Evergreen Park Personal Injury Lawyer

After the Accident

A bad accident doesn’t just hurt your body. It threatens your paycheck, your ability to work, and your peace of mind while medical bills keep arriving and the insurance company keeps stalling on your claim. D&W Law Group has represented injured people across Evergreen Park and the south suburbs of Cook County for decades.

Our founding partners, Lance C. Dale and Scott B. Wolfman, bring more than sixty years of combined Illinois personal injury experience to every case we take, so you are never the first client like you that we have handled.

We offer free consultations to talk through what happened and what your claim may be worth.

A Firm Built on Decades of Trial Experience

Lance Dale has practiced law in Illinois since 1991, and Scott Wolfman since 1993. D&W Law Group belongs to the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association. We serve clients in English, Spanish, and Polish, so language is never a reason to go without help.

We prepare every case as if it will be tried, because the settlement offers that come before a lawsuit is filed rarely reflect what a claim is worth once a jury is on the table. That readiness is what changes the conversation with an insurer.

Case Results That Show What We Recover

When an insurance company undervalues a claim, we take the case to court. Here is a sample of results our firm has secured for injured clients across Chicagoland:

Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Attorney Mark Curran III, who pairs his law degree with a finance degree, brings a financial lens to calculating future medical costs and lost earning capacity in serious injury cases, the kind of number an adjuster hopes you never learn to calculate yourself.

What We Handle

We handle the full range of personal injury claims that bring Evergreen Park families to our door, including:

• Car, truck, and motorcycle crashes on Cicero Avenue, 95th Street, and surrounding roadways
• Pedestrian and bicycle accidents
• CTA, Metra, and Pace bus accidents
• Slip, trip, and fall injuries on unsafe property
• Medical malpractice and birth injury claims
• Nursing home neglect and abuse
• Construction site accidents
• Wrongful death claims
• FELA railroad worker injury claims

Many of the injuries we see here start on the road, but slip-and-falls, workplace incidents, and nursing home neglect are just as common in a community this size. If your accident doesn’t fit neatly into one category, tell us what happened anyway. Our personal injury practice covers nearly every situation where someone else’s carelessness left you hurt, and we’ll tell you honestly whether you have a case.

A Community Bordered by the City on Three Sides

Evergreen Park sits in south Cook County, wrapped by Chicago on three sides, with heavy commuter traffic on Cicero Avenue and 95th Street feeding the neighborhoods and business corridors that make up this dense, largely working-class community. That mix puts a lot of drivers, pedestrians, and transit riders in close quarters every day.

We represent injured people here and across the neighboring south suburbs, and we know the local roads, the hospitals people are taken to, and the courthouse that will hear the case. Because so many of our clients come from this corner of Cook County, we are used to the specific insurers, employers, and transit agencies that turn up in these claims.

How We Build an Evergreen Park Injury Claim

Strong cases are built early, before evidence disappears and before the insurer settles on its version of events. On a personal injury claim, our work generally follows four steps:

1. Investigate: we collect the police report, medical records, scene photos, and any camera or witness evidence while it still exists.
2. Value the claim in full: we account for future treatment, lost earning capacity, and the daily toll of the injury, not just the bills already in hand.
3. Present a documented demand: we bring the insurer a number grounded in evidence, so the claim is hard to brush aside.
4. Prepare for trial: if a fair offer never comes, we are ready to put the case in front of a Cook County jury.

Most claims settle, but the ones that settle well are the ones the insurer believes we are ready to try.

What’s At Stake If You Wait

How long do you actually have to act? Under Illinois law, most personal injury claims must be filed within two years of the date of the injury. Miss that deadline, and the court will dismiss your case no matter how serious your injuries are or how clearly the other side was at fault.

Claims against a government entity, such as the CTA or a municipality, often carry a much shorter deadline, which is one more reason waiting is the worst thing you can do.

What if you were partly at fault? Illinois follows a modified comparative negligence rule: you can still recover damages as long as you are found 50 percent or less responsible for the accident, though your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault. Cross that line, and you recover nothing at all.

That’s the argument insurance adjusters start early, often before you’ve even seen a doctor.

Contact us for a free consultation before you say another word to an adjuster.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a lawyer if the insurance company already made me an offer?

An early offer is rarely a fair one. Adjusters are trained to settle claims fast and cheap, often before you know the full extent of your injuries or what future treatment will cost. Once you sign a release, you can’t go back and ask for more money later, even if your condition gets worse. Talk to a lawyer before you accept anything in writing.

What does it cost to work with D&W Law Group?

We offer free consultations, so there’s no cost to sit down with us and find out where you stand. Ask us directly about fee arrangements when we meet, since every case is a little different.

How long do I have to file a personal injury claim in Illinois?

In most cases, Illinois law gives you two years from the date of the injury to file a lawsuit. That timeline can move up sharply if a government entity caused your injury; a claim against the CTA, for example, generally must be filed within one year. Wrongful death claims run two years from the date of death, not the date of the underlying accident.

What if I was partly to blame for the accident?

Illinois follows a modified comparative negligence rule. You can still recover damages as long as you’re found 50 percent or less at fault, though your award is reduced by your share of the blame. If you’re found more than half responsible, you recover nothing. Insurance companies know this, which is why they push hard to shift blame onto you early.

Which court hears personal injury cases from Evergreen Park?

Evergreen Park sits within Cook County’s Fifth Municipal District, where smaller injury claims are typically filed at the Bridgeview Courthouse. Larger claims are usually filed in the Law Division at the Richard J. Daley Center in downtown Chicago instead. Which courthouse handles your case depends on the value of your claim, and we manage that filing decision for you.

What compensation can I recover after an accident?

Depending on your injuries, you may be entitled to recover your medical expenses, lost wages, lost future earning capacity, and pain and suffering. If your loved one died from their injuries, Illinois wrongful death law allows the estate to seek additional damages for the family’s loss. We calculate the full value of your claim, including costs that are easy to miss, like ongoing therapy or a reduced ability to work.

How long will my personal injury case take to resolve?

Every case moves at its own pace. Straightforward claims with clear liability may resolve in a few months, while cases involving serious injuries, disputed fault, or a lawsuit that goes to trial can take considerably longer. We don’t rush your case to settle before your medical treatment is complete, because the full value of your claim isn’t clear until we know the full extent of your injuries.

What should I do right after an accident in Evergreen Park?

1. Get medical care right away, even if you feel fine at the scene.
2. Call the police and get a report number.
3. Photograph the scene, your injuries, and any property or vehicle damage.
4. Get names and contact information for any witnesses.
5. Avoid giving a recorded statement to any insurance company until you’ve spoken with a lawyer.

Serious Lawyers For Serious Injury Cases

Call Today For A Free Consultation

Talk to Us Before You Talk to the Insurance Company

You didn’t cause this accident, but you’re the one dealing with the pain, the bills, and the phone calls from adjusters. Let our founding partners put more than sixty years of combined Illinois personal injury experience to work for you.

Contact us for a free consultation and find out what your claim may really be worth before you sign anything.