Compensation and Damages

At Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C., one of the questions we’re most frequently asked is, “How does car accident compensation work?” In Illinois, a driver who causes a car accident must pay for the financial consequences of that accident — costs that are typically borne by the insurance company that issued the driver their liability policy. Under the terms of that policy, the insurance company has assumed the risk of liability on behalf of their customer in exchange for charging them a regular premium. As such, it will offer the accident victim a settlement agreement, paying for the estimated costs of the accident in exchange for the victim waiving their rights to sue to recover additional funds in the future.

The average settlement for a car accident will include compensation for various economic and non-economic losses you sustain due to injuries and property damage. Working with an experienced Chicago car accident lawyer can help you maximize your financial recovery, as your lawyer can investigate your claim and prepare a compelling case supporting your right to compensation.

How Working with an Experienced Car Accident Lawyer Can Help Maximize Compensation

Hiring experienced legal counsel can improve your chance of obtaining a full financial recovery in a car wreck claim. For over 40 years, the attorneys of Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C. have fought hard on behalf of those injured in car crashes throughout Illinois. We have recovered more than $2.5 billion for our clients in that time, including more than 350 million-dollar settlements and verdicts in auto accident cases. Here are just a few of our major wins:

• $33 million jury verdict in Lake County in 2009 for a client left with paraplegia
• $21 million jury verdict in Cook County in 2021
• $12 million settlement in a wrongful death claim in Cook County in 2022

When you turn to our firm after a car crash, you can expect us to thoroughly investigate your case to secure all available evidence, identify parties who may bear liability for your injuries, and fully document your ongoing and future losses. That way, we can pursue every cent available to help you rebuild your life.

Types of Compensation Recoverable in Car Accident Cases

Here are just a few of the things the driver at fault for causing the crash could owe you money to cover.

Emergency Medical Expenses

The costs of your treatment may have begun with ambulance transportation to the hospital. You may also receive initial treatment for your injuries in the emergency room or at an urgent care clinic, incurring a hospital bill.

Ongoing Medical Expenses

If you sustain injuries that won’t heal unaided, you may need ongoing medical treatment to support the healing process. Ongoing medical expenses may include surgeries, doctor’s appointments, prescriptions, and pain management care.

Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation

Severe car crash injuries may require you to undergo physical therapy as part of your treatment. Depending on the circumstances, your rehab may last from several weeks to several months before you fully recover.

Property Damage or Replacement Costs

You also deserve to recover compensation for repair and replacement expenses for your damaged property. These expenses may include repair bills to fix the damage to your vehicle. You may need to repair or replace other property damaged or destroyed by the accident, such as a cell phone or laptop that was in the car at the time of the crash. If the crash totaled your car, you deserve reimbursement for its actual cash value.

Transportation Expenses

Going to and from medical appointments and procedures can be expensive, especially if you need to seek specialist medical care. You might also recover compensation for car rental fees or rideshare/taxi/public transit fares while your car undergoes repairs.

Home Modifications

Adjusting to long-term disabilities often requires the installation of special home modifications. You can claim compensation for the cost of renovations for things like wheelchair ramps, handrails, or chair lifts.

Lost Wages 

When car crash injuries keep you from your regular job, you may recover compensation for the money you can’t earn as a result. This can cover the difference between the wages you earned before the accident and the lower income you now earn in a part-time or modified duty role.

Pain and Suffering

While the pain and suffering you experienced because of the accident likely don’t have a price tag attached to them, they are every bit as real — and every bit as debilitating — as those that do. You can demand money to compensate you for the physical discomfort and psychological trauma that the accident and your injuries caused you.

Psychological Damages

You may also have a claim to recover compensation for emotional trauma and distress you experienced due to the crash or your resulting injuries and disabilities.

Wrongful Death Damages

Surviving family members of a person killed in a car wreck may pursue a wrongful death claim to recover compensation for their tragic loss. This compensation can cover the loss of the decedent’s financial contributions to the family, the loss of the services they provided for the family or household, and the loss of their society, companionship, guidance, and instruction.

Disfigurement

You might have a claim to recover compensation for permanent scarring and disfigurement caused by your injuries, especially if visible disfigurement causes you significant embarrassment or humiliation.

Loss of Enjoyment of Life

Disabilities or disfigurement can interfere with your daily living or ability to participate in activities you previously enjoyed. If they do, you deserve compensation for losing your enjoyment or quality of life.

Inconvenience

You may also recover compensation for lost time, frustration, and anger caused by the recovery process after a car crash.

Punitive Damages

In rare cases, a jury might award punitive damages in a car crash lawsuit. Juries can award punitive damages in cases involving intentional or egregiously reckless conduct as a way of punishing an at-fault party for their conduct. Critically, these damages are not about compensating the victim for something they lost or suffered. In a car crash lawsuit, a jury might award punitive damages if the at-fault driver intentionally or knowingly chose to drive after consuming significant amounts of alcohol.

How the Amount of Compensation Is Determined

Calculating the compensation you deserve begins with thorough documentation of your financial expenses from the accident. A car crash attorney can help you gather bills, invoices, and receipts for medical care, car repairs, and other expenses you incur during your recovery. They can also calculate your lost income from missed work or reduced earnings during your recovery by referring to your pre-accident pay stubs or income statements. If you have ongoing injuries or disabilities expected to last well into the future, your lawyer might work with medical, vocational, and financial experts to estimate your future losses and needs.

Once they’ve added up all of these dollars-and-cents costs, your lawyer will prepare a compelling argument in support of your right to recover compensation for non-economic losses, too. These account for your physical pain, emotional distress, and lost quality of life caused by disabilities or disfigurement. Your lawyer’s negotiating skills are important to maximizing your financial recovery of non-economic losses, as you don’t have financial records like bills or pay stubs to support your demand.

Contact a Chicago Car Accident Lawyer Today

Did someone else cause a car accident that injured you? Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C. can help you pursue your car accident damages claim. Contact us today for a free, no-obligation consultation with a Chicago car accident attorney to discuss your legal options for pursuing financial recovery.