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Electric cars are all the rage and that makes sense. They are new. They are cool. And with the high cost of gas they make economic sense for many people in the long run. And they are getting better and better every year.

I’m not an Elon Musk fan, so I’d never buy a Tesla, but I would like to buy one of the other great electric cars on the market some day. I’m not a huge “car guy” but do like the idea of buying something environmentally friendly. And the electric cars I’ve been in, including Teslas, are very cool.

What I never thought about Teslas until recently was how fast they are. I met an engineer for Rivian, which is an electric vehicle company focusing on trucks and SUV’s, who explained to me how these cars really work.

What he told me was that some versions of Tesla and Rivian are actually as fast or faster than pretty much any car on the road including Lamborghinis. The Model S Tesla can go zero to sixty in 2.07 seconds. That is really fast.

What we have started to see and will see more as more people take possession of the Teslas they’ve ordered is a lot of car accidents caused by people going at an excessive speed. I’ve seen teens driving these vehicles which makes sense because teens want cars that are cool and fun. I’m sure a lot of them like that the Tesla can make fart noises. But I question if they are truly prepared and trained to drive a car that can go so fast in such a short period of time.

Of course these cars can be driven safely, but high speed leads to many accidents. So while we’ve all heard about deaths and accidents from the self driving feature of Tesla, I think that the great majority of accidents where the Tesla driver is at fault will be due to excessive speed situations.

We’ve helped thousands of people who have been in car accidents. For someone who has a catastrophic injury such as death, brain damage, paralysis, etc., it may make sense to not only sue a negligent driver, but also to sue Tesla (or whoever the auto maker is for negligent product design.

If you’d like to speak with an attorney for free about your car accident, we are happy to talk to you. Please contact us any time at 312-346-5320.

When people call us for an Illinois medical malpractice lawyer referral, we want to find them the best one for their case. When it comes to Illinois medical malpractice lawsuits, there are a lot of lawyers who say that they handle those cases, but the reality is very few can show a real track record of success with them.

That’s because these cases are complex and very expensive (don’t worry, it won’t cost you anything, the lawyers we work with advance all the costs and only get paid if they win). Insurance companies fight these cases very hard. The best lawyers give you the best chance of winning and obtaining the most money. There are probably less than ten law firms in Illinois who continuously get multi-million dollar results for their clients.

As part of our role in finding the best lawyer for you, we first assess the case facts including what happened, who the potential defendant is, what the potential damages are, is there anything unique about the case and what is important to you. When we ask people what is important to them, some will talk about geographic concerns. The good news is you will almost never have to travel to get a great lawyer.

Another issue that is important to people is making sure the lawyer can speak their language. This should never be a worry, especially if you are looking for a Spanish speaking lawyer. The best medical malpractice law firms in Chicago that we know all have Spanish speaking attorneys on staff. They also have multiple staff members who can speak Spanish. In other words, you won’t have to rely on a family member to translate for you or need hope that you understand what they are saying.

In my opinion, especially when you have a good case, you shouldn’t have to compromise on lawyer quality just to feel more comfortable because they speak your language. And the good news is that you don’t have to. So if you would like a free consultation to discuss a case, please call us any time at 312-346-5320.

Los mejores abogados de habla hispana en Chicago

Cuando las personas nos llaman para una referencia de un abogado de negligencia médica en Illinois, queremos encontrarles el mejor para su caso. Cuando se trata de demandas por negligencia médica en Illinois, hay muchos abogados que dicen que manejan esos casos, pero la realidad es que muy pocos pueden mostrar un historial real de éxito con ellos.

Eso es porque estos casos son complejos y muy costosos (no se preocupe, no le costará nada, los abogados con los que trabajamos adelantan todos los costos y solo cobran si ganan). Las compañías de seguros luchan muy duro en estos casos. Los mejores abogados le brindan la mejor oportunidad de ganar y obtener la mayor cantidad de dinero. Probablemente hay menos de diez bufetes de abogados en Illinois que continuamente obtienen resultados multimillonarios para sus clientes.

Como parte de nuestro papel en la búsqueda del mejor abogado para usted, primero evaluamos los hechos del caso, incluido lo que sucedió, quién es el posible acusado, cuáles son los posibles daños, si hay algo único en el caso y qué es importante para usted. Cuando le preguntamos a la gente qué es importante para ellos, algunos hablarán de preocupaciones geográficas. La buena noticia es que casi nunca tendrá que viajar para conseguir un gran abogado.

Otro tema que es importante para las personas es asegurarse de que el abogado pueda hablar su idioma. Esto nunca debería ser una preocupación, especialmente si está buscando un abogado que hable español. Los mejores bufetes de abogados especializados en negligencia médica en Chicago que conocemos cuentan con abogados que hablan español en su personal. También tienen varios miembros del personal que pueden hablar español. En otras palabras, no tendrá que depender de un miembro de la familia para que le traduzca o esperar que entienda lo que está diciendo.

En mi opinión, especialmente cuando tiene un buen caso, no debería comprometer la calidad de los abogados solo para sentirse más cómodo porque hablan su idioma. Y la buena noticia es que no tienes que hacerlo. Entonces, si desea una consulta gratuita para discutir un caso, llámenos en cualquier momento al 312-346-5320.

We all know that car accidents occur every day. When you are injured and not at fault, dealing with an insurance company can be a whole new world and it can be stressful. Many insurance companies use this difficult time to take advantage of people. For them, it’s a business decision as they focus on their bottom line. They look for ways to reduce the amount that they are legally obligated to pay.

Here are five tricks we’ve seen over the years in helping people find the best Illinois car accident lawyer for their case:

1. They act like they are your best buddy: Most insurance adjusters are given scripts to use to guide what they say to you. Studies have shown that if they act nice to you, you will let them take advantage of you. Their goal is to gain your trust and make you think they are on your side. It’s a con. They are not looking out for you. They are looking out for themselves. In fact, many insurance adjusters get bonuses based on how much money they can save the company by not paying out claims.

2. They follow you on your social media: Insurance companies are looking for any reason to deny your case or reduce your benefits. They will be looking at your Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc. to see if you are posting anything that can create a defense for them. You should never discuss your case or injuries and shouldn’t be seen doing anything that could indicate you aren’t as hurt as you say you are. This is a form of legal surveillance. They are going to see what you did for fun before your accident and argue that could be the real cause of your injuries. It’s shameful, but allowed.

3. They will ask you to give a recorded statement: It’s not unusual for an insurance adjuster to say something like, “In order to process your claim, we need to record a statement from you to obtain details about the accident.” They imply that it’s required. It’s not and you absolutely shouldn’t give one. They will ask you questions that are scripted in a way to trip you up or misinterpret what you actually mean. They also will try to get you to say something incorrect and twist that to make you seem like a liar. The bottom line is you don’t have to give a recorded statement and shouldn’t.

4. They will ask for access to all of your medical records: Often the insurance company will send you a lot of paperwork which includes authorization to obtain medical records. The release will grant them access to any medical records that you’ve ever had. They don’t have a right to that. They can see records that relate to your accident and injury. But they don’t have a right to look at records that aren’t a part of your accident at all such as pregnancy records, cancer treatment, psychological care, etc. They are hoping to go on a fishing expedition to come up with a bogus reason to deny your case. Don’t let them.

5. They will try to get you to take a quick settlement: It’s not uncommon now to get a call from someone who was injured in a car accident a week ago to call us and relay that the insurance company offered a settlement already. Their goal is to get you to close out your case while you still need medical care. They are hoping that your inexperience will work against you and save them a ton of money. It’s probably the scummiest thing that they do and if you agree to it, they might be able to enforce a settlement even if you change your mind once you learn your rights.

The bottom line is that they are looking out for themselves and not you. If you have been hurt in a car accident and want to talk to an attorney for free, you can contact us any time ta 312-346-5320. We help everywhere in Illinois.

Every winter in Illinois we see an uptick in calls for people injured in a slip and fall. Those can be tough cases to win, but ultimately the case facts determine the result. These cases happen year round and are covered under an area called premises liability.

Premises liability rules encourage landowners to keep their property in a reasonably safe condition. The rules also compensate people who are injured as a result of the landowners’ negligence.  The key is that they have to be negligent. Premises liability rules also apply to businesses who rent commercial property (in other words, occupants). For example, Jewel-Osco may rent space in a strip mall and not own the property the store sits on. However, they are still required to keep their store in a reasonably safe condition. (To keep things simple, we will use the term “landowner,” assuming it includes occupants/businesses that rent space.)

There are different duties or standards required of landowners based on the type of visitors who are on the premises. The two types or visitors are invitees and trespassers.

Invitee: If a person if invited or welcomed on the premises for business, the landowner has a duty to maintain the premises in a reasonably safe condition. This does not mean the customer has to have a formal invitation, of course. Walmart, for example, wants people to come into their store and buy food, clothing, etc. Most people are invitees in most situations.

Trespasser: If a person is not welcome on a landowner’s property, the landowner still has a responsibility to refrain from a reckless disregard of the safety of others. In other words, they can’t intentionally be careless or cause harm. A trespasser isn’t always someone committing a crime. It could be as simple as a kid who runs on to your property to get the ball they accidentally threw in to your yard.

If an invitee or trespasser is injured on a landowner’s property, and they can prove that the landowner failed to meet the duty required, that landowner may be on the hook to pay for their medical bills, lost wages, future medical care, etc. For example, if they knew there was a hole in their yard and covered it with leaves, they could be responsible. If Jewel knows that a freezer is leaking and you slip on a wet floor as a result, they could be held responsible.

Typically, the landowner has insurance and the insurance company will make the payout. Insurance companies, however, are not usually eager to cooperate and meet all of the injured person’s demands and will look for ways to deny your claim. Quite often they will turn you down without justification. That’s where a premises liability attorney comes into play.

Slip and falls aren’t the only type of premises liability lawsuit out there. Others include:

• Porch Collapses – Especially in Chicago, there are a lot of older buildings with porches, many that were poorly designed or are not maintained. Every year people get seriously injured when the porches collapse. We find a lot that the wood has rotted and nobody did anything about it.
• Inadequate Security – Some buildings have doormen who let people in the building that shouldn’t be there. Other times there are broken gates or locks that don’t work. If you get attacked or injured due to this negligence, you could have a case.
• Dog Bites – While most dogs are great, some are dangerous. Property owners can be liable for bites and attacks by their animals.
• Fires – Not every fire is the fault of a building owner. But if it happens due to poor electrical wiring or an injury occurs because there are no smoke detectors, then it’s really likely the building owner is negligent and can be sued.

Hiring a reputable and experienced premises liability lawyer can make a huge difference on whether the insurance company will pay, how much the settlement will be, and how quickly the injured person can receive a settlement. These attorneys work on a contingency basis, so the client pays them nothing upfront. The attorney receives a portion of the settlement that they obtain for their client. The typical fee is 1/3 of what is recovered.

One unique point about premises liability law in Illinois addresses ice and snow. The owner or occupant of a property is not required to remove ice or snow resulting from natural accumulations. It is not realistic to expect property owners to keep all areas where people walk clear from ice and snow constantly during the winter months. In order to have a successful ice and snow injury claim, the plaintiff has to prove they were injured as a result of unnatural accumulations. An example of that would be if ice gathered in an area that fell off of an awning or downspout.

We know that Illinois premises liability law can be a bit confusing. If you have any questions, contact us and we would be happy to hear about your unique situation and offer you some free advice. And if needed, we will refer you to a lawyer with a track record of success in winning these cases. All calls are free and confidential.

Spring is upon us in Illinois. It’s the time of year when we get fooled in to thinking winter is over. People spend time outside after hibernating. When the weather is good, parties do happen. And often due to the effects or winter along with bad construction, porches collapse at those parties and people get injured.

It’s not a unique situation. Sadly, when you search “Chicago porch collapse” in Google, a number of articles pop up. For example, on Friday, June 24, 2022, two people were injured when a porch collapsed in Lincoln Park. Also in 2022, on April 12, a West Side porch collapse killed a 53-year-old man and seriously injured two others.

In fact, the deadliest porch collapse in United States history occurred in Chicago on June 29, 2003. Shortly after midnight, a back porch on the third floor of a Lincoln Park building collapsed, falling into the basement level as it took down the intervening floors as well. Thirteen young party goers died and fifty-seven others were seriously injured.
A $16.6 million settlement was obtained by a law firm representing 14 of the victims (or victims’ families). The building owner and porch contractor settled for the full amount of the available insurance. An architect determined that the porch could have withstood the load placed on it if it had been constructed in compliance with city code. However, city inspectors had not issued any citations.

Porch collapses are not unique to the City of Chicago. Unfortunately, they happen all over the Chicagoland area and well as throughout the state, and such an incident can occur with a deck or balcony as well.

The injuries and damages from a case are typically clear cut. Due to the height of the porch or balcony, serious injuries or death can occur. Head, neck and spine injuries and broken bones are common.

What is not always clear is the cause of the collapse and who is at fault. Depending on the cause, various parties may be responsible.

In some cases, the construction company may be held liable. Perhaps they used inferior materials, followed improper construction techniques or failed to follow industry safety standards.

In other instances, a company that manufactured the materials used in the construction of the porch or balcony or deck can be held liable if it is clear that the materials, such as the supporting beams, were defective.

Finally, the owner or manager of the property may be held responsible under premises liability law. Perhaps they knew, or should have known, that the structure was in bad shape, but they failed to make the necessary repairs.

Other factors come into play on these cases, such as whether the porch was on residential or commercial property. Were the injured people guests, business patrons or trespassers? Were there warnings about the poor state of the porch?

If you or someone you know was injured or killed in a porch or balcony collapse, we work with attorneys who have great success with these difficult lawsuits. There is no cost to call us or to hire an attorney we recommend. If you’d like to speak with one of our lawyers for free, contact us any time at 312-346-5320.

We are experienced lawyers who help people who are injured in Illinois car accident cases. We can help you when you are not primarily at fault for the accident occurring.  Usually, this means that the police report blames someone else, but that’s not always the case. Some law firms will only handle the injury aspect of a car accident. That means if you are having trouble getting your car replaced, they won’t help you. To me, that is terrible lawyering. If you hire an attorney for an accident case, you should get help with everything related to that accident.

The reason some of these firms don’t handle property damage is because they won’t get paid for that part of the case usually and if they do it’s not worth much. To me that’s shameful.

One big property damage issue that comes up in Illinois car accident cases is diminished value. Diminished value refers to the difference in the car’s worth before the accident as compared to after the accident. Even if the car gets repaired, your ability to sell it for what it used to be worth would be used.

If the other party was at fault, the insurance company is not only supposed to pay for the repairs, but they are also supposed to compensate you for the diminished value of the vehicle. Of course, insurance companies don’t just give money away, and they will use this issue to try to gain leverage over you to either settle the case before you should or settle for less money than the case is worth.

The sad but honest truth is that the less you are injured, the more likely it is that insurance companies will get away with this. We don’t know any law firms that do property damage-only cases, because it’s just not a way to make money in a business. But car accident attorneys make enough money in most injury cases that they should handle diminished value and other property loss issues. And ironically in some cases that have HUGE value, the insurance company might mess around with compensating you for the car value in an effort to get a total settlement too soon.

Our best advice is:

1. If you are injured or not feeling well after an accident, go to the doctor. Don’t do it to just help you get a lawyer. Do it because you are sincerely hurt.
2. Beware of the insurance company trying to quickly settle your case in exchange for fixing your car and paying diminished value. That’s usually in their best interests, not yours.
3. Don’t believe anyone who says diminished value isn’t a thing.
4. Ask your attorney before you hire them if they will handle the property damage issues. If they say no, don’t hire them. If you’ve already hired them, you can usually fire them and get a new attorney without owing them anything, especially if it’s not too long since the accident.

If you have questions about any of this or want our help in finding the best attorney for you, call us any time at 312-346-5320.

If you want to know if you have an Illinois medical malpractice lawsuit or need an attorney referral, we can help. Since 2001, we have helped thousands of people find the best attorney for their case and recover millions of dollars. Call us at 312-346-5320 to speak with an attorney for free and in confidence.

One thing we’ve always tried to do is be honest with people who contact us. We believe in talking in plain English and being very direct with our opinions. That’s how we want to be treated and what we think is best for people looking for legal guidance.

I loathe attorneys that are full of it. A lot of attorneys will tell people, “You have a great case, I’m just too busy.” That is almost always a lie. Instead of the attorney telling you why they don’t think you have a case, they give you false hope. A couple of years ago, a caller told me that 12 attorneys told her that same lie.

While that is the most common lie Illinois medical malpractice lawyers make, there’s one attorney who is making one that is even worse in my opinion. It’s worse because it’s clearly fraudulent and makes people think he has some special ability.

This attorney tells people that he has won over 98% of the cases that he has accepted. While I’ve never reviewed his case load, I can tell you that this is at best very misleading and most likely a blatant lie (in my opinion).

I say that because in Cook County, which is considered the most plaintiff friendly place in Illinois, for cases that go to trial, the defendants win 80% of the time. On top of that, in typical medical malpractice cases, someone calls you, you go over the facts and then you either say “we can’t help” or “we’d like to investigate the case.” If you are investigating it, you’ve “accepted” it.

From there, you have the case reviewed. First you look at the victim’s medical records internally. Then if it looks like an error may have happened, you have an outside doctor review them. If they think malpractice occurred, you likely file a lawsuit.

The reality though is that quite often, the outside experts say no case. Or you start the lawsuit and new facts emerge that you weren’t aware of and you drop the case. Or a client dies of some other reason which eliminates damages and you drop the case. Or they are a bad witness. Or they disappear. Or something else happens. This happens a lot. Every experience malpractice attorney has stories of clients they thought they could help only to realize the case wasn’t great.

So to claim you’ve won 98% of the time is just BS.  Even if you only count the cases you filed a lawsuit on, to claim you recovered money in 98 out of 100 of them would be unheard of.

Sadly, this attorney doesn’t need to lie. He has had some great results for his clients in the past and he seems to be a very good lawyer. But for whatever reason it appears that someone convinced him or someone else that this marketing trick was a good idea or that they could somehow spin it to be technically true when in reality it isn’t.

This type of deceptive advertising drives me bonkers. It’s really slimy in my opinion and has the potential to harm the client and the legal profession in general.

The honest truth about medical malpractice lawsuits in Illinois is that there are very few slam dunks and almost every case is a marathon, not a sprint. It takes six months or more to properly investigate a case and even if a lawsuit is filed, things can come up that can derail the case.

Bottom line is that if some attorney is bragging in a way that seems too good to be true or makes it seem like they are head and shoulders above every other lawyer out there, it’s probably because they are lying.

See also: Can I Sue For False Advertising?

Everyone wants to hire the “best” lawyer for your case. The reality is that there is no such thing as the best attorney for every case. This is especially true in car accident lawsuits in Illinois. The right lawyer if you are hit by a CTA bus or other commercial vehicle and have a major injury isn’t the right one if you are hit be a teenager with limited insurance and suffer a back strain. The right attorney if you are hit by someone with a $1 million policy may not be the right one if you are hit by someone with no insurance at all. And if you need someone that speaks a foreign language, or is patient with older people or can do a home visit, etc. that may change who is “best” for you.

One way to end up with the best one is knowing who the worst ones are. Attorneys that have been licensed for less than five years will usually not have the experience needed to get the greatest result possible for you. Not to say that they couldn’t, but your chances of success with someone who has 20 or more years under their belt is higher.

Another “worst” attorney to look out or is one that won’t take cases to trial. I was recently talking to a top Chicago personal injury lawyer who wanted me to refer him cases. I asked about his other referral sources and he told me that 1/3 of his case load comes from a lawyer who only settles cases. That means that the attorney will sign up your case and never file a lawsuit. They will try to settle it and if they can’t, at the last minute they’ll refer your case out. So you end up actually being forced to hire some attorney you don’t know and never intended to work with.

This is despicable in my opinion. Quite often in these cases, the best strategy for the client is to file a lawsuit right away. With new rules in Cook County that governs how long a case has to go to trial, filing sooner versus later can create a lot of leverage for you. Some attorneys would rather wait until the two year time limit for suing is almost up. That’s in their best interests, not yours.

So in the end, their clients end up with a new lawyer. That lawyer isn’t going to be up to speed on your case. They won’t know about conversations you’ve had with the firs lawyer on the case. They won’t have been with you every step of the way. It’s not impossible to succeed in that situation but it’s far from ideal.

My suggestion is before you hire a lawyer, ask them how many cases they’ve taken to trial or arbitration in the last five years. Also ask them when they’d file a lawsuit on your case and confirm that they’d do it themselves and not punt you to someone else. If they don’t have a history of trying cases and won’t file the lawsuit, they aren’t the firm you should hire. There is a much better lawyer out there for you and it shouldn’t be hard to find.

If you’d like the input of an attorney as to which lawyer is best for you, you can call us for free any time at 312-346-5320.