Top Individual Illinois Personal Injury Verdicts and Settlements

Sterigenics Verdict: $363 Million for a Willowbrook Cancer Survivor

A Cook County jury found Sterigenics and its corporate owners liable for Sue Kamuda's breast cancer from ethylene oxide emissions and awarded $363 million, then the largest individual-plaintiff verdict in Illinois history.

After trial: After the verdict, Sterigenics and Sotera Health settled all 879 Illinois ethylene oxide claims, including this one, for $408 million in January 2023. The individual share was not separately disclosed.

Madison County Jury Awards $241 Million to Family of Courier Killed by Dry Ice Fumes in Car

Eric Johnson, a 64-year-old Missouri courier, lost consciousness and later died after carbon dioxide from dry ice-packed strawberries filled his subcompact car in 2016. His widow sued Prairie Farms Dairy for failing to warn or train him. A Madison County jury awarded $49.5 million in compensatory and $191.5 million in punitive damages in February 2026. Prairie Farms later settled with the family after the verdict.

After trial: After the verdict, Prairie Farms entered a settlement with the Johnson family and assigned its rights against insurer Travelers to the widow, who sued Travelers in federal court in March 2026. The settlement terms are not public, and we could not confirm what amount was ultimately paid or whether any appeal was filed.

$535 Million Verdict for Rape of 13-Year-Old Psychiatric Patient by Another Resident

A Champaign County jury returned a $535 million verdict, the largest known single-plaintiff verdict in Illinois history, against a psychiatric facility that failed to prevent the rape of a 13-year-old female patient by another adolescent resident.

After trial: The verdict was reduced to $180 million on post-trial motion, and the case then settled out of court.

Record $148 Million Verdict for Dancer Paralyzed by O'Hare Shelter Collapse

A Cook County jury awarded Tierney Darden $148 million after a 750-pound pedestrian shelter toppled onto her at O'Hare and severed her spine, a record the city later settled for $115 million.

After trial: Rather than appeal, the City of Chicago and its insurer settled with Darden for $115 million after challenging the $148 million verdict.

$104 Million Verdict Against Illinois Tollway for I-90 Construction Zone Crash That Left a Man Paralyzed

A Cook County jury found the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority negligent for a 2016 construction zone crash on I-90 that killed one limousine passenger and left Rob Rosá paralyzed from the neck down, awarding Rosá and his spouse just over $104 million on October 9, 2025.

After trial: The Tollway said it was reviewing the verdict; no post-trial ruling or appeal had been publicly reported as of late 2025.

7-Eleven Pays $91 Million to Bensenville Man Who Lost Both Legs Outside Its Store

A suburban Chicago man who lost both legs above the knee when a car jumped the curb and pinned him against a Bensenville 7-Eleven secured a $91 million settlement, the largest pretrial personal injury recovery in Illinois history, after Power Rogers LLP showed the company had documented thousands of similar storefront crashes and still refused to install protective bollards.

$95.5 Million Illinois Record Verdict for Truck Driver Who Lost Both Legs

A Cook County jury awarded $95.5 million to a truck driver who lost both legs when improperly loaded carbon steel bundles fell from a crane during unloading, with a 10% comparative fault reduction bringing the net award to $85.9 million, the highest double-amputation verdict in Illinois history.

After trial: The jury returned $95.5 million; comparative fault reduced the judgment to $85.9 million.

$80 Million Default Judgment Against Iran for Iraq Roadside Bomb That Killed a Soldier and Injured His Platoon Leader

A federal judge in Chicago entered a default judgment against the Islamic Republic of Iran for a 2009 roadside bomb attack in Iraq that killed Army Sergeant Joshua Soto and injured his platoon leader, First Lieutenant Miles Murray. Iran never appeared, and the court heard the plaintiffs' proof at a four-day evidentiary hearing. Murray was awarded $28 million, Soto's widow $32 million, and the couple's minor son $20 million, each including punitive damages.

After trial: Default judgment entered March 31, 2024 after Iran failed to appear, and the docket shows no appeal. Collection against a foreign sovereign is uncertain, and we could not confirm that any of the judgment has been paid.

Cook County Jury Awards $79.85 Million Over Fatal Unauthorized Police Pursuit

A Cook County jury awarded $79.85 million to the family of a 10-year-old girl killed when an unauthorized Chicago police pursuit ended in a multi-car crash, a verdict the parties later resolved for $62.5 million.

Cook County Jury Awards $75.8 Million Over Twin Birth Injury at University of Chicago

A Cook County jury awarded $75,859,000 to a baby girl left with permanent brain damage and physical injuries after doctors needlessly turned her during a twin delivery at the University of Chicago Medical Center.

Cook County Jury Returns $66 Million Judgment in Plastic Surgery Death

A Cook County jury found plastic surgeon Dr. Ayoub Sayeg liable for the death of Idalia Corcoles, a 39-year-old mother of four who bled to death after liposuction and a tummy tuck, in a case that produced a $66.262 million judgment.

$64 Million Verdict for Ironworker Left Quadriplegic After 15-Foot Fall at Panduit Warehouse

A Cook County jury awarded $64 million to Ronald Bayer, a union ironworker paralyzed from the neck down after falling 15 feet at a Panduit Corp. warehouse construction site in DeKalb, Illinois, at the time the largest verdict ever returned for a quadriplegic in Illinois.

A Two-Lane Pothole, a Rollover on I-55, and a $60 Million Settlement

Clifford Law Offices secured a $60 million settlement for Sarah Grasser, 31, left paraplegic when another driver swerved to avoid a deep pothole in an I-55 work zone and struck her car, rolling it into a ditch.

Cook County Jury Awards $55.5 Million Over Birth Injury at University of Illinois Hospital

A Cook County jury awarded Shamond Butler $55.5 million after finding that doctors at University of Illinois Hospital caused severe, permanent brain damage during his April 2003 birth. The suit centered on a delayed response to his mother's high-risk labor and the mismanagement of Pitocin, which cut off his oxygen supply. Butler, who was 20 at the time of trial, functions at the cognitive level of a toddler and requires round-the-clock care. The jury returned its verdict on October 11, 2023, and no appeal has surfaced in coverage since.

$55.4 Million Verdict for Woman Left With Locked-In Syndrome After Bronchoscopy

A 54-year-old woman underwent a routine bronchoscopy for a possible tuberculosis biopsy, but physicians ignored oximeter alarms and delayed intubation until she had suffered irreversible anoxic brain damage, leaving her with locked-in syndrome; the Cook County jury returned a $55.4 million verdict against the responsible physicians, then the largest medical malpractice award in Illinois history.

A Record $53 Million Cook County Verdict for a Delayed Delivery

Geoffrey Fieger and Jack Beam won the largest birth-injury verdict in Cook County history against the University of Chicago Medical Center, after a mother in fetal distress was left without an obstetrician for hours before an emergency cesarean.

$52 Million Judgment After 11-Hour Delay Before Emergency Cesarean Leaves Newborn With Cerebral Palsy

A Cook County jury found that staff at University of Chicago Medical Center let a newborn boy go without an emergency cesarean section for roughly 11 hours despite a non-reassuring fetal heart tracing, leaving him with severe hypoxic brain damage and cerebral palsy. On June 29, 2016, after nearly a month of trial, the jury awarded the family $53 million, broken down across past and future medical costs, lifelong caretaking, lost earning capacity, and pain and suffering. The hospital sought a mistrial over alleged misconduct by plaintiff's counsel; a Cook County judge denied that motion in December 2016 and instead trimmed the award by $950,000, entering judgment at $52,050,000. The hospital said it would appeal further, and no independent source confirms what became of that appeal.

After trial: Reduced. The trial court denied a mistrial in December 2016 and cut the jury's $53 million verdict by $950,000, entering judgment at $52,050,000 in early January 2017. See more

Cook County Jury Awards $51 Million After Hospital Skips Glucose Test, Patient Suffers Permanent Brain Injury

A Cook County jury awarded $51 million to John Reinke after OSF Heart of Mary Medical Center discharged him without testing his blood sugar, leading to a diabetic cardiac arrest that left him with a permanent brain injury.

Cook County Jury Awards $50 Million Against Climbing Gym Operator Over Abuse of Boy, 8, at Peoria Camp

On June 29, 2026, a Cook County jury returned a $50 million verdict against First Ascent Climbing and Fitness for the sexual abuse of an 8-year-old boy by an older camper at its Peoria summer camp in 2022. The award was $49 million in compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages. The jury found the company negligent and guilty of willful and wanton misconduct. The company has said it is weighing an appeal.

After trial: As of July 2026, First Ascent's legal team and insurer were still weighing an appeal. We found no post-trial ruling or filed appeal, and no report of payment.

$101 Million Birth Injury Verdict Against West Suburban Medical Center

A Cook County jury returned a $101 million verdict against West Suburban Medical Center after staff ignored fetal monitoring for six hours during labor, though a pre-verdict high-low agreement limited the family's recovery to $50 million.

After trial: Before the verdict, Tenet Healthcare and the family had signed a high-low agreement capping any recovery at $50 million in exchange for the hospital's promise not to appeal. When the jury returned $101 million, the agreement reduced the payout to $50 million and the case ended without an appeal.