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CHICAGO, IL – When a passenger is injured in a car accident, they have the legal right to pursue compensation by filing a personal injury claim. If the plaintiff can accurately determine the negligent party was at-fault and prove their injuries were a result of the accident, these types of lawsuits can be successful. However, each case is different, and there may be complications. For example, there may be a complication if the passenger is related to the liable party.

Before you file a personal injury claim, it’s important to seek legal counsel from an experienced lawyer. At the Dinizulu Law Group, our attorneys in Illinois will review your case and thoroughly explain your legal options while we help you file a personal injury claim.

How Passenger Auto Accident Claims Work

Car accident injuries often lead to medical care that can sometimes be intensive. Victims will be left with expensive medical bills and may suffer other injury-related financial losses. Unfortunately, sometimes victims jobs are impacted because they can no longer perform their regular duties.

If you’ve been injured as a result of a car crash in Illinois, you’re able to file a claim against the liable driver’s insurance policy to recover your losses; however, under certain circumstances, an insurance company may not be able to provide financial damages if you are related to the negligent driver.

Liability coverage in Illinois provides for lost wages, medical expenses, and pain and suffering.

It’s important to hire a skilled personal injury attorney who can look at the further details of your case and determine if you will need to file a third-party insurance claim or other claims to recover damages that your injury warrants.

What If I Don’t Have the Funds to Pay for Immediate Medical Care?

Each driver carries a car insurance policy that contains coverage to pay for medical bills for those injured in an accident. However, if you have been in a car accident before, you know these claims can take some time to process and insurance companies may even make it difficult for you to get the funds you need.

If you need to pay for immediate medical care, you can use your health insurance policy to cover your medical treatment. Depending on the terms of the applicable auto insurance policy, you could possible make a medical payment claim. By speaking with an experienced personal injury lawyer, they can review what insurance coverage may be available to cover your medical costs.

Do not delay treatment in medical care after being injured in a car accident. Immediately seek out medical care if you need it. By delaying treatment, you may face challenges connecting your injury to the accident which can negatively impact your personal injury claim.

What Can I Recover in a Passenger Injury Claim in Illinois?

An experienced personal injury attorney can help you pursue the following damages and expenses connected to your car accident case:

• All past and future medical costs and expenses
• Lost wages and loss of future earning capacity
• Pain and suffering
• Loss of affection and companionship
• Costs for other services
• Disability or loss of normal life
• Disfigurement

It’s important to note that each personal injury case is different. By consulting with one of our skilled personal injury lawyers, we can help you understand exactly how we can help you recover fair compensation.

How the Dinizulu Law Group Can Help You!

Individuals who have been injured in a car accident that have legal representation generally receive a much higher payout versus those who do not. The skilled attorneys of the Dinizulu Law Group have experience understanding what is fair compensation in a passenger injury claim.

Our attorneys will help you understand your legal options before making a passenger injure claim. Insurance companies will often offer quick settlements before you can fully understand your legal options to settle outside of court. At the end of the day, insurance companies are a business, too, and their adjusters are trying to save their company money – even if it means skimping policyholders and injured parties.

The attorneys at the Dinizulu Law group offer a free consultation where we will assess your short-term and long-term needs and assure to be by your side throughout the entire legal process. We ensure that we will take all of the necessary steps to locate a favorable outcome for you.

To learn more, contact our law firm now for a free consultation at (312) 384-1920.

CHICAGO, IL – Nursing homes have the responsibility to provide competent care to each resident, free of abuse and neglect. This includes staff members giving residents the correct medication and correct quantity at the right time. Failure to do so can worsen an individuals medical condition, and even avoid death. If you or your loved one has been a victim of a medication mistake a nursing home facility, you may be wondering what can be done about this – read on to learn more.

Elements of a Nursing Home Neglect Lawsuit

Most medication errors fall under the category of “neglect.” Nursing home facilities are held to high standards when it comes to providing residents with proper and adequate medical care. Some residents arrive at nursing home facilities with pre-existing medical conditions that require them to be on medication. This may include medication to prevent blood clots, regulate blood pressure, or alleviate pain.

Nursing home neglect occurs when a nursing home fails to provide reasonable skilled medical care that can result in a patient’s injury or death.

Medication Errors That May Justify a Nursing Home Lawsuit

Some examples of medication errors that may lead to nursing home neglect lawsuit include:

• Skipping medication doses
• Mixing up residents’ medications
• Over-administering medication, or giving too little
• Not giving residents access to necessary medication
• Incorrectly documenting medications
• Failure to monitor a residents side effects or adverse reactions
• Failing to account for resident allergies or drug interactions

Contact a Chicago Nursing Home Neglect Lawyer

Medication mistakes can lead to new or existing medical concerns for nursing home residents. The resident may be left with painful side effects, or may need to seek immediate medical treatment. Unfortunately, medication mistakes are fatal. If you were a victim of medication error while in a nursing home, call the Dinizulu Law Group at 312-384-1920. Our team of experienced nursing home injury lawyers can help you pursue justice.

CHICAGO, IL – Nursing home abuse and neglect are ever-present issue throughout the industry, but especially in Chicago and throughout Illinois, and the state government has made efforts to provide a variety of resources for victims and their families.  One resource is the Long-Term Care Ombudsman program, which provides a variety of services to those living in a nursing home or similar facility. Governor J.B. Pritzker has recently announced an increase in funding for the Chicago region of the program. The goal is to ensure that it is adequately staffed to meet residents’ needs.

What Does the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program Do?

The Illinois Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program (LTCOP) is a resident-directed advocacy program that protects and improves the quality of life for residents in various long-term care settings. Ombudsmen work to resolve problems of individual residents and to bring about changes at the local, state, and national levels to improve overall care.

Regional branches of the program have been established throughout Illinois to support residents of different counties, and the services they provide are offered at no cost.

Some of the services the program offers include:

• Information and education regarding the rights of nursing home residents
• Information about facility options for those in need of long-term care
• Support for nursing home residents to help them advocate their own needs and interests
• Advocacy for the rights and well-being of nursing home residents at the state and national level

The LTCOP also investigates complaints from residents, family members, nursing home staff, and other parties regarding the possible instances of abuse and neglect. If an investigation is conducted, it can result in appropriate consequences for the facility and protection from future abuse and neglect for the resident.

The recent announcement of an increase in funding for the Chicago regional program will hopefully mean that more investigators will soon be available, and complaints can be addressed and resolved in a more timely manner.

Other Resources for Victims of Nursing Home Abuse

If you or a loved one is being abused or neglected in your long-term care facility, notifying your regional Ombudsman is just one of many ways you can get help. The Illinois Department of Public Health also operates a Nursing Home Complaint Hotline, that you can report abuse and neglect to at (800) 252-4343.

You can also work with a nursing home abuse attorney to better understand your legal rights and options for recovering compensation for economic and non-economic damages that you or your loved one has suffered.

How the Dinizulu Law Group Can Help You

There are people who can assist you in your struggles with nursing home abuse and neglect. At the Dinizulu Law Group, we represent those who want to hold a nursing home accountable for the harm they have caused, and help connect you with other resources that offer additional help. Contact our Cook County nursing home abuse lawyers for a free consultation at (312) 384-1920.

CHICAGO, IL – The aftermath of a car accident is far from enjoyable. It can be a stressful time full of uncertainty about your health and finances. For one reason or another, you may have put off taking care of your car accident claim. If you did delay your car accident claim, it’s not too late to go after compensation for your injuries.

Reasons a Car Accident Claim May Be Delayed

Many people are confused after a car accident and don’t know what to do, which may hurt their personal injury claim. Many people delay claims because they didn’t know their injuries were serious, didn’t know they could seek compensation, or because dealing with injuries resulting from the car crash has been more important.

You Didn’t Know Your Injuries Were Serious

If you’ve been injured in a car accident, it’s important to seek medical treatment immediately. Many injured drivers and passengers delay contacting a personal injury lawyer because they think their injuries are not worth pursuing. As weeks and months pass, you may begin to realize your pain isn’t going away and your medical bills are adding up.

Injuries resulting from a car collision are a sign that something more serious is happening. If you put off delaying the care you need, it can be critical to your health and personal injury claim. A delay in medical treatment makes it harder to make a connection between the car accident and your injuries when filing a claim.

For example, you may have been rear-ended at a stop light but didn’t immediately seek medical treatment. A year later, you still have shooting pain throughout your back. It will be more difficult to prove that your injury was a result of the rear-end collision.

You Didn’t Know You Could Seek Compensation

You may have relied solely on your own income and resources to cover your medical expenses and vehicle repairs after a car accident. It may not be too late to recover those cost from the person who is responsible for causing your injuries. As long as you can prove what damages caused your accident, you can seek compensation for those costs, as well as pain and suffering. An experienced personal injury lawyer will help prove both liability and how the accident has impacted you.

Dealing With Your Injuries After an Accident

Injuries, whether life-threatening or not, can prevent a victim from pursuing a claim within a timely manner. Your injuries may be severe enough to result in a hospital stay, or leave you in an unresponsive state.

A lawyer’s experience is critical in these types of claims, especially after catastrophic injuries. You will need substantial compensation to assist with long-term effects and future medical bills for severe and chronic injuries.

Statute of Limitations in Illinois

The statute of limitations in Illinois for car accident claims is two years, under most circumstances. This means you have two years from the date the motor vehicle accident occurred to file a claim. So, it’s best to consult with a lawyer immediately.

Contact a Personal Injury Lawyer in Chicago, Illinois

Don’t let your delay of filing an injury claim prevent you from seeking compensation. If you or a loved one was injured in a car accident but didn’t file a claim right away, speak to one of the experience attorney’s at the Dinizulu Law Group, Ltd. We will evaluate your case and let you know honestly if you have a case. If moving forward is an option for your case, we will work diligently to meet the needs of your case and pursue maximum compensation for your injuries. Call us now for a free initial case evaluation at (312) 384-1920.

CHICAGO, IL – We live in a time where social media is inevitable and we are accustomed to posting details of our life – some that can may be used against us. If you’ve recently been involved in a personal injury case, social media can backfire if you’re not careful what you post.

Celebrating triumphs and venting about tough times are things you typically see on your newsfeed or while clicking through stories. No matter how private your account may be, there is plenty of information on the internet about you – no matter how secure you think your profile is.

Can Social Media Posts be Admissible in Illinois Courts?

Illinois courts considered Electronically Stored Information (ESI) to be admissible under some circumstances. This can include any emails, texts, Twitter direct messages, Facebook statuses, Instagram stories, or other forms of electronic communication.

In order for your electronic communications to be admissible in Illinois courts, the content must meet four criteria:

1. It must be relevant.
2. It must be valuable to the defendant’s case.
3. It cannot be hearsay.
4. It must be authentic, meaning it was created by or about the defendant.

So, now you know your social media posts can be used against you in court, and by insurance companies to discredit your personal injury claim. Now let’s discuss what you can do to prevent this information from harming your case.

Don’t Post About Your Accident or Case on Social Media

After something traumatic has happened, it’s natural to want to discuss this with friends and family, and post about it on social media. The best thing you can do after you’ve been involved in an accident is not to not share any information about your injuries, accident, or case with anyone.

While it’s important to take pictures and videos of the scene of an accident; however, do not share these on social media. Sharing too many details on social media can be seen as trivializing your injuries. Insurance companies will use anything to discredit your injuries so they don’t have to pay, or lower your settlement, so it’s important to not give them a reason to discredit you.

This gives the defense and insurance companies an opportunity to rethink their approach to the case, and better prepare themselves.

Even Innocent Posts May Contradict Your Claim

The defense can frame your innocent posts to make them contradict your claim. What you may think is an innocent post can look misconstrued to the court. For example, a photo of you at a wedding won’t show that you were actually watching from a chair because you were too injured from your car accident to participate in celebrating, although you had plans to go for months. This type of evidence in powerful in injury cases.

Don’t Let Others Comment About Your Case

Comments from relatives and friends can also hurt your case. For example, lets say you were rear-ended by a semi-tractor trailer and were seriously injured. Your relative comments on your photo asking how you’re doing. You comment back a white lie to not worry your family saying, “Don’t worry Aunt Betty! I’m okay.” This could also seriously damage your case.

In turn, ask family and friends to also not post about you or your case. This can be just as damaging as you posting about it yourself.

Change Your Profile to “Private” and Don’t Post

While you have an ongoing case, the best thing you can do on social media is switching your profile to “private” and not post. This will help prevent your information from being readily available; however, it doesn’t make it impossible for a lawyer to access your profile. Some lawyers can even file motions in court to access your social media accounts.

Find an Illinois Personal Injury Lawyer

If you’re wondering if a post can impact your case, it’s best to not post about it at all. One innocent post can jeopardize your entire case, causing you to not receive the compensation you deserve for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

The skilled lawyers of the Dinizulu Law Group have your best interests in mind. Our attorneys have the knowledge and resources to work to secure compensation for our injured clients.  Call for a free consultation so we can help guide you and the steps you should take following a personal injury case. Call our office now at (312) 384-1920 or visit our website for additional information.