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Some Of The Best Illinois Legal Questions From 2022

We are attorneys who will talk to anyone for free and answer questions about Illinois law. We got a lot of great questions and some of them are not enough for a full blog post, but still interesting. Here are some of the best ones from this year. If you have any questions and want to talk with a lawyer for free, call us any time at 312-346-5320. In no particular order.

Can a husband get alimony from a wife?

Yes. It’s called maintenance in Illinois and if one spouse makes a lot more than the other, the lighter earner could get it. And that’s true whether you are a husband or a wife.

My Chicago personal injury lawyer said I have to go to the doctor he wants to send me to. Is that true?
That is not true and in my opinion, only scummy personal injury lawyers in Chicago or elsewhere try to make you do this. There’s nothing wrong with them getting you in to a doctor if you don’t have one. But if it’s a requirement it’s gross and probably a sign that they are getting something in return from that doctor. I would never recommend you hire a lawyer that pushes that.
My mom passed away and her house is under water and she has a lot of other debt. Can they come after me for that?
If you didn’t co-sign on the mortgage or anything else, it’s not your responsibility. Beware of them sending you a document that tries to make it your problem. Nothing requires you to open up an estate after a parent passes. If you do, the estate would have to pay the debts most likely, but not you as an individual.
Been in my rental for seven years. Now on a month to month lease. Great tenant, never missed a payment. Landlord wants to rehab the place and sell it. Can they kick me out after all this time?
Unfortunately they can. If you don’t have a lease it gives you the flexibility to leave when you want and for them to get you out. If you don’t leave you’ll likely get evicted.
I fell at work inside the office and they said since I wasn’t at my work station on a factory line they aren’t covering anything. I hit so hard that I knocked out five teeth. Do I have a case?
Yes, depending on what caused you to fall. But if you were in your place of employment and slipped on water or tripped on a loose carpet or something like that, it’s a case and you are entitled to full Illinois work comp benefits.
My mom took out a life insurance policy out on me and my kids. We haven’t talked for years. Is it legal for her to do that?
Yes. It’s up to the insurance company to agree to create a life insurance policy. While usually they want a physical exam, if they are dumb enough to write a policy for people that they can’t interview, that’s their business. There is nothing you can do to stop this..
How do I revoke a power of attorney I gave to someone?
The best way is to do it in writing. There are many Illinois Power Of Attorney Revocation Forms available for free online if you do a quick search for that. You should then serve a copy on all parties who had your old power of attorney form such as the actual POA, doctors, etc.
I got Covid so my roommate moved out while I recovered. He’s now saying I owe him $500 for expenses that he had to pay while gone. Do I owe that money to him?
No. This is ridiculous. I get why someone moved out, but nothing in the law requires you to pay them anything for doing that.
I hope that this helps. We look forward to some great questions in 2023. As always, please contact us any time if we can help you in any way.

See also: Don’t co-sign unless you’re willing to pay the entire debt yourself

Being A Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer Is Harder Than It Looks

Most of the attorneys I know are great, but truth be told, some are just awful.  The worst ones usually are the attorneys who put their own bottom line above a potential client and try to take on a case in an area of law they either just dabble in or know nothing about.  They usually do it because they think they are smart, wrongly believe the case will be easy and most of all want to make money.  We see this the most with attorneys who pretend they are Chicago personal injury lawyers.

Usually what happens is an attorney handles basic stuff like traffic tickets.  They help out a client who then says, “My cousin was hurt in a car accident as a passenger.  Can you help him?”  What the lawyer should do is say, “I don’t handle those cases” or “I don’t handle those cases, but know someone who does and can refer you.”  Instead in their mind they think, “I’m not making a ton of money and since they were the passenger, how hard can it be?”

The truth is that it’s a lot harder than they think.  First off, it takes skill and experience to identify all the proper insurance available, especially when a commercial vehicle is involved.  Second, there’s the matter of making sure the client is treating with a proper doctor and getting the care they need.  Third is having the experience needed to investigate an accident scene and/or document an accident properly.  Most of all though, the first thing an insurance company does when they get a new case is look up the lawyer.  If they realize the attorney is inexperienced, they will play hard ball and if they make an offer it will usually be a low ball one.

On the other hand, if your attorney has a track record of success and experience in dealing with that insurance company as well as a history of taking cases to trial when needed, the insurance company is more likely to be fair.

The other issue we see is that some lawyers who take these cases really need money.  You might think that most attorneys are rich, but the truth is that many are struggling.  A recent caller to my office needed a surgery from a car accident and her lawyer was trying to get her to settle the case for a low dollar amount. He wanted money now and didn’t care that the case would be worth more to him and the client by waiting.  He didn’t care that it was best for the client to do nothing now.  Fortunately she sought a second opinion.

So when you get an attorney who dabbles in personal injury, the client gets screwed.  These lawyers are frauds.  Do not hire the first lawyer you can hire.  Get the best one you can hire. You wouldn’t have a doctor who delivers babies operate on your back.  You don’t want a general practice lawyer for a serious injury case.  Any attorney who takes this case without a track record of success is looking out for themselves, not you.

If you need help finding the right personal injury attorney or just have questions, call us any time at 312-346-5320 to speak with one of our lawyers for free.  We cover all of Illinois and tell it like it is.  We don’t promise a result, but do guarantee we will look out for what is best for you and you alone.

Daycare injuries in Illinois – You have to know the facts

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One of the most common phone calls we get are from people whose kids have been injured in a daycare.  As a parent myself, I get why these callers are so upset.  You trust your kids to be taken care of and something bad happens to them.  For whatever reason, it seems like many of these daycare facilities don’t call right away to tell you about the accident.  They are probably hoping that it will just be a temporary problem that you’ll never find out about.

These are challenging cases for a couple of reasons.  First, most of the independent witnesses are little kids.  So your child can’t give a great account of what actually happened and neither can any of the other kids in the room.  You might have the smartest three year old in the world, but no insurance company or jury is going to buy their story.  So unless there is a very honest worker at the daycare, it’s hard to prove what happened.

The second obstacle is that most of the injuries aren’t due to negligence.  The kids can’t be expected to be bottled up all day and not moving.  So if your child is running from one room to another and falls, well, that’s what happens to little kids.  If they break their arm, that would be awful, but the chances of proving negligence would be slim.  And if you can’t prove negligence then you don’t have a case.

A recent call from a Chicago woman whose son was hurt in daycare was the exception to the rule.  The child was on a merry go round type device without any adult supervision.  Another child was able to spin it so fast that her child fell off.  At least that’s what the daycare center told her.  The child is only one, so there’s no way he should have been on there in the first place.  My guess is that another child didn’t actually do the spinning because those machines are somewhat heavy.  But even if the daycare worker’s story is true, it sounds to me like they are at fault for being careless and should be held responsible for any injuries.

Personally, I’m surprised that there isn’t a law that requires cameras to capture what is happening in a daycare all day.  I know that the owners wouldn’t want them, but it’s certainly best for the kids on so many levels.

Please don’t read this post as us saying these cases can’t be won.  Clearly they can be. The key point that you should take away is that if you want a lawyer to be able to help you in filing a lawsuit for your child, you need actual evidence because without it you don’t have much of a chance.  In some cases, a firm will send out investigators to interview employees and that can ultimately be how you prove your case.

If you need our help, you can contact us online or by calling us at 312-346-5320 or 800-517-1614. It’s all free and confidential.

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