As the capital of Illinois, about halfway between St. Louis and Chicago, Springfield is a vibrant place. Thousands of people pour into it every day to serve or lobby state government and visit its many historical sites, like the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.
With access to rail lines and interstate highways 55 and 72, Springfield's popular activities create heavy truck traffic and around 3,500 car accidents annually. The city is full of historical attractions, retail businesses, and even private residences where unmitigated property hazards at Walmart Supercenters and state landmarks injure people.
Springfield is known for its hospital systems, including Springfield Memorial Hospital and St. John Hospital, which provide a major source of employment for the region but also many opportunities for medical errors resulting in injuries or death. Negligence at any Springfield-area nursing homes—including Bridge Care Suites or Aperion Care Capitol, which Medicare.gov monitors for low quality ratings—can also lead to injuries.
If someone else's carelessness injured you, an experienced Springfield personal injury lawyer from Zayed Law Offices can seek compensation for your injuries. We can also explain our legal team's services to assist you with your claim.
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What is Personal Injury Law?
Personal injury law provides the mechanism for individuals injured by someone else's negligence to seek compensation for the resulting expenses and effects. Personal injury law also provides a method for the family members of individuals killed by negligence to seek compensation for their losses.
Legal support begins when the injured individual hires a personal injury attorney to help them determine the sources of liability and associated insurance resources. The legal team then establishes a claim value based on the insurance resources available, the severity of the injury, and its past, present, and future financial and psychological costs.
Once they determine liability and a case value, the personal injury lawyer can submit a demand to the at-fault party's insurance provider on behalf of the client. This demand includes details of the accident, documentation of the expenses incurred, and a request from the at-fault party's insurer for payment of the claim's full value.
If the insurance company fails to pay the claim in full or offers an unfair settlement, the claimant's lawyer can file the claim as a personal injury lawsuit. In cases where the claimant seeks compensation through the wrongful death claims process for the expenses and effects of losing a loved one, the claim becomes a wrongful death lawsuit. The statute of limitations in both types of claims is two years.
What Types of Accidents Can Lead to a Personal Injury Claim in Springfield?
In most situations, individuals owe a duty of care to others. This duty refers to the reasonable actions that an individual takes in a given set of circumstances to protect the physical safety and property of others. Failing to uphold this duty through safe and legal actions can lead to a Springfield personal injury claim. Here is a look at the types of accidents that commonly result in the need to compensate others for injuries, death, and destruction of personal property.
Traffic Accidents
In Springfield, nearly 3,500 traffic accidents take place each year. The most common causes of accidents include turning errors, such as left turns at intersections without green arrows, and rear-end accidents, which commonly result from drivers who follow too closely or are distracted.
Traffic accidents in Springfield also commonly involve commercial trucks transporting products into, out of, and through the state capital. Accidents from tailgating, speeding, impaired, and distracted driving can injure or kill vulnerable road users like pedestrians and bicyclists.
Medical Malpractice
Springfield is a primary health care service provider throughout central Illinois, with the largest providers including the Hospital Sisters Health System (HSHS) and Memorial Health Systems. Unfortunately, even highly rated and regionally trusted medical systems can make mistakes. If negligent errors injure patients, they might constitute medical malpractice. Common types of medical malpractice include birth injuries, medication errors, diagnosis errors, surgical errors, and failure to obtain informed consent for a procedure.
Nursing Home Abuse
At the many nursing homes in and around Springfield, the staff must provide care to patients to maintain or improve their quality of life. Understaffing and other issues often create hazardous situations in nursing homes where residents experience abuse or neglect.
Premises Liability
The owners or possessors of residential, commercial, and public properties in Springfield have a duty to regularly inspect their properties to search for hazards that can injure others. If someone discovers a hazard, they must promptly mitigate the risk or warn guests of the risk by prominently placing warning signs. Failure to do so can lead to accidents, including slips and falls, swimming pool accidents, elevator or escalator accidents, accidents resulting from negligent security, and even dog bites.
Construction Accidents
Workers' compensation insurance usually compensates for construction accidents. However, one can seek compensation from a negligent third-party, such as a driver who causes an injury by being careless in a roadway work zone, or a general contractor whose failure to take proper safety precautions injures a subcontracted employee.
Wrongful Death
If any of the above-listed accidents caused the wrongful death of another, the personal representative of the estate can seek compensation on behalf of the family for the loss of the deceased.
If You Are Injured in Springfield, We Can Help You
If someone else's negligence injured you or a loved one, let an experienced Springfield personal injury lawyer from Zayed Law Offices help you explore your options for compensation. For a free case evaluation, contact us online or call (309) 518-1413.