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What If The Person At Fault For My Accident Is Deceased?

auto accidentSome auto accidents can be fatal. If the driver of the other car responsible for your accident dies because of injuries, you can still pursue a claim by contacting their insurance company. Illinois is an ‘at-fault’ state, which means that you are well within your rights to ask for compensation.

How to Prove That a Deceased Driver Was Responsible For a Car Accident

At this point, you need to remember that the insurance company will dedicate all of its resources to invalidate your claim or ensure you get minimum compensation. Unmitigated evidence that Lake County auto accident lawyers present can ensure your case remains strong.

So the first thing you should do after the accident is to take as many pictures and videos of the accident scene as possible if you can. Plus, also file a police report, get information about the deceased driver, take down eye-witness accounts, and gather other evidence that can prove your claim.

Your lawyer can use that evidence to prove that the deceased driver was at fault for your accident. If you delay, the insurance company of the at-fault driver can blame you for the auto accident. The sooner you take action and file a case, the stronger your case becomes.

Filing a Claim against a Deceased ‘At-Fault’ Driver’s Insurance Company

The insurance company is responsible for compensating victims of their policy holder’s actions, whether the latter is deceased or otherwise. For example, if a drunk driver crashed into you and was killed, an experienced attorney will ensure you get compensated by them.

Depending on the circumstances surrounding the incident, you can recover:

  • Incurred medical expenses for injuries you sustained because of the auto accident. This includes ambulance charges, doctor visits, physical therapy, medication, etc.
  • Damages for the pain and suffering you went through because of your mental and physical distress. This can include therapy, medication costs, and any other expenditures you had to pay yourself for your injuries.
  • Lost work hours as you were recuperating or healing from your injuries. With proof of wages, you may also be able to recover the lost wages you missed out on while you were bed-ridden or unable to work.

Contact the Law Offices of Robert T. Edens for a Personal Injury Claim

Filing an insurance claim against a deceased at-fault driver is not impossible if you have a lawyer from the Law Offices of Robert T. Edens on your side. Our Lake County auto accident lawyers can gather a copy of the police report, interview witnesses, and collect other evidence on your behalf that can strengthen your case.

Personal Injury Attorney

We can also negotiate with the insurance company to ensure you get the maximum compensation possible. Our Antioch personal injury lawyers have been fighting for the rights of injured victims and workers for years. Why should you have to pay for your medical treatments when you weren’t at fault, to begin with? Let us handle the case so that you don’t have to. That’s what we specialize in. Contact us for a free consultation today.

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Auto Accident Pictures Are Better Than 1,000 Words

auto accidentWhen you are involved in an auto accident, the furthest thing from your mind are the steps you should take soon after. Even if you are not injured, your mind will be in a daze. However, if your phone is nearby, the first thing you should do is take as many pictures of the scene as soon as possible.

This is an important step since those pictures will become critical when you are trying to recover damages in an injury claim. An auto accident lawyer in Grayslake can help you gather more evidence, but pictures on the other hand can speak a thousand words more.

The Importance of Auto Accident Photos

The first thing you need to know about car accident claims is that not all insurance companies are very cooperative. They will do their level best to pay you as little as possible if it means they can save money.

That is what insurance adjusters do. They will use anything to dispute your allegations, challenge your medical evaluation and even blame you for the accident. Their aim is to create their own narrative that can replace the actual events of the accident so as to reduce your claim.

Photographs are hard and indisputable evidence that can stop them in their tracks. Cameras don’t lie after all so you can use those pictures as pure evidence. Some other benefits you can get include the following:

  • Help your auto accident lawyer in Grayslake investigate the accident and prepare your claim correctly.
  • Aid medical witnesses and doctors understand exactly what happened during the accident.
  • Recall events when your mind is in a fog after the accident.
  • Preserving evidence. The pictures won’t change when your car undergoes repairs and you heal from your injuries.
  • Persuading the jury about the authenticity of your case if your claim is being denied.

The bottom line is that pictures speak more than words and witnesses can.

Taking Auto Accident Photos

As mentioned before, during the car accident, you will be in a daze since your body will be jacked up on adrenaline. Common sense will vanish for a while which is why most accident victims forget important details about the accident later.

To ensure this doesn’t happen, look up how to take accident pictures so that the information remains top of mind. That way, when you do get into an accident, you may be aware enough to start snapping pictures immediately. The more you rehearse the scenario in your mind, the more prepared you will be if the moment comes.

Personal Injury Attorney

If you were the victim of an auto accident and the insurance company is denying your claims, you need Robert Edens in your corner. He and his team have been fighting for the rights of auto accident victims for years. In fact, over the last two decades, they have managed to recover millions of dollars for their clients. Get in touch with them for a consultation at one of their offices in Chicago, Waukegan, Libertyville, Woodstock, or Antioch, IL.

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I Was In An Auto Accident With No Insurance Can I Still Get Paid?

auto accidentBeing a responsible driver starts by ensuring you carry auto insurance. In fact, it’s illegal to drive without car insurance in the state of Illinois. Yet, as of 2019, around 11.8 percent of the motorists in the state were uninsured.

 

Whether you forget to renew your policy or had a lapse in your policy for missing a payment, and you get involved in an auto accident, you might be wondering what happens next. This guide will help you understand whether you can be compensated without insurance and other implications. Before that, let’s understand the implications for driving without insurance in Illinois:

Driving Without Insurance in Illinois

As an Illinois driver, you must carry minimum liability coverage of $25,000 for bodily injury/ person, $20,000 for property damage, and $50,000 for bodily injury/ accident. If you’re found to be driving without insurance, you may face a license suspension and be charged a fine the first time around.

Getting caught subsequent times can put you in more severe trouble. If you get involved in an accident without insurance, you may face additional repercussions such as vehicle seizure and/or driving suspension, a hefty fine, and so on.

Auto Insurance Law in Illinois

Normally in an auto accident, the driver who was at fault is required to compensate the driver who wasn’t at fault. This is to assume that both the drivers carry insurance.

 

But what if you had no insurance and the other driver was at fault? Before we answer that question, it’s important to know that certain states adhere to No Pay, No Play laws. This means that an uninsured driver can recover economic damages such as property damage and medical bills. However, non-economic damages such as pain and suffering cannot be recovered from the at-fault driver’s insurance.

 

To your luck, Illinois isn’t a No Pay, No Play state, which means you should be able to recover both economic and non-economic damages from the at-fault driver’s insurance. This doesn’t mean you will not be penalized for driving without insurance. You will still face the charges for driving without insurance discussed above.

 

Moreover, if you were at fault in the accident and have no insurance, the other driver will attempt to recover their claims from their uninsured motorist claims. Once the claim is settled, their insurance agency will proceed to subrogation. This is a process in which they’ll sue you to recover the cash they lost in paying for the damages you caused to that driver. Hence, you’ll not just face immediate setbacks like license suspension and fines, but also have to pay the damages at the time of subrogation.

Contact An Auto Accident Lawyer In Antioch

To sum it up, you should be able to recover the damages after being involved in an auto accident without insurance, but the process can be stressful. Hiring a car accident lawyer can make your life a lot easier. If you’re looking for an auto accident lawyer in Antioch, Robert Edens is the best attorney for you. To request a free quote, fill out our contact form.

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Steps You Need to Take After an Auto Accident in Illinois

Cook County car accident lawyerAccording to official stats, around 6.7 million car collisions are reported in the U.S. every year. Being involved in an auto accident can prove traumatic, depending on the injuries sustained. In this guide, we’ll take a look at what you should do when faced with a car accident.

Examine Your Injuries

Before anything else, determine whether you or someone else needs urgent medical care. In case of a medical emergency, call 911 at your earliest. When you’re sure everyone is safe, assess the damages caused to your vehicle.

However, do not exit the vehicle without looking back for any approaching vehicles. On major highways, in particular, secondary accidents are a common occurrence, so you might be better off by staying inside your car until the police arrive.

If you do manage to safely exit the vehicle and the involved cars are blocking the traffic, move them out the way to prevent further collisions.

Call the Police

No matter how negligible the collision is, call the police as soon as you can. You must file a legal accident report when the law enforcement personnel arrive. By reporting the incident to the police, you extricate yourself in criminal liability for failing to inform the authorities and document critical information. The step also proves valuable when you proceed to file your insurance claim.

Capture the Scene

Unless the vehicles are obstructing the traffic, avoid moving them from their position after the accident. Use your smartphone to capture images of the scene, including the vehicles involved, your injuries, the damages caused to your car, and other drivers.

These will serve as valuable evidence when you go on to file your personal injury claim. In the fear and confusion that follows, one can easily forget this critical step. Also, if you can find any witnesses, walk over to them and try to note down their phone numbers and addresses.

Exchange Information With Other Drivers

Walk over to other drivers who were involved and note down their names, phone numbers, addresses, license plate number, vehicle identification number, insurance information, make and model of the cars involved, and driver’s license number of other drivers.

Contact Your Insurance Company

Regardless of whether you’re at fault, contact your insurance company soon after the collision. Your insurance company will provide valuable information to your attorney about other drivers and their insurances. In the case of uninsured motorist insurance, you will be covered by your own insurance company. To learn about the Illinois insurance requirements, go through this Illinois Car Accident Law.

Also, if you don’t hear from the at-fault driver’s insurance company in a few days, call them yourself and inform them that you’ve been involved in an auto accident with one of their clients.

When it comes to hiring an attorney, Robert T. Edens is the best Cook County car accident lawyer to help you through the claims process. To book a consultation, contact us at your earliest.