CTA INJURY CASES: CTA (“Chicago Transit Authority”) Personal Injury Cases are a Minefield!  Learn What You Need To Know If You Got Hurt On The CTA.

At least 10 times per year, I am contacted by someone who is hurt by bad driving or other bad conduct by a CTA employee.

This includes pumping the brakes on a crowded bus, causing people to fall, or hitting the brakes hard for no reason, or a bus driver not paying attention and closing the pneumatic power bus doors on a person who is entering or exiting the bus.  Or even falling in a train station or “El” platform.

They Fight Even When They Shouldn't.

Usually, the injured person who got hurt on the CTA doesn’t want to make a big deal about their CTA injury.

Maybe they call the CTA to try to resolve the case themselves.  When you do, they get a big surpise. See, the CTA, years ago, would settle small cases and cases they know are valid. Those days are gone

These days, CTA buses and trains all have video cameras that take picutres inside the bus AND outside the bus.  And when the CTA is helped by the video, showing a very minor incident or if the accident did not happen the way the injured person says it did, they tend to have access to the video, which they use very persuasively in their defense of the CTA injury case.

But I have seen a disturbing trend where, in major cases, and in cases where I have a number of witnesses to the negligence of a CTA employee, suddenly the video ‘goes missing’ or there was a ‘camera malfunction’.  Very convenient for the CTA and their defense of a case where someone is hurt on a CTA bus or train.

It used to be that there was a 6 month deadline to file a Statutory Notice, notifying the CTA of the facts of the injury, but that law has been repealed.  But you STILL only have one year from the date of an injury to file a law suit. YES, the Statute of Limitations is usually 2 years in many types of injury cases…

BUT THE CHICAGO TRANSIT AUTHORITY HAS MORE PROTECTION AGAINST LAWSUITS BECAUSE IT IS ONLY ONE YEAR!

Armed with video, the CTA rarely or never settles these cases, and that means that the smartest thing you should do if you get hurt on the CTA is to call a lawyer right away.

Unfortunately, some personal injury lawyers in Chicago so not even want to handle cases against the CTA, because they know they do not settle and they have to go to trial.  but some do, like yours truly…

At least twice a year, I am forced to give the bad news to someone who has a CTA injury, that because they did not contact a lawyer or file the  lawsuit within one year, their case is over.  And nothing can be done.

That is why I always encourage people to contact a personal injury attorney in Chicago if they have been injured or hurt on the CTA. Although these requirements that apply to the CTA in personal injury claims are the worst (cases aginst the City of Chicago also have a one year deadline), there are all sorts of variations and exceptions in the Statutes of Limitations in all sorts of different cases.

Only qualified attorneys have the training and experience to evaluate your CTA Injury case and let you know whether you still have time to file a personal injury lawsuit if you got hurt on the CTA.

Many of the lawyers who work for the CTA have been there for years.  That means that they have defensed the same kind of case, over and over.  They get really, really good at it.

Imagine if you only did one kind of job…over and over…after ahile, you’d get pretty good at it.  Because you’d have 20 or more years of experience doing that one thing.  These TA lawyers are smart cookies with lots of experience.  You’d better hire a lawyer who is willing to take your case ‘all the way’ if that’s what it takes to get the job done.

I do not mean to discourage you.  I have had success with CTA injury cases. Many of the best cases I have had involving an injury on the CTA came from people who ALMOST didn’t call me.  Then, it turns out that I was able to develop evidence and information that made their case very strong if they got hurt on the CTA.  

Many times, we do not know unless we put in a bit of time and money and effort into seeing just how strong we can make your case.  And injury lawyers offer free consultations, so it costs you nothing.

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If you or a loved one is dealing with a situation like this, give us a call any time, day or night.  We are here to help. 312-500-4500

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