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★ Illinois · head & brain

Head & brain settlements
in Illinois.

By Reviewed by Abd Shanti, Founder9 min read

Illinois has no cap on brain injury damages, and it adds prejudgment interest to personal injury verdicts. Both mattered in a 2024 appeal that upheld a $45.3 million award for a man left brain damaged after an emergency room intubation failed.

Facts that decide a head & brain claim in Illinois

Damages capsThe statutory caps on noneconomic damages in medical cases were struck down as a violation of the separation of powers.Lebron v. Gottlieb Memorial Hospital (Ill. 2010)
Prejudgment interestThe statute adding prejudgment interest to personal injury awards was upheld against a constitutional challenge.735 ILCS 5/2-1303(c); Galich v. Advocate Health (Ill. App. 2024)
Deadline to sueTwo years: injury actions “shall be commenced within 2 years next after the cause of action accrued.”735 ILCS 5/13-202, as quoted in Mickiewicz v. Generations at Regency (Ill. App. 2020)
Fault ruleYou are barred only if your contributory fault is more than 50% of the proximate cause of the injury; otherwise the award is reduced by your share.735 ILCS 5/2-1116, as explained in Gratzle v. Sears, Roebuck (Ill. App. 1993)
Seat belt useNot wearing a seat belt is not evidence of negligence and cannot reduce any recovery.625 ILCS 5/12-603.1(c), in the MyClaimWorth seat belt chart
united states · sister site
Your head & brain claim in Illinois. See the number for your own case.

FairSettlement gives you a free estimate for your own head & brain case in about two minutes, no cost and no obligation.

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★ IL · reported head & brain outcomes

What Illinois courts have awarded.

Real Illinois decisions and verdicts, each linked to the court record or official report.

  • Galich v. Advocate Health and Hospitals
    Illinois Appellate Court, First District · 2024
    $45.3 million verdict plus $2.8 million interest, affirmed

    Steven Butts went to an emergency room with a broken jaw. The doctor allegedly failed to intubate him properly, depriving him of oxygen and causing permanent brain damage. After a 10 day trial the jury awarded $45.3 million and the court added $2.8 million in prejudgment interest. The appeals court affirmed both.

  • Lebron v. Gottlieb Memorial Hospital
    Illinois Supreme Court · 2010
    Noneconomic caps struck down

    A challenge to the 2005 law capping noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases. The Supreme Court held the caps violated the separation of powers clause of the Illinois Constitution.

★ IL · head & brain · in practice

What changes the number here.

What actually moves a head & brain settlement in Illinois.

  1. 1

    The full value of a severe brain injury can be recovered in Illinois. With no cap since Lebron, a verdict like the $45.3 million in Galich stands if the evidence supports it.

  2. 2

    Interest adds to the recovery. Galich upheld the prejudgment interest statute, which gave the plaintiff $2.8 million on top of the verdict and gives defendants a reason to settle sooner.

  3. 3

    Seat belt nonuse cannot reduce a brain injury award from a crash in Illinois, which removes a common defense argument used in other states.

★ IL · statute of limitations
2 years from date of injury

735 ILCS 5/13-202

★ IL · fault rule
Modified comparative, 51% bar

Modified comparative, recovery barred at 51% claimant fault.

★ head & brain · same region & fault regime

Compare to like jurisdictions.

How Illinois's fault rule and limitation period compare to jurisdictions in the same US region and to those running the same fault rule for head & brain claims.

JurisdictionFault ruleLimitationHead & brain page
Illinois · you are hereModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injury—
IndianaModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryIN · head & brain →
IowaModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryIA · head & brain →
KansasModified comparative, 50% bar2 years from date of injuryKS · head & brain →
MichiganModified comparative, 51% bar3 years from date of injuryMI · head & brain →
MinnesotaModified comparative, 51% bar6 years for personal injury (uncommonly long); 4 years for medical malpracticeMN · head & brain →
MissouriPure comparative negligence5 years for personal injury; 2 years for medical malpracticeMO · head & brain →
LouisianaModified comparative, 51% bar1 year (la prescription), extended to 2 years by Act 423 (2024) for tort claims accruing on or after July 1, 2024LA · head & brain →
MassachusettsModified comparative, 51% bar3 years from date of injuryMA · head & brain →
MontanaModified comparative, 51% bar3 years from date of injuryMT · head & brain →
NevadaModified comparative, 51% bar2 years for personal injury; 3 years for medical malpracticeNV · head & brain →
KentuckyPure comparative negligence1 year for personal injury (one of the shortest in the US)KY · head & brain →
MaineModified comparative, 50% bar6 years for personal injury, longest in the USME · head & brain →
★ IL · head & brain · frequently asked

Common questions.

Each answer is independently coherent and references the relevant statute or authority document.

united states · sister site
Hurt in a car crash in Illinois? See what your own claim could be worth.

FairSettlement, our US sister site, gives you a free estimate in about two minutes. No cost and no obligation.

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Sources

Checked 2026-09-28.

★ all of IL
Illinois overview

Fault rule, statute, caps, and key facts for Illinois as a whole.

★ national frame
Head & brain in United States

Head & brain band structure and severity tiers at the US level.

★ all 15 countries
Head & brain · everywhere

Cross-jurisdiction comparison of head & brain bands.

★ editorial note

Figures on this page are not quotes for any specific case. For representation, consult an attorney admitted in Illinois. See /methodology, /sources, and /disclaimer.