Illinois Personal Injury Lawyer

An attorney who knows how to help you recover compensation

Accidents happen every day in Champaign, Urbana and throughout Central Illinois. If you were hurt in an accident caused by another’s negligence, you deserve financial compensation. The legal process is complicated, however, and insurance companies will work against you. The Cerasa Law Firm P.C. can help you get justice.

Personal injury attorney Michael Cerasa used to work for big law firms, where he gained valuable experience and learned how to win against powerful insurance companies. He soon felt that clients deserved more personal attention from their lawyer. So, he started his own firm to help guide the injured through the legal process every step of the way.

Our firm handles cases involving premises liability, slip and fall accidents, farm accidents, boating accidents, wrongful death and other personal injury accidents. When negligent parties deny responsibility and insurance companies don’t want to listen, attorney Cerasa gets to work. He knows how to build strong cases that insurance companies must take seriously.

An accident can leave you hurt and unsure about what to do next. All you want is for things to get back to normal. Attorney Cerasa listens to understand how your life has been impacted. Then, he fights to make sure insurance companies treat you fairly so you can recover the compensation you deserve.

What is a personal injury accident?

It is any type of accident caused by negligence that results in injury. This negligence can be a specific action that was taken – or not taken – by a negligent party (or multiple parties). Personal injury cases may involve slip and fall accidents, defective drugs and medical devices or boating accidents.

These accidents can result in serious injuries that affect victims and their families physically, mentally and financially. If you were hurt in a personal injury accident, you have the legal right to seek compensation for the damages you have suffered, but the legal process can be complicated.

Do I need a personal injury lawyer?

You are not required to have a lawyer to handle your case – but keep in mind that the insurance company will definitely have one. They will do everything they can to pay you as little as possible or even nothing at all. Having an experienced lawyer on your side gives you a much better chance of recovering the compensation you deserve.

An attorney can investigate your accident to gather evidence and help build a strong case. A lawyer will also be able to determine the total damages you have suffered and deal directly with the insurance company on your behalf. The attorney can then negotiate a settlement that meets your needs or fight for you in court, if necessary.

How much compensation can I recover after a personal injury accident?

There’s no simple answer to that question as every case is different. In general, you can seek financial compensation for damages you suffered as a result of the accident. Depending on your situation, these may include medical expenses, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, property damage and pain and suffering.

Other factors can determine how much compensation you are able to recover. These include the seriousness of your injuries, whether you were left with a permanent disability and any future medical treatment you may need. Another factor is insurance policy limits. An experienced lawyer can give you a better idea of how much you can expect to recover.

Should I accept a settlement offer from the insurance company?

It is common for insurance companies to make a settlement offer to resolve a personal injury claim. This may come at a time when your medical expenses are becoming overwhelming. There may also be less money coming in if you can’t work because of your injury. That settlement offer can seem tempting, especially if they promise quick payment.

The problem is that their offer will fall far short of covering all the damages you suffered as a result of the accident. Their lowball offer is a way for insurance companies to try to save money. They know that once you accept the offer, your claim is closed. That’s why you should always talk to a lawyer before accepting any insurance company offer.

Attorney Cerasa is ready to work with you on your case. Insurance company tactics don’t intimidate him. He investigates your accident to get the facts that prove you were injured due to negligence. Then, he helps you push through barriers until you get the compensation you need and deserve.

It costs nothing to get started. If you’ve been hurt in a personal injury accident in Champaign, Urbana, or Central Illinois, you need trusted legal advice. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation. If we do represent you, we work on a contingency fee basis. That means you owe us nothing unless we recover compensation.

Protect Your Rights with a Premises Liability Claim 

Most people don’t give much thought to “premises liability” until they find themselves laid up. Every day, good people are seriously hurt due to someone else’s negligence. The results are painful personal injuries like fractured bones, spine injuries, a blown knee, head trauma, or another kind of damage.

Premises liability, or property liability, means that property owners must provide a reasonable level of security to guests and, in some cases, uninvited people. The Cerasa Law Firm P.C. knows that in Illinois the risk of getting hurt are higher than in most areas of the country. Illinois often ranks as one of the most – if not the most – dangerous U.S. states in which to live, drive, or walk.

Serious accidents require serious attention from an experienced attorney. Our firm gives accident victims free case evaluations. A member of our legal team will listen to what you have to say, put your accident in context, and help you explore your legal options. We’ve successfully represented thousands of Central Illinois residents, students, visitors on business, and tourists in recovering from property-related injuries.

Premises liability attorney Michael Cerasa gives his clients a unique blend of the professionalism and substantial case results of a big firm with the personal attention to your case that you can only get at a small one.

Property accident victims are often unsure if they have a right to demand compensation for their injuries. They wrongly blame themselves for being unlucky enough to get hurt in an unsafe environment. They are hurt by conditions that should have been fixed by an owner like wet floors, uneven sidewalks, icy walkways, rolled rugs, spilled food, cluttered walkways, broken doors, loose handrails, burnt out exit lights, or falling items, for example.

If you were injured in a premises accident you have a responsibility to get the money that is necessary for your full recovery. Without a successful claim, it is very unlikely that you and your family will have enough money in the bank to pay for essential accident-related medical treatment like surgeries, physical therapy and prescription medicines.

In the U.S., many working-age adults are struggling to pay medical bills or are already in debt due to the high cost of necessary, life-saving treatments.

Your claim will be a great service to the community. You will be doing a very noble thing by fighting back against dangerous people.

People comfortable putting others at a heightened risk for serious injury are unlikely to fix dangerous conditions if no one makes them. The harm will happen again and again to other people – some of whom may be less able to rebound from their injuries, like the elderly and children.

By filing a claim and holding reckless property owners accountable, you can save people in Central Illinois from suffering similar catastrophic pain and loss.

There are many scenarios that could lead to a premises liability claim or lawsuit, including:

• Slip and fall
• Injury due to poorly maintained property
• Defective conditions
• Inadequate security
• Elevator and escalator accidents
• Swimming pool injuries
• Wrongful death
• Hotel accidents
• Construction site negligence
• Parking lot damages
• Burns

If you or a loved one has been injured, don't just assume it was your fault.

You owe it to yourself and your family to demand the compensation you need to fully recover from an accident. Failing to secure a proper settlement now will most likely leave you without the resources you need to treat your injuries today and when they flare up again years down the road. Trips to Carle or OSF aren’t cheap.

A proper accident settlement must cover current and future accident-related medical bills, property damage, lost wages, treatment-related childcare and household costs, diminished earning potential, pain and suffering, and other losses.

Attorney Michael Cerasa has spent his career working almost exclusively on Illinois injury, accident, and insurance claim law. He knows the strategies insurance companies use to reject and minimize claims. He also knows how to respond to their arguments. Attorney Cerasa is so confident in his negotiating and litigation skills that he often takes cases on contingency - meaning we only get paid when we win.

Act now before the passing time makes collecting case evidence more difficult. Contact Cerasa Law Firm to schedule an appointment for a free, no-obligation case evaluation with Champaign-Urbana’s go-to personal injury lawyer. Personal Injury > Slip and Fall Accidents

Attorney Michael Cerasa holds negligent parties accountable

Slip and fall accidents are a common cause of personal injuries. They are often devastating, painful, and expensive for victims and their families. The money and resources required to recover can be huge. The Cerasa Law Firm P.C. fights for the rights of victims and helps them recover financial compensation.

Your slip and fall accident is serious to you, your family, and our firm. Property owners owe you a reasonable degree of safety. By coming forward and filing a claim you are not only restoring a stable future for you and your family, but your claim will also help stop property owners from hurting others.

Stop paying the price for someone else’s negligence. We stand up to ruthless insurance companies. Our firm knows that after a devastating accident, victims are in no condition to investigate what happened and fight a team of corporate insurance adjusters and lawyers that want to reject their claim.

Slip and fall attorney Michael Cerasa works hard researching your case. When he demands the insurance companies give you all you need to recover physically, emotionally, and financially, our firm has the evidence necessary to back it up.

People who own, or in many cases occupy, a rented home, condominium, apartment, or business have a responsibility to provide you with a reasonable level of safety – in some cases, even if you weren’t invited.

Some of the most common injuries resulting from slip and falls include traumatic brain injury, broken hip, neck or spinal fracture and contusion. These are often caused by slips or falls involving wheelchairs, beds or stairs.

To prevent slip and falls, the National Safety Council recommends that property owners keep floors and surfaces clear of clutter, install handrails on stairways, properly arrange furniture to create open pathways, maintain good lighting indoors and out, and keep electrical and phone cords out of traffic areas.

If you or a loved one are the victim of a slip and fall accident, the insurance provider for the at-fault property owner should pay you money. Don’t worry, they have plenty of it. The insurance industry makes billions of dollars in profit every year by shortchanging injury and property damage victims. When your insurance adjuster pushes back on your claim, attorney Michael Cerasa will push through to get you justice.

Attorney Cerasa provides individual clients with a great degree of personal attention. You may have seen some lawyers on TV promising something similar. Attorney Cerasa believes that his results speak for themselves. All that time TV lawyers spend in studios, Attorney Cerasa spends working on your case.

Don’t let the insurance companies off the hook for the compensation they may be required to pay you. You must not let a property owner keep providing an unsafe experience for guests.

We know that after an accident it is a difficult financial time for anyone, that’s why we provide free case consultations. We will listen to you describe the details of your case, answer your legal questions, and plan an essential strategy to win your claim.

 Wrongful Death Lawyer

There is an added layer of pain people feel when mourning a loved one who died from a personal injury under preventable circumstances, like a car accident with a distracted driver on the interstate or slip and fall at a business downtown It’s unjust and the surviving family and friends are left to wonder: Why did this have to happen? Is there something that could have been done to stop it?

The Cerasa Law Firm P.C. knows that filing a wrongful or preventable death claim with the insurance companies can be a complicated process. It doesn’t matter that you are usually a smart and capable person 24/7. When grieving, anyone would have trouble investigating the details of how a family member died, then using that information to play hardball with insurance adjusters and lawyers.

The insurance company will most likely try to pressure you into quickly accepting a small settlement. They may even say the settlement is a limited time offer – take it or get nothing for your loss.

Don’t fall for it.

The insurance companies want to force a fast settlement so you don’t find out that an experienced, hard-hitting lawyer will represent your claim on contingency and at no out-of-pocket expense to you.

Attorney Michael Cerasa takes a hard line with insurance companies. He can negotiate a substantial settlement so you can be with family and friends during this difficult time. We take most wrongful death claims for a contingency fee so that the at-fault party’s insurance company must pay for your legal counsel – not you.

We represent accident victims and their families throughout Central Illinois.

When a loved one dies due to someone else’s carelessness you are entitled to be compensated by the insurance company of the at-fault person or business. Among the damages for which a spouse, child, parent, guardian, or in some cases grandparent, can demand compensation are:

• Value of lost support and services, with interest
• Future value of lost support and services
• Loss of spousal companionship and protection
• Mental pain and suffering
• Loss of parent companionship, instruction, guidance
• Medical or funeral expenses
• Loss of prospective net accumulation of an estate

An insurance company sees your grief as their advantage. They know you are in mourning and probably struggling to cope with losing all your loved one’s care, support, friendship, and household contributions.

To get out of paying what they owe you, insurance companies will minimize your spouse or child’s life, their accomplishments, success, and brilliant future.

Our firm helps you fight back. We deal with the adjusters and do the investigations necessary to get you the maximum payout required. We know how to collect the evidence, witness statements, and expert testimony you need to win. Attorney Cerasa has a well-honed strategy that tears down the obstacles that insurance companies set up to block your case and forces them to take you seriously.

Yes.

We offer free case evaluations to accident victims and takes most wrongful death cases on contingency. When attorney Cerasa works on contingency, you pay no retainer fee, no hourly rate, and no money down. Our lawyer fee is calculated into your settlement or verdict, which is paid for by the insurance company. We only get paid when we win.

Our law firm has won hundreds of thousands of dollars for families who lost loved ones to preventable circumstances. Take the necessary steps required to win your claim. Contact us for a no-obligation consultation today.