Illinois Traffic Crash Reports are made by the police when a vehicle is involved in a collision (See an example Illinois Traffic Crash Report here). They are used for vehicle crashes, vehicle collisions with a pedestrian, and vehicle collisions with a bicyclist. If police are called to the scene of…
When a Plaintiff settles his personal injury claim, he may also have one or more liens against the amount of the recovery. Healthcare liens against a settlement may be asserted by the medical providers who have treated and rehabilitated the Plaintiff after suffering an injury. These liens are covered by…
An uninsured/underinsured (UM/UIM) claim often arises after a car accident. If the person at-fault for the accident flees the scene and is unable to be located, or if the person at-fault does not have insurance or has inadequate insurance, an uninsured/underinsured claim (sometimes called, “UM/UIM”) should be brought immediately. UM/UIM…
The biggest distinction between filing a lawsuit against an individual for a car accident and filing an uninsured/underinsured motorist claim (UM/UIM claim) against an insurance carrier is that the latter will be sent to arbitration for adjudication. Illinois law requires insurance companies to include arbitration clauses in all insurance contracts…
A setoff is a defense to a legal judgment for damages. A setoff can be either partial or total. When an insured party is making a claim against their insurance company for an Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist claim (UM/UIM claim) for an auto accident, bike accident, or pedestrian accident, the amount awarded…
Under the Illinois Liquor Control Act (“Dram Shop Act”), third parties who are injured by an intoxicated person may have a cause of action for damages against the seller of alcoholic liquor, who by selling or giving alcoholic liquor, causes the intoxication of such person. In many cases, the Act…
The decision in Nicholson v. State Farm Mut. Ins. Co. is a win for automobile insurance policyholders in Illinois. It also imposes a new obligation on insurance carriers to obtain a signed coverage election form before binding coverage, when the insured makes a “material change” in the policy. The Illinois…