October 8, 2024 | Wrongful Death
The loss of a loved one is always tragic—especially when their death was caused by someone else’s careless, reckless, or negligent actions. Family members and friends are left to pick up the pieces with an emotional hole that can never be filled.
It goes without saying that no amount of financial compensation could ever truly make up for losing a close family member. But that doesn’t mean you have to carry the financial and emotional consequences of a wrongful death alone. Illinois law allows surviving family members to seek restitution from the at-fault parties for economic, emotional, and psychological losses. Depending on the circumstances, the amount of compensation available can sometimes be significant.
In this blog post, we will take a closer look at how wrongful death settlements are calculated, what families can expect, and how an experienced wrongful death attorney can make a difference for you and your loved ones.
Available Damages in an Illinois Wrongful Death Claim
Illinois law recognizes that grieving families suffer substantial financial and emotional losses in these cases. Here is a broad overview of the damages that are available in a wrongful death lawsuit:
Economic Damages
Your wrongful death claim should include a detailed accounting of all the ways that your loved one’s next of kin have been financially impacted by the death—both now and in the future. These damages might include compensation for:
- Medical expenses for treatment that occurred after the injury but before your loved one passed away.
- Funeral and burial expenses.
- Lost wages that your loved one would have earned over the remainder of their working career.
- Loss of other financial resources that your loved one would have contributed to the family, such as insurance coverage, pension and retirement funds, family business interests, etc.
- Loss of inheritance, particularly if your loved one was expected to significantly grow the value of assets they would pass on to children.
- Loss of household services, or in other words the monetary value of domestic tasks such as childcare, housekeeping, yard work, etc. that was provided to the family by your loved one.
Non-Economic Damages
Wrongful death claims consider more than just the economic impact of losing a loved one. Families also deal with severe emotional and psychological trauma that can have a lasting impact on their future quality of life.
Non-economic damages in wrongful death lawsuits may include things like:
- Grief, sorrow, and mental suffering experienced by close family members.
- Loss of consortium (that is, the loss of companionship, love, sexual intimacy, and other relationship benefits that a spouse provides).
- Loss of guidance, instruction, advice, council, etc. that a deceased parent can longer provide to their children.
Illinois is one of relatively few states that allow specific family members to seek compensation for their own individual pain, grief, and suffering as the result of a wrongful death.
Punitive Damages
In some wrongful death cases, punitive damages might also be awarded.
Also known as exemplary damages, these are intended to punish the at-fault party for grossly negligent, reckless, or malicious behavior—rather than to simply compensate the surviving family members for any specific losses. For example, a jury might award punitive damages if your loved one was killed in a car accident caused by a severely intoxicated driver.
How Are Wrongful Death Settlements Paid Out in Illinois?
In Illinois, the court is free to divide any wrongful death settlement amount to the surviving spouse and next of kin in “as they shall deem a fair and just compensation with reference to the pecuniary injuries resulting from such death.”
In other words, the specific amount of compensation each individual family member receives is determined on a case-by-case basis, according to the amount of financial and emotional suffering they experienced. The court may consider factors such as the age of the deceased person, how much each family member was dependent on them, the closeness of the relationship, etc.
This is very different from the way it works in many other states, which often divide settlement funds to beneficiaries according to percentages established by state law.
A few other things that are important to understand here:
- Individual family members do not file their own separate wrongful death claims in Illinois. The legal action can only be filed by the personal representative (or executor) of your loved one’s estate.
- Under normal circumstances, only the surviving spouse and children are automatically entitled to receive wrongful death compensation in Illinois. If your loved one did not have a spouse or any living children, the court will have to determine who the “next of kin” are. First priority would go to other descendants (i.e., grandchildren), then parents and siblings, then nieces and nephews.
If you have questions, contact our personal injury attorneys with experience handling Illinois wrongful death cases.
How Much Is My Wrongful Death Case Worth?
There’s no simple, easy way to calculate the value of a wrongful death suit. There is no true “average settlement,” as no two cases are exactly alike. That being said, many wrongful death cases settle for hundreds of thousands of dollars—and sometimes more.
One thing you need to understand, though, is that the insurance company is not on your side. Their goal will be to pay as little as possible to settle your claim. And they may use a variety of tactics against you. For example:
- Arguing that your loved one was at least partially responsible for the accident that caused their death. In Illinois, surviving family can only collect compensation on a wrongful death action if their loved one was 50% at fault or less. Further, the wrongful death settlement would be reduced by the degree of fault. For example, if your suffered $1 million in damages but your loved one was 25% at fault, you could only receive $750,000.
- Underestimating the financial costs of your loved one’s death, such as by not fairly accounting for future growth in your loved one’s career, salary, retirement accounts, etc.
- Undervaluing the real, severe grief and emotional pain you experience. Since there is no “objective” way to value non-economic damages in dollars and cents, insurance companies generally try to get away with paying out as little as they possible can here.
Chances are that, if the insurance company does make you an initial settlement offer, it will be for less (sometimes far less) that what your case is really worth.
How a Wrongful Death Lawyer Can Help
Wrongful death lawsuits are almost always complicated and challenging from a legal perspective. There may be a lot of money at stake, and the insurance company will be working hard to ensure families get as little as possible.
They’re also, obviously, extremely challenging emotionally. You shouldn’t have to worry about fighting a court battle when you’re still recovering from a painful loss.
You deserve a strong legal advocate, so you can focus on processing your grief and rebuilding your life. Your wrongful death attorney is there to give you the support, guidance, and peace of mind you need. This includes taking the necessary legal steps to maximize your settlement. For example:
- Thoroughly investigating the cause of the injury to prove that your loved one wasn’t responsible.
- Collecting medical bills, income statements, and other financial records.
- Working with economists, career specialists, and other professionals to calculate the full future financial costs.
- Compassionately speaking with family members to understand the true emotional impact of the wrongful death and being able to communicate it a way that resonates with a potential jury.
Contact our Personal Injury Law Firm at Powell and Pisman Injury Lawyers
If you’ve been injured in an accident in Chicago, IL, don’t navigate the legal process alone. Our dedicated team is here to provide the expert guidance you need to secure the compensation you deserve. Contact our experienced attorneys at Powell and Pisman Injury Lawyers for a free consultation.
We serve Cook County and its surrounding areas:
Powell and Pisman Injury Lawyers
875 N Dearborn St 4th Floor
Chicago, IL 60610
(312) 635-5400