This article will provide a summary of several key state-level laws relating to personal injury cases in Illinois. These rules apply when filing a lawsuit in court, and they may also apply when negotiating an injury settlement with an insurance company.
Time Limits on Filing an Illinois Injury Lawsuit
A personal injury lawyers in Illinois must be filed within two years in the state's civil court system. In most cases, the two-year time limit, known as a "statute of limitations," begins to run on the date of the accident.
However, in some cases, the statute of limitations may begin to run from the date you discovered you were injured, rather than the date of the occurrence that injured you. This later date is referred to as a "discovery date."
You have one year from the date of injury to file a lawsuit against a city or county. The statute of limitations for suing the state is two years, but you must file a formal claim within one year to sue. The extent of this cannot be extended.
Comparative Fault in Illinois Injury Cases
When more than one party is responsible, or "at fault," for an injury, comparative fault rules attempt to sort out damages. It's not uncommon for the other party in an injury claim to claim that you were partially or entirely to blame for your injuries. When this is the case, Illinois courts use the state's "modified comparative fault" rule to determine how much compensation you can receive.
The Illinois comparative fault rule works as follows: imagine you're going grocery shopping one day. You're walking down an aisle, reading a product label instead of paying attention to your surroundings. You don't notice a broken floor tile in your path and trip on it, falling and injuring yourself.
It was eventually determined that the store was 90% to blame for the accident, and you were 10% to blame. In this case, Illinois' comparative fault rule will apply, reducing your damages by 10% of the amount of fault assigned to you.
So, if your total damages are $100,000, the rule will apply to deduct $10,000, which represents the 10% fault assigned to you, leaving you with $90,000. If you are found to be 50% or more at fault, your damages award will be reduced to zero, and you will be barred from collecting from any other at-fault party. You will have to be sure of the compensation.
