Chicago Car Accident Lawsuits and Settlements

This page will discuss Chicago car accident lawsuits. Our Chicago auto accident lawyers will explain some of the main points of law that apply to auto accident injury cases in Illinois. We will also look at the average settlement payout value in Chicago auto accident lawsuits by examining recent verdicts and reported settlements.

Auto Accidents in Chicago

Chicago is the 3^rd biggest city in the U.S. with a population of 2.7 million. The greater Chicago metropolitan area has a population of over 5 million, which is within Cook County, Illinois.

In 2023, Cook County recorded 3,567 vehicle crashes involving injuries, resulting in 3,331 people injured and 104 fatalities. Of those injured, 649 individuals sustained serious injuries categorized as Type A, while 1,928 suffered moderate injuries designated as Category B, and 728 experienced minor Category C injuries.

What do these injury categories actually mean in the context of an auto accident claim, and why do they matter when calculating the potential value of a lawsuit? These categories reflect the severity of harm.

Category A includes incapacitating injuries such as fractures or head trauma, Category B involves visible but non-incapacitating injuries like deep cuts or bruises, and Category C refers to complaints of pain or minor injuries without visible wounds. The more severe the injury classification, the higher the potential compensation in a Chicago car accident settlement or lawsuit.

Illinois Auto Accident Laws

Chicago auto accident cases are governed by Illinois law. Illinois has its own unique traffic laws, insurance regulations, and body of tort law that is applicable to Chicago car accident lawsuits. Below is a short outline of the key Illinois laws as they relate to auto accidents.

Two-Year Statute of Limitations for Chicago Car Accident Lawsuits

If you are seriously injured in a Chicago auto accident, you will have a limited amount of time to file a personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault driver. This is because Illinois has a law that imposes maximum time deadlines on how long plaintiffs in injury cases can wait before filing suit.

Under Illinois law, you generally have two years from the date of the accident to file a car accident injury lawsuit. This legal deadline is known as the statute of limitations, and it applies to all Chicago car crash lawsuits seeking compensation for injuries. If you miss the two-year window, your case may be dismissed, no matter how strong your evidence is.

The two-year statute of limitations begins on the date the car accident occurs, not when you start treatment or begin negotiating with the insurance company. That clock starts ticking immediately, and once the deadline passes, you lose your legal right to file a lawsuit, no matter how valid or severe your injuries may be. Courts do not grant exceptions simply because a victim was unaware of the time limit or was in the middle of settlement discussions. This is a law without any reasonable mercy. Filing even one day late can permanently bar your case.

Illinois Follows Modified Comparative Negligence Rule

Illinois applies a modified comparative negligence rule, which becomes especially pivotal in auto accident litigation involving shared fault. In these cases, where both drivers bear some responsibility for the collision, the law does not treat all negligence equally.

Instead, it calibrates recovery based on the plaintiff’s own degree of fault. If the plaintiff is deemed 50% or less at fault, they can still recover damages, but the award is reduced in proportion to their share of responsibility. Crucially, if the plaintiff’s fault exceeds 50%, recovery is entirely barred. This framework turns the battle over fault percentages into a strategic fulcrum — because crossing that 50% threshold does not just reduce damages; it zeroes them out.

How Insurance Companies Fight Chicago Car Accident Lawsuits

In Chicago car accident lawsuits, insurance companies are quick to say the plaintiff is to blame and to say, as a fallback, that the injuries are not as serious as claimed. Plaintiffs’ car accident lawyer must anticipate and counter those attacks from day one. Insurance carriers defending a car crash lawsuit rarely admit fault outright unless the evidence is overwhelming. Instead, they use every procedural and evidentiary tool available to muddy the waters on who caused the crash and how severe the injuries really are.

In Cook County, this dance often starts with the insurance adjuster’s initial pushback, trying to frame the plaintiff as distracted, speeding, or failing to mitigate damages. Once the case moves into litigation, the gloves come off. Defense counsel will lean heavily on comparative negligence arguments–a pivotal tactic in Illinois where a finding of 51% fault on the plaintiff’s part can wipe out the entire auto accident lawsuit. That means depositions, surveillance footage, and even social media mining become standard defense fare.

It not just about who ran the red light or who had the right-of-way. Defendants regularly deploy biomechanical experts to minimize the injury or argue that low-speed collisions couldn’t possibly result in serious harm. Plaintiffs in a traffic accident lawsuit must be prepared to rebut these arguments with credible, well-documented medical evidence and often, treating physician testimony. The stakes are too high to underestimate this phase–especially in cases involving an average car accident settlement in Illinois that hinges on proving both fault and damages clearly.

For any plaintiff attorney handling an automobile accident lawsuit, mastering the tactics of liability disputes is non-negotiable. Settling an auto accident settlement or traffic accident settlement for its full value depends not just on the severity of injuries, but on demonstrating convincingly that your client did not contribute significantly to the crash. In this litigation environment, where a single percentage point of fault can slash a verdict or undermine a car accident injury settlement amount, clarity and control over the liability narrative is a necessity.

Compensation in Chicago Car Accident Lawsuits

Damages are a legal concept that determines the amount of settlement compensation a plaintiff is entitled to receive in a Chicago auto accident lawsuit. The law recognizes certain types or categories of damages resulting from an auto accident for which successful plaintiffs are entitled to receive financial compensation.

Illinois does not currently have any statutory caps or maximum limits on the type or amount of damages available to personal injury victims. This means that if you are seriously hurt in a Chicago car accident that was not your fault, you can get compensation for all legally recognized categories of damages.

Medical Bills / Expenses: Plaintiffs can get damages for any medical bills and expenses that they incur as a direct result of the car accident. This includes not just medical expenses that you have already incurred, but also estimated medical expenses that you will incur in the future. Damages are awarded even if these costs were covered by health insurance.

Lost Income / Wages: If your injuries in the car accident cause you to lose income or wages because you can’t work or run your business, you are legally entitled to collect damages for that lost income. Just like with medical expenses, you can damages for both past and future lost income.

Pain & Suffering: Illinois law allows damages to be awarded for mental pain and suffering related to injuries sustained in a car accident. The more severe and painful the injury, the more compensation a plaintiff can get for pain and suffering. If a case goes to trial, the judge or jury determines pain and suffering damages.

How Much Are Chicago Car Accident Lawsuits Worth?

A variety of factors determines the settlement payout of a Chicago car accident injury lawsuit. The most impactful factor that drives settlement value more than any other is the nature and severity of the plaintiff’s injuries. More serious injuries involve more medical expenses and more pain & suffering, which equates to a higher settlement value. The chart below shows the average settlement value range of Chicago car accident cases based on the severity level of the plaintiff’s injuries.

INJURY SEVERITY LEVEL	SETTLEMENT VALUE
LEVEL I (minor)	$19,000 – $41,000
LEVEL II (moderate)	$58,000 – $152,000
LEVEL III (severe)	$180,000 – $490,000

Chicago Car Accident Settlements & Verdicts

If you are researching what your car accident case might be worth, reviewing example Chicago settlements and verdicts is one path that is not a bad starting point.

Below are summaries of recent outcomes in Chicago car accident lawsuits, including both negotiated settlements and jury verdicts in Cook County. These cases involve a range of injuries and fact patterns, from rear-end collisions to intersection crashes and wrongful death claims. While every car crash lawsuit is unique, these examples provide some context for how Illinois juries and insurance carriers have valued claims in recent years.

Please note that these Chicago car accident settlement results are provided solely for informational purposes. Obviously, they do not guarantee similar compensation in your own case, which will depend on the specific facts, injuries, and legal issues involved.

$10,500,000 Verdict (2025): A woman had been riding her bicycle on her commute through Arlington Heights and had stopped at the red light on the southwest corner of the intersection of Lake Cook Road and Wilke Road when disaster struck. A dump truck owned by AJC Concrete Construction attempted a left turn from Lake Cook Road onto Wilke Road, allegedly at excessive speed and without stopping. It collided with an SUV, veered off the road, and fatally struck Sylwia, who was waiting to cross at a signalized crosswalk. She was rushed to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital with life‑threatening injuries and later tragically died.

$45,000,000 Settlement (2024): The plaintiff, a 15‑year‑old teen, was rendered paralyzed during a high‑speed police pursuit crash filed in Cook County. He suffered a catastrophic traumatic brain injury and lifelong disability requiring around‑the‑clock care. The Chicago City Council approved settlement.

$50,000 Settlement (2023): The plaintiff claimed to suffer a laceration to her face resulting in a scar when the northbound vehicle she was a passenger in, driven by her father, collided with a southbound vehicle attempting a left turn, operated by the defendant.

$5,025,000 Verdict (2023): The plaintiff, a 71-year-old female, reportedly was stopped in traffic at or near an intersection facing north when the defendant struck her vehicle head-on. The plaintiff allegedly suffered a left hip comminuted acetabular fracture and left hip dislocation, with left total hip replacement surgery recommended. The verdict included $1.4 million for pain and suffering and $3.6 million for “other compensatory” damages.

$6,460 Verdict (2023): The plaintiff claimed that the defendant failed to yield when pulling out of a driveway and caused a collision. She alleged “unspecified” soft-tissue injuries. The case went to trial, and the jury was clearly very unimpressed with the plaintiff because not only did they award $6,460 for past medical expenses, but they also found her 50% at fault, so the award was reduced to $3,230.

$33,268 Verdict (2023): The plaintiffs (driver and passenger) were struck in their vehicle when the defendant veered across the center line and hit them head-on at low speed. The driver was awarded $16,527 for past medical expenses and $3,500 for pain & suffering. The passenger got $10,011 for medicals and $3,500 for pain & suffering.

$160,000 Verdict (2023): The defendant ran a stop sign and struck the plaintiff’s vehicle from the side. The plaintiff alleged various unspecified physical injuries resulting from the collision, but the defendant disputed both liability and the nature and extent of the alleged injuries. The defendant also alleged that the plaintiff was speeding. The jury awarded $160,000 in damages but found that the plaintiff was 20% at-fault for the accident, which reduced the award.

$134,916 Verdict (2023): The plaintiff was stopped at a red light when she was rear-ended by the defendant, resulting in unspecified physical injuries. The verdict included $38,916 for past medical expenses, $26,000 for future medical expenses, $30,000 for past pain & suffering, and $40,000 for future pain and suffering.

Hire a Chicago Car Accident Lawyer

If you have a Chicago car accident lawsuit, contact our injury lawyers today for a free consultation at 800-553-8082, or contact us online.