What should I do if I am involved in a car accident?

First of all, if you are in a serious automobile accident, never refuse a police officer's suggestion that an ambulance be called. Often, you may not realize you have been injured. It is always safer to be taken to the hospital and have a doctor evaluate your condition. Afterward, if you feel you are hurt, seek medical care immediately. A mistake often made by plaintiffs is their belief that nagging pain or injuries will "just go away." Defense attorneys will use this delay in seeking medical care to point out that there was little or no medical care necessary after the injury in an attempt to prove you were not hurt. Keep all of your medical records and bills in one place so that the personal injury attorneys at Compton Law Group have access to all of your information when we proceed with your claim.

Who should pay my medical bills?

Eventually, the insurance company for the negligent or careless party who caused your injury should pay for your medical bills. However, that company will not pay your bills unless they have the opportunity to settle the entire case. You can submit these bills to your own health insurance, even though your injuries were caused by someone else's negligence or fault. If you have been in an automobile accident, there may be what is called medical pay insurance. We recommend you use this insurance carefully, only to cover deductibles and co-pays. That way, you will have little out-of-pocket expense while you are waiting for your case to settle.

Should I give a statement to the other driver's insurance company?

No. You may be contacted immediately by the insurance company for the at-fault driver. The adjuster may even seem helpful. However, remember that the adjuster's job is to minimize their driver's fault and to settle the case for as little as possible. You should contact the personal injury lawyers at Compton Law Group to deal with the insurance company investigators and adjusters..

What types of damages are available to me under Illinois law?

You can recover lost wages attributable to the accident, medical bills you have incurred as a result of the accident, medical bills and lost wages you will incur in the future, and compensation for pain and suffering, disfigurement, and lost of normal life (also known as disability). At Compton Law Group, we have a full range of expert witnesses we frequently work with to evaluate your case, from vocational rehabilitation experts to economists to life care planners, in order to obtain the best possible result in your case. If you have been severely injured, please call the personal injury attorneys at Compton Law Group. Do not try to evaluate your case on your own. Remember, the insurance company for the negligent party will try to minimize your recovery.

What else should I do that might be helpful to my case?

Take photographs. Surprisingly, very few people photograph the scene of the accident, the vehicles involved, or the conditions surrounding their injuries. For example, slips and falls may occur due to an unnatural condition of ice or snow, or to a defect on the property. Failure to document, with photographs, the cause of your fall could lead to a loss of your rights against a negligent property owner. In the case of an auto accident, roadwork, landscaping and traffic conditions can change. In the case of a construction accident, it is again important to document the construction site. No such site stays the same for very long. If you have been injured on the job, it is very important to photograph the conditions present at the time of the occurrence. Don't think the parties who are at fault will not repair, change or hide the evidence of their negligence. It is important to document with photographs anything that may be important to your case. Compton Law Group works with photographers and investigators who can document the scene of your injury. Call the injury attorneys at Compton Law Group, and we can investigate the scene of your accident and preserve important evidence.