There are some details of Illinois’ personal injury claims procedure that you should be aware of if you were recently hurt and would like to hold the responsible party accountable for your injuries. The issue of who can be held accountable in personal injury claims depends on the nature of the case. The following are some typical personal injury cases in Illinois:
- Workers’ compensation – If an employee in Illinois sustains an injury while doing their duties, their employer is often held responsible for the severity of the injury. Although legally the employer is also responsible, workers’ compensation insurance is a requirement for almost all Illinois firms. As a result, the injured employee will get paid for their injuries from the employer’s workers’ compensation insurance provider. Employees may get compensation through this program for any lost pay, present or future medical expenses, and future disabilities caused by their job. However, it should be noted that the employee may be able to bring a personal injury case against the company directly if their workers’ compensation claim is rejected or if they decide not to pursue the workers’ compensation procedure.
- Product liability – If a customer uses a product and is harmed as a result of the product’s flaws, this may give rise to a personal injury claim. For their separate roles in the creation, installation, promotion, and sale of flawed products, manufacturers, retailers, designers, distributors, and resellers can all be held accountable.
- Medical malpractice – You may bring a personal injury claim based on medical negligence if you are hurt while seeking medical care. Medical malpractice is the term used to describe an instance in which a doctor or other health care provider either consciously participates in behavior that is an obvious and direct breach of the standard of medical care due to a patient or omits to act in a manner that complies with that standard. Following the same standardized procedures that other healthcare professionals use when treating a patient in comparable situations is part of the standard of care for doctors and other healthcare providers. Physicians, nurses, other healthcare providers, and even hospitals themselves may be held accountable for any damage incurred under the premise of medical malpractice.
- Misconduct allegations against the Illinois police force – The state of Illinois, unfortunately, has a high rate of police misconduct. This police misbehavior frequently ends in physical harm and occasionally even death. A person must demonstrate that the police officer’s behavior was deliberate and wanton and that the officer had a valid law enforcement justification for his acts in order to succeed in a personal injury lawsuit based on police misconduct. Despite having a lot of legal protection, police personnel is not impervious to gunfire. If a valid personal injury lawsuit based on police misconduct is made, specific police personnel as well as the relevant police agency may be held accountable.
The idea of carelessness serves as the foundation for personal injury claims. In these cases, the plaintiff asserts that someone else’s carelessness caused her injuries. As a result, the plaintiff must first prove all of the components of negligence in order to make a successful personal injury claim. You must demonstrate duty, breach of duty, causation, and damages, as was indicated before in this guide.
Read More: ELEMENTS OF A PERSONAL INJURY CLAIM
Filing a Claim Against the Government in Illinois
As long as the Defendant is a private party, anybody hurt because of someone else’s carelessness in Illinois has the opportunity to bring a personal injury case in civil court. This kind of lawsuit may be filed, for instance, if you slip and fall on a store’s cracked steps or if a careless motorist injures you in a collision. You have the option to bring a lawsuit against either the company owner or the driver in both circumstances.
You’ll need to take a different approach, though, if you want to hold the State or a State employee accountable for your injuries. The Illinois Court of Claims Act specifies the procedure for filing a claim against the State and its employees.
The Court of Claims Act is described in the Illinois Compiled Statutes. Personal injury and other basic wrongs, administrative decision reviews, contract breaches, and more are examples of the issues that can be brought against the state and handled by the Court of Claims. This Act restricts the state government’s ability to utilize the doctrine of sovereign immunity, which typically bars citizens from suing the government.
Claims against local governments, such as counties, cities, and park districts, are often tried in the normal court system. Therefore, you just need to demonstrate common negligence principles if you are hit by a county vehicle in a traffic accident or trip over a damaged piece of pavement near a municipal building. In rare cases, the worker or a regional government agency could not be responsible for your injuries.
Related Article: STEPS TO PROTECT YOUR PERSONAL INJURY CLAIM
The Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Community Act, which deals with harm claims against municipalities, lists several restrictions. The statute limits the sorts of lawsuits Illinois residents may bring against local governments and specifies the kind of evidence each accident claim must include.
A person making a claim against Illinois must do one of two things within a year of the date the harm occurred: either submit a notice of the claim with the Attorney General and the Clerk of the Court of Claims or file a lawsuit with the Court of Claims. If the claim is submitted within one year, notice is not necessary. Even if notice is filed initially, any claim must be submitted within two years of the accident’s date.
