Illinois Car Accident Settlement and Verdict Amounts for 2024

Based on recent data, settlement and verdict amounts for Illinois car accident claims can go between $6,000 and $91 million. Various aspects affect the damages a plaintiff can recover, such as distribution of fault and severity of injuries.

As one of the states adhering to the modified comparative negligence principle, Illinois reduces the amount claimants can receive according to their percentage of fault for the accident. State laws also bar plaintiffs from recovering damages if their degree of liability reaches 51%.

The severity of injuries also plays a significant role in determining the amount of damages. For instance, life-altering injuries, like brain trauma and massive burns, would entail extensive medical care and leave victims unable to work for long periods, if not permanently, thus increasing the amount of monetary damages.

Other factors affecting how much an injured individual can collect include insurance policy limits and the possibility of non-economic damages, like pain and suffering. The following table and bullet points tackle the details of the sample cases we gathered.

Examples of Settlement and Verdict Amounts for 2024 Car Accident Cases in Illinois

You will notice below that cases involving high-profile entities, such as cities or commercial brands, tend to yield higher amounts of settlement because these parties have higher liability insurance. They also hope to settle disputes as soon as possible rather than go to trial and get their names dragged into the mud.

• 2024: 18-year-old Nathen Jones will receive a $45 million settlement — one of the largest in Chicago’s history — for massive traumatic brain injuries that left him unable to walk and talk. In 2021, Jones was a passenger in a Volkswagen driven by Khalil Raggs, whom the police tried to pull over for disregarding a stop sign. Instead of yielding, the driver fled the scene, setting off a high-speed police chase that was unwarranted because policies restrict officers from pursuing drivers for minor traffic offenses.
  Not long after the authorities initiated the pursuit, the fleeing car crashed into another vehicle, a Toyota, causing life-altering damages to Nathen and injuring several others. Raggs, a co-defendant in the lawsuit, faces three years of imprisonment for multiple felony counts of aggravated reckless driving and a gun charge.

• 2023: A day before his case was scheduled for trial in Cook County, a suburban Chicago man, who wished to be identified as Carl, received a $91 million settlement from 7-Eleven after losing both legs in a storefront crash in Bensenville in 2017. Case files say that the at-fault driver was pulling into a parking slot in front of the convenience store and mistakenly hit the gas instead of the brake, pinning the plaintiff who was waiting for his ride to work between the vehicle and the building. The driver pleaded guilty of reckless driving, and 7-Eleven was partly to blame for failing to install bollards, which could have prevented such accidents. During discovery, it was revealed that an incident of similar nature occurred in the same store 16 months before Carl’s accident.

• 2023: A jury awarded a verdict totaling $5.025 million for a woman who sustained a left hip fracture and dislocation in a car crash. The plaintiff’s vehicle was stopped in traffic when the defendant struck her head-on, causing injuries that required her to undergo total hip replacement surgery. The damages included $1.4 million for pain and suffering.

• 2023: A jury agreed on a $160,000 verdict for a plaintiff who suffered physical injuries following a stop sign accident. Reports indicate that the defendant ran a stop sign and struck the plaintiff’s vehicle from the side. However, the plaintiff was found 20% at fault for the accident, thereby reducing the award.

• 2023: A settlement amounting to $50,000 was offered to a plaintiff who suffered facial laceration and scarring. The car the passenger was in was going north when it collided with a southbound vehicle making a left turn.

• 2023: A $6,460 verdict for past medical expenses was reduced to $3,230 after a jury found the plaintiff 50% at fault for a driveway collision. The plaintiff sued for soft-tissue injuries, claiming that the defendant failed to yield while pulling out of a driveway.

Recover the Compensation That You Deserve

If you have been injured in a car accident anywhere in Prairie State, it is advantageous that you have access to information about your rights and obligations as prescribed by the law. Knowing the basics of Illinois car accident laws, including the statute of limitations, insurance requirements, and fault system, could prevent you from committing actions that might jeopardize your case.

Moreover, retaining a reputable car accident lawyer is crucial in this journey. Having one who is willing to explore various avenues to secure justice, has extensive experience in similar cases, and has access to expert witnesses could increase your chance of a higher payout.