It only takes mere seconds for an accident to upend someone’s life completely. Whether you’re driving down the road when a swerving vehicle strikes you, or you seek medical treatment for an ailment and end up with a more severe injury, you may be able to file a claim with the help of a Wheaton, IL personal injury lawyer.
Filing an injury claim could put you on the path to financial recovery. When you have the funds to manage your accident-related expenses, you won’t have to worry about hospital bills, lost wages, or property damage. Instead, you’ll be able to focus on healing and getting your life back in order.
While taking legal action can be complicated, Thomas Law Offices has extensive experience handling a variety of claim types. In order to get an idea of what you could be looking at dealing with, let’s take a look at some of the most common personal injury claims clients come to us with.
Common Personal Injury Claims
While numerous situations have the potential to result in injury, certain accidents are more common than others when it comes to taking legal action. Some of the ones we see include the following:
- Car Accidents. A number of factors can result in an auto accident. When negligence is involved, those factors may have to do with distractions, intoxication, or disregard for traffic laws. Determining the cause of a crash can be challenging, which is why you’ll want a Wheaton car accident lawyer by your side.
- Truck Accidents. When a tractor-trailer driver fails to operate their vehicle safely, they can cause severe or even fatal injuries to others, especially those in smaller passenger vehicles. If you’ve been injured in a tractor-trailer accident with a commercial vehicle, a Wheaton truck accident lawyer can evaluate your situation and determine who was at fault.
- Medical Malpractice. If a doctor, nurse, or other medical professional fails to provide patients with the proper standard of care and a patient sustains an injury, or their condition worsens because of a misdiagnosed ailment, a Wheaton medical malpractice lawyer has the resources and knowledge to hold the at-fault party accountable for their actions.
- Nursing Home Abuse. We trust long-term care facilities to provide our loved ones with the physical, emotional, medical, and social assistance they need to live a high-quality life. All too often, residents suffer from abuse and neglect. That’s where a Wheaton nursing home abuse lawyer comes in.
- Wrongful Death. If any of the above situations have resulted in fatal injuries to a loved one, a Wheaton wrongful death lawyer can determine if the surviving family members are entitled to any amount of compensation for their loss.
If you don’t see your accident discussed above, that does not mean you do not have a claim. Our attorneys can take a look at what you’ve been through and determine what area of litigation your case falls under. Some of the other claim types we handle include the following:
- Motorcycle Accidents
- Birth Injuries
- Brain Injuries
- Sexual Assault
- Spinal Cord Injuries
- Construction Accidents
- Premises Liability
- Slip and Falls
- Product Liability
- Social Security Disability
Injury Claims and the Concept of Negligence
In order to file a successful personal injury claim, it’s essential to understand the elements you’ll need to prove. The majority of claims are based on the legal concept of negligence, which can be broken down into four parts.
First, you have to establish a duty of care. For example, a driver owes other drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists a duty of care to abide by the rules of the road and drive safely. Second, you have to show how the opposing party breached their duty. Continuing with the car example, running a stop sign, speeding, or texting while driving are types of breaches.
Once you’ve established that you were owed a duty of care and that duty was breached, you have to prove you were injured. Your lawyer will likely pull your medical records and explain the correlation between your accident and injuries. Finally, your attorney will connect your injuries to the financial losses you’ve experienced.
When handled correctly, a personal injury claim has the potential to grant you compensation for your economic and noneconomic losses. Some of the most common damages victims seek recovery for include medical bills, future medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
No matter the extent of your losses, a Wheaton attorney from Thomas Law Offices will thoroughly review your claim and ensure the compensation you’re seeking is full and fair for the losses you wrongfully endured.
The City of Wheaton, Illinois
Seated 25 miles west of Chicago, Wheaton is a suburban city in Milton and Winfield Townships. The town was established as a small railroad community in the late 1850s. Now home to 55,000 residents, Wheaton features a variety of shops and restaurants.
Resident favorites include Egglectic Café, Shane’s Deli, and the French Market on Saturday mornings. Wheaton also has one of the top ten public libraries in the nation and 52 parks. Residents and visitors can enjoy the beautiful lakes and forest preserves year-round, as well as the public pools in the summer and hills for sledding in the winter.
While Wheaton often seems like a picturesque location, it does have its share of accidents. If you’ve been injured, our law firm is ready to offer our assistance and ensure your rights are upheld.
Get in Touch With a Wheaton, IL Personal Injury Lawyer
At Thomas Law Offices, our Wheaton, IL personal injury lawyers believe accident victims deserve every chance at recovery. While we may not be able to help you recover from your physical injuries as a doctor can, we can ensure you have the means needed to manage those expenses—and more.
No matter what type of accident you’ve been in, our attorneys are ready to schedule a consultation with you. When we meet, we’ll review what you’ve been through, determine if there are grounds for a personal injury claim, and help you decide how best to proceed for the sake of your future and you’re wellbeing.
We recognize that adding a legal matter into the mix when you’re trying to recover can seem like a lot, but we’ll guide you through the process and manage as much of the claim as we can while ensuring you understand your rights and options every step of the way. To learn more, contact us today.