Personal Injury, General

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Frequently Asked Questions About Personal Injury Law

Q: How do I know if I have a personal injury case?

A: First, you must have suffered an injury to your person or property. Second, you should consider whether your injury was someone else's fault. It is not always necessary to have a physical injury to bring a personal injury lawsuit — some personal injury claims can be based on a variety of nonphysical losses and harms. In the case of an assault, for example, you do not need to show that a person's action caused you actual physical harm, but only that you expected some harm to come to you. Similarly, you also may have a case if someone has caused injury to your reputation, invaded your privacy or intentionally inflicted emotional distress upon you.

Q: How soon after I am injured do I have to file a lawsuit?

A: Every state has certain time limits, called "statutes of limitations," which govern the amount of time you have to file a personal injury lawsuit. If you miss the deadline for filing your case, you may lose your legal right damages for your injury. Consequently, it is important to contact a lawyer as soon as you suffer or discover an injury.

Every year, more than 90,000 people die in the United States as a result of unintentional injuries. If you have been recently injured or diagnosed with an illness, contact our office to see if you could be entitled to compensation for your injuries.

At Juergensmeyer & Associates, we have offices located in Elgin and Chicago, Illinois to help people who have suffered personal injuries. Our personal injury attorneys are committed to maximizing the compensation our clients receive for their injuries. Our trial lawyers know that serious personal injuries have long term and sometimes permanent consequences. Whether the case is related to medical malpractice, nursing home injuries, birth injuries, catastrophic injuries, wrongful death, dog bites, product liability, or premises liability, our firm is committed to exhausting all possible sources of recovery for every one of our clients. The following is designed to answer some of your initial questions and provide some background information to describe what you can expect when you visit us.

Personal Injury - An Overview

Personal injury lawsuits are filed by people (or their representatives) injured due to the negligence of someone else. The injury may be either physical or emotional, and it can arise from a variety of sources or types of conduct. Some of the most common types of personal injury cases include slip and fall, automobile accidents, assaults and battery, medical malpractice, and product liability. In general, the goal of a personal injury action is to determine who was responsible and to compel the responsible party to compensate the injured person for the losses sustained. If you or someone you know has been injured by the careless actions of another, call today to schedule a consultation with a personal injury attorney to learn more about your rights.

Dangerous or Defective Products

A person injured while using a product that was manufactured or marketed in a defective or dangerous way may be able to recover the resulting damages from the responsible party in a products liability-based personal injury suit.

Motor Vehicle Accidents

Motor vehicle accidents cause the loss of time, property, health and even life. Such accidents occur because of elements including driver error, negligence, manufacturing defects and dangerous weather. No matter what the specific cause or result, a crash can turn a normal day into a prolonged struggle. Speaking with a personal injury lawyer can help you sort out your rights, your options and your future.

Animal Bites

Although animal-attack claims most commonly involve dog bites, many other types of domesticated animals, such as ferrets, cats, and even birds, can also bite humans. Even nondomesticated animals, such as large cats ordinarily found in the wild, but owned by some people as pets have been known to attack children and adults. An animal owner's liability for injuries caused by his or her pet, if any, will vary greatly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

Slips, Falls and Other Premises Liability Claims

Premises liability law involves the legal responsibilities of property owners and occupiers to prevent injuries to persons on their property. One of the most common causes of such injuries is a trip or slip and fall, such as on an icy sidewalk, a loose or uneven stair tread, or a piece of debris or spilled liquid on the floor. Property owner liability varies depending on the rules and principles adopted in the jurisdiction where the injury occurred.

Wrongful Death

In general, a wrongful death claim is one in which it is alleged that a person died as a result of another's negligence. The deceased person’s surviving relatives, dependents or beneficiaries may bring suit against the responsible party or parties, seeking monetary damages for their losses. Each state has its own wrongful death laws and not every state follows the same guidelines, principles or rules.

Assault and Battery

In civil court, assault and battery are intentional torts, and can be the basis of a personal injury lawsuit against the person who commits them. Assault and battery are different from other personal injury claims in that the person accused of assault or battery must have acted with the intent to cause a certain result — either fear in the victim or physical contact to the victim's person.

Personal Injury Resource Links

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
The CPSC is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of property damage, serious personal injury, or death from consumer products such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard or can injure children. The CPSC's website includes recalls and product safety news, information on reporting an unsafe product, and more.

Fact Sheet Library
National Safety Council (NSC) fact sheets are resource guides that provide statistics, tips, and suggestions to make life safer. This website contains over 80 topics in four categories: agricultural safety, healthy living, environment safety, and road safety.

Tort Law: An Overview
This website, maintained by the Legal Information Institute (LII) at Cornell University Law School, provides general information about tort law, including discussion of intentional torts, negligent torts, and strict liability torts.

Dog Bite Liability
This website contains an article from the Insurance Information Institute (III) about dog bite liability. The article discusses dog owners' liability, recent developments in state legislation, important court decisions, and other related issues.

Products Liability Law: An Overview
This website, maintained by the Legal Information Institute (LII) at Cornell University Law School, provides general information about the law of products liability as well as links to federal and state judicial decisions and statutes concerning products liability.

Personal Injury Information Center