Charles Candiano

• Free Consultation
  You and I will discuss your claim until I am satisfied that I can help and your questions are answered, WITHOUT cost or obligation.
• Contingent Fees
  Our fee on Personal Injury cases is 1/3 of the recovery and costs. Our fee on Workers' Compensation cases is set by statute at 20% of Settlement or Award and costs

Illinois

Since 1995

Indiana

Since 1996

Federal Circuit

Since 1995

Owner

Candiano Law Office

2013 - Current

Trial Attorney

The Margolis Firm, PC

2004 - 2013

Trial Attorney

Margolis & Velasco

2001 - 2004

Trial Attorney

Rusin, Patton, Maciorowski & Friedman

2000 - 2001

Deputy Prosecuting Attorney

Office of the Prosecuting Attorney, Lake County Indiana

1996 - 1999

The John Marshall Law School

J.D. (1995)

Chicago Bar Association

Chair Professional Fees Committee

2017 - Current

Indiana State Bar

Member

2006 - Current

Illinois Trial Lawyers Association

2001 - Current

Q. What steps should we take after no-contact and protective orders were violated?

June 25, 2025

A: When someone violates a protective order, you contact the police immediately. The primary reason for seeking a protective order is to keep a potentially dangerous person away from you. The police can and will enforce a protective order. It is important that all parties respect protective orders. It is not a game. You don't call the police over chance encounters at the grocery store or because you inadvertently attended the same church service. That said, the subject of a protective order should not be coming to your home, calling you, texting you, or emailing you (absent legitimate need, as in the case of coparents' communication concerning shared children). Failure to timely report true violations of a protective order only serves to diminish your credibility with law enforcement and the justice system.

Unless Winston is independently wealthy, filing a personal injury claim would be equivalent to taking the filing fee and flushing it down the toilet. If Winston has an employer who pays him by check, the most you could get would be 15% of his gross income from each paycheck (assuming that yours would be the only garnishment order). A $600 check would result in a maximum payment to you of $90 (in which case it would take you 4 to 6 weeks just to recover your filing fee). For all of these reasons, no attorney would agree to represent you, unless you paid them by the hour. That would be foolish and expensive.

If you incurred any out-of-pocket medical expenses, you should give copies of the invoices to the prosecuting attorney (State's Attorney) and request that the criminal judge make an award of Restitution if Winston is convicted of a crime relative to the injuries that you sustained. Beyond that, you have no legal remedy. ... Read More

Q. Near-miss with cyclist while turning, reported to police, awaiting further action.

June 24, 2025

A: You posted this twice but you don't provide any details. You described the incident as a "near miss," yet you talk about a witness and a possible pending citation. For what? Did the cyclist hit your car? Did the cyclist wreck his bicycle to avoid colliding with you? Was the cyclist hurt? Was the cyclist's bicycle damaged? If the bicycle was damaged, you left the scene of a property damage accident. If the cyclist was injured, you left the scene of a personal injury accident. If the cyclist was injured and his bicycle was damaged, you did both. I submit that you wouldn't be so interested in this question unless you knew or strongly suspected that the cyclist was injured while avoiding collision with your vehicle. If you passed the Illinois driver's test, you know that you had an obligation to stop and exchange information/call for help. We can't tell you anything to the contrary. Assuming those facts, you have already committed one or more crimes by leaving the scene. Nothing you do now will mitigate that.

If the incident was truly a "near miss," where nobody was injured and no property was damaged, the only thing you did wrong was failing to yield the right-of-way. You could only be cited for failure to yield if a police officer witnessed the incident or if your failure to yield resulted in personal injury or property damage and there were witnesses. Your statement that there is a "potential citation," leads me to believe that the cyclist wrecked his bicycle in avoidance of your car and was injured. Failure to yield is a traffic citation (fine only). Leaving the scene of a property damage accident is a Misdemeanor (fine + up to a year in jail). Leaving the scene of a personal injury accident is a Class 2 Felony (Fine + 3-7 years in prison). ... Read More

Q. What are the legal consequences of turning right into a cyclist's path with right of way?

June 24, 2025

A: You posted this twice but you don't provide any details. You described the incident as a "near miss," yet you talk about a witness and a possible pending citation. For what? Did the cyclist hit your car? Did the cyclist wreck his bicycle to avoid colliding with you? Was the cyclist hurt? Was the cyclist's bicycle damaged? If the bicycle was damaged, you left the scene of a property damage accident. If the cyclist was injured, you left the scene of a personal injury accident. If the cyclist was injured and his bicycle was damaged, you did both. I submit that you wouldn't be so interested in this question unless you knew or strongly suspected that the cyclist was injured while avoiding collision with your vehicle. If you passed the Illinois driver's test, you know that you had an obligation to stop and exchange information/call for help. We can't tell you anything to the contrary. Assuming those facts, you have already committed one or more crimes by leaving the scene. Nothing you do now will mitigate that.

If the incident was truly a "near miss," where nobody was injured and no property was damaged, the only thing you did wrong was failing to yield the right-of-way. You could only be cited for failure to yield if a police officer witnessed the incident or if your failure to yield resulted in personal injury or property damage and there were witnesses. Your statement that there is a "potential citation," leads me to believe that the cyclist wrecked his bicycle in avoidance of your car and was injured. Failure to yield is a traffic citation (fine only). Leaving the scene of a property damage accident is a Misdemeanor (fine + up to a year in jail). Leaving the scene of a personal injury accident is a Class 2 Felony (Fine + 3-7 years in prison). ... Read More

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