A car accident in Chicago rarely feels like a simple accident once the bills start arriving and the insurance company starts calling. You might be dealing with a totaled car, missed work, and an adjuster asking questions before you’ve even seen a doctor. A Chicago car accident attorney can help you sort out what happened, who’s responsible, and what your claim is actually worth.
Robert J. Rooth has represented injured people throughout Chicago and the surrounding area since 1984, working directly with clients from the first phone call through resolution. If you’re searching for a Chicago personal injury attorney, you’ll work with Robert himself, not a rotating cast of case managers. Call our office to talk through what happened and what comes next.
Chicago Roads Demand More Care Than Drivers Are Giving Them
Chicago’s roads present a particular set of challenges. The Kennedy, Dan Ryan, and Eisenhower expressways carry heavy volumes of traffic through tight merges and constant lane changes, Lake Shore Drive turns unpredictable the moment ice sets in, and downtown streets mix pedestrians, cyclists, and rideshare drivers in the same few blocks. A Chicago car accident attorney sees how these conditions play out in real cases, and the city’s own data backs up what that experience shows.
According to the Chicago Department of Transportation, 1,896 people were seriously injured in crashes across the city in 2024, with the most severe crashes concentrated in the Central Business District and on the West and South Sides. CDOT’s review of that data points to a few driver behaviors behind most of the damage:
- Reckless driving. Erratic lane changes, wrong-way driving, curb jumping, and other aggressive maneuvers were factors in 85% of Chicago’s traffic fatalities in 2024.
- Speeding. High speeds were involved in 72% of fatalities, and CDOT has flagged speed and vehicle size as one of the city’s top contributors to crash severity.
- Failing to yield at intersections. A quarter of Chicago’s traffic fatalities involved a driver who disregarded a stop sign or red light, and angle and turning crashes were the two most common crash types in 2024.
- Driving too fast for conditions. Ice and reduced visibility don’t cause a crash on their own; a driver who doesn’t slow down or adjust their following distance for the conditions does.
These and other dangerous driving behaviors ultimately come down to a choice a driver made, not just bad luck or bad weather, and that distinction matters when holding someone accountable.
Why Chicago Accident Victims Choose Robert J. Rooth
When you’re recovering from a car accident, the last thing you need is to feel like just another file on someone’s desk. As a Chicago car accident attorney, Robert J. Rooth has built his practice around the opposite approach, working directly with clients instead of handing cases off to associates or case managers who don’t know the details of what happened to you.
Direct Access to Your Attorney
Since 1984, Robert has represented thousands of injured people and families throughout Chicago and the surrounding area, and that experience shows up in how a case gets handled from the start.
When you call, you’ll talk to Robert. When you have a question about your claim, you’ll get an answer from Robert, not a message relayed through a case manager. That kind of direct access is harder to find at larger firms, where clients often meet their attorney once and spend the rest of the case working with a rotating team of staff.
Call a Chicago Car Accident Lawyer Today
We have been advocating for the injured since 1984. Let us fight to hold wrongdoers accountable and recover the financial damages your family needs.
CALL US NOW A Fact-Driven, Trial-Ready Approach
Robert brings decades of trial experience and a genuine commitment to holding negligent drivers accountable in every case. He takes the time to understand what happened, explain your options in plain terms, and prepare each claim as though it may need to go to trial, because insurance companies negotiate differently when they know a firm is prepared to fight for a fair outcome.
Compensation Available After a Car Accident in Chicago
The value of a car accident claim comes down to what the accident actually cost you, both the expenses you can put a number on and the ones that are harder to measure. A Chicago car accident attorney typically looks at claims through a few categories:
- Medical expenses, including past treatment and the cost of any care you’ll still need going forward
- Lost income, for time you missed at work, along with reduced earning capacity if your injuries affect your ability to work the same way going forward.
- Pain and suffering, which accounts for the physical pain and disruption to daily life the accident caused
- Emotional distress, particularly relevant after a serious or traumatic crash
- Property damage, which is typically pursued as part of your broader injury claim rather than handled separately
How much weight each category carries depends on the severity of your injuries and how long their effects last. A broken bone might mean weeks of missed work and a cast that comes off eventually. A traumatic brain injury or spinal cord injury can mean a life that looks permanently different from the one you had before the crash, in ways that don’t always show up on a bill. That difference matters, and it’s why no two claims are built the same way.
These cases can get complicated fast, especially once an insurance company starts trying to reduce your losses to whatever’s cheapest for them to pay. Robert J. Rooth works to make sure everything you’ve actually lost gets fairly accounted for, and he prepares every claim as though it may need to go to trial, because that’s often what it takes to get an insurer to negotiate seriously.
What if I Was Partly at Fault for the Accident?
You can still recover compensation. Illinois follows a modified comparative negligence rule, which means you can pursue a claim as long as you’re found to be 50% or less at fault for the accident. Your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault, but you’re not shut out of a claim just because you share some blame.
If you’re 51% or more at fault, Illinois law bars you from recovering anything. That’s exactly why insurance companies push hard to pin more blame on you than the facts support. We push back against inflated fault percentages and work to make sure the assessment reflects what actually happened, not what’s most convenient for the insurer’s bottom line.
This Is the Part Where You Stop Handling It by Yourself
Between the pain, the paperwork, and the phone calls, it’s easy to feel like you’re managing a second full-time job on top of recovering. That’s not something you should have to carry by yourself, and it’s not something you need to have figured out before you call.
Robert J. Rooth has spent more than four decades sitting across the desk from people in exactly this position, and he still handles every Chicago car accident attorney case personally, from the first conversation to the last. From his office in Evanston, Robert represents accident victims throughout Chicago and the surrounding communities. If you’re ready to talk through what happened, call The Rooth Law Firm for a free consultation.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Long Do I Have to File a Car Accident Lawsuit in Illinois?
In most cases, Illinois gives you two years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. If you miss that deadline, you generally lose your right to recover compensation, even if the other driver was clearly at fault.
Two years can feel like plenty of time, but evidence doesn’t hold up well while you wait. Skid marks fade, surveillance footage gets overwritten, and witnesses move or forget details. We work to gather and preserve evidence as early as possible, so it’s available if and when you need it.
What Should I Do After a Car Accident in Chicago?
The steps you take in the hours and days after a crash can affect your health and your claim. Here’s what to prioritize:
- Get medical attention, even if you feel fine. A medical record created close to the time of the accident also helps connect your injuries to the crash later on.
- Call the police and get a report number. Chicago police responding to the scene will document the crash, the parties involved, and any citations issued. That report often becomes one of the first pieces of evidence in your claim.
- Document the scene if you’re able to. Photos of vehicle damage, road conditions, traffic signals, and any visible injuries can support your case well after the scene has been cleared.
- Get contact and insurance information from everyone involved, including witnesses who saw what happened. Witnesses can be difficult to track down later if you don’t get their information at the scene.
- Be cautious about what you say, especially to insurance adjusters. A casual comment like “I’m fine” can be used later to downplay injuries that don’t show up until days afterward.
Consider talking to a Chicago car accident attorney before accepting any settlement offer. Early offers are often calculated to close a claim quickly, not to reflect what it’s actually worth once the full extent of your injuries is known.
Every case looks a little different, but taking these steps early gives you and your attorney more to work with when it’s time to build your claim.
Should I Talk to the Other Driver’s Insurance Company?
Be careful here. The other driver’s insurance adjuster isn’t working for you, and any recorded statement you give can be used to minimize what they eventually offer. A friendly question about how you’re feeling can turn into an admission that your injuries aren’t serious.
You’re not required to give a detailed statement to the other driver’s insurer, and you’re allowed to decline until you’ve spoken with someone representing your interests. Once we’re involved, we handle communication with the insurance company directly, so you’re not left choosing your words carefully during one of the hardest weeks you’ve had.
