A serious crash can change your life in an instant. One moment you’re on a road like Route 3, heading home after work. The next, you’re dealing with a wrecked vehicle, a trip to Gateway Regional Medical Center, and a pile of medical bills that keeps growing. If someone else caused that crash, you shouldn’t have to face the financial and physical fallout alone.
At Bartholomew, Shevlin & Flack, LLP, we work with people in Granite City and throughout Madison County who have been seriously hurt in motor vehicle accidents. Our law firm is committed to this community. We understand that the people who come to us aren’t just case numbers. They’re workers, parents, and neighbors whose lives have been turned upside down by someone else’s careless driving. Our attorneys take our responsibility to our clients seriously, and we work to help them pursue the compensation they may be entitled to under Illinois law.
You may have unexpected medical bills, and paying for your care is likely a challenge if you can’t work because of your injuries. Depending on their severity, they may even prevent you from enjoying life to its fullest. These burdens should not be yours to bear if someone else is to blame for the truck or car crash.
Our car accident attorneys at Bartholomew, Shevlin & Flack, LLP, want to help you during this challenging time by pursuing the money you need to start rebuilding your life. Contact our law firm today to speak with a car accident attorney in Belleville, IL. Initial consultations are free, and we only charge a fee when we win the case.
Granite City sits in a busy corridor of Madison County, with major roads like Interstate 270, Illinois Route 3, Illinois Route 111, and Illinois Route 203 running through or near the city. These roads carry a mix of passenger vehicles, commercial trucks, motorcycles, and pedestrians. Accidents happen on all of them.
Our attorneys handle a range of motor vehicle accident cases, including:
After a serious crash, you may be facing costs that go well beyond a few doctor visits. Illinois law generally allows injured people to seek compensation, which lawyers call “damages,” for a wide range of losses. Damages are the losses, injuries, or other harms a person may pursue after being hurt through someone else’s fault and for which they may seek financial recovery.
Depending on the facts of your situation, damages in a motor vehicle accident case may include:
No two cases are alike. The value of a motor vehicle accident claim depends on many things, including the severity of your injuries, how long your recovery takes (and whether your injuries ever fully heal), the other driver’s level of fault, and what insurance coverage is available. We can review your case’s details and give you a realistic picture of what to expect.
The hours and days after a crash are often confusing and overwhelming. You may be dealing with pain, shock, and pressure from insurance companies before you’ve had a chance to think clearly. A few things to keep in mind:
Illinois follows a legal rule called “modified comparative negligence.” In plain terms, this means that even if you were partly at fault for the crash, you may still be able to recover compensation. However, if a court finds you more than 50 percent responsible, Illinois law generally bars recovery.
This matters because insurance adjusters often try to shift blame onto the injured person. They may claim you were speeding, distracted, or failed to avoid the collision. These arguments can reduce or eliminate the amount they have to pay. Having an attorney who understands how fault is evaluated under Illinois law can make a meaningful difference in how your claim is handled.
Illinois law sets a time limit on how long an injured person has to file a personal injury lawsuit. This deadline is called the “statute of limitations.” If you miss it, you generally lose the right to pursue your claim in court, regardless of how serious your injuries are or how clearly the other driver was at fault.
The deadline for most personal injury cases in Illinois is two years from the date of the accident. There are some exceptions, but they are narrow. Waiting too long to file a lawsuit can also hurt your case for other reasons. Evidence fades. Witnesses forget details. Surveillance footage gets erased. The sooner you consult with a personal injury lawyer after a serious crash, the better positioned you may be to protect your rights.
This is something many people find out the hard way. After a crash, the at-fault driver’s insurance company may contact you quickly, sometimes within days. They may seem friendly and helpful. They may offer a fast settlement. That offer is almost never in your best interest.
Auto insurance companies are businesses. Their financial interest is in paying out as little as possible on collision claims. The adjuster assigned to your claim is trained to gather information that can be used to minimize the funds you receive. For example, they may ask you to give a recorded statement. Unless you have consulted with your lawyer first, you might say something in that statement which the adjuster can use to justify a small settlement offer or outright denial.
Another common insurance industry trick is to make a quick settlement offer before you’ve finished medical treatment. At that point, you may not yet know the full extent of your injuries. Once you accept a settlement and sign a release, you generally cannot go back for more money, even if your condition turns out to be worse than expected.
Our attorneys handle negotiations with insurance companies on behalf of our clients. We know the tactics adjusters use, and we work to make sure your claim reflects your actual losses, not a lowball number designed to close the file quickly.
Many motor vehicle accident cases in Granite City are resolved through a negotiated settlement before ever reaching a courtroom. But not all of them. When a fair resolution cannot be reached, your case may be filed in the Madison County Circuit Court in Edwardsville. That court handles civil cases, including personal injury claims, for residents throughout Madison County.
A personal injury lawsuit begins when a plaintiff, which is the injured person, files a claim against the defendant, which is the party believed to be at fault. “Negligent” is a legal term that means someone failed to act with reasonable care, and that failure caused harm. In motor vehicle accident cases, negligence might mean running a red light, driving while distracted, following too closely, or driving under the influence.
After a lawsuit is filed, both sides exchange information through a process called discovery. This can include depositions, written questions, and requests for documents. Many cases settle during or after discovery. If they don’t, the case goes to trial, where a judge or jury decides the outcome.
The timeline varies. Some cases resolve in months. Others take longer. What matters is that your case is handled thoroughly and that decisions are made based on what’s right for you, not what’s convenient for anyone else.
A few common missteps can seriously damage an otherwise valid claim. These aren’t meant as criticism. People make these mistakes because they don’t know what to expect. That’s exactly why talking to an attorney early matters.
Bartholomew, Shevlin & Flack, LLP is not a firm that treats personal injury cases as a volume business. We work with people who have been seriously hurt, and we understand what’s at stake for them and their families. A serious motor vehicle accident can affect your ability to work, your relationships, your finances, and your sense of security. We take that weight seriously.
Our law firm serves people across Granite City, including neighborhoods near Nameoki Road, the areas surrounding Wilson Park, and communities throughout Madison County. We know this area. We understand the roads people travel, the challenges local families face, and what it means to go up against an insurance company with far more resources than any individual claimant.
We handle motor vehicle accident cases on a contingency fee basis. That means you pay no attorney fees unless we recover compensation for you. Our goal is to make skilled legal representation accessible to people who need it, not just to those who can afford to pay upfront.
Reach out to our law office today. The sooner we can review the facts of your case, the sooner we can start working to protect your interests.
If you’ve been injured and someone else is to blame, the law firm, Bartholomew, Shevlin & Flack, LLP, can help you demand the compensation and justice you deserve. Our experienced Granite City, IL motor vehicle accident lawyers will help you make the process easy. Find out what we can do for you when you contact us online or call us today for a free case review with a motor vehicle attorney in Illinois.