Illinois Personal Injury Settlement Rules
Illinois gives you 2 years from the date of the accident or injury to file, under 735 ILCS 5/13-202. Illinois uses modified comparative negligence with a 51% bar. The statute, 735 ILCS 5/2-1116, bars recovery when your fault is "more than 50%" of the cause of injury. From an adjuster's chair, that 51% line is the cliff: at exactly 50% fault you still recover half, but cross to 51% and you collect nothing. Below the line your award drops by your fault share, so a 20% fault finding cuts a 30,000 dollar value to 24,000 dollars. Illinois has no cap on non-economic damages in ordinary cases. It also has no medical-malpractice cap, because the Illinois Supreme Court struck down the old 500,000 dollar non-economic cap (735 ILCS 5/2-1706.5) as unconstitutional in LeBron v. Gottlieb Memorial Hospital (February 2010). Illinois is an at-fault (tort) state, not a no-fault state, so you pursue the at-fault driver's liability insurer directly. One deadline halves without warning: a claim against a city, county, transit authority, park district or other local public entity runs on 1 year, not 2. The figures here cover ordinary negligence, and a serious or contested case needs a lawyer licensed in Illinois.
Illinois rules at a glance
- Statute of limitations
- 2 yr
- Fault rule
- Modified comparative negligence (51% bar)
- No-fault (PIP) state
- No
- General damages cap
- No cap on general damages.
- Medical-malpractice cap
- No cap on medical-malpractice non-economic damages (LeBron, 2010).
The rules an adjuster applies in Illinois
Statute of limitations: 2 years
You have 2 years from the date of the accident or injury to file, under 735 ILCS 5/13-202. (source: https://www.ilga.gov/Documents/legislation/ilcs/documents/073500050k13-202.htm) That figure only governs a claim against a private defendant. Three common Illinois scenarios shorten it: a defendant that is a local public entity drops to 1 year, a claim arising out of patient care against a local public entity or its employee runs 2 years from discovery with a 4-year repose, and a malpractice claim against a private physician or hospital runs 2 years from discovery with its own 4-year repose. Identify the defendant before you trust the calendar, because in Illinois the identity of the defendant, not the nature of the injury, is what moves the deadline.
Negligence rule: modified comparative (51% bar)
A plaintiff more than 50% at fault recovers nothing, under 735 ILCS 5/2-1116. At 10% fault you keep 90%, at exactly 50% you keep half, and at 51% you are barred entirely. Illinois applies the 51% version of comparative fault, and the personal injury calculator makes the same reduction once you select the state. (source: https://www.ilga.gov/Documents/legislation/ilcs/documents/073500050k2-1116.htm) The statutory wording is worth reading closely: the bar attaches when contributory fault is "more than 50%" of the proximate cause, which is why an even split still pays in Illinois and does not in Georgia. More than half the states use this 51% formulation, making it the most common fault rule in the country. (source: https://www.mwl-law.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/CONTRIBUTORY-NEGLIGENCE-COMPARATIVE-FAULT-LAWS-CHART-2.pdf)
Worked example: a 60,000 dollar claim at 30% fault
On a 60,000 dollar gross claim, a 30% fault finding leaves 70%, which is 42,000 dollars. At exactly 50% you keep half, 30,000 dollars. At 51% Illinois pays nothing. Compare Missouri, immediately across the river, which is a pure comparative state: the same 51%-at-fault claimant recovers 49% there, which is 29,400 dollars, and would still recover something even at 90% fault. A St. Louis-area crash can therefore be worth 29,400 dollars or zero on identical facts depending on which side of the Mississippi it happened, which is why the venue question in border cases is worth asking early. (source: https://www.mwl-law.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/CONTRIBUTORY-NEGLIGENCE-COMPARATIVE-FAULT-LAWS-CHART-2.pdf)
Claims against a city, county or transit agency: 1 year
The Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act halves the deadline. Under 745 ILCS 10/8-101(a), "No civil action other than an action described in subsection (b) may be commenced in any court against a local entity or any of its employees for any injury unless it is commenced within one year from the date that the injury was received or the cause of action accrued." (source: https://www.ilga.gov/Documents/legislation/ilcs/documents/074500100K8-101.htm) That reaches cities, counties, park districts, school districts, transit authorities and public hospitals. Subsection (b) carves out claims arising out of patient care against a local public entity, which get 2 years from the date the claimant knew or should have known of the injury, subject to a 4-year repose from the act. A CTA bus case and a private car crash on the same corner therefore run on different calendars.
Discovery rule and tolling for injured children
Illinois writes discovery into its malpractice statute rather than leaving it to case law. Under 735 ILCS 5/13-212(a) a patient-care claim runs 2 years from the date the claimant "knew, or through the use of reasonable diligence should have known, or received notice in writing of the existence of the injury or death," whichever is earliest, subject to a 4-year repose. For minors, subsection (b) allows 8 years from the act but never past the person's twenty-second birthday. (source: https://www.ilga.gov/Documents/legislation/ilcs/documents/073500050k13-212.htm) For ordinary injury claims, 735 ILCS 5/13-211 gives a claimant who was under 18 or under a legal disability when the cause of action accrued 2 years after they turn 18 or the disability is removed. (source: https://www.ilga.gov/Documents/legislation/ilcs/documents/073500050k13-211.htm)
General damages cap: none
Illinois has no statutory cap on non-economic damages in personal injury cases. (source: https://scholarship.kentlaw.iit.edu/cklawreview/vol87/iss2/16/) That is a settled position rather than a live legislative question, because the last serious attempt to cap them, the 500,000 dollar malpractice limit in Public Act 94-677, was held unconstitutional in 2010 and has not been revived. For a claimant, the absence of a cap means the ceiling on a claim is the defendant's insurance limits and the jury's view of the evidence, not a number in the code. For an adjuster, it means the only reliable lever is the fault percentage and the 51% bar sitting behind it.
Medical-malpractice cap: none
The Illinois Supreme Court struck down the 500,000 dollar non-economic cap (735 ILCS 5/2-1706.5) as unconstitutional in LeBron v. Gottlieb Memorial Hospital (February 2010). (source: https://www.illinoiscourts.gov/Resources/ae6bf489-539e-4961-8eab-5f7e3d1cd774/105741.pdf) The court held the cap violated the separation of powers clause by legislatively overriding the judiciary's power to determine whether a remittitur was warranted. Because the ruling is constitutional rather than statutory, a damage cap cannot simply be re-enacted, and Illinois has now gone fifteen years without one. Economic damages, which were never capped, remain fully recoverable alongside.
Medical malpractice: an affidavit and a written expert report
Illinois requires more than an affidavit. Under 735 ILCS 5/2-622 the plaintiff's attorney must file, attached to the complaint, an affidavit declaring that a qualified health professional has reviewed the records and determined in a written report "that there is a reasonable and meritorious cause for the filing of such action," and a copy of that written report must be attached. A separate certificate and report is required for each defendant. Where the limitation period would otherwise expire first, the plaintiff can file on an affidavit of inability and produce the report within 90 days. Failure to file the certificate "shall be grounds for dismissal under Section 2-619." (source: https://www.ilga.gov/Documents/legislation/ilcs/documents/073500050k2-622.htm) Get a records review before you use this site to estimate a malpractice claim.
No-fault: no
Illinois is an at-fault (tort) state and does not appear on the Insurance Information Institute list of no-fault states. This site's own table of no fault states and filing deadlines covers all 50 states and DC if you need to check a neighbouring jurisdiction. (source: https://www.iii.org/article/background-on-no-fault-auto-insurance) With no PIP layer and no serious-injury threshold, an Illinois claimant can pursue pain and suffering from the outset. The trade-off is that nothing pays your medical bills while liability is being argued, unless you carry optional medical payments coverage or use health insurance and deal with the resulting medical lien at settlement.
State quirk: strict-liability dog bites
The Illinois Animal Control Act (510 ILCS 5/16) imposes strict liability for dog bites, so the owner is liable when the animal injures a person lawfully where they may be, with no "one bite" requirement. Strict liability settles the fault question but not the value, which is what the dog bite settlement calculator is for. (source: https://www.animallaw.info/topic/table-dog-bite-strict-liability-statutes) The statute is not limited to bites: it reaches injuries caused by an animal that attacks or injures a person peaceably conducting themselves, which covers knock-down injuries as well. Comparative fault still applies, so provoking the animal reduces the award and, past 50%, eliminates it.
Estimate an Illinois settlement
Preset to Illinois rules. The modified comparative negligence (51% bar) rule is applied automatically.
Negotiation range
Low, likely, highWhat the settlement is made of
- Economic damages kept$9,70029%
- Pain and suffering kept$24,25071%
- Removed by fault and caps$00%
The ring is the gross claim of $33,950. The two kept arcs sum to the net figure in the centre, and the red arc is what comparative fault and statutory caps take away.
Settlement breakdown
Gross $33,950| Component | Amount | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Medical expenses | $6,500 | 19.1% |
| Lost wages | $3,200 | 9.4% |
| Economic damages | $9,700 | 28.6% |
| Pain and suffering (2.5x economic) | $24,250 | 71.4% |
| Comparative-fault reduction (0%) | $0 | 0.0% |
| Likely settlement | $33,950 | 100.0% |
Share is measured against the gross claim of $33,950. Method: multiplier method, industry standard. Estimate for negotiation, not legal advice.
Rules applied
IL- Negligence rule
- Modified comparative (51% bar)
- Statute of limitations
- 2 years
- Non-economic cap
- None modeled
- Method
- Multiplier, 2.5x
Estimate only, not legal advice. The legal rules this calculator applies, each state's statute of limitations, comparative-negligence rule, and damage caps, are taken from official state statutes and US government sources, and every figure is cited inline so you can check it against the original. The multiplier method itself is the industry-standard approach bodily-injury adjusters use internally to set claim reserves, so treat the result as a negotiating benchmark rather than a promise: a real settlement still moves with insurer behavior, the strength of your evidence, and the jurisdiction you file in. Your figures stay on your device. Nothing you type is sent to a server, logged, or shared, and it clears when you close the tab. Take these numbers to a personal-injury attorney licensed in your state before you accept or reject any offer, especially for catastrophic injury or amounts above $50,000.
Illinois settlement questions
How long do I have to file a personal injury claim in Illinois?
2 years from the date of the accident or injury, under 735 ILCS 5/13-202. A claim filed after the deadline is time-barred. Claims against local public entities run on 1 year instead.
Does partial fault bar my Illinois settlement?
It can. A plaintiff more than 50% at fault recovers nothing. At exactly 50% you keep half, and below 50% your award is reduced by your fault share.
How long do I have to sue a city, county or transit agency in Illinois?
One year. Under 745 ILCS 10/8-101(a) no civil action for injury may be commenced against a local entity or its employees more than one year after the injury or accrual. Patient-care claims against a local public entity get 2 years from discovery with a 4-year repose.
Is there a cap on medical-malpractice damages in Illinois?
No. The Illinois Supreme Court struck down the 500,000 dollar non-economic cap as unconstitutional in LeBron (2010), so med-mal pain-and-suffering is not capped. Economic damages were never capped.
What has to be filed with an Illinois malpractice complaint?
An attorney affidavit under 735 ILCS 5/2-622 plus a copy of the reviewing health professional's written report finding a reasonable and meritorious cause, one per defendant. Failure to file it is grounds for dismissal.
Is Illinois a no-fault car insurance state?
No. Illinois is an at-fault (tort) state, so you file against the at-fault driver's liability insurer rather than your own PIP, and there is no injury threshold before you can claim pain and suffering.
When does the clock start if I did not know I was hurt?
For malpractice, 735 ILCS 5/13-212 runs 2 years from when you knew or should have known of the injury, with a 4-year outer limit from the act. Ordinary negligence runs from the date of the accident or injury.
Does an injured child get more time in Illinois?
Yes. Under 735 ILCS 5/13-211 a claimant who was under 18 when the cause of action accrued has 2 years after turning 18. For malpractice, the window is 8 years from the act but never past the person's twenty-second birthday.
About the editorial team
The PersonalInjuryCalculator.us editorial team documents how US insurance carriers value personal-injury claims and turns that into plain-English calculators and explainers. Every dollar range, multiplier, filing deadline, and damages cap published here is traced back to a named source. The team is not a law firm and includes no attorneys, so nothing on this site is legal advice. Speak with a licensed attorney in your state for serious or contested cases.
Sources
- 735 ILCS 5/13-202 (statute of limitations)
- 735 ILCS 5/2-1116 (comparative fault)
- 745 ILCS 10/8-101 (Tort Immunity Act, 1-year limit)
- 735 ILCS 5/13-212 (malpractice limitation, discovery, minors)
- 735 ILCS 5/13-211 (minors and legal disability)
- 735 ILCS 5/2-622 (healing art malpractice affidavit)
- LeBron v. Gottlieb (cap struck down)
- Chicago-Kent Law Review: Illinois damages caps
- Illinois modified comparative negligence
- Animal Legal: dog-bite statutes
- Matthiesen Wickert and Lehrer 50-state comparative fault chart
- III: background on no-fault