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- We Have the Experience to Handle Your ATV Accident Claim?
- How Can Our Chicago ATV Accident Lawyers Assist You?
- What Are the Time Limits For Filing a Claim?
- What Financial Compensation Can You Get in a Chicago ATV Crash Case?
- Who Can Be Held Liable in Your ATV Accident?
- What Are the Common Injuries Caused by ATV Accidents in Chicago?
- Get Help From an Experienced ATV Accident Law Firm in Chicago, Illinois, Today
ATVs are popular recreational vehicles and provide a great source of outdoor fun. However, in Chicago and nationwide, ATV accidents often cause serious injuries and death. In Illinois, 50 fatal incidents involving off-highway vehicles occurred between 2016 and 2018.
If you or a loved one were injured in an ATV accident, you need experienced legal representation to protect your rights. You may be entitled to substantial compensation for your medical expenses, income losses, and pain and suffering. An ATV accident lawyer at the nationally recognized Levin & Perconti law firm will gladly provide a free consultation.
We Have the Experience to Handle Your ATV Accident Claim
The Levin & Perconti personal injury team has fought for accident victims’ rights since 1992. We have recovered over $1 billion in settlements and verdicts for our clients, including record-breaking results. We are among the top five Illinois firms for total settlements.
With more than 400 years of combined litigation experience, we have the legal knowledge and skills to take on the most powerful insurance companies. We’ve been recognized as Illinois Super Lawyers, ranked in Best Law Firms, made the top ten in the JVR Annual Settlements Report eight years in a row, and appeared on the Best Law Firms list in U.S. News & World Report.
We care about our clients. When you need an ATV accident lawyer in Chicago with extensive knowledge of the law who is compassionate and understanding, count on Levin & Perconti.
Our firm has a proven track record of success in motor vehicle accident cases. Some of the notable results we’ve obtained for our clients include the following:
- A record-breaking $6.5 million settlement in a truck accident case
- A $3.8 million settlement for a cyclist struck by a vehicle
- A $2.4 million verdict for a man struck by a city worker’s vehicle while he was on the sidewalk
- A $2.07 million verdict for an automobile accident victim who had multiple leg fractures
How Can Our Chicago ATV Accident Lawyers Assist You?
ATV accidents often cause severe injuries. You deserve full and fair compensation to ensure the best possible recovery. Levin & Perconti’s ATV accident attorneys can provide the legal representation you need. We have an in-depth knowledge of how Illinois personal injury law applies to ATV accidents. We also have extensive experience negotiating settlements with insurers and trying cases in Chicago’s courts.
We will identify all sources of applicable insurance coverage, including policies covering the following:
- The at-fault party’s car or ATV
- Your car or ATV
- The landowner on whose property the accident occurred
- The ATV manufacturer
We are skilled and experienced negotiators and will aggressively protect your interests. We won’t let insurers get away with lowball settlement offers that don’t fully cover your damages.
We will use our resources to thoroughly investigate the ATV accident, find out how it happened, and determine who’s responsible. We’ll build a strong case by gathering evidence to demonstrate liability and establish your injuries’ full extent and impact. We can also consult experts to bolster your case. We will litigate in court to fight for the best possible outcome if necessary.
We know how important it is to communicate with our clients and are always glad to return your calls and emails.
What Are the Time Limits For Filing a Claim?
You have two years from the accident date to file an ATV accident lawsuit in Illinois. Some exceptions may give you more time to file but don’t count on them to apply. Consult an experienced Chicago ATV accident lawyer to determine the filing deadline for your case.
It’s necessary to get started immediately. Otherwise, you could run out of time and lose the right to pursue your claim. Memories can fade, and evidence can get lost. You will ensure your best shot at proving your case by acting as soon as possible.
What Financial Compensation Can You Get in a Chicago ATV Crash Case?
An experienced Chicago ATV accident attorney will seek full and fair compensation for your injuries. You may seek economic damages to compensate you for monetary losses caused by your accident. You also may pursue non-economic damages compensating you for intangible, harder-to-quantify harms.
Direct Financial Costs
Economic damages recoverable for an ATV crash include the following:
- Medical expenses: ATV accidents often cause severe injuries because operators and passengers are directly exposed to the impact, with little protection. As such, medical expenses can be high, and the need for treatment can last for months, years, or a lifetime.
- Lost wages: The severity of an ATV accident can leave you unable to work, reduce your hours, or force you to take a lower-paying position.
- Property damage: Your ATV can sustain expensive crash damages.
Intangible Impacts
Non-economic damages resulting from an ATV crash can include the following:
- Pain and suffering: If your ATV accident caused severe injuries, you may experience chronic pain.
- Emotional distress: Reactions to being in an ATV accident may include post-traumatic stress disorder, insomnia, anxiety, or depression.
- Loss of quality of life: If your physical injuries or emotional distress prevent you from engaging in activities you enjoyed before your ATV accident, you may experience an overall loss of enjoyment of life.
Tragic losses
Unfortunately, accidents sometimes have fatal results. If a loved one has died from an ATV accident, your family may pursue wrongful death compensation. In Illinois, the decedent’s personal representative can file a wrongful death lawsuit when someone else’s negligence or intentional actions caused the victim’s death. The surviving spouse and next of kin may collect damages for monetary expenses, grief, sorrow, and mental suffering.
Who Can Be Held Liable in Your ATV Accident?
More than one party may be liable for your ATV accident. If an ATV crashed into you, potentially responsible parties include:
- The ATV operator
- The ATV owner, if different from the operator
- Owners and operators of other vehicles
- The owner of the land where the accident occurred if the operator paid to enter the premises and the owner failed to keep the premises in a safe condition
- The manufacturers or sellers of the ATV and its parts, if they were defectively designed, manufactured, or lacked adequate safety warnings
Vehicle-Related Factors
The ATV might be defectively designed or improperly manufactured. Brakes, wheels, and other parts also may be dangerously defective. If vehicle or component defects contributed to your accident, you may have grounds for a product liability lawsuit against the manufacturer.
In addition, the parties responsible for the ATV’s maintenance and repair may have negligently failed to keep the ATV in safe order. You may pursue a claim against the responsible parties if poor maintenance contributed to your accident.
Operator-Related Factors
Common types of operator negligence include the following:
- Inexperienced operators
- Driving while impaired by drugs or alcohol
- Speeding
- Distracted driving, such as the use of phones or other devices
- Driving while fatigued
Failure To Obey the Law
Illinois law requires ATV operators driving on public land to wear a safety helmet and eye protection. Their vehicle also must have a headlight, tail light, brake, muffler, and spark arrestor.
Human Error and Negligence
Most vehicle accidents result from human error. ATV operators, landowners, and those responsible for the ATV’s condition are all legally responsible for using reasonable care not to endanger others. When they fall below that standard, the law considers them negligent and potentially liable for the harm they cause.
Recently, there were 25 crashes in Chicago involving ATVs, causing 11 people to be injured and 15 to have property damage. There were four additional crashes involving recreational off-highway vehicles, or ROVs. ROVs are similar to ATVs but typically carry several passengers.
Levin & Perconti’s ATV accident lawyers have the resources and experience to investigate the accident and identify all potentially liable parties.
What Are the Common Injuries Caused by ATV Accidents in Chicago?
ATV accidents around Chicago often occur because the operator collides with something in the landscape, such as a rock or a tree, or crashes into another ATV. However, mechanical malfunctions also are common.
In an ATV accident, operators can injure themselves, their passengers, operators or passengers on other ATVs, pedestrians, and people in other vehicles. Common injuries from ATV accidents include:
- Physical injuries: ATV accident victims may have severe cuts and abrasions, fractures, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and soft tissue injuries, which can be serious or fatal.
- Internal injuries: ATV accidents can damage internal organs and cause internal bleeding.
- Psychological and emotional impact: An ATV accident can severely affect the victims’ emotional well-being. They may also suffer from PTSD, insomnia, anxiety, or depression.
These physical and emotional injuries may require long-term treatment and may prevent you from earning as much as you did before the accident. By seeking compensation for your injuries, you will have the chance to move on with your life.
Get Help From an Experienced ATV Accident Law Firm in Chicago, Illinois, Today
If you were involved in an ATV accident, we can help. At Levin & Perconti, we have recovered more than a billion dollars for our clients. We offer a free, no-obligation consultation to discuss your case and explain your legal options.
Get started by calling us at (312) 332-2872 or visiting our contact page today.
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John J. Perconti
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Notable Results
SETTLEMENT
for a 5-year-old boy run over by a fire truck as he played on a fire hydrant, resulting in the loss of his leg and half of his pelvis
SETTLEMENT
for the family of a 32-year-old woman who was killed when their pick-up truck was rear-ended by a semi-truck
VERDICT
for a 23-year-old woman who suffered multiple leg fractures in an automobile collision
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325 N LaSalle Dr Suite 300
Chicago, IL 60654
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