When you've been injured and every insurance company tactic is designed to protect their profits instead of your health, you need an Orland Park Personal Injury Attorney who sees through the corporate games and fights back relentlessly. I'm Scott DeSalvo, and for nearly three decades I've been taking on the insurance industry's dirty tricks and winning compensation for families throughout Cook County. Whether your injury happened on LaGrange Road near Orland Square Mall, at one of the corporate campuses along 159th Street, or anywhere else in Orland Park and the surrounding southwest suburbs, hiring the right Orland Park Personal Injury Attorney determines whether you walk away with real money or just broken promises.
I need to be straight with you about something.
When I was a kid—nine years old—my father worked as a truck driver and proud Teamster. One afternoon at work, something catastrophic happened. The accident left him with devastating injuries to his neck, back, and spine that would never fully heal.
Our family would never be the same.
But the physical injuries weren't what broke us. It was what came after. My dad hired what he thought was a good personal injury lawyer. Turns out, these attorneys were everything wrong with the legal profession—dismissive, uncommunicative, and incompetent. They bungled his case, left significant money unclaimed, and let the whole mess drag on for seventeen agonizing years.
Then—and this still makes me furious—his own lawyer sued him for additional fees.
We went from middle class to poor basically overnight. My mom worked constantly just to keep us afloat. My dad suffered in silence, dealing with chronic pain and the emotional devastation of knowing the system had failed him when he needed it most.
I watched all of this happen. I was just a kid, but I made myself a promise: I would become a lawyer who actually protects people instead of exploiting them.
That's the foundation of everything I do as an Orland Park Personal Injury Attorney. When I meet with clients, I see my father. I see families trying to survive a nightmare they didn't create. And I refuse—absolutely refuse—to let them down the way my dad was let down.
Orland Park sits at a critical junction in Chicago's southwest suburbs. It's grown into a commercial and residential powerhouse, which brings prosperity—and serious injury risks.
Here's what creates the unique challenges:
When you work with an Orland Park Personal Injury Attorney who knows Cook County's southwest suburbs intimately, you're working with someone who understands these specific dangers. I know where accidents cluster. I know which intersections the Illinois Department of Transportation has flagged as hazardous. I know local employers with questionable safety records.
Generic suburban lawyers who dabble in Orland Park cases don't have this knowledge. An Orland Park Personal Injury Attorney with genuine local experience knows how to build compelling cases for Cook County juries and navigate the specific procedures of local courts.
Here's a critical fact most people don't realize: Cook County is massive, and different divisions operate with their own distinct procedures.
The Southwest Division in Bridgeview handles Orland Park cases. It has unique local rules. Specific scheduling practices. Different judges with individual preferences. Even motion practice and settlement conference procedures differ from downtown Chicago or other suburban divisions.
If your attorney doesn't regularly practice in the Southwest Division, you're handicapped. They'll stumble through unfamiliar procedures. They'll misunderstand local expectations. They won't know how specific judges handle evidence or what defense tactics local insurance lawyers typically employ.
I've practiced in Cook County Southwest Division for decades. I know the courthouse. I know the clerks. I know the judges and their individual styles. That institutional knowledge translates into superior results because I'm not learning on the fly with your case.
As your Orland Park Personal Injury Attorney, I handle every category of injury claim:
Orland Park's roads are legitimately dangerous.
LaGrange Road runs through the heart of Orland Park with constant heavy traffic, aggressive drivers, and congested intersections. 159th Street connects multiple suburbs and sees endless collisions. The I-80 interchange areas are particularly deadly—where trucks and cars merge at high speeds in unpredictable patterns.
The intersection at 159th and LaGrange Road alone sees dozens of serious accidents annually. Southwest Highway through Orland Park brings additional collision risks with its mix of commercial and residential traffic.
Vehicle accident cases get complex immediately. Disputed liability. Multiple vehicles. Conflicting witness accounts. Insurance companies deploying every trick to minimize their payouts.
That's when you need an Orland Park Personal Injury Attorney who knows accident reconstruction, can depose witnesses effectively, analyzes police reports for bias and errors, and proves liability conclusively.
Orland Square Mall is one of the largest shopping destinations in the southwest suburbs. Alongside dozens of big-box retailers, restaurants, and entertainment venues, that creates enormous foot traffic—and constant premises liability incidents.
Common scenarios include:
Here's what property owners and retailers do immediately after someone gets hurt. They deny knowledge of the hazard. They claim it was "open and obvious." They argue you were distracted or careless. And they quickly fix whatever caused your injury to eliminate the evidence.
Fighting back requires immediate action. As an Orland Park Personal Injury Attorney who handles premises liability cases regularly, I know you must document everything instantly—photographs, witness statements, incident reports—before the property owner destroys the proof of their negligence.
Orland Park hosts numerous corporate headquarters and office complexes along the I-80 corridor. While office environments seem safer than construction sites or factories, serious injuries absolutely occur.
Office workplace injuries include:
Employers and their workers compensation insurance carriers fight these claims aggressively. They minimize your injury. They question whether it's truly work-related. They pressure you to return before you've healed.
As your Orland Park Personal Injury Attorney, I make sure you receive proper independent medical treatment, full wage replacement benefits while you recover, and maximum settlements that actually reflect your permanent limitations—not whatever the insurance company feels like paying.
I-80 runs just south of Orland Park and carries massive commercial truck traffic constantly. When these massive vehicles crash into passenger cars, the results are frequently catastrophic or fatal.
Truck accident cases demand specialized legal expertise:
Trucking companies and their insurers deploy aggressive legal teams immediately after serious accidents. They'll blame you for the collision. They'll claim mechanical failure was unpreventable. They'll argue their driver followed all regulations.
Winning requires an Orland Park Personal Injury Attorney who understands federal trucking law, knows how to obtain and analyze black box data, can depose drivers and safety managers effectively, and won't be intimidated by corporate legal teams. I've handled truck accident cases for years and know exactly how to beat these companies.
Orland Park's dining and entertainment scene brings people together—and creates injury risks.
Common scenarios include:
Restaurants and bars carry liability insurance specifically because injuries happen regularly. But their insurers fight claims viciously, trying to blame customers for being clumsy or intoxicated.
An experienced Orland Park Personal Injury Attorney knows Illinois dram shop laws, understands premises liability standards for restaurants, and can prove when establishments failed their duty to keep patrons safe.
When doctors, nurses, or healthcare facilities make preventable mistakes, patients suffer devastating consequences. Medical malpractice happens when healthcare providers deliver substandard care that causes injury.
Medical malpractice cases I pursue include:
Medical malpractice cases are extraordinarily complex and expensive to prosecute. You need qualified medical experts to establish the standard of care. You need extensive record review. You need an attorney willing to invest six figures fighting healthcare corporations.
Most lawyers avoid medical malpractice entirely. I take these cases seriously when the negligence is clear and the harm is significant. My fee is 33⅓ percent, which is Illinois standard. As your Orland Park Personal Injury Attorney, I'll hold negligent healthcare providers accountable.
Nothing breaks my heart more than discovering an elderly person suffered abuse or neglect in a facility that promised to care for them.
Common nursing home and assisted living violations include:
If you suspect abuse or neglect at an Orland Park area facility, act immediately. Document what you observe with photographs and detailed notes. Report concerns to management in writing. And contact an attorney who knows how to investigate these cases.
Facilities will deny everything, blame the resident's health conditions, and hide evidence. I know how to obtain records, interview staff confidentially, consult with medical experts, and prove systematic failures. As your Orland Park Personal Injury Attorney, I'll fight for justice for your loved one.
Orland Park's ongoing development means construction sites throughout the community. These workplaces are inherently dangerous, and serious injuries happen despite safety regulations.
Construction injuries I handle include:
Here's what makes construction cases unique: besides workers compensation, you often have additional claims against general contractors, subcontractors, equipment manufacturers, or property owners. These "third-party" claims can provide substantially greater compensation than workers comp alone.
Most injured construction workers don't know these additional claims exist. A knowledgeable Orland Park Personal Injury Attorney investigates every angle to maximize your total recovery from all responsible parties.
Rideshare services have become ubiquitous in Orland Park. When rideshare drivers cause accidents, the insurance situation gets complicated fast.
Rideshare coverage depends on driver status:
Both Uber and Lyft carry $1 million liability policies when passengers are in vehicles. But accessing that coverage requires navigating complex claims processes and dealing with corporate insurance adjusters trained to deny and delay.
An experienced Orland Park Personal Injury Attorney knows how to identify the correct coverage, file proper claims with all potentially liable parties, and fight rideshare companies' aggressive denial tactics.
Losing a family member to someone else's negligence creates grief beyond description. Illinois wrongful death law allows certain family members to pursue justice and financial recovery.
Wrongful death claims arise from:
I handle wrongful death cases with extraordinary care and compassion. Beyond economic damages like lost income and funeral expenses, these cases address the irreplaceable loss of love, companionship, and guidance.
If you've lost someone due to negligence in Orland Park or anywhere in Cook County, please call me. As your Orland Park Personal Injury Attorney, I'll pursue justice for your loved one with the dedication and professionalism these tragic cases demand.
Some injuries don't heal. They permanently alter every aspect of life.
Catastrophic injury cases include:
These cases require more than calculating current medical bills. You need life care planners estimating lifetime medical needs. Vocational experts assessing lost earning capacity. Economists calculating present value of future losses.
Insurance companies will try to minimize even catastrophic injury cases. I work with top experts nationwide to document the full scope of your losses. My trial training at Gerry Spence's Trial Lawyers College specifically prepared me to handle the most serious injury cases and win maximum compensation.
You won't pay me a single dollar out of pocket. Not for consultation. Not for case costs. Not for anything.
I work purely on contingency—I get paid only when you get paid. I advance every case expense: court filing fees, medical records, expert witnesses, deposition costs, all of it.
My fees are straightforward: 20% for workers compensation (statutory rate), 33⅓% for personal injury cases, or 40% if litigation becomes necessary. Medical malpractice cases are 33⅓%. These are standard Illinois rates.
If we lose your case, you owe me nothing. I absorb the costs I've advanced. That's the deal, and I've honored it for nearly three decades as an Orland Park Personal Injury Attorney.
Injuries don't respect business hours. You might be in an emergency room at 2 a.m. with urgent questions. An insurance adjuster might ambush you with phone calls on Saturday morning.
Call me any time—24/7/365. When you call, you reach me or my team directly. No voicemail jail. No answering services that take messages and promise callbacks that never come.
That accessibility is rare among attorneys, but it's essential for injury victims. As your Orland Park Personal Injury Attorney, I'm committed to being available whenever you need guidance.
Some law firms operate like assembly lines. The attorney who meets with you initially never touches your case again. You get shuffled to paralegals and junior associates who don't know your name.
That's not how I practice. When you hire me, you work with me personally. I return your calls. I meet with you to discuss strategy. I negotiate with insurance companies. If we go to trial, I'm the one standing beside you in court.
You're not a case file or revenue stream—you're a person who's been hurt and deserves dedicated representation. As your Orland Park Personal Injury Attorney, I treat you the way I wish my father had been treated.
Most lawyers complete law school, pass the bar, and consider their education finished. That's insufficient for serious injury work.
I've invested over $100,000 in advanced trial training with America's best trial lawyers. I graduated from Gerry Spence's legendary Trial Lawyers College—one of the most selective and intensive programs in existence. I completed The Edge program, another elite training that fewer than one in 10,000 lawyers ever attempts.
This training matters tremendously. When you're facing insurance companies with unlimited resources and teams of defense attorneys, you need someone who actually knows how to try cases and win. That's what I bring as your Orland Park Personal Injury Attorney.
I treat clients with complete honesty—no games, no pressure tactics, no false promises. You'll always know where your case stands because I communicate clearly and regularly.
I'll give you my honest assessment even if it's not what you want to hear. If your case has problems, I'll explain them. If settlement offers are inadequate, I'll tell you why. If litigation is necessary, I'll walk you through what that means.
I don't make guarantees I can't keep, and I don't sugarcoat difficult realities. What I promise is that I'll fight as hard for you as I would for my own family. As your Orland Park Personal Injury Attorney, you get my absolute best effort every single time.
Even if you feel relatively okay, seek medical attention right away. Many serious injuries don't produce immediate symptoms. Whiplash can manifest hours later. Internal injuries might not be obvious initially. Traumatic brain injuries can take days to show effects.
If you delay medical care, insurance companies will absolutely argue you weren't really injured. They'll say, "If they were actually hurt, they would have gone to the hospital immediately."
Don't hand them that argument. Get evaluated by medical professionals as soon as possible after any accident.
Photograph the accident scene from multiple angles. Capture your injuries as they appear immediately and as they develop. Document property damage. Photograph hazardous conditions that contributed to your injury.
Collect witness contact information. Get names, phone numbers, and addresses. Witnesses disappear quickly, and their memories fade.
Keep every document related to your injury: medical records, bills, prescription receipts, correspondence with insurance companies, wage loss documentation. This creates the evidentiary foundation for your claim.
Insurance adjusters will contact you quickly after accidents. They'll sound friendly and concerned. They'll ask you to give a recorded statement "just to document what happened."
Decline politely and firmly.
Adjusters are trained in interrogation techniques designed to get you to say things that damage your case. They'll ask leading questions. They'll get you to minimize injuries or accept partial fault. They'll create inconsistencies they'll exploit later.
Tell them you need to consult an attorney first, then call me immediately. As your Orland Park Personal Injury Attorney, I'll handle all insurance company communications and protect you from these tactics.
Insurance companies frequently make rapid, lowball settlement offers. They're betting you don't understand your case's true value and that you're desperate enough financially to accept whatever they offer.
Once you accept their money and sign the release, you can never return for additional compensation—even if you later discover your injuries are far worse than initially understood.
Before accepting any settlement, call me for a free consultation. I'll assess whether their offer is remotely fair or whether they're exploiting your vulnerability.
Insurance companies monitor social media obsessively. They're searching for anything that contradicts your injury claims or suggests you're exaggerating.
That photo of you smiling at a friend's wedding? They'll claim you can't be in pain if you're smiling. That check-in at a gym? They'll argue your injuries aren't serious if you're exercising.
The safest approach is complete social media silence until your case resolves. If that's impossible, absolutely don't post anything about your accident, injuries, physical activities, or emotional state.
Evidence vanishes quickly. Surveillance footage gets recorded over. Witnesses move or forget details. Property owners repair hazards and deny they existed. Insurance companies solidify denial positions.
By the time you finally decide you need a lawyer, critical evidence may be permanently lost. The case that could have succeeded becomes impossible to prove.
Don't wait. Call an experienced Orland Park Personal Injury Attorney immediately after any serious injury. Early intervention preserves evidence and protects your rights.
Insurance companies employ full-time claims adjusters and staff attorneys whose sole purpose is minimizing payouts. They know you don't understand Illinois injury law. They know you don't know your case's fair value. They know you're probably financially desperate.
They'll exploit every one of those advantages ruthlessly.
Even seemingly simple cases benefit enormously from experienced legal representation. The difference between handling your own claim and hiring a skilled Orland Park Personal Injury Attorney can easily be tens of thousands of dollars.
Be completely truthful about your injuries, medical history, and the accident's impact on your life. If you've had prior injuries to the same body parts, disclose them. If you can do some activities but not others, explain specifically.
Insurance companies investigate everything. They'll obtain all your medical records. They'll hire investigators. They'll search social media exhaustively. If they catch you lying or exaggerating, your case evaporates instantly.
Complete honesty is essential. As your Orland Park Personal Injury Attorney, I need to know the truth so I can address potential problems proactively rather than get blindsided at trial.
If you skip appointments or ignore your doctor's recommendations, insurance companies will argue your injuries can't be serious. Consistent medical care proves injury severity and creates the documentation we need to win your case.
Attend every appointment. Follow prescribed treatments. Take medications as directed. Complete recommended therapy. This helps you heal and strengthens your legal claim simultaneously.
The other party's insurance company is not your friend. They don't exist to help you. Their purpose is paying you as little as possible—ideally nothing.
They'll seem pleasant and understanding. They'll tell you lawyers just complicate things and that they'll take care of everything directly. Every word is calculated deception.
Don't engage with them at all. Let me handle every interaction with opposing insurers. That's what you hire an Orland Park Personal Injury Attorney to do.
Find Out What YOUR Case Might Be Worth...for free.
Illinois generally allows two years from injury date to file personal injury lawsuits. Workers compensation cases provide three years, but you must notify your employer within 45 days of the accident.
Exceptions exist, so don't assume you have the full period. Medical malpractice, governmental liability, and other specific situations have different deadlines.
The sooner you contact an Orland Park Personal Injury Attorney, the stronger your case becomes. Evidence quality degrades rapidly with time.
Many people think they can only recover medical expenses. Illinois law allows far more comprehensive compensation:
Insurance companies won't inform you about these categories. That's why you need an Orland Park Personal Injury Attorney who will pursue every dollar you're legally entitled to receive.
Illinois uses modified comparative negligence. You can recover damages as long as you're less than 50% at fault. Your award gets reduced by your fault percentage.
Example: You're 35% at fault. Total damages are $200,000. You recover $130,000.
Insurance companies always try inflating your fault percentage to reduce their payouts. A skilled Orland Park Personal Injury Attorney fights to ensure fault allocation is accurate and fair.
We begin with a no-obligation consultation. Call me 24/7, or we'll meet wherever is convenient for you—my office, your home, even the hospital if necessary.
I'll listen carefully to your story, answer your questions honestly, and give you my genuine assessment of your case—strengths, weaknesses, and realistic expectations.
You decide whether to hire me. No pressure. No obligation. No cost.
If you hire me, I launch into immediate action. Obtaining police reports. Interviewing witnesses. Photographing accident scenes. Collecting medical records. Analyzing insurance policies. Consulting experts when necessary.
I use proprietary case management software I developed specifically to handle cases more efficiently than traditional firms. This means we discover critical information earlier and build stronger cases faster.
Your health is the absolute priority. If you have health insurance, use it for treatment. If you lack insurance, I'll connect you with quality medical providers who treat on a lien basis—meaning they wait for payment until we resolve your case.
I ensure all treatment is thoroughly documented. This creates the medical evidence foundation we need to prove your case.
After you complete treatment (or reach maximum medical improvement), I calculate your case's full value. This includes medical expenses, wage loss, pain and suffering, permanent disability, and all other damages.
I send a comprehensive demand package to the insurance company. Having negotiated thousands of settlements over nearly three decades, I know these cases' true values. I don't accept inadequate offers.
Approximately 90% of my cases settle during negotiation. But that high settlement rate exists because insurance companies know I'm fully prepared to try cases.
If insurers refuse fair compensation, I file lawsuits without hesitation. I've handled over 30 jury trials plus hundreds of depositions and arbitrations. Some attorneys fear courtrooms. I don't.
When insurance companies see you have an Orland Park Personal Injury Attorney ready and able to take the case to verdict, they typically settle rather than risk jury judgment.
Whether through settlement or trial verdict, my goal is always maximizing your compensation. When we succeed, I deduct my contingency fee, subtract advanced costs, and you receive the remainder.
If we lose—which happens rarely—you pay me nothing. That's my promise as your Orland Park Personal Injury Attorney.
Illinois typically allows two years from injury date to file personal injury lawsuits. Workers compensation cases provide three years, but employer notification is required within 45 days of the accident.
Exceptions exist to these rules, so don't assume you have the full period. The sooner you contact an Orland Park Personal Injury Attorney, the better your case prospects become because evidence degrades over time.
Nothing upfront, nothing out of pocket. Pure contingency—I only get paid when you get paid.
My fee is 20% for workers compensation (statutory rate), 33⅓% for injury cases, or 40% if we must file suit. These are standard Illinois rates. I advance all costs. If we lose, you owe me nothing.
Hiring an Orland Park Personal Injury Attorney on contingency means everyone can afford quality legal representation regardless of their financial situation.
Absolutely not. Never accept without consulting an attorney first.
Initial offers are always lowball. The insurance company bets you don't know your case's true value and that you're desperate enough to accept anything.
Once you sign the release and accept their payment, you can't return later for additional money—even if your injuries prove far worse than initially thought.
Call me before accepting anything. Free consultation, no obligation. I'll assess whether the offer is fair or whether they're cheating you.
Yes, provided you're less than 50% at fault. Illinois uses modified comparative negligence, which reduces your award by your fault percentage.
Example: You're 25% at fault. Damages are $120,000. You recover $90,000.
Insurance companies love inflating your fault percentage to reduce their payouts. A skilled Orland Park Personal Injury Attorney fights to ensure fault allocation is accurate and fair.
Yes. I can connect you with medical providers who treat on a lien basis. They provide care now and receive payment later from your settlement.
Don't let insurance absence prevent you from getting necessary medical care. Your health is paramount, and as your Orland Park Personal Injury Attorney, I'll ensure you receive proper treatment.
It depends on multiple variables:
Some cases settle within months. Others require a year or longer. What I promise is aggressive case prosecution because you need money now, not years from now.
An experienced Orland Park Personal Injury Attorney knows how to move cases efficiently while maximizing results.
Probably not. Roughly 90% of my cases settle without trial.
If we file suit, you might need courtroom appearances for depositions or hearings. If we actually try the case, you'll need to testify.
But most cases resolve through negotiation. When insurance companies know you have an Orland Park Personal Injury Attorney prepared and able to try the case, they typically settle rather than risk a jury verdict.
It doesn't automatically kill your case. Illinois law permits claims for "aggravation" or "exacerbation" of pre-existing conditions.
The key is complete honesty about your medical history. Insurance companies will obtain your previous records anyway. If you lie or conceal past injuries, it destroys your credibility completely.
An Orland Park Personal Injury Attorney experienced with pre-existing condition cases knows how to prove this accident significantly worsened your prior condition.
No. Illinois law prohibits retaliation for filing workers compensation claims.
Of course, proving retaliation can be challenging. Employers rarely admit "we fired you for filing workers comp." They'll claim performance issues, attendance problems, or other pretexts.
If you believe you were fired in retaliation, call me immediately. I handle retaliatory discharge cases and know how to prove them. As your Orland Park Personal Injury Attorney, I'll protect your rights vigorously.
You might still recover through your uninsured motorist (UM) coverage.
Many people don't realize their own auto policy includes this coverage. It protects you when hit by uninsured or underinsured drivers.
I examine every insurance policy thoroughly—yours, the at-fault driver's, any other potentially liable parties—to identify every possible recovery source. A thorough Orland Park Personal Injury Attorney explores all options to maximize your compensation.
Scott DeSalvo founded DeSalvo Law to help injured people throughout Chicago and surrounding suburbs. Licensed to practice law in Illinois since 1998, IARDC #6244452, Scott has represented over 3,000 clients in personal injury, workers compensation, and accident cases.
No Fee Unless You Win | Free Consultation | 24/7 Availability Call or Text: (312) 500-4500
>>Read More
Main Office:
1000 Jorie Blvd Ste 204
Oak Brook, IL 60523
New Cases: 312-500-4500
Office: 312-895-0545
Fax: 866-629-1817
service@desalvolaw.com
Chicago and Other Suburban Offices
By Appointment Only
