# Jeff at Law - Car Accident & Slip and Fall Lawyer | IL & IN
> Jeff at Law represents people hurt in motor vehicle accidents and slip and falls anywhere in Illinois or Indiana. One attorney, direct access, no paralegal hand-offs.
Source: https://jeffatlaw.com/
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## Hurt in a crash? You get *me* — not a call center.
Jeff at Law represents people injured in car, truck, and motorcycle accidents — and in slip, trip and fall claims against unsafe property — anywhere in Illinois or Indiana. Every case is handled personally, from the first call to the final settlement.
- **2** — states — licensed statewide in both
- **1** — attorney on every file, start to finish
- **24/7** — phone and text response for active clients
- **$0** — upfront — fees only if you recover
### Peer-reviewed, repeatedly.
Jeff doesn't buy plaques. These selections come from other lawyers and from independent review of case work in plaintiff personal injury — the only kind of recognition that means anything when you're deciding who to trust with your claim.
- **Five consecutive selections** — In the area of Plaintiff Personal Injury Law — a peer-nominated, independently researched selection.
- **Top 40 Under 40 Trial Lawyers** — Multiple selections for trial advocacy on behalf of injured plaintiffs.
- **Top 100 Trial Lawyers** — Numerous selections over the course of the practice.
- **Illinois & Indiana since 2000** — Licensed in every county in both states, so a cross-border claim never has to be referred out to a second firm.
Awards and selections reflect past recognition only. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome in any future case.
### Two states. One direct line.
Most injury firms pick a metro area and stay there. Jeff at Law covers two entire states — because that's where the crashes happen: on I-90, I-74, I-70, I-65, I-55, and the state and county roads that connect them.
Licensed in Illinois and Indiana since 2000, Jeff takes motor vehicle cases from every corner of both states — Chicago to Cairo, Gary to Evansville, and everywhere in between.
Wherever the wreck happened, you're not stuck explaining your case to a new person every time you call. You'll talk to the attorney who's actually handling your file.
The same statewide coverage applies to premises cases. A [slip and fall](/slip-and-fall/) at a store in Hammond, on an icy apartment stairwell in Peoria, or on a broken sidewalk in Indianapolis gets the same review as a crash — with the difference that the video proving it tends to disappear within weeks.
#### Illinois
Licensed and practicing throughout the state, from the Wisconsin line to the Ohio River.
#### Indiana
Licensed and practicing throughout the state, from the lakeshore to the Ohio River.
These cities are examples, not limits. Jeff is licensed in every county in both states — if your crash happened somewhere that isn't on the list, it gets the same review.
#### Chicago & the collar counties
The Loop, the neighborhoods and the suburbs — the six Cook County Municipal Districts, CTA and Metra claims, and the short notice deadlines that come with them.
#### Central Illinois
Peoria, Springfield, Bloomington–Normal, Champaign–Urbana, Decatur and Danville, plus the I-55, I-74 and I-57 corridors between them.
#### Indianapolis
Marion County and the donut counties — Marion Superior venue, IndyGo bus lanes, and the Hamilton County roundabouts.
#### Northwest Indiana
Gary, Hammond, Merrillville, Crown Point, Portage, Valparaiso and Michigan City — the Borman and Toll Road truck corridors and cross-border coverage claims.
#### Central Indiana
Lafayette, Terre Haute, Muncie, Anderson, Kokomo, Bloomington and Columbus, and the I-65, I-69 and I-70 corridors that connect them.
#### All coverage areas
Every region page in one place, plus how statewide coverage works in the counties that don't have a page of their own yet.
### An office in each state.
Jeff at Law keeps an office on each side of the state line — downtown Chicago on South Michigan Avenue, and the north side of Indianapolis at Allison Pointe. Call to arrange a time to sit down at either one.
An office visit is never a requirement. Most of a case runs by phone, text, and email, and Jeff comes to you when meeting in person makes more sense than making you drive.
#### Chicago
#### Indianapolis
Neither office limits where a case can come from — Jeff is licensed in every county in Illinois and Indiana, and takes motor vehicle cases from anywhere in either state.
### A narrow practice — crashes and unsafe property — so every case gets full attention.
#### Car Accidents
Rear-end, intersection, and multi-vehicle collisions, including disputed-fault claims.
#### Truck & Semi Accidents
Commercial carrier crashes involving federal trucking regulations and corporate insurers.
#### Motorcycle Accidents
Serious-injury motorcycle claims, including bias-related liability disputes.
#### Rideshare Accidents
Uber and Lyft collisions, where coverage often depends on the driver's app status.
#### Pedestrian & Bicycle
Crashes involving people struck by vehicles while walking, running, or biking.
#### Wrongful Death
Fatal collisions and fatal falls, representing families across Illinois and Indiana.
#### Slip & Fall / Premises Liability
Falls caused by property nobody maintained — wet and slick store floors, unnatural ice and snow, broken stairs and missing handrails, unlit stairwells, and neglected parking lots. These claims turn on whether the owner knew about the hazard, and on video that erases itself in days.
#### All Case Types
What each kind of case turns on, and the deadline that applies to it.
### Big-firm resources. One point of contact.
You get the investigators, medical-record specialists, and negotiation experience of a large firm — without getting handed off to a rotating cast of case managers.
- Licensed to practice in Illinois and Indiana
- Focused exclusively on injury claims — crashes, falls, and wrongful death
- Handles every case personally — no outsourced intake
- Contingency fee: no cost unless your case recovers
### Built this practice to be the attorney I'd want after a wreck.
With over 25 years of dedicated experience in personal injury law, Attorney Jeffrey Kooi has established himself as a fierce and respected advocate for accident victims. His unwavering commitment to his clients has earned him recognition throughout the legal community, including five consecutive Super Lawyer selections in the area of Plaintiff Personal Injury Law, multiple Top 40 under 40 Trial Lawyers and numerous Top 100 Trial Lawyer selections.
Jeffrey is a Central Illinois native having grown up in Rantoul and graduating from Rantoul Township High School. Jeffrey went on to earn a bachelors degree in business with a finance focus from Waldorf University where he was also a member of the men’s basketball team. Jeffrey earned his Juris Doctorate from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale in 2000 and has been licensed to practice law in both the States of Illinois and Indiana since November 2000.
Jeffrey continues to practice exclusively in the area of personal injury cases, including auto accidents, slip and falls and wrongful death claims. His deep understanding of insurance tactics and aggressive advocacy have resulted in millions of dollars recovered for clients.
— Jeff
### From first call to final recovery.
#### Free case review
Call or submit your details. We talk through what happened and whether you have a claim worth pursuing.
#### Investigation
Police reports, medical records, and insurance coverage get pulled and reviewed before we make any demands.
#### Negotiation
We build the demand around your full recovery — medical costs, lost wages, and the impact on your life.
#### Resolution
Most cases settle. If the insurer won't offer a fair number, we're prepared to file suit in IL or IN.
### Before you call.
#### What does it cost to hire you?
Nothing upfront. Motor vehicle accident cases are handled on contingency — there's no fee unless we recover money for you.
#### Do you handle slip and fall cases too?
Yes. Alongside motor vehicle claims, the practice handles slip, trip and fall and other premises liability cases throughout Illinois and Indiana — falls on wet or slick store floors, unnatural ice and snow, broken stairs and missing handrails, unlit stairwells, and neglected parking lots and sidewalks. Fall cases hinge on whether the property owner knew or should have known about the hazard, and the surveillance video that proves it is usually overwritten within one to four weeks, so they need to be reviewed quickly. The [slip and fall page](/slip-and-fall/) covers how these claims are proven in each state.
#### I was in an accident in Indiana but live in Illinois — can you still help?
Yes. Jeff has been licensed in both Illinois and Indiana since 2000. Cross-border claims are routine here, so there's no need to hand your case off to a second firm because the crash happened on the other side of the state line.
#### My crash happened hours away — is that a problem?
No. Jeff is licensed everywhere in Illinois and everywhere in Indiana, and will review a motor vehicle accident case from any part of either state — Chicagoland, Rockford, the Quad Cities, the Metro East, downstate Illinois, or anywhere in Indiana. Travel and out-of-county court appearances are part of the job, so distance by itself is never a reason to turn a case away. Most of the work happens by phone, text, and email regardless, and Jeff comes to you when meeting in person makes sense.
#### How long do I have to file a claim?
For most motor vehicle accident injury claims, both Indiana and Illinois apply a two-year statute of limitations, measured from the date of the crash. If a lawsuit isn't on file by that date, the claim is generally lost no matter how clear the other driver's fault was. Several circumstances change that deadline — a few extend it, and the ones that matter most cut it short:
- **The injured person is a minor.** Both states pause the clock for children. A minor generally has until two years after their eighteenth birthday to bring their own injury claim, though a parent's separate claim for the child's medical expenses can run on the ordinary schedule.
- **Legal incapacity.** If the injured person is under a legal disability — unable to manage their own affairs because of a brain injury or other incapacity — the period may be tolled until that disability is removed.
- **A government or public agency is on the other side.** This is the exception that catches people. If the at-fault driver was working for a city, county, township, school district, transit authority, or the state, a written notice of claim is typically due long before two years is up: in Indiana, roughly 180 days for a local political subdivision and 270 days for a state entity; in Illinois, suits against local public entities generally must be filed within one year, and certain agencies require written notice within six months. Miss the notice window and the two-year statute won't rescue the claim.
- **Wrongful death.** The clock runs from the date of death rather than the date of the crash, and the case must be brought by the personal representative of the estate — which means an estate has to be opened first.
- **Vehicle and property damage.** Damage-only claims follow their own track and don't necessarily match the injury deadline; Illinois allows considerably longer for property damage than for personal injury.
- **Claims against your own policy.** Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, medical payments, and similar benefits are contract claims. Their deadlines — including any duty to give prompt notice or demand arbitration — come from the policy language and are often shorter than the statute.
- **Which state's law applies.** An interstate crash near the state line, an out-of-state driver, or a policy written elsewhere can put two different sets of deadlines in play. The deadline doesn't automatically follow your home address.
Two points worth being blunt about. Reporting a crash to an insurance company is not the same as filing suit, and months of negotiating with an adjuster does nothing to stop the clock — only a filing in court does. A pending police investigation or traffic case doesn't extend it either. In practice the statute is rarely the real constraint anyway: dashcam and business surveillance video gets overwritten in days, vehicles are repaired or salvaged, and witnesses get harder to find within weeks.
These deadlines turn on specific facts, so treat the above as orientation rather than an answer about your case. If you think you may be close to a deadline — or you're not sure which one applies — call and we'll pin down the date before it costs you the claim.
#### The insurance company already offered me a settlement. Should I take it?
Early offers are usually calculated before the full extent of an injury is known. It's worth a free review before you sign anything or cash a check.
#### Will my case actually go to trial?
Most cases resolve through negotiation, but every case is prepared as if it will be tried — that's what gives a demand real weight.
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Attorney Jeffrey Kooi, licensed in Illinois and Indiana since November 2000. Free case review: (217) 833-8319 or jeff@jeffatlaw.com. Contingency fee -- no fee unless you recover.
This page is general legal information, not legal advice for a specific situation. This is attorney advertising; prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.