We are experienced injury attorneys who will give you a free case review and help you find the best attorney for your case. Call us any time at 312-346-5320.
Imagine that you are sitting at a stop light and you get run into by a mail carrier driving a United States Postal Service (USPS) truck. Your back and neck immediately hurt and you go to the hospital. The doctor checks you out, refers you to your family doctor and they recommend you get physical therapy. That does not work and you end up with an orthopedic doctor. It is not a crippling injury, but one that will require months of treatment before you feel better.
You were in a car accident once before and when that happened, your phone was ringing off the hook with ambulance chasing attorneys trying to get your case. They also sent letters and texts. It was terrible.
This time, you do not hear from one lawyer at all. While that is welcome as the attorneys who do that are gross, you find it odd. So you call a couple of lawyers, tell them what happened and they tell you that even though you were not at fault and are hurt, they can not help you?
What is going on?!?!?!?
Why Some Lawyers Don’t Take USPS Truck Accidents But We Do
If this has happened to you, you are not alone. Finding an attorney willing to sue the Federal Government for a car accident in Illinois can be a challenge. These are not normal car accident cases. Because a Federal employee was driving, you have to sue under a law called the Federal Torts Claim Act or FTCA.
When suing the Post Office or any other Federal department for personal injury, attorney fees are limited to only 20% of an administrative settlement or 25% of a judgment at trial or court approved settlement. In other words, if an attorney takes one of these cases, their normal fee is drastically reduced.
Beyond that, there are extra hoops you have to jump through to file the case because it’s in Federal Court as compared to filing a case in your local county. This includes a six month waiting period and the US Attorney’s Office often being slow to respond.
In other words, the lawyers get paid less and they have to work a lot harder. Some Illinois personal injury attorneys do not want tougher cases and do not want to work hard at all. It’s a shame.
But the reality is that once you know how to manage the Federal system and FTCA cases in general, they are not that hard. In fact we know one great Chicago car accident lawyer in particular who loves these cases and does great work for his clients. He has figured out the system and uses that experience to get great results.
So if you were hit by a USPS truck or any other Federally owned vehicle, do not fret. We can help you find an excellent lawyer who will protect you and get you compensated for your injuries. Call us any time at 312-346-5320 for a free review of your case.
