident, the claim would go through the other driver’s insurance. Similarly, if you were to slip and fall at a store, the claim would go through the proprietor’s premises liability insurance.
You don’t want to file a claim on your own because insurance companies are excellent at low-balling settlement amounts. For example, if you were in a car accident with a drunk driver, you might receive a call from the other driver’s insurance company within 24 hours. The adjuster will offer to pay your medical expenses, lost wages, property damage, etc.
This may seem like a great offer at first, but you will have to sign a waiver of liability to collect. That means if you find out that your injuries were worse than you initially thought, you cannot hire a lawyer and sue for more money. One of the most difficult aspects of being a personal injury lawyer is turning down clients who signed away their rights before talking to an attorney. Always speak to a personal injury lawyer before accepting a settlement.
Frequently Asked Questions
At the Collinsville law firm of Hipskind & McAninch, LLC, we receive hundreds of questions from clients during their free initial consultations. Contact our office and speak with an attorney to ask questions about your case.
What are contingency fees?
A personal injury attorney doesn’t accept payment upfront. Most accident victims are not in a position to pay a hefty retainer for legal representation. Consequently, personal injury lawyers defer payment until the end of the case. They then accept a percentage of the settlement or court award.
Personal injury lawyers justify this arrangement by their ability to increase the size of the settlement packages or awards. For example, most insurance companies do not include sufficient pain and suffering damages in their offers. Before committing to an attorney, ask to see their contingency fee schedule.
What do I need to prove to collect damages?
There are four elements that your attorney must demonstrate to collect damages in a personal injury case:
- The defendant had a duty of care toward the plaintiff.
- The defendant breached that duty.
- The defendant’s breach of duty caused the accident.
- The accident caused damages to the victim.
It’s incumbent on your attorney to establish that all four elements exist.
Will my case go to court?
Some personal injury cases end up in court, but most of them are settled before or during litigation. As a rule, the more severe the injuries are, the more likely the case will go to court.
Collinsville Personal Injury Lawyers for Accident Victims
For years, the personal injury lawyers of Hipskind & McAninch, LLC have represented clients in Collinsville and other Missouri and Illinois suburbs. Our attorneys work on a contingency basis, meaning you don’t have to pay out of pocket for our professional legal services. Call today for a one-on-one free consultation with an experienced personal injury attorney. We’re ready to fight for your rights.
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