Personal Injury
Accidents that lead to personal injury cases can happen fast in Chicago. But knowing what to do in the days, weeks, and months after you have been injured or a loved one has been injured or killed in an accident can be difficult.
Our experienced attorneys understand you may have questions after your accident. Your immediate goals after being involved in an accident are to receive prompt medical treatment, to get your bills paid, make sure you do not suffer financially through lost wages, and make sure your insurance company will process your claim promptly.
Our firm’s passionate legal advocates represent clients injured in a variety of accidents, including:
At Deratany & Kosner, we put our clients first. We bring over 100 years of collective experience in protecting the rights of personal injury victims throughout Illinois. We have been voted among top law firms in Illinois and nationwide and have recovered more than $250 million for accident victims. We take the time to listen to our clients. We work tirelessly to hold negligent parties accountable for their reckless behavior. Case results matter. Visit our results and verdicts page to learn more.
Contact Deratany & Kosner today to learn how an experienced Chicago personal injury attorney can protect your rights. Call 312-857-7285 for a risk-free case consultation.
Construction Accidents and Workplace Injuries
If you were involved in a construction accident, you will most likely have a workers’ compensation claim. Workers’ compensation in Illinois, a no-fault system, provides benefits to employees, including a portion of earnings and medical care. One of the key questions after a construction accident is whether there is a third-party claim against someone or a company other than your employer. This is important because we want to help you recover any and all damages for your injuries to the full extent possible. We will help investigate whether you have a third-party claim in addition to any workers’ compensation claim you may have against your employer.
In a third-party claim, you can file a lawsuit seeking damages beyond what you would receive in a standard workers’ comp claim. You may be entitled to pain and suffering, emotional distress, and other damages. The third party in a construction accident claim typically may be a subcontractor, a manufacturer of faulty equipment, or some other entity other than your employer (your employer generally is protected from being sued by an employee under workers’ compensation laws).
Construction accidents often involve equipment and circumstances such as:
- Defective ladders
- Improperly erected scaffolds
- Forklifts
- Cranes
- Welding accidents
- Fires and explosions
- Harness accidents
- Power tools
- Falls from roofs
- Falls through shafts
- Falling objects
- Slip and fall accidents caused by debris at the job site
- Burns
When Deratany & Kosner handles a construction accident case, we determinedly seek answers to questions such as:
- Were there OSHA violations that may account for the accident?
- Were multiple construction companies and subcontractors sharing a construction site, resulting in mismanagement of risk factors?
- Was the injured construction worker or passer-by given the proper care and consideration by employers, property owners and other responsible parties such as equipment manufacturers and government entities responsible for inspecting the jobsite?
- Was equipment left strewn around the jobsite in a hazardous fashion?
While construction is one of the most dangerous occupations, accidents can happen in any workplace, including offices. If you were injured on the job because of third party negligence, whether you work in a hospital, you are a truck driver or you do construction work, you may be entitled to compensation.
After a workplace accident, we understand that you are worried about your injuries and medical care, how to get medical bills paid, and how to replace your lost income. If your husband, wife, father, or mother was killed, your grief can overshadow all else. At the same time, you want and deserve to know how and why your family member died on the job at the construction site and you may have a Wrongful Death claim. We will use our best efforts to get you those answers.
If you or a loved one was involved in a construction or workplace accident, contact an experienced construction accident attorney in Chicago or call us at 312-857-7285 to set up a free consultation to discuss your legal options.
Slip, Trip, and Fall Accidents
One of the most common personal injury claims is known as a “slip and fall” accident, which means someone slipped or tripped and fell on someone else’s property and was injured as a result. Slip and fall accidents can happen on any premises when business owners, managers, employees, property owners, homeowners, or landlords allow an unsafe condition on their property to exist.
Slip, trip, and fall accidents have a variety of different causes in Chicago, including:
- Wet or slippery surfaces
- Torn carpeting or broken tiles
- Unsafe steps or narrow stairs
- Inadequate upkeep of a sidewalk or walkway
- Poor lighting or visibility
- Safety code violations
Property owners or landlords may be held liable for a slip and fall injury if they failed to keep up their properties. These can be complex cases. Not everyone who slips and falls in a store, parking lot or in a rented apartment has grounds to file a lawsuit. Sometimes, a business owner or landlord is not aware of a hazard that may have developed shortly before the accident. In other cases, a property owner cannot be held responsible if it is determined that an ordinary person should expect to find the hazard and avoid it.
But there are many instances where injured victims in slip and fall accidents have a legitimate case. Accidents can happen for any number of reasons, from grocery store managers who fail to promptly address a spill to hotel staff who fail to upkeep a sidewalk during the winter months.
If you need help with your potential slip and fall claim or want to know if you have a case, we encourage you to call us for a free consultation at 312-857-7285. We can help determine liability for your accident and strive to recover compensation for your injuries. Contact us today.
Premises Liability Injuries
Premises liability claims can involve any number of circumstances, including but not limited to:
- Serious injuries from slip, trip, and fall accidents
- Dog bites or animal attacks
- Negligent or inadequate security
- Accidents in pools
- Injuries due to poor maintenance of a property
Some incidents involve serious violent crimes, such as sexual assault, shooting, stabbing, or murder. These assaults might happen in a Chicago-area apartment complex in which the landlord failed to provide adequate security. If the apartment is located in an area that is known for gang activity or other criminal behavior, the landlord may need to hire security guards, install video monitoring, and make sure all building entrances have working locks.
To reduce the risk of pool accidents on their premises, property owners must install fences and gates. Unfortunately, drowning in a pool can happen for any number of reasons linked to owner negligence, from murky pool water and broken pool drains to lifeguards who are inattentive or not properly trained.
In any kind of premises liability case, victims may end up with serious or fatal injuries. Having worked with many individuals and families, our premises liability attorneys in Chicago know that these cases can be complex and have a long-term financial and emotional impact.
Even if you think you were partially at fault in the accident, you may have a case. Illinois recognizes “modified comparative fault.” That means if someone contributes to an accident and files a claim against a business owner, the victim may still receive compensation, but a reduced amount in proportion to the victim’s responsibility.
We have a strong track record for obtaining significant settlements and verdicts for personal injury victims. See our results and verdicts page. Building such strong cases often takes a lot of time and effort. Fortunately, you do not have to worry about paying for all this work upfront. That is because we work on a contingency fee basis. This means you only pay fees if our legal team obtains a favorable verdict or settlement on your behalf.
If you or a loved one was involved in a premises liability accident, contact an experienced construction accident attorney in Chicago or call us at 312-857-7285 to set up a free consultation to discuss your legal options.
Dog Bite and Animal Attack Injuries
Dog bite injuries affect millions of people annually. These bites can range from minor (simple skin lacerations that do not require extensive medical treatment) to those causing serious injury (an injury that may require surgery and could lead to physical handicap). The Journal of the American Medical Association reports that almost 17% of dog bites each year are serious enough to require medical attention.
Dog owners are responsible for their pets. If a dog leaves the confines of a person’s property and attacks someone, then the owner is liable for all damages caused to the dog bite victim. If a dog is not on a leash in an area where it is required to be restrained, and the dog injures a person, then it is the dog owner’s responsibility to accept the repercussions of her dog’s actions. Even if a dog is on the owner’s property, and a person is unreasonably injured by a dog, then the owner remains responsible for the accident.
Deratany & Kosner has the resources and experience necessary to determine fault after a dog attack. We have access to medical experts. We take depositions, gather evidence, and oppose the lawyers of large insurance firms. The Chicago personal injury lawyer you choose must be able to cover the expenses for such battles.
The attorneys at Deratany & Kosner have the experience, skill, and dedication to successfully resolve your case. Contact us today at at 312-857-7285 for a free case consultation.
Car, Truck, and Motorcycle Accidents
Chicago’s roads and highways can be dangerous for drivers, pedestrians, motorcycle riders, cyclists, and others. While most drivers understand how important it is to share the road, serious accidents can happen at a moment’s notice on any Cook County route, from I-90 on the South Side to North Broadway or West Peterson Avenue in the city’s Edgewater neighborhood. You or a loved one may be seriously injured or killed in a car wreck. You may be confronted with significant losses, including medical expenses, funeral expenses (in a wrongful death case), loss of wages, pain, and suffering, and more.
Types of car, truck, and motorcycle accidents include:
- Rear-End Accidents
- Side Impact Collisions
- Accidents in Intersections
- Head-on Crash Injuries
- Hit-and-Run Accidents
You may be overwhelmed after an accident. We can help. We are familiar with the many contributing factors in car accidents and know how to determine liability and hold the responsible driver accountable for your car wreck. Our experienced attorneys will discuss your situation and go over the options available to you, as well as work with insurance companies and other parties involved in your case to make sure all your needs are handled quickly and appropriately. Visit our results and verdicts page to learn more.