Legal Question in Personal Injury in Illinois

If the accident occurred in Illinois, you must file in Illinois.

If you have such important injuries, you should really consider hiring an attorney because without an attorney, chances are very strong that you will lose your case on technicalities because once you sue the other driver, you will have to go up against a seasoned attorney from the other driver's insurance attorney and unless you know the courts and procedure and the laws of evidence, your complaint will be DOA.

Let me know if you have any more questions or you need more information.

Depending on the facts, you may be able to bring this lawsuit in Illinois. Please call my office if you would like to discuss.

Jeff Friedman

312-357-1431

Assuming that the accident occurred somewhere near Metamora (the zip code you provided), then you can file a lawsuit in Illinois and the court would have jurisdiction over the other driver, notwithstanding Seattle residency or plates. The more important issues now are whether the other driver had insurance and at what limits. Also, if you have sustained injuries, you have medical payments coverage under your own policy which may apply, as well as underinsured or uninsured motorist coverage in the event that the other driver was not insured or carried only minimum limits. If you sustained serious injuries -- $20,000 -- and other driver's limits are low, you should be able to get this money via quick settlement and then move to underinsured motorist claim assuming your limits are higher than his. I hope this helps.

If you would like to discuss this further offline and/or have more info like the police report, feel free to email me at [email protected].

Based on the extent of your injuries and the fact that the other driver is a resident of another state, you can file in the federal court in Peoria since you are a resident of Illinois, the accident happened here and your damages exceed $75,000. You also have the option of filing in the state court in the county where your injuries took place. You probably could sue the driver in Seattle. I doubt that he or she would object. I have never sued a driver in his own state instead of where the occurrence took place.