If you were hurt in an accident someone else caused, you might have a personal injury claim. Personal injury is a type of tort in Illinois. There are dozens of tort laws that determine when you can file a lawsuit when someone else is responsible for your injuries, and how much compensation you can get.
You don’t have to learn all of these Illinois tort laws.
Our attorneys at Staver Accident Injury Lawyers, P.C. already know personal injury law forward and backward. Let us fight to get you the most compensation possible for your injuries. There are no upfront fees. You don’t pay unless we win your case. To schedule a free consultation with our Chicago, Illinois personal injury attorneys, send us your information through our online form or call (312) 236-2900.
A “tort” is a legal term meaning a civil wrong — something one person or business does (or fails to do) that causes injury or harm to another. If you are injured because of someone else’s negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct, Illinois law gives you the right to pursue financial compensation for your losses.
Illinois tort law is mostly based on common law (court decisions over time), but many areas are also governed by state statutes, such as:
The Illinois Premises Liability Act (injuries on someone else’s property),
And various sections of the Illinois Vehicle Code (car accident & truck accidents).
At its core, Illinois tort law focuses on making injured people whole — that is, financially compensating them for their physical, emotional, and economic damages.
Negligence: Failing to act with reasonable care and causing harm.
Strict Liability: Being legally responsible for harm without proof of fault (common in defective product cases and dog attacks).
Intentional Torts: Harmful actions done on purpose, such as assault or battery.
Comparative Negligence: Under Illinois law (735 ILCS 5/2-1116), you can recover compensation even if you are partially at fault, as long as you are less than 51% responsible.
Navigating Illinois tort law isn’t easy. Insurance companies, businesses, and even individuals will try to deny fault, shift blame, or offer settlements far below what you deserve.
Whether you were hurt in a car, truck, or motorcycle accident, suffered a slip and fall, endured medical malpractice or nursing home abuse, were harmed by a defective product, or tragically lost a loved one in a wrongful death, you need an experienced Illinois injury attorney on your side.
A personal injury lawyer plays a critical role by:
Investigating your case thoroughly to prove fault and causation;
Calculating your damages accurately — including medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and future costs;
Negotiating assertively with insurance companies to maximize your settlement;
Filing and litigating your claim if a fair settlement isn’t offered;
Protecting you against defenses like comparative fault or assumption of risk;
Ensuring compliance with deadlines like the statute of limitations;
Presenting evidence persuasively to a judge or jury, if needed.
Illinois tort law protects your right to compensation after a serious injury — but exercising those rights successfully often requires legal skill, knowledge, and aggressive advocacy. Without an experienced personal injury lawyer, you risk being taken advantage of — and receiving far less compensation than you are legally entitled to.
At Staver Accident Injury Lawyers, P.C., we know Illinois tort law backward and forward. Let us fight for the financial recovery you deserve.
Negligence seems complicated. In legalese, the failure to uphold a duty of care is the direct and proximate cause of another person’s injuries. But it doesn’t have to be so complex. The duty of care is the way a person is supposed to behave. Everyone’s expected to act like reasonable people under the circumstances. Negligence is when a person acts unreasonably or carelessly.
There are four elements to a negligence claim: duty, breach of duty, causation, and damages. To recover compensation, you have to prove the other party:
Negligence per se is the violation of a statute that was put in place to protect people or their property. Violating the law is considered strong, clear evidence of a party’s negligence.
Sometimes it’s very hard or impossible to prove someone was negligent. That’s when the legal theory of “res ipsa loquitur” comes up. The Latin phrase means “the thing speaks for itself.” We’ll use circumstantial evidence to show that there’s no way you could have been hurt unless the other party was careless. We’ll show the accident was under the other party’s control and there aren’t any other plausible explanations for the accident and your injuries.
You might see legal documents talk about gross negligence. This isn’t the same as negligence, which you might see called ordinary negligence. They aren’t interchangeable. Gross negligence is conduct that is willful and wanton, malicious, or shows a clear disregard for other people’s health and safety. It’s compared to recklessness.
Liability is a party’s legal responsibility for your damages. In a personal injury case, this means the person or business has to compensate you for your injuries.
Fault and liability aren’t the same things. Fault means a person’s actions caused you harm. Someone can be at fault because of negligent, willful and wanton, or reckless conduct, a breach of warranty, or strict liability under the law. But liability is when the law makes a person or business responsible for paying you for your injuries.
Another person or business not directly involved in the accident could be liable for your injuries because they’re responsible for the at-fault party’s actions. This is a legal theory known as “respondeat superior,” which means “let the master answer.” It’s the law that makes employers responsible for their employee’s harmful behavior.
Illinois’ negligence law mostly comes from court cases, not statutes. But a statute can make someone liable as well. A federal or state law can determine when a certain party is liable for certain damages.
Governments have limited liability because of the theory of sovereign immunity. What does that mean? You usually can’t jump to suing a government entity or agency. You can’t make Illinois or any branches of the Illinois government a defendant in a lawsuit except in limited circumstances. Local governments and government employees also have immunity. Instead, there’s a process to notify the government agency of your claim. If you can’t resolve it through the administrative process, only then can you file a lawsuit in some cases.
In any Illinois personal injury case, proving causation is essential. You must show not just that someone acted negligently, but that their actions caused your injuries. There are two distinct but related forms of causation: direct cause and proximate cause.
Direct Cause (Cause in Fact): Direct cause, also called “but for” causation, means your injuries would not have happened but for the defendant’s actions. If the defendant had not acted carelessly, you would not have been hurt. For example, if a driver runs a red light and crashes into your car, the crash — and your resulting injuries — would not have occurred but for their negligence.
Proximate Cause: Proximate cause looks at how closely related the defendant’s conduct is to your injuries. It prevents holding someone responsible for consequences that are too remote or unpredictable. To establish proximate cause, you must show that your injuries were a foreseeable result of the defendant’s negligent behavior — not a rare, freak accident unrelated to their actions.
In Illinois, both direct cause and proximate cause must be proven to win compensation.
It’s not enough to show that someone did something wrong; you must also prove that their wrongful conduct was closely and reasonably connected to the harm you suffered.
Illinois courts recognize that while some injuries are obvious consequences of negligence, others require detailed evidence and legal argument to establish a clear causal chain. That’s why having an experienced personal injury lawyer is critical: we know how to gather the proper evidence, consult expert witnesses, and build a compelling case to prove both direct and proximate cause.
There’s a chance your case will go to court—even if you don’t end up going to trial. By partnering with a seasoned Illinois personal injury lawyer, you’ll have all the facts you need about litigation and the full claims process.
There are two main parties in any personal injury lawsuit: the plaintiff and the defendant. The plaintiff is the person who claims to be injured and files the lawsuit. The defendant is the person or business the plaintiff claims is responsible for their injuries. There can be one or more plaintiffs or defendants.
A personal injury claim can take months or years to resolve. There are many steps in the personal injury claim and lawsuit process. Staver Accident Injury Lawyers, P.C. is here to help you from the very beginning to the end.
To win compensation, you have to prove each element of negligence. A lawyer can help you gather enough evidence to show it’s more likely than not that the defendant caused your injuries. We also know how to present the evidence to an insurer or jury as persuasively as possible.
As the plaintiff, you’re responsible for proving the defendant was negligent. The defendant doesn’t have to prove they didn’t cause your injuries.
In a civil personal injury claim, you have to show the defendant was negligent by a preponderance of the evidence. This is a lower standard than beyond a reasonable doubt, which courts use in criminal cases. By a preponderance of the evidence means it’s likely the defendant is responsible. You can think of it as it’s 50% or more likely that your allegations are true.
We can use direct and circumstantial evidence to prove your personal injury case. Direct evidence proves a specific fact is true. Circumstantial evidence asks the judge or jury to presume something is true. Common types of evidence in personal injury claims include physical objects, police reports, photos, video footage, audio recordings, business documents, eyewitness testimony, medical records, expert medical testimony, and other expert testimony.
In general, the value of a personal injury claim is the value of your out-of-pocket expenses and the value of non-economic injuries, like your pain and suffering.
You can receive compensation for past and future:
Because every personal injury case is unique, it’s impossible to compare your case to settlements and jury awards you see online. You need more information. The best way to get a complete picture of the value of your case is to talk with an experienced personal injury attorney in Illinois. Numerous factors can make your claim worth more or less, including an insurance policy limit, the severity of your injuries, and whether you were also careless at the time of the accident.
You may have to go to court because the defendant disagrees that they’re at fault for your injuries and owes you money. As a result, you and your attorney will likely file a lawsuit and use evidence to prove the defendant’s liability. However, other people or businesses can use various legal theories to defend themselves.
Contributory fault in Illinois is any fault of your own that is part of the reason why you were injured. Illinois follows a modified comparative negligence rule when you’re also at fault. Under this rule, you can recover compensation if you’re 50% or less at fault. But if you’re 51% or more responsible, then the law bars you from getting any money.
Depending on where you file the case, the defendant might claim the court lacks subject matter jurisdiction. This would mean the court doesn’t have a right to make a decision about the accident and would dismiss the case.
If there’s a conflict between Illinois and federal laws, then the court has to obey the federal law. This is because of the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution. This issue often comes up in product liability cases.
If you were hurt on a business’s property or while doing a certain activity, the business might claim you knew there were risks involved and are responsible for your injuries. The business, like a ski resort, gym, or sports stadium, might claim you signed a waiver or agreed to the risk involved in the activity when you bought a ticket and entered the premises. Liability waiver claims are based on a written agreement. But the defendant can claim you assumed the risk of an activity even without a specific form or ticket.
When you’re hurt in an accident, you have to do everything you can to minimize your injuries. This typically means seeing a doctor and following their treatment plan. But if you refuse to see a doctor or follow their advice, and your injuries get worse, the defendant can claim they aren’t responsible because your injuries shouldn’t be so severe.
You can’t claim something in court that contradicts something you said before. If the defendant relied on something you claimed before or a previous decision in another case, they could use any contradictions against you. Res judicata means a final judgment on the merits of the issue bars you from asking a court to decide that issue again. You can’t ask a court to try the same case twice.
In some jurisdictions, there are limits on when one family member can sue another for compensation. But not in Illinois. The state has never recognized intrafamily immunity for torts. It also abolished spousal immunity in the 1980s.
There are time limits on how long you have to file a lawsuit. In Illinois, you have two years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. If you wait too long, the defendant can ask the court to dismiss the case right away.
You don’t have to go through a personal injury claim on your own. Staver Accident Injury Lawyers, P.C. is here to help. We have lawyers for car accidents, all other types of auto accidents, premises liability, product liability, nursing home neglect and abuse, medical malpractice, workplace accidents, police brutality, and more. We know Illinois tort law, so you don’t have to. Let us fight for you.
Contact us through our online form or call (312) 236-2900 to set up your free consultation right away.
Here are some additional resources that may be of help.
Additional Resources
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