If you have a car accident in Illinois, you need to take the proper steps to ensure that you receive compensation. You do not want the statute of limitations to run out before you file your claim.

Your insurance carrier

Your policy states how long you have to tell your insurance carrier that you were in an accident. In most cases, it is under 48 hours and often less than 24 hours. Call the insurer as soon as possible even if you do not know all the details yet. When you wait to file your claim, it sends warning flags to the company that it may need to carefully investigate your claim.

Police

You should always call the police from the scene of an accident. If you choose not to do that, you have up to 10 weeks to let the police know that you had an accident. One of the reasons that you should call the police immediately is that they will do an investigation to determine who is at fault. Even if the other person admits on the scene that they were wrong, they may change their statement later.

File a lawsuit

You have two years to file a bodily injury lawsuit in Illinois and five years to file a property damage lawsuit. This time frame is called the statute of limitations, and if you let it get by you without filing, then the other party cannot be held responsible. You may want to work with a car accident attorney to ensure that you get the right paperwork filed on time.

Accidents happen on the road every day, so knowing this information will help you be prepared if you are in a collision. Be sure you take the proper steps to make sure that you receive full compensation.