Chicago Personal Injury Attorneys
An injury is many things: it is painful; it is costly; it can keep you from working, taking care of your kids or running the household; and you could wind up with long-lasting or permanent disabilities such as scarring, disfigurement, or functional limitations that affect how you move, speak, think or feel. What adds insult to the injury is that it could have been entirely avoided, but it wasn’t. It happened because someone was negligent, careless, incompetent, or otherwise didn’t do what they should have done.
At AFW Law Group, we understand the many ways an injury harms you and hurts your life, and we recognize what can be done about it. We work with some of the top attorneys in the region to hold the responsible parties accountable for their actions or omissions, and we fight to obtain meaningful results that significantly compensate you for the harm inflicted on you.
Call AFW Law Group if you or a family member has been harmed by another’s negligence in the greater Chicago area. Some of our main areas of practice in personal injury include motor vehicle accidents, medical malpractice, premises liability, products liability and wrongful death.
Medical Malpractice
Doctors and other health care professionals are expected to perform their duties with the skill, care and competence required of other members of the profession in the community practicing in the same area of medicine. Failure to provide this level of care is medical negligence, also known as medical malpractice. Common forms of medical malpractice include:
- Misdiagnosis
- Missed diagnosis of cancer
- Surgical errors
- Medication errors
- Post-operative infections
- Hospital-acquired infections
- Anesthesia errors
- Birth injuries
- Nursing errors
- Emergency room mistakes
- Lack of informed consent
Medical malpractice cases are complex and vigorously defended by malpractice insurance carriers. The doctor or hospital might know what went wrong, but they are not likely to admit it or willingly share information with the victim or victim’s attorney. Also, any medical malpractice lawsuit filed in Illinois courts must be accompanied by an “affidavit of merit,” a sworn statement that the victim or victim’s attorney has consulted with a knowledgeable and qualified medical professional who reviewed the records and believes there is a “reasonable and meritorious cause” for filing the lawsuit.
AFW Law Group is affiliated with some of the top-rated firms that have achieved numerous multi-million dollar results for malpractice victims and their families. As a consulting firm and your referring attorney, we will ensure that you are connected with attorneys who have the knowledge and experience to understand complex medical and legal issues, explain those facts to the jury, and build a compelling case whether negotiating a settlement with the insurance company or taking the case to court.
Premises Liability
The Illinois Premises Liability Act requires property owners to exercise “reasonable care under the circumstances regarding the state of the premises or acts done or omitted on them.” The most common type of premises liability claim is a “slip and fall” or “trip and fall” which occurs because of a spilled liquid or other defect that the owner did not clean up/repair in a reasonable time or warn entrants to the premises about. Property owners are liable for injuries that occur because of dangers on their property except for hazards that were known by the entrants, open and obvious, or reasonably discoverable. Property owners are also not liable for hidden defects they did not know about or injuries caused by the entrant’s misuse of the premises.
Other types of premises liability cases include negligent security and dog bite claims. Negligent security refers to a robbery, assault or sexual assault that occurs because the property owner did not exercise reasonable care to provide a safe premises by keeping areas well-lit and secure. Dog owners in Illinois are strictly liable if their dogs bite a person who was lawfully on the premises and did not provoke the attack. Strict liability means it does not matter whether the owner was careful or negligent in keeping their animal; if their dog bites, the owner is liable for the injury and damage caused.
Products Liability
Product manufacturers can be held strictly liable for injuries caused by their defective products. Consumers have every right to expect the products they buy are safe to use as intended. Consumers have no way of knowing a product is defective until it fails to work as advertised, and at that point it might be too late to prevent an injury from happening. Manufacturers are liable for design defects, manufacturing defects, and “failure to warn” defects where their products don’t contain adequate warnings of dangers or instructions for their safe use. AFW Law Group attorneys have the experience, dedication and resources necessary to take on the largest manufacturers, including automakers and pharmaceutical companies, and hold them accountable for releasing an unreasonably dangerous product on the market.
Wrongful Death
The Illinois Wrongful Death Act authorizes lawsuits for a death caused by another’s “wrongful act, neglect or default.” Such lawsuits are brought by the personal representative of the estate on behalf of the surviving spouse and other next of kin, who receive a portion of any money damages in proportion to their dependence on the deceased.
The wrongful death act authorizes a jury to award whatever amount the jury deems is “fair and just compensation” given the pecuniary losses resulting from the death, including damages for grief, sorrow and mental suffering. Other pecuniary losses might include funeral and burial expenses, hospital bills and medical costs, and coverage for the loss of income or support the deceased would have earned or provided.
Help With Chicago Personal Injury Claims
If you’ve been the victim of a personal injury or lost a loved one because of another’s negligence or misconduct, call AFW Law Group to speak with one of our skilled and experienced affiliated Chicago personal injury attorneys.
