At Charlie Therman Injury & Accident Lawyers, P.C., we have helped injured people since 2002 and bring 75 years of combined experience to serious crash claims.
Our Norwood Park motorcycle accident lawyers represent injured riders and families in serious and even fatal motorcycle crashes. We can deal with the insurance company, investigate the crash, help you understand your medical options, and pursue payment for the harm you suffered.
If you do not have health insurance, we may be able to connect you with medical providers who treat on a lien. Contact us for a free consultation with one of our Norwood Park personal injury lawyers.
How Our Norwood Park Motorcycle Accident Lawyers Can Help
Our firm is responsive, approachable, and prepared to go to bat for injured riders. We do not treat clients like file numbers. We explain each step, answer your questions, and keep the claim moving.
When we handle a motorcycle accident claim, we can:
- Investigate the collision.
- Identify the driver, vehicle owner, employer, insurer, and other responsible parties.
- Gather police reports, video, photos, medical records, and witness statements.
- Help coordinate treatment options, including lien-based care when available.
- Calculate medical bills, wage loss, future care, and personal harm.
- Handle insurance calls and settlement discussions.
- File a lawsuit if the insurer refuses to make a fair offer.
Our founding partner previously worked on the insurance side. That background helps us understand how insurers evaluate claims, use fault arguments, and approach settlement negotiations.
Illinois Motorcycle Laws That Can Affect Your Claim
Insurance companies may raise motorcycle-specific arguments to reduce payment. We address those arguments directly with Illinois law, crash evidence, and medical proof.
Helmet Use
Illinois does not require motorcycle riders to wear helmets. Even so, an insurer may still try to use helmet choice to distract from a driver’s unsafe conduct.
We push back against these arguments to ensure the claim is based on the actual facts and what really caused the accident and your injuries.
Eye Protection
Illinois requires motorcycle drivers and passengers to use eye protection, such as glasses, goggles, or a transparent windshield. If the insurer raises this issue, we can look at whether it has any real connection to how the crash happened.
Lane Splitting
Illinois law does not allow a motorcyclist to pass between two vehicles traveling in the same direction. If an insurer claims you were lane splitting or filtering through traffic, we review the roadway, impact location, witness accounts, video, and damage patterns before accepting that allegation.
What to Save After a Norwood Park Motorcycle Crash
Rider injury claims often depend on physical evidence. Do not repair or discard items too quickly if you can avoid it.
Try to save:
- Your motorcycle, if it can be stored.
- Helmet, jacket, gloves, boots, and other riding gear.
- Photos of the scene, vehicles, skid marks, debris, and injuries.
- Names and phone numbers for witnesses.
- Medical discharge papers and appointment notes.
- Repair estimates and towing records.
- Work notes showing missed shifts or job limits.
- Any texts, letters, or emails from insurers.
Nearby homes, businesses, buses, rideshare vehicles, and dash cameras may also have relevant video footage. Our Norwood Park motorcycle accident attorneys can work to identify and request that footage before it is deleted.
Getting Medical Care When You Do Not Have Health Insurance
Many working people delay treatment because they are worried about the cost. That delay can hurt your health and give the insurance company an argument that you were not badly injured.
Our firm has relationships with medical providers who may treat injured clients on a lien. This means the provider may wait for payment from a future settlement or recovery instead of requiring full payment up front.
We can help you understand this option, gather your medical records, and document how the crash affects your work, sleep, mobility, and daily routine.
How Illinois Fault Rules Can Affect Your Claim
Illinois uses modified comparative negligence. If you are partly at fault, your compensation may be reduced by your percentage of fault. If you are found more than 50% at fault, you may be barred from recovering compensation.
This rule gives insurers a reason to blame the rider. They may claim you were speeding, riding too close to traffic, lane splitting, failing to signal, or not using proper equipment. We respond by collecting proof, reviewing the law, and showing how the driver’s conduct caused the crash.
Fault should be decided through evidence, not bias against motorcycles.
Compensation Available for Injured Riders
A motorcycle accident claim may seek payment for the financial losses and personal harm caused by the crash. The value of a claim depends on the injuries, fault evidence, medical care, work impact, and available insurance coverage.
You may be able to seek compensation for:
- Emergency care, hospital bills, and follow-up treatment.
- Surgery, medication, therapy, and imaging.
- Future medical care.
- Lost wages.
- Reduced earning ability.
- Pain and suffering.
- Scarring or disfigurement.
- Loss of normal life.
- Motorcycle repair or replacement.
- Towing, rental, and other crash-related costs.
If a rider dies from crash injuries, surviving family members may have a wrongful death claim for funeral costs, lost financial support, grief, sorrow, and loss of the family relationship.
Deadlines for Filing a Motorcycle Accident Claim in Illinois
Most Illinois personal injury lawsuits must be filed within two years from the date of injury. Wrongful death claims are often subject to a two-year filing period from the date of death.
If a public vehicle, public employee, unsafe roadway, missing sign, broken traffic signal, or other public property issue may be involved, a shorter filing period may apply. That is why early legal review can protect your options.
Choose Charlie for Your Norwood Park Motorcycle Accident Claim
Charlie Therman Injury & Accident Lawyers, P.C., has served injured people since 2002 and has recovered over $100 million for personal injury claims across the Chicago area. We also work on a contingency fee basis, so you pay no attorney’s fee unless we recover money for you.
Call today for a free consultation with a motorcycle accident attorney in Norwood Park and find out why injured riders Choose Charlie.
