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Back and spinal cord injuries are some of the most debilitating and life-altering injuries one can experience. These injuries can significantly impact your quality of life, leading to chronic pain, reduced mobility, and even permanent disability.
When someone’s reckless actions cause you or a loved one to suffer these injuries, the services of a skilled legal team can help you seek justice.
At D&W Law Group, we understand the physical, emotional and financial toll these injuries can take. We want to be the ones who help you through your personal injury claim to pursue the fair and full compensation you deserve for your injuries, no matter what may have caused your back or spine injury.
Our founding partners have practiced personal injury law in Illinois for more than sixty years combined, and that history means we have seen how spinal injury cases unfold long before they reach a jury.
Spinal cord injuries can result from various incidents, all of which have their own individual challenges and needs. As your legal representation, we are prepared to help you recover from accidents such as:
Car accidents are one of the leading causes of spinal cord injuries. It only takes a moment of distraction for a driver to cause a serious accident, whether it is checking their phone, updating a GPS or reaching for something in the back seat.
The violence an accident can inflict on a body can cause extreme damage to the spinal column, resulting in fractures, herniated discs and other serious injuries.
Slip-and-fall accidents can occur anywhere, from grocery stores to private residences. These accidents can lead to serious spinal injuries, especially in older adults. Property owners are responsible for keeping a safe premises, and they are responsible for any injuries their lack of action or recklessness may have caused.
Construction sites are inherently dangerous, and workers are at a high risk of sustaining spinal cord injuries due to falls, equipment malfunctions, and other hazards. The employers and contractors on side need to abide by the relevant safety regulations to keep workers safe. Failing to do so can make them liable for any resulting injuries.
Railroad workers who suffer spinal injuries on the job may have a claim under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act rather than ordinary workers’ compensation, and our firm handles these FELA claims for Illinois railroad employees.
Riders hurt on a CTA bus or train, a Metra car, or a Pace bus can also suffer serious spinal trauma, and these claims involve a government defendant with rules that differ sharply from a standard car accident case.
Back and spinal cord injuries can vary widely in terms of severity and impact. Understanding the different types of injuries can help you identify the harm you experienced and recognize the compensation you deserve.
A herniated disc occurs when the soft center of a spinal disc pushes through a crack in the tougher exterior casing. Herniated discs often require serious medical treatment, including multiple surgeries and extensive physical therapy.
Soft-tissue injuries include sprains, strains and contusions, which can cause significant pain and limit your ability to perform daily activities. Even with proper treatment, these injuries can keep you from working as normal or engaging in regular daily activities.
Whiplash is a common injury resulting from sudden acceleration-deceleration forces, typically seen in car accidents. These injuries can limit mobility and keep victims from lifting, driving or safely moving in other ways. These injuries can also have long-lasting complications if untreated.
Spinal fractures can occur due to trauma from accidents or falls. These fractures can range from hairline fractures to total fractures, all of which can cause extreme damage and pain to a body. Even with the best medical treatment, a victim may never fully recover from their injuries.
Contusions are bruises to the spinal cord tissue. They can lead to swelling, pain, and temporary or permanent loss of function below the injury site. Immediate medical attention is crucial to minimize long-term damage.
Severe spinal cord injuries can result in paralysis, either paraplegia (paralysis of the lower half of the body) or quadriplegia (paralysis of all four limbs). These injuries will forever change the victim’s life and will require medical support and equipment to help them adapt to their disability.
Treating physicians generally describe a spinal cord injury as either complete or incomplete. A complete injury means all feeling and movement is lost below the level of the injury, while an incomplete injury leaves some function intact on one or both sides of the body.
This distinction matters for your claim because it drives the medical prognosis, the projected course of treatment, and ultimately the value of future care that must be built into a settlement or verdict.
Many of our Chicago clients receive this evaluation and ongoing rehabilitation at facilities such as Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, which U.S. News & World Report has ranked the nation’s top every year since 1991. We work directly with treating physicians and rehabilitation specialists to translate that medical picture into a claim that reflects the injury’s true, long-term impact.
Before accepting any settlement offer, it is important to determine the current and future damages resulting from your injury. By understanding these consequences, you can better negotiate for compensation that accurately reflects these costs. Here are some of the potential long-term impacts of these injuries:
A serious spinal injury claim is rarely just about the bills already in hand. Compensation should account for what the injury will cost across the rest of a person’s life, not only the treatment received so far. This can include:
Attorney Mark Curran III brings a finance degree alongside his law degree to this part of a case, which gives our team an additional lens for stress-testing future medical costs and lost earning capacity before we ever discuss a number with an insurance company.
We will explore all available options to make sure any settlement or verdict reflects these long-term costs, not just the bills you have already received.
The actions you take after a serious back or spinal cord injury can affect both your recovery and the value of your personal injury claim. Whether your injuries resulted from a car crash, workplace incident or severe slip-and-fall accidents in Chicago, taking these steps can make a significant difference:
Illinois law sets strict windows for filing a spinal cord injury lawsuit, and missing one can end a valid claim before it is heard. Most personal injury lawsuits in Illinois, including spinal cord injury claims against a private driver, property owner, or contractor, must be filed within a two-year filing deadline that runs from the date of the injury.
Claims against a government defendant work differently, and the applicable deadline depends on which entity is involved.
Under the Illinois Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act, a lawsuit against a local public entity such as a school district or the City of Chicago generally must be filed within a one-year government claim deadline, half the time allowed against a private defendant.
The CTA is not covered by that Act at all; a lawsuit against the CTA is governed by the Metropolitan Transit Authority Act and must be filed within one year, and claims against Metra or Pace fall under the one-year limitation in the Regional Transportation Authority Act rather than the general two-year statute.
Those shorter windows are one reason we tell CTA and Metra accident victims to speak with an attorney immediately rather than wait to see how their insurance claim plays out.
Insurance companies routinely argue that an injured person shares some blame for the accident that hurt them. Under Illinois law, an injured person can still recover damages as long as they are found no more than half at fault for the accident.
If a jury or insurer decides you were 50 percent or less responsible, your compensation is simply reduced by your share of fault. If you are found more than half responsible, you are barred from recovering anything at all.
That makes early evidence, such as surveillance footage, event data recorder downloads, and witness statements, critical to keeping your assigned share of fault as low as possible.
Most serious spinal cord injury lawsuits filed in Chicago proceed through the Law Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County, which hears civil claims for damages in excess of $30,000 arising in the city of Chicago.
Given the size of a typical catastrophic spinal injury claim, these cases almost always qualify for the Law Division rather than a smaller municipal court track.
The Law Division sits at the Richard J. Daley Center, 50 West Washington Street, Chicago, Illinois 60602, in the heart of the Loop. Cases filed here are randomly assigned to a judge, and depending on the value and complexity of the claim, may also be referred to the court’s mandatory arbitration program before trial.
We prepare every spinal injury claim as if it will be tried in front of a Law Division jury, because that preparation is what gives us leverage at the settlement table long before a trial date is ever set.
Results in a spinal or back injury claim depend heavily on the medical evidence and the degree of permanent impairment involved. Here is a sample of results our firm has obtained in cases involving back injuries, catastrophic worksite accidents, and Chicago transit accidents:
| Outcome | Case Type |
|---|---|
| $14.9 million | Worksite accident |
| $6.5 million | School bus accident causing back, carpal tunnel, and rib injuries |
| $3.6 million | CTA accident resulting in a fractured pelvis |
| $1.25 million | Car accident resulting in a disc herniation |
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Chicago-area injury victims often have questions about spinal cord and back injury claims. Here are answers to some common concerns.
In most Illinois personal injury cases, injured victims have two years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit. While that may seem like plenty of time, important evidence can disappear much sooner. Surveillance footage may be erased, witnesses may become difficult to locate and accident scenes can change quickly.
Claims involving the CTA, Metra or other public entities often follow different procedures than standard accident cases.
A claim against the CTA is governed by the Metropolitan Transit Authority Act and carries a one-year deadline, while Metra and Pace claims fall under the Regional Transportation Authority Act’s one-year limitation, all shorter than the general two-year rule.
If your injury involved public transportation, speaking with an attorney quickly can help protect your ability to pursue compensation.
Potentially, yes. A serious spinal injury claim should account for both current and future medical expenses. This can include hospitalization, surgery, rehabilitation, physical therapy, assistive devices, home modifications and long-term care.
D&W Law Group works to calculate the full cost of treatment for our clients, including specialized rehabilitation services available through leading Chicagoland facilities such as the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. Our goal is to pursue compensation that reflects the true long-term impact of your injury, not just the bills you have already received.
Being partly at fault does not automatically end your claim. Illinois allows recovery as long as your share of fault is 50 percent or less, though your compensation is reduced by that percentage. If an insurer is arguing shared fault, it is worth having a lawyer review the evidence before you accept any number they offer.
Most serious spinal cord injury lawsuits filed against defendants connected to Chicago proceed through the Law Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County at the Richard J. Daley Center, 50 West Washington Street.
Cases seeking damages in excess of the Law Division’s $30,000 threshold for the city of Chicago are heard there rather than in a municipal district courtroom.
It depends on who caused the accident. If your own employer was negligent, workers’ compensation is usually your only remedy against that employer, but if a different contractor, subcontractor, or property owner on the site contributed to the accident, you may also have a separate personal injury claim against that party.
A spinal injury on a construction site should be reviewed carefully so no available claim is missed.
An offer to cover initial medical bills is not the same as a fair settlement for a spinal cord injury. Insurers frequently make an early offer before the full extent of a spinal injury is known, and once you accept a settlement you typically cannot go back for more if your condition worsens. It is worth having your case reviewed before you sign anything.
Yes. Our firm provides client service in English and Spanish, reflecting the languages spoken across Chicago’s neighborhoods, and we make ourselves available to discuss a potential claim at any hour.
If you or a loved one has suffered a back or spinal cord injury due to someone else’s negligence, it is crucial to seek legal assistance as soon as possible. Our lawyers are dedicated to helping you navigate the complexities of personal injury law to fight for every cent that you are entitled to after your injuries.
We will explore all available options to hold the liable party accountable for their actions against you. We have more than 75 years of combined experience representing injured clients and have developed a reputation for success in that time.
Our dedication to our clients, paired with our creative representation strategies, has resulted in multiple multimillion-dollar settlements for our clients, and we offer all our clients the same level of representation.
Co-founder Lance C. Dale has been licensed to practice law in Illinois since 1990 and earned his law degree with honors from Chicago-Kent College of Law, while co-founder Scott B. Wolfman has been licensed in Illinois since 1993 after earning his law degree from DePaul University College of Law.
Together they have built a firm that carries an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau and holds membership in organizations including the American Association for Justice and the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association.
When you come to us to discuss your case, we will review all the available information to determine what courses of action can benefit you and pursue the option that you are most confident in.
As we are representing you, we will keep in constant communication with you to confirm what we are doing for you, what we expect to happen next, and how we anticipate things to be resolved. We will provide you with honest answers and the respect you deserve along the way.
To help our clients take the first step in seeking legal action, we operate on a contingency fee basis. This payment method means you do not pay us unless we win for you, and we only collect our payment from your winnings, so no money comes out of your pocket.
A spinal cord injury changes almost every part of daily life, and the deadline to act on your claim may be shorter than you think. Contact us for a free consultation to talk through what happened and what your case may be worth.
I was in a accident and D&W Law group took very grate care of me and I would recommend this law group to any one if you were in a car accident please call this law group there are great.
I come from the "Service" industry with a predominantly Hispanic customer base and I am very particular as too whom I refer my customers to when they need assistance. D&W has pulled thru every time taking care of my customers as I would. Thank you for all you do!
After what seemed like an impossible search, I was referred to D and W Law Group. I was met with a very knowledgeable staff who exceeded my expectations. All of my questions and concerns were answered in a timely manner.
I just have a question ik it's been a while since I had my accident. I just wanted to know if I'm still having complications do to my injury what do you suggest I do can you all give me a call or can I call to talk more details…
Pros 100% Font bother going anywhere else. They actually care about doing good and put the thier clients best interest 1st. I hope I never need help in this way again but if I did I wouldn’t go anywhere else.
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