Shorewood Personal Injury Attorney Asks:
Did You Get Injured?
Call The Shorewood Personal Injury Attorney ANY TIME!
312-500-4500
"My Injury Guy" Scott DeSalvo
Trial-Trained Injury Attorney for Shorewood & Will County
Shorewood isn't the quiet village it was twenty years ago. Route 59 and Route 52 carry commuters to I-55 and I-80, new subdivisions keep going up, and roads built for farm traffic now handle rush hour.
The numbers show it. In 2022, IDOT counted 377 crashes in Shorewood. Rear-end crashes were the most common, and both deadly crashes that year were rear-ends. But turning crashes hurt the most people: 49 of the 89 people injured were hurt in a crash where someone was turning.
Here's what most people don't know: the size of your injury and the size of the other driver's insurance policy often have nothing to do with each other. Illinois only requires $25,000 of injury coverage. If you're badly hurt, finding every other source of money is the difference between a case that covers your future and one that doesn't.
That's the work I've done for injured people for almost 30 years. I live in Homer Glen and handle cases all over Will County.
No money out of pocket. Zero. No fee unless we win. Call me any time, day or night: 312-500-4500.
I was nine when my dad, a truck driver and Teamster, got hurt at work. He never got his health back. His lawyer let the case drag for seventeen years and then sued him for more fees.
My family learned what a bad lawyer costs. I built my practice to be the opposite: honest answers, real communication, and a lawyer who fights for you like you're family.
Bottom Line: I take every case personally, because for my family it was personal.
Free. Not legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created by this chat. Prefer to talk? Call (312) 500-4500, answered 24/7.
Shorewood sits at the corner where the region's interstates meet the region's newest neighborhoods. That mix creates its own kinds of crashes.
Route 59 and Route 52 are where most of Shorewood's traffic lives. Drivers turn into shopping centers and subdivisions across fast lanes, and traffic stacks up near the I-55 ramps. That's how a village of about 18,000 people ends up with 131 turning crashes and 138 rear-end crashes in a single year.
Some intersections were designed for a rural road and never fully changed when the houses came. Route 52 and County Line Road is the best-known example. IDOT counted 115 crashes there over ten years, and in 2019 residents petitioned for a traffic light after a deadly crash. Stop-sign intersections on fast roads produce violent angle crashes, and the fight is usually over who had the right of way.
With the DuPage River and Hammel Woods nearby, animal crashes and swerve-to-avoid crashes happen here more than people expect. If another driver swerved into you to miss a deer, that driver can still be responsible for how they reacted.
Illinois' minimum auto liability coverage is $25,000 per person. A serious injury with surgery and lost work can blow past that in weeks. That's why I always look for underinsured motorist coverage on your own policy, an employer behind the at-fault driver, and anyone else who shares the blame.
Bottom Line: In Shorewood, the first insurance policy you hear about is rarely the only one that matters.
Rear-end crashes on Route 59, turning crashes on Route 52, angle crashes at country intersections. I build the right-of-way proof the insurer hopes you won't. See my Joliet car accident lawyer page.
Plenty of Shorewood residents work in the warehouses and job sites along I-55 and I-80. I handle the workers' comp claim and look for a third party who owes more. See my workers' compensation lawyer page.
Icy lots at shopping centers, wet floors, and broken steps at rentals. I prove what the property owner knew and when. See my slip and fall lawyer page.
Misdiagnoses, surgical errors, and the wrong medication. Before filing in Illinois you need a doctor's written report, and I know how to get one. See my medical malpractice lawyer page.
Falls, bedsores, dehydration, and injuries nobody can explain. I go after the staffing and care records. See my nursing home abuse lawyer page.
When someone's carelessness takes a person you love, Illinois law lets your family hold them accountable. I handle these cases personally. See my wrongful death lawyer page.
I also handle truck crashes near the I-55 and I-80 interchange (truck accident lawyer) and motorcycle crashes on the area's open roads (motorcycle accident lawyer).
Finding everyone who shares the blame is how a case gets big enough to cover a serious injury.
Picture this. You're driving home on Route 52 at dusk. A pickup at a stop sign on a side road pulls out without seeing you. You T-bone it at 45 miles an hour. Your back needs surgery. The pickup's driver has a $25,000 policy, and the adjuster offers the full amount within two weeks, like it's a favor.
That offer might be the start, not the end. Your own underinsured coverage, and possibly the driver's employer, may owe a lot more.
Look, the other side starts working your claim the day of the crash. Here's what they're usually up to:
Here's what most lawyers won't tell you: when an insurer offers policy limits right away, a lot of firms take the money and close the file. It's fast and easy. But the release language matters, and so does checking your own underinsured coverage before anyone signs anything.
Bottom Line: A fast offer is a signal to slow down, not a reason to sign.
Most cases settle, and that's the goal. You want fair money, quickly, with zero hassle.
But insurance companies decide what's fair partly by looking at who your lawyer is. They settle faster and for more when they know your lawyer is genuinely prepared to try the case.
That's why I've invested more than $100,000 in advanced trial training. I'm a graduate of Gerry Spence's Trial Lawyers College and the exclusive Keenan Trial Institute, and I've tried more than 30 jury trials and handled more than 100 arbitrations. Not one in 100,000 lawyers has that kind of training.
Nothing up front. I advance the costs of your case and get paid only from what I recover for you. The exact percentages are in the FAQ below. If we don't win, there's no fee.
These steps protect your health and your claim:
Illinois law lets you recover for the full impact of an injury, not just the bills:
Illinois doesn't cap pain and suffering, and if you were partly at fault, you can still recover as long as you were 50% or less to blame.
Bottom Line: Your claim is worth what the injury costs you, not what the other driver happened to buy.
Find Out What YOUR Case Might Be Worth...for free.
It starts with a free, honest conversation. You tell me what happened. I tell you whether you have a case and what I think it could be worth. Zero pressure.
If you hire me, I go to work: reports, video, witnesses, and every insurance policy that might apply. You focus on getting better. If you don't have health insurance, I can connect you with doctors who treat now and get paid from the settlement.
When treatment wraps up, I send a full demand and negotiate. Most cases settle there. If they don't, I file in the Circuit Court of Will County and keep pushing. When we win, my fee and costs come from the recovery and the rest goes to you.
Hurt in Shorewood? Call me now, day or night: 312-500-4500.
Evidence fades fast, and the insurance company has already started working on your claim. Call me for a free consultation, 24/7/365. No money out of pocket. No fee unless we win.
I represent injured people in Shorewood and nearby Joliet, Crest Hill, Channahon, Minooka, Plainfield, and throughout Will County.
Nearest office: The Law Office of Scott D. DeSalvo, LLC, 116 N Chicago St, Suite 301 - Kendall, Joliet, IL 60432, about 15 minutes from Shorewood. Monday–Friday, 10 a.m.–3 p.m., and by appointment.
Call me now: 312-500-4500
Nothing up front. I work on contingency, which means you pay no money out of pocket and my fee comes only from what I recover for you. The fee is 33⅓% for most injury cases, 40% if we file a lawsuit, 33⅓% for medical malpractice, and 20% for workers' compensation, which Illinois law sets. I advance the costs of your case, like records and experts. If we don't win, you owe me no fee. The consultation is free, and I take calls 24/7/365 at 312-500-4500.
Not necessarily. $25,000 is Illinois' minimum, and it often isn't enough for a serious injury. Your own auto policy may include underinsured motorist coverage that pays the difference, up to your limits. If the other driver was working, their employer's insurance may also apply, and a bar that over-served them can be liable under the Dram Shop Act. Be careful with a quick policy-limits offer. The release you sign and the notice you give your own insurer can affect those other claims, so talk to a lawyer before you accept.
Most Illinois personal injury lawsuits must be filed within two years of the injury (735 ILCS 5/13-202). Claims against a local government or its employees, such as a village vehicle or a road maintenance problem, often have just one year (745 ILCS 10/8-101). Uninsured and underinsured motorist claims follow your policy, which may set its own notice rules. Workers' compensation has separate deadlines, and you should report a work injury within 45 days. Since the right deadline depends on who's responsible, it's best to talk with a lawyer early.
You don't have to give them a recorded statement, and usually you shouldn't. The adjuster's job is to pay as little as possible, and recorded questions are designed to get you to minimize your injuries or accept some blame. It's fine to give basic information like your name and contact details, and to report the crash to your own insurer. Beyond that, let your lawyer handle the conversations. If you already gave a statement, don't panic. Call me, and I'll review what was said and how to handle it.
Most Shorewood injury cases are filed in the Circuit Court of Will County, part of Illinois' 12th Judicial Circuit, at the courthouse at 100 W. Jefferson Street in Joliet. Shorewood sits close to the Kendall and Grundy County lines, so if the crash happened just across a line or the at-fault party is based elsewhere, the case may belong in another county. Most cases settle without a lawsuit, and if we do file, I handle the court work while you focus on recovering.
Yes. My nearest office is in downtown Joliet at 116 N. Chicago St., about 15 minutes from Shorewood, and my main office is in Oak Brook. But I'll meet you wherever is easiest for you: your home, the hospital, a coffee shop, or by phone or video. Most of your case happens without you needing to travel at all. When I do need you, like for a deposition, I'll plan it well ahead and prepare you so there are no surprises.
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
Oak Brook - 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
Joliet Office
116 N. Chicago Street
Suite 301 – Kendall Office
Joliet, IL 60432
312-500-4500
