Our firm handles cases involving serious injuries, disputed fault, unfair settlement offers, medical bills, lost wages, permanent restrictions, insurance coverage disputes, and cases where workers’ compensation and a separate personal injury claim may both apply.
Car accidents
Premises liability
Dog bites
Truck crashes
No fee unless we recover for you
Get Help With the Issue You Have Right Now
Start with the question that fits your injury claim.
- Do I have a personal injury case?
- What is my case worth?
- What type of injury case do I have?
- The insurance company is calling
- What should I avoid?
- I was hurt while working
Chicago
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Do I have a personal injury case in Illinois?
You may have a personal injury case if another person, business, property owner, driver, dog owner, trucking company, or other party caused your injury and you suffered damages. The most common damages are medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, loss of normal life, scarring, disability, and future medical care.
Most Illinois personal injury cases turn on three questions: liability, causation, and damages. Liability means who was legally at fault. Causation means whether that negligence caused your injury. Damages means what the injury cost you physically, financially, and in your daily life.
Liability
Who caused the injury? This may involve a careless driver, unsafe property condition, loose dog, trucking company, business, landlord, security company, or another responsible party.
Causation
Did the incident cause the injury being claimed? Medical records, imaging, treatment history, symptom reporting, and doctor opinions often become important.
Damages
What did the injury cost you? Damages may include medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, disability, scarring, loss of normal life, and future care.
Personal injury cases we handle in Chicago and Illinois
This page is the main personal injury hub. For detailed guidance about a specific claim, use the focused pages below. Those pages explain the evidence, defenses, insurance issues, and settlement factors for each type of case.
Car accident injury claims
Car accident cases often involve disputed fault, delayed symptoms, neck and back injuries, limited insurance coverage, uninsured drivers, underinsured drivers, and early settlement pressure.
Truck accident injury claims
Truck crash cases may involve the driver, trucking company, maintenance company, broker, shipper, commercial insurance, federal safety rules, and serious or catastrophic injuries.
Premises liability and unsafe property claims
Premises liability cases involve unsafe property conditions such as wet floors, broken stairs, poor lighting, parking lot hazards, negligent security, sidewalk defects, and other dangers on property controlled by someone else.
Dog bite and animal attack claims
Dog bites and animal attacks may involve puncture wounds, infection, nerve damage, scarring, disfigurement, PTSD, lost wages, and work-related injuries with both workers’ comp and third-party claim issues.
What is a personal injury case worth in Illinois?
There is no reliable average settlement that tells you what your case is worth. A personal injury case is valued by looking at fault, injury severity, medical treatment, lost income, pain and suffering, permanent impact, and available insurance coverage.
The same type of accident can produce very different outcomes. A low-speed crash with short-term soreness is not evaluated the same way as a crash that causes a disc herniation, surgery, permanent symptoms, or time away from work. A fall with no proof of a dangerous condition is not evaluated the same way as a fall with video, photos, witnesses, and serious injury. The facts matter.
Have a settlement offer?
Before signing a release, make sure the offer accounts for medical bills, liens, future care, lost wages, pain and suffering, and insurance coverage.
What compensation can you recover in a personal injury claim?
Personal injury damages generally fall into economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages are financial losses. Non-economic damages are the human losses that affect your daily life, health, independence, and comfort.
Economic damages
These are the financial losses that can often be supported by bills, records, wage proof, medical opinions, and expert analysis.
- Medical bills
- Future medical care
- Lost wages
- Lost overtime, PTO, tips, commissions, or bonuses
- Reduced earning capacity
- Out-of-pocket expenses
Non-economic damages
These damages address how the injury affects your life beyond bills and receipts. They are often heavily disputed by insurance companies.
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of normal life
- Disability
- Scarring or disfigurement
- Emotional distress
- Loss of enjoyment of life
Value and damages guides
How personal injury claims work in Illinois
Most personal injury claims start with medical treatment and investigation. The legal work is not just sending bills to an adjuster. A strong case usually requires identifying all responsible parties, preserving evidence, documenting the injury, finding all insurance coverage, handling liens, and presenting the damages in a way that reflects the real impact of the injury.
Some cases settle with the insurance company. Others require a lawsuit. Even when a case is filed in court, many claims still resolve before trial. The timeline depends on treatment, liability disputes, insurance coverage, medical liens, expert opinions, and whether the insurer is willing to make a fair offer.
What we look for early
- Photos and video
- Witness names
- Police or incident reports
- Medical records
- Insurance coverage
- Lost wage proof
- Prior injuries or conditions
- Whether a lawsuit may be needed
What insurance companies do in personal injury cases
Insurance companies evaluate claims with the goal of limiting payouts. Their adjusters may be polite, but they do not represent you. They may question fault, minimize the injury, blame symptoms on a prior condition, argue treatment was excessive, or push a quick settlement before the full impact is known.
Common insurance tactics
- Requesting a recorded statement early
- Arguing your injuries were pre-existing
- Claiming treatment was delayed or excessive
- Disputing lost wages or work restrictions
- Blaming you for the accident
- Making a fast offer before treatment is complete
What a lawyer can help with
- Dealing with the insurance company
- Preserving evidence before it disappears
- Identifying all available coverage
- Documenting medical bills and lost income
- Negotiating liens and medical balances
- Filing a lawsuit if settlement talks fail
Mistakes that can hurt a personal injury case
Many injury claims are damaged by what happens after the incident. Insurance companies look for gaps in treatment, inconsistent medical histories, missing evidence, social media posts, and early statements that can be used to reduce case value.
- Waiting too long to get medical care
- Not reporting all injured body parts
- Skipping follow-up appointments or therapy
- Giving a recorded statement without advice
- Posting about the accident or recovery online
- Accepting a settlement before treatment is finished
- Failing to document lost wages with medical and wage proof
- Not saving photos, videos, witness names, or incident reports
Before you talk to insurance
If the adjuster is asking for a statement or offering money quickly, get advice before you say something or sign something that can affect the case.
What if the injury happened while you were working?
Some cases involve both workers’ compensation and a separate personal injury claim. This can happen when you are hurt while working, but someone other than your employer caused or contributed to the accident. Workers’ comp may provide medical and wage benefits. A third-party personal injury claim may allow recovery for pain and suffering and other damages not available in workers’ compensation.
Work-related vehicle crashes
Delivery drivers, truck drivers, rideshare drivers, sales workers, home health workers, and traveling employees may have both workers’ comp and a third-party injury claim after a crash.
Falls on property controlled by someone else
If you fall while working at a customer site, apartment building, construction site, store, or other property, there may be a workers’ comp claim and a premises liability claim.
Dog bites while working
Delivery drivers, utility workers, home health workers, maintenance workers, and others may have workers’ comp plus a separate dog bite claim against the dog owner.
When should you call a personal injury lawyer?
You may not need a lawyer for every minor incident. You should speak with a lawyer if the injury is serious, treatment is ongoing, fault is disputed, the insurance company is pressuring you, you missed work, surgery is possible, medical bills are piling up, multiple policies may apply, or you are not sure whether workers’ compensation and a third-party claim both exist.
Early legal advice can help preserve evidence, avoid damaging statements, identify all coverage, and prevent a settlement before the full value of the claim is known.
Speak with McHargue & Jones
We can review liability, damages, medical bills, liens, insurance coverage, settlement offers, and whether the case needs to be filed.
Chicago personal injury lawyer FAQ
How do I know if I have a personal injury case in Illinois?
You may have a personal injury case if someone else’s negligence caused your injury and you suffered damages such as medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, scarring, disability, or ongoing limitations. The main issues are liability, causation, damages, and available insurance.
What types of cases does a Chicago personal injury lawyer handle?
Personal injury lawyers handle civil injury claims involving car accidents, truck crashes, premises liability, slip and falls, dog bites, negligent security, pedestrian accidents, uninsured motorist claims, work-related third-party claims, and serious injury cases.
How much is a personal injury case worth?
Case value depends on fault, injury severity, medical treatment, lost wages, future medical needs, pain and suffering, permanent impact, scarring, disability, insurance coverage, and whether liability is disputed. There is no reliable average settlement that applies to every case.
What compensation can I recover in a personal injury claim?
Compensation may include medical bills, future medical treatment, lost wages, reduced earning capacity, pain and suffering, loss of normal life, emotional distress, disability, scarring, disfigurement, and out-of-pocket expenses.
Can I still recover if I was partly at fault?
Possibly. Illinois uses a modified comparative fault rule in many negligence cases. If you are partly at fault, your damages may be reduced by your percentage of responsibility. If you are more than 50% at fault, you may be barred from recovery.
How long do I have to file a personal injury lawsuit in Illinois?
In many Illinois personal injury cases, the deadline is two years from when the claim accrues. Some deadlines can be shorter or different depending on the defendant, government involvement, minors, medical malpractice, wrongful death, or other facts. Do not wait to get advice.
Do I have to pay upfront for a personal injury lawyer?
In most personal injury cases, McHargue & Jones offers a free consultation and no fee unless we recover for you. The fee structure is explained before you decide whether to hire the firm.
Talk to a Chicago personal injury lawyer at McHargue & Jones
If you were injured in a car accident, truck crash, dog bite, unsafe property incident, or other serious injury case in Chicago or Illinois, McHargue & Jones can review the facts and explain what compensation may be available.
Start Your Free Case Review
Call (312) 739-0000
Free consultation. No fee unless we recover for you. Se habla español.
Chicago office
McHargue & Jones, LLC
105 W Madison St, Suite 1600
Chicago, IL 60602
Phone: (312) 739-0000
Representing injured people in Chicago, Cook County, and throughout Illinois.