Rockford Car Accidents

Motor Vehicle Collision Lawyers Assisting Victims in Rockford

Rockford is the third-largest city in Illinois and is linked to other Midwestern cities and towns by I-90, U.S. Route 20, I-39, and U.S. Route 51. The Rockford Mass Transit District provides bus service to the area with 17 routes. After a car crash on one of the highways or streets in Rockford, you may be inundated with medical bills while being unable to work. Your recovery may be painful and stressful. When a car accident is another person or business’ fault, it may be possible to hold that party accountable by bringing a personal injury lawsuit. In many cases, another driver’s insurer may try to show that you were at fault for the accident in order to avoid paying your damages. This is why it is critical to retain an experienced Rockford car accident lawyer to represent you in connection with your claim. The attorneys at Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca may be able to help you recover damages.

Assert Your Rights Following a Car Accident

Often, a car accident is caused by a negligent driver. If you want to establish another driver’s negligence, you will need to show that the other driver owed you a duty to act reasonably and safely, they failed to meet this duty, and you were injured as a result. Drivers can breach the duty to use reasonable care by failing to obey traffic signals or signs, speeding, weaving through traffic, driving drunk, driving while fatigued, tailgating, or texting while driving, among other actions.

A defendant might claim that you were also negligent. They will need to establish the same elements in connection with your conduct. The jury will look at the evidence and arguments, decide the damages, and assign both the defendant and you a percentage of fault. The damages are reduced by an amount equivalent to the percentage of fault assigned to you by the jury. For example, if you are found to be 40% at fault for speeding, while the other driver is found 60% at fault for texting while driving, you would recover 60% of the damages. If, however, the jury decides that you were more than 50% responsible for the injuries in the accident, you will be barred from recovering damages.

Damages that a car accident attorney in Rockford may be able to help you recover if you show liability include both economic and noneconomic losses. Economic losses are tangible damages, such as medical bills, lost wages, household or replacement services, out-of-pocket expenses, property damage, and medical equipment. Noneconomic losses are usually intangible damages that the jury believes would naturally flow from the kinds of injuries experienced by the plaintiff. These damages can vary dramatically depending on the plaintiff’s testimony and the ability of the plaintiff’s lawyer to draw out all of the credible ways in which the injuries caused the plaintiff to suffer. They may include pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of consortium, and loss of enjoyment of activities.

Sometimes someone other than a negligent driver is to blame for a car accident. It may be necessary, in cases in which causation is unclear or complex, for a Rockford car accident attorney to retain an accident reconstruction specialist to examine evidence from the accident scene, including eyewitness testimony, debris, skid marks, and property damage. The expert may find that a defective brake or a dangerous road condition was partially or fully to blame for the accident. In such instances, it may be appropriate to sue the manufacturer in a product liability claim or sue the owner of the road, which may be the government or a private party, in a premises liability lawsuit. It is important to retain an attorney who understands these different theories of liability and how to establish the right to recover damages.

Contact a Skilled Car Accident Lawyer in the Rockford Area

After a car accident in Rockford, you may be contacted by an insurance adjuster for the other party, who is trying to find some way of pinning the blame on you. It is important to talk to us first. If you were injured in a serious car crash, you should consult our experienced car accident attorneys. Call Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca at 312-724-5846, or contact us online, for a free consultation.