Highland Personal Injury Lawyer

TorHoerman Law represents injured people and families throughout Highland, Madison County, and Southern Illinois, with our law office located nearby in Edwardsville.

Our attorneys handle serious personal injury, motor vehicle, wrongful death, and product liability cases involving substantial medical treatment, financial losses, and long-term consequences.

Eric Terry has more than two decades of experience handling serious accident and negligence claims, including motor vehicle and wrongful death cases.

Clients choose TorHoerman Law for reasons including:

• Experienced personal injury leadership: Clients can work with an experienced attorney who understands how to investigate serious injury claims, assess liability, and prepare cases for settlement or trial.
• Southern Illinois experience: Our attorneys regularly represent injured people throughout Madison County and the surrounding region, giving our legal team familiarity with the courts, insurers, medical providers, and issues that can arise in local injury cases.
• A documented history of results: TorHoerman Law reports more than $4.5 billion in verdicts and negotiated settlements nationwide. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome in any individual case.
• Thorough investigation: Our legal team can gather medical records, accident reports, photographs, witness statements, insurance documents, and other evidence needed to identify responsible parties and document damages.
• Evaluation of financial and personal losses: We consider medical expenses, lost income, reduced earning capacity, pain and suffering, permanent limitations, and other losses when determining the monetary compensation supported by the evidence.
• Litigation readiness: When a claim cannot be resolved through negotiation, our attorneys are prepared to pursue legal action and present the case in court.
• Client-focused representation: Our attorneys can explain your options, communicate with insurance companies, and make recommendations based on your best interests throughout the claim.

Every personal injury case depends on its own facts, available evidence, insurance coverage, and applicable law.

TorHoerman Law can evaluate your Highland injury claim and pursue the compensation supported by the evidence while keeping you informed throughout the legal process.

How Much Does it Cost to Hire a Personal Injury Attorney?

TorHoerman Law handles qualifying personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis.

This means clients do not pay upfront attorney fees to hire our legal team.

Instead, legal fees are paid from the compensation recovered through a settlement or court award.

If there is no recovery, clients do not owe attorney fees for the personal injury representation, subject to the terms of the written fee agreement.

The contingency fee structure allows injured people to pursue a claim without paying hourly legal fees while they are already dealing with medical expenses, lost income, and other financial losses.

During a free consultation, our attorneys can explain how the fee arrangement works and answer questions about potential case expenses.

What Types of Highland Personal Injury Cases Does TorHoerman Law Handle?

TorHoerman Law represents people injured in a wide range of accidents and incidents caused by negligence, unsafe conditions, defective products, and other wrongful conduct.

Our attorneys evaluate how the injury occurred, who may be legally responsible, and what evidence is available to support the claim.

Motor vehicle cases make up an important part of our personal injury practice, including crashes involving passenger vehicles, commercial trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, and pedestrians.

Truck accidents can cause especially severe injuries because of the size and weight of commercial vehicles and may involve claims against drivers, motor carriers, maintenance companies, or other parties.

Bicycle accident cases can also raise disputed liability issues when a cyclist is struck by a vehicle or injured because of unsafe driving or roadway conditions.

We also handle claims involving unsafe property, medical negligence, defective products, serious injuries, and fatal accidents.

Our legal team handles many common personal injury cases, including:

• Car accident claims
• Truck accident cases
• Slip and fall accidents

• Nursing home abuse cases
• Workplace injury claims

• Wrongful death cases
• and several other personal injury practice areas

The legal process for a Highland personal injury claim can vary depending on the type of accident, severity of the injuries, parties involved, available insurance coverage, and legal issues raised by the case.

Seeking appropriate medical care soon after an injury and taking reasonable steps to avoid worsening the resulting losses can also affect the damages available in a claim.

An attorney can investigate what happened, determine whether another person owes legal responsibility for the injury, and gather evidence supporting liability and damages.

When Madison County is the proper venue, a personal injury lawsuit may be filed in the Circuit Court for the Third Judicial Circuit, where civil cases are subject to Illinois procedural requirements and applicable local rules.

Trial readiness can be important when evaluating litigation strategy, but no attorney can promise more money or guarantee that a willingness to go to trial will produce a good settlement.

A personal injury case may involve the following steps:

1. Free consultation: An attorney reviews the accident, injuries, medical treatment, insurance information, and other circumstances to determine whether a potential claim exists.
2. Investigation: The legal team gathers accident reports, photographs, video, witness statements, medical records, insurance documents, and other available evidence.
3. Medical treatment and mitigation: The injured person continues appropriate treatment and takes reasonable steps to address the injuries and avoid unnecessarily increasing the resulting damages.
4. Liability analysis: The attorney determines who may be legally responsible and whether multiple people or businesses contributed to the injury.
5. Damages assessment: Medical expenses, lost income, future treatment needs, pain and suffering, disability, property damage, and other losses are documented and evaluated.
6. Insurance claim and negotiations: The attorney presents the claim to the appropriate insurer or responsible party and evaluates any settlement offers based on the evidence and documented losses.
7. Filing a lawsuit: If the claim cannot be resolved, the attorney may file a civil complaint in the appropriate court and proceed with formal litigation.
8. Discovery and depositions: The parties exchange information and evidence, answer written discovery, take depositions, and may consult qualified experts.
9. Settlement discussions or mediation: The parties may continue negotiating or participate in mediation or a court-related settlement process in an effort to resolve the case.
10. Trial: If no settlement is reached, the attorneys prepare the evidence and arguments for presentation to a judge or jury.

Not every personal injury case reaches every stage, and many claims are resolved before trial.

When you or a loved one has been seriously injured, TorHoerman Law can handle communication, investigation, negotiations, and litigation while keeping you informed throughout the entire legal process.

The appropriate strategy depends on the facts of the case, the available evidence, the damages involved, and the response of the opposing parties.

You may qualify for a personal injury claim if you were injured because another person, business, property owner, healthcare provider, manufacturer, or other party acted negligently or wrongfully.

A viable claim generally requires evidence connecting the responsible party’s conduct to your injuries and resulting losses.

Those losses may include medical expenses, lost income, property damage, pain and suffering, disability, or other financial and personal harm.

Depending on the circumstances, claims may arise from motor vehicle accidents, unsafe property conditions, medical negligence, defective products, workplace incidents involving third parties, nursing home abuse, or other preventable injuries.

You do not necessarily need to know exactly who was responsible before speaking with an attorney, particularly when several parties may have contributed to the incident.

Being partially at fault also does not automatically prevent recovery in a negligence claim under Illinois law, although the amount available may be reduced based on your percentage of responsibility.

Filing deadlines and legal requirements vary depending on the type of claim, the parties involved, and the circumstances of the injury.

TorHoerman Law can review the evidence, determine which laws may apply, identify potentially responsible parties, and explain whether you may have grounds to pursue compensation.

Useful Evidence in Personal Injury Cases

Evidence helps establish how an injury occurred, who may be responsible, and how the accident affected the injured person’s health, finances, and daily life.

The most useful evidence depends on the type of personal injury claim and the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Medical documentation can connect the injury to treatment, while photographs, witness statements, and reports can help explain how the accident happened.

Financial records may also be needed to document lost income, property damage, and other economic losses.

Our personal injury and car accident lawyers can review the available evidence, identify what additional records may be important, and work to preserve information that supports the claim.

Useful evidence may include:

• Police reports or incident reports
• Photos and videos of the accident scene
• Photos of injuries and property damage
• Witness statements and contact information
• Medical records and medical bills
• Treatment plans and records of future medical needs
• Vehicle repair estimates and property damage documentation
• Insurance correspondence and claim records
• Employment records showing lost wages or reduced income
• Surveillance or security camera footage
• Property maintenance or inspection records in premises liability cases
• Product records, receipts, manuals, or warnings in defective product cases
• Expert reports or accident reconstruction evidence when needed

Potential Compensation in Highland Injury Claims

Damages are the financial and non-financial losses an injured person may seek to recover when another party is legally responsible for an accident or injury.

Attorneys assess damages by reviewing medical records, treatment costs, employment information, property losses, and other documentation showing the financial impact of the injury.

Economic damages generally cover measurable losses such as medical expenses, lost wages, and reduced earning capacity.

Non-economic damages address personal harm that does not have a fixed dollar value, including pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of normal life.

When evaluating non-economic losses and future damages, attorneys may also consider the severity and permanence of the injuries, prognosis, ongoing treatment needs, and how the injury has affected the person’s daily activities and quality of life.

Potential compensation may include:

• Past and future medical expenses
• Lost wages and other lost income
• Reduced earning capacity
• Rehabilitation and physical therapy costs
• Long-term care or assistance expenses
• Property damage
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress
• Permanent disability or physical impairment
• Disfigurement and scarring
• Loss of normal life
• Other documented out-of-pocket expenses
• Wrongful death damages in qualifying fatal injury cases

The amount available in any case depends on the evidence, severity of the injuries, applicable law, insurance coverage, and the parties found responsible.

Trial experience and a willingness to litigate can be relevant during negotiations, but no attorney can guarantee a particular settlement amount or outcome.

How Long Do I Have to File a Personal Injury Claim in Illinois?

In Illinois, most personal injury lawsuits must be filed within two years after the cause of action accrues under 735 ILCS 5/13-202.

For many accident claims involving immediately apparent injuries, this generally means two years from the date of the incident.

Different deadlines can apply depending on the type of case and the parties involved, so the general two-year period should not be assumed to control every personal injury claim.

Claims against a local public entity or public employee may be subject to a one-year filing deadline under the Illinois Tort Immunity Act, subject to statutory exceptions.

Medical malpractice claims follow separate rules and generally must be filed within two years after the claimant knew or reasonably should have known of the injury, with a four-year statute of repose for most adult claims.

Claims involving minors, wrongful death, workers’ compensation, delayed discovery, or other special circumstances can also require a different deadline analysis.

Because missing the applicable statute of limitations can prevent a claim from moving forward, TorHoerman Law can review the facts of a Highland injury case and determine which filing period may apply.

Illinois Requirements For Proving Negligence

Many personal injury claims in Illinois are based on negligence, although different legal standards may apply to claims involving defective products, workplace injuries, statutory violations, and other circumstances.

In a negligence-based case, the injured person generally must show that the defendant owed a duty of care, breached that duty, and caused injuries that resulted in damages.

A negligence claim generally requires proof of:

• Duty: The defendant owed the injured person a legal duty to exercise reasonable care.
• Breach: The defendant failed to meet the applicable standard of care.
• Causation: The defendant’s conduct was a legal cause of the injury.
• Damages: The injured person suffered compensable losses, such as medical expenses, lost income, property damage, pain and suffering, or other harm.

Illinois uses modified comparative negligence.

Under 735 ILCS 5/2-1116, a person whose contributory fault is more than 50% of the proximate cause of the injury or damage is generally barred from recovering compensation.

If the person’s share of fault is 50% or less, the damages awarded are reduced in proportion to that percentage of fault.

Comparative fault can become important when the parties disagree about how an accident occurred or whether the injured person’s actions contributed to the resulting harm.

A personal injury attorney can review accident reports, photographs, medical records, witness statements, expert analysis, and other evidence when evaluating liability and responding to disputed allegations of fault.

TorHoerman Law represents injured people and families in Highland, Madison County, and throughout Southern Illinois in a wide range of personal injury matters.

Our attorneys handle cases involving car accidents, slip-and-fall accidents, dog bites, birth injuries, defective products, medical negligence, wrongful death, and other claims arising under Illinois personal injury law.

We can investigate how the injury occurred, determine whether other drivers, businesses, property owners, healthcare providers, manufacturers, or other parties may be responsible, and gather evidence supporting liability and damages.

Serious injuries can lead to substantial medical expenses, lost income, long-term treatment, and changes to a person’s ability to work or participate in daily life.

Our legal team can evaluate those losses, communicate with insurance companies, consult qualified experts when needed, and prepare the case for settlement negotiations or litigation.

If a claim cannot be resolved through negotiation, our attorneys are prepared to pursue legal action and present the case in court.

If you or a loved one was injured in Highland because of someone else’s negligence or wrongful conduct, contact TorHoerman Law for a free consultation.

You can also use the chat feature on this page to discuss your case with our legal team and learn what options may be available.