Auto Accident Lawyer in Chicago Who Helps You Move Forward
We handle Illinois auto accident claims from the week of the crash through trial when an insurer will not pay fairly, because the offer that arrives first is written before anyone knows whether your neck is going to need surgery.
Hurt in a Chicago Crash and Not Sure What Comes Next?
You have an adjuster calling, a car you cannot drive, and a treatment plan nobody has priced yet. Talking to an auto accident attorney at that point costs you nothing and answers the two questions everything else depends on: how much insurance coverage is actually available, and what your injury is going to require over the next year.
We have handled crash claims for injured people in Chicago and the surrounding counties since 1993, for clients in Cicero, Waukegan, Naperville and the communities in between. Call (312) 492-7700
or email
info@lsblaw.net. If you are still in a hospital bed or cannot drive yet, we will come to you.
When It Mattered Most, We Didn't Back Down
The numbers below came from specific crashes and specific injuries, so a reader with a fusion recommendation can see what a fusion case looked like here.
- $3 million for a woman struck by a garbage truck
- $2.2 million for a client who required a lumbar fusion after a rear-end collision
- $2 million verdict in an SUV-versus-truck collision
Each of those was prepared as though it would be tried, which is the only version of a file an insurance company treats seriously. We have practiced in Chicago courtrooms since 1993, with admission in the Illinois state courts, the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, and membership in the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association. Results depend on the facts of each case, and you can read
the full record of verdicts and settlements.
Chicago Roads Are Chaotic. Your Claim Doesn't Have to Be.
Most of the crashes we handle happen in the same places. The Kennedy where I-90 and I-94 run together, the Dan Ryan south of the split, the Eisenhower along I-290, Lake Shore Drive, and the Cicero Avenue and Western Avenue corridors where a six-lane arterial meets a residential cross street. Out in the collar counties it is I-88 through Naperville and I-94 through Waukegan carrying the same commute at higher speed.
Where the crash happened tells us which agency holds the report and what reconstruction data exists. What the claim is worth depends on what we can document, category by category.
- Medical bills already incurred, plus the cost of the treatment your doctors say is still ahead
- Wages lost while you were out of work, and reduced earning capacity if you cannot return to the same job
- Out-of-pocket costs, from prescriptions and transportation to the changes a serious injury forces at home
- Pain, disability and disfigurement, which is where the largest share of a serious claim usually sits
- Damage to the vehicle and to what was in it
An insurer will pay the first category and argue about the rest. Building the rest is the work.
Problems We Handle Daily
Rear-End Collisions
Even when fault seems obvious, insurers will often dispute the extent of your injuries or try to minimize the payout. A well-documented claim connects the force of the impact, your treatment history, and the real losses that followed.
Intersection and Left-Turn Crashes
Fault at an intersection is almost always contested, and the insurer's first move is to place part of it on you. Illinois law puts a hard limit on that argument. Under 735 ILCS 5/2-1116, your claim is barred only if your own share of the fault is more than 50%, and at any share below that your recovery is reduced by your percentage rather than erased. We preserve the signal timing, the witness statements and the vehicle damage patterns early, because the difference between a 20% argument and a 60% argument is decided by evidence that disappears within weeks.
Hit-and-Run and Uninsured Driver Claims
When the driver who hit you disappears or turns out to carry no policy, you are not out of options. Every Illinois auto policy must include uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage of at least $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident, so coverage usually exists even when the at-fault driver has none. What changes is the procedure and the deadlines, because the claim now runs against your own insurer instead of someone else's, and that is covered in full on what happens when the at-fault driver has no insurance or leaves the scene.
Rideshare-Related Car Crashes
If your collision involved an Uber or Lyft driver, even as a third party, extra insurance questions come with it. Our Rideshare Accidents page explains how those coverage layers work and what they mean for your claim.
Serious Injury and Income Loss Cases
When you can't work, the financial pressure becomes just as urgent as the physical recovery. We build claims to account for lost wages, ongoing treatment, and the longer-term impact on your ability to earn, not just what's happened so far.
The Insurance Company Is Already Working Against You
The adjuster on the other end of the phone is measured on what your claim costs the company. Nothing about the call is hostile, and nothing about it is on your side.
- A fast offer arrives before anyone knows what the injury requires, because the cheapest moment to close a claim is before the MRI
- Your injury gets called inconsistent with the damage to the bumper
- Your prior medical records get pulled forward so the herniation becomes something you already had
- The file goes quiet, because delay pressures a person with medical bills far more than it pressures an insurance company
There is also a ceiling on what a policy can pay. Illinois requires only $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident in bodily injury liability coverage, plus $20,000 for property damage, and a large share of drivers carry exactly that minimum. A single cervical fusion can exceed the entire per-person limit, which is why identifying every available policy matters as much as proving who caused the crash.
What to Do Right Now
Step 1: Get medical care today, not next week
A gap between the crash and the first visit is the first thing an insurer uses to argue the injury came from something else.
Step 2: Document everything while it still exists
Photographs of the scene and the vehicles, the responding agency and report number, the names of witnesses, and every bill and out-of-pocket receipt as it arrives.
Step 3: Think past the damage to the car
Property damage settles in weeks. A neck or back injury declares itself over months, and a release signed early closes the injury claim along with the repair.
Step 4: Talk to a lawyer before you talk to the adjuster
A recorded statement given in the first days becomes the version of events you are held to for the rest of the case.
All of this runs against a clock. An Illinois car accident claim must be filed within two years of the crash under 735 ILCS 5/13-202, and the evidence that decides it, surveillance video, roadway marks, a witness who still remembers the light, is gone long before the two years are.
You've Been Through Enough. Let Us Take It From Here.
Most people who call us have already spent weeks trying to figure this out on their own — navigating insurance calls, confusing paperwork, and a process that wasn't designed to be easy for you. You don't have to keep doing that.
One conversation with our team is all it takes to start getting real answers.
Here's Exactly What Happens When You Work With Us
Most people who've been in a serious accident have never dealt with a personal injury claim before. Here's what the process looks like from start to finish.
You tell us about the crash
Where it happened, what you felt afterward, who has called you since, and what your doctors have said so far.
We build the file
Police and crash reports, medical records and imaging, photographs, witness statements, and the wage and employment documentation that proves what the injury cost you.
We price the claim in full
Not just the bills on the table today, but the treatment ahead, the time off already taken, and the earning capacity a permanent injury takes with it.
We prepare it as though it will be tried
Every case is built for a courtroom whether or not it reaches one. That is what changes an adjuster's number, and it is why we are willing to file suit when the number does not change.
If You Live in DuPage, Lake or Will County, Your Case Is Not in Cook County
An Illinois car accident lawyer has to file where the claim belongs, and outside the city that is not the Daley Center. A Naperville crash claim is filed in the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit in Wheaton, with its own judges, its own motion practice and its own trial calendar. We handle collisions on Route 59, along Ogden Avenue and on the I-88 corridor, and we appear in Wheaton on them.
We take auto accident claims across Cook, DuPage, Lake, Will, Kane, McHenry and Kankakee counties. If your crash happened in the western suburbs, start with
car accident representation in Naperville and DuPage County.
Should You Handle This Yourself or Work With a Lawyer?
Not every accident requires an attorney. But knowing which situation you're actually in BEFORE you make any decisions can be the difference between a fair outcome and one you regret. Here's a clear side-by-side look.
| Handling It Alone | Working With a Lawyer | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Minor crashes with no real injuries and straightforward, fully documented losses | Injury cases involving treatment, missed work, disputed fault, or an insurer that's pushing back |
| Works when | The damage is clear, both sides agree, and nothing is still developing | Your injuries are still unfolding or the insurance company is already minimizing what happened |
| The challenge | The insurer controls the pace, the framing, and the offer, and they do this every day | Cases require structured preparation, but the leverage and final value are almost always stronger |
| Evidence | You gather and organize everything on your own, often without knowing what matters most | Built around liability proof, medical documentation, and a complete picture of your damages |
| Biggest risk | Settling before you understand the full cost of the crash | Waiting too long while evidence disappears and options narrow |
Not sure which path fits your situation? That's exactly what the first conversation is for. We'll give you an honest read even if the answer is that you don't need us.
What This Costs You Before the Case Ends
The case evaluation is free, and it stays free whether or not you hire us. If you do, the arrangement is a contingency fee of one-third of what we recover, and it comes out of the recovery at the end rather than out of your pocket while the case is running. It stays one-third whether the case settles or is tried. If we recover no compensation for you, there is no fee at all and no case expenses to repay.
That matters more after a crash than in almost any other kind of case, because the medical bills start arriving in the same month the income stops. If you want the arithmetic before you call, read
what a car accident lawyer costs and how the contingency fee works.
Real Questions. Straight Answers.
Do I need a police report after a car accident in Chicago?
Yes, get one whenever you can, because it fixes the date, the location, the vehicles and the responding officer's initial read on fault. If no officer came to the scene, you can still file a report with the Chicago Police Department or the responding suburban agency afterward. A claim without a report is not lost, but it is harder to prove, and the insurer will notice.
How long do I have to sue after a car accident in Illinois?
Two years from the date of the crash under 735 ILCS 5/13-202. If the vehicle that hit you belonged to a public entity, you get half that time: one year to sue the Chicago Transit Authority under 70 ILCS 3605/41, and one year against most other Illinois local public entities, including a city, a village or a park district, under 745 ILCS 10/8-101. Because the deadline turns on who owned the vehicle, have the date confirmed early rather than assumed.
What if the other driver doesn't have enough insurance?
Every Illinois policy carries uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage of at least $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident, and many drivers also carry underinsured coverage that fills the gap when the at-fault policy runs out. There is frequently more coverage available than the first letter from an insurer suggests. The details are here: how an uninsured, underinsured or hit-and-run claim works.
Can I still recover if the crash was partly my fault in Illinois?
Yes, unless your own share of the fault is more than 50%. Under 735 ILCS 5/2-1116, a claim is barred only above that line, and below it the recovery is reduced by your percentage instead of eliminated. Being 25% responsible for a collision does not end a claim, it reduces it.
What can I recover after a car accident in Illinois?
Past and future medical treatment, lost wages and lost earning capacity, out-of-pocket costs caused by the injury, pain, disability and disfigurement, and damage to your vehicle. The categories are settled law; what is disputed is the amount in each one. That dispute is decided by medical records, employment records and treating physician opinions.
Do I need a lawyer for a car accident in Chicago?
For a minor collision with no injury and a quick repair, often not. Once there is an injury with ongoing treatment, a disputed fault question, more than two vehicles, a commercial vehicle, or an insurer asking for a recorded statement, the calculation changes. Ask us before you sign anything, and if the honest answer is that you do not need us, that is what you will hear.
Call Before You Sign Anything
You do not have to decide today whether to bring a claim, but you do have to decide before you sign a release, because a release closes the case at whatever number is on the check. Tell us what happened and we will tell you what coverage is available and what your treatment is likely to require. We handle car accident claims throughout Illinois from our office at 311 N. Aberdeen in Chicago, across Cook, DuPage, Lake, Will, Kane, McHenry and Kankakee counties. Call (312) 492-7700 or email info@lsblaw.net, and if you cannot travel we will come to your home or your hospital room.
Get Clear Answers Before the Insurance Company Gets Ahead
The insurer assigned to your case works these claims every day. You shouldn't have to figure out liability questions, legal deadlines, and settlement strategy on your own.
Injured drivers and passengers across Chicago and the surrounding communities — including
Cicero,
Waukegan, and
Naperville
— come to the Law Offices of Leonard S. Becker when they want honest answers and someone who will actually fight for what their case is worth.
The first conversation is free. And it might change everything about how this plays out.