Almost everyone believes the police report decides who was at fault — and almost everyone is wrong. After a crash on Roosevelt Road or at one of the Union Pacific West grade crossings, the responding officer writes up what they observed and, often, an opinion about who caused it. That report matters, but it does not settle liability, and it is frequently incomplete, mistaken, or based entirely on the other driver's version because you were being loaded into an ambulance. Insurers know this. They will wave a favorable report at you as if the question is closed, or they will quietly ignore an unfavorable one and dispute fault anyway. Fault in an Illinois injury case is not proven by a police report; it is proven by evidence.
My name is Scott DeSalvo, and for nearly 30 years I have proven fault in car and truck crashes the way it actually gets done. That means the physical evidence, the vehicle damage patterns, the witness accounts, the traffic and camera footage, and sometimes an accident reconstruction — the record that stands up when an insurer decides to fight. If you were hurt in a Glen Ellyn crash, call me at 312-500-4500, any time, at no cost.
A police report is a starting point, not a verdict, and the real proof is built from independent evidence. Skid marks and their absence, the crush and impact points on each vehicle, the final rest positions, the timing of a signal, the sight lines at a crossing, and the statements of neutral witnesses all speak to what happened — and they do not care what the other driver told the officer. When those pieces are gathered early and read correctly, they often tell a very different story than the box the officer checked at the scene.
The problem is that this evidence has a short life. Roadside debris is swept, damaged vehicles are repaired or scrapped, and security and traffic footage from nearby businesses is overwritten in days. The sooner a lawyer starts preserving it, the stronger your case — and the harder it is for an insurer to rewrite what happened.
Roosevelt Road, IL-38, is Glen Ellyn's busiest artery, and its retail corridors are where a large share of local collisions happen. Cars slow and turn into strip-mall entrances, drivers cut across lanes to reach a light, and rear-end and turning crashes cluster where traffic bunches up. Crescent Boulevard, Park Boulevard, and the Main Street area add their own mix of turning movements, on-street parking, and pedestrians stepping off the historic downtown sidewalks. Each of these settings tends to produce a predictable kind of collision and a predictable insurer argument about fault.
Knowing the road matters because the defense will use the road against you. An adjuster who has never driven Roosevelt Road will still argue you should have anticipated the turn, or stopped sooner, or seen the other driver. Countering that with the actual geometry of the intersection and the actual sequence of events is exactly the work that turns a disputed claim into a paid one.
Glen Ellyn's at-grade Union Pacific West crossings and its large student-driver population create hazards you will not find in a generic car-crash page. The Glen Ellyn and College Avenue stations sit on a line that cuts through town at street level, and crossings mean gates, stopped traffic, and the occasional driver who tries to beat a train or gets caught in a queue. Add the tens of thousands of students commuting to College of DuPage off Lambert Road and 22nd Street — many of them young, distracted, or unfamiliar with the area — and you have a recipe for the rear-end, intersection, and pedestrian crashes I see out of this town.
These local realities shape both how a crash happens and how it should be proven. A student-driver rear-ending you in stopped crossing traffic is a fault question that turns on following distance and attention; a pedestrian struck near a station turns on right-of-way and visibility. Getting the facts of your specific crash right is what separates a full recovery from a discounted one.
One of the insurer's favorite moves is to point at a lightly dented bumper and declare that no one could have been hurt. It is a persuasive-sounding argument and it is medically false. Necks and backs are injured at low speeds all the time; the human spine does not read the repair estimate before deciding whether to sustain a disc injury or soft-tissue damage. What decides your injury claim is your medical evidence — the diagnoses, the imaging, the treatment, and the honest account of your symptoms — not the cosmetic condition of your car.
Do not let an adjuster talk you out of a genuine injury because the metal held up better than your body did. Get evaluated, follow through on treatment, and let the medical record speak. That record is the answer to the "minor impact" argument every time.
After a crash the at-fault driver's insurer will call quickly, sound friendly, and ask for a recorded statement — and you should not give one. Their adjusters are trained to ask questions built to lock in answers they can later use to shrink your claim, and nothing about that conversation is designed to help you. You are not required to give it. Decline politely, tell them your lawyer will follow up, and let me handle those calls so a stray word does not get turned against you months later.
The same caution applies to early settlement offers. A number floated in the first weeks, before anyone knows the full extent of your injuries, is almost always far below the claim's real value — and accepting it ends your case. There is no cost to having me look at an offer before you sign anything.
When the vehicle that hit you was a commercial truck, the case changes character entirely. Truck crashes bring federal safety regulations, driver hours-of-service logs, maintenance and inspection records, and corporate liability that reaches past the driver to the company itself. The trucking company's insurer and its rapid-response team often move to secure — and control — that evidence within hours of the crash. Matching that speed, and knowing exactly which records to demand and preserve, is the difference between a real trucking case and a missed one.
These are the cases I am built to handle. I know what to send preservation demands for, how corporate liability works, and how to keep a well-funded defense from quietly burying the proof.
Before you talk to an adjuster, talk to a Glen Ellyn Personal Injury Attorney who can tell you what your crash claim is really worth. One free call keeps your options open and keeps a friendly-sounding insurer from setting the terms of your recovery.
"Scott is absolutely fantastic. He will always go the extra mile for his clients. They always take the time to return phone calls at all hours and I highly recommend him to all my friends."
-Melissa Brooks
"Great people and Scott's a great lawyer. They helped me make the wisest decision for my case, and that's important in serious legal matters. I trust him completely. He is the one to call."
-Tony Skvarenina
"Beyond satisfied with the services I received from this law firm. Definitely recommend! They got me fully paid and all the doctor bills, too. If you want the best, this is the law firm for your injury case!"
-Cynthia Rodriguez
"Scott represented me and I was really pleased with everything, my car accident paid a lot and quick. If you want a good Lawyer who is responsive, and straight with you, I highly recommend him."
-Greg Garcia
Yes, significantly. Truck cases involve federal safety regulations, company logs and maintenance records, and corporate liability beyond the driver — and the trucking company often moves to secure evidence right away. That makes fast action and knowing what to demand especially important, and it's the kind of case I'm built to handle.
Generally two years from the date of the crash under Illinois law. But evidence disappears long before then — camera footage is overwritten, vehicles are repaired, and truck records can be lost — and if a government vehicle was involved, the deadline can be much shorter. Calling early protects both the proof and your claim.
No. You're not required to give the at-fault driver's insurer a recorded statement, and it usually helps them more than you. Their adjusters ask questions designed to lock in answers they can later use to cut your claim. Decline politely, tell them your lawyer will follow up, and let me handle those calls.
Possibly. Insurers argue that minor damage rules out injury, but that's not how the body works — real neck and back injuries happen at low speeds. Your medical evidence decides the claim, not the condition of your bumper. Don't let an adjuster talk you out of a genuine injury.
Nothing unless we win. I work on contingency — my fee, 33 1/3% (or 40% if the case goes into litigation), comes only from what I recover for you, and I advance the costs. If we don't win, you owe nothing.
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
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Main Office:
1000 Jorie Blvd Ste 204
Oak Brook, IL 60523
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