Top Illinois Personal Injury Settlements

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.

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.

$45 Million Settlement for Teen Catastrophically Brain-Injured in Chicago Police-Chase Crash

A $45 million payout for 15-year-old Nathen Jones, left unable to walk, speak, or feed himself after Chicago officers chased a car over a minor traffic stop, believed to be the largest the city has ever paid for a police-pursuit crash.

Local 1 Ironworker Receives $40 Million Settlement After 23-Foot Fall at Fermilab Particle Accelerator Site

James Daniels, a Local 1 ironworker, fell about 23 feet from a form wall on the $978 million Fermilab PIP-II particle accelerator project in May 2023, suffering catastrophic injuries including a traumatic brain injury, rib fractures, and nerve damage; GWC Injury Lawyers recovered a $40 million settlement in 2026.

$40 Million Settlement for Child Brain-Injured During PICC-Line Procedure at Highland Park Hospital

A 12-year-old girl suffered permanent, catastrophic brain damage after cardiac arrest during a PICC-line procedure at Highland Park Hospital, and Power Rogers secured a $40 million settlement that the Jury Verdict Reporter identified as the largest-ever Cook County recovery for a brain-injured minor.

Violinist Dragged by Metra Train Recovers $35 Million After Her Leg Was Lost in Closing Doors

In January 1995 a Metra commuter train pulled away from the Winnetka station with a 20-year-old violinist's case strap caught in the doors and dragged her about 366 feet, costing her a leg. A Cook County jury found the railroad and Metra at fault in 1999, and the verdict was affirmed on appeal in 2001. The railroads paid $35 million in March 2002, which included interest on the judgment.

After trial: The First District Appellate Court affirmed the 1999 verdict on September 14, 2001, and the railroads paid $35 million in March 2002, including interest on the judgment. The jury had assigned 4.5 percent of the fault to the plaintiff, which reduced the original award before interest.

$30 Million Settlement After Surgeon Performed 25 Experimental Procedures on an Infant

Romanucci and Blandin recovered $30 million for a family whose infant son suffered permanent brain damage and cerebral palsy after a pediatric surgeon at Rush University Medical Center performed 25 experimental surgeries, severing the child's pulmonary artery during the final operation.

Chicago Approves $27 Million Settlement After an Unauthorized Police Chase Killed a Mother of Six

After a Chicago police pursuit that broke department policy killed Stacy Vaughn-Harrell and an earlier $10.2 million jury verdict was thrown out on appeal, the City Council approved a $27 million settlement for her family.

Quadriplegic Yacht Passenger's $25 Million Settlement With Brunswick

Scot Vandenberg fell from the upper deck of a Brunswick-built yacht and was left quadriplegic. Brunswick's insurer offered $25 million during jury deliberations in June 2015, and the plaintiffs accepted. A trial judge first rescinded the settlement, but a successor judge reinstated it and entered a $25 million final judgment on February 15, 2017. The Illinois Appellate Court affirmed in November 2017.

After trial: The trial court rescinded the settlement in January 2016, and a successor judge reinstated it and entered final judgment on February 15, 2017. The Illinois Appellate Court affirmed on November 27, 2017. See more

$23.5 Million Settlement for Family of Surveyor Killed in Scaffold Fall at UChicago Cancer Pavilion

David O'Donnell, 27, died after an improperly anchored scaffold at the University of Chicago Cancer Pavilion construction site swung away from the building during a 44 mph wind gust and dropped him 140 feet; GWC attorney Louis Cairo secured a $23.5 million settlement for his family in June 2025.

$20 Million Cook County Settlement After Toddler's Heart Stopped Unnoticed for Five Minutes Post-Surgery

In December 2011 a 2-year-old boy went into cardiac arrest after surgery at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County to repair an undescended testicle. Doctors and nurses did not notice that his heart had stopped for about five minutes before starting CPR. The oxygen loss left him with permanent brain damage; he cannot walk or speak and needs round-the-clock nursing care. On February 5, 2013, the Cook County Board approved a $20 million settlement of the malpractice suit his mother filed, one of the largest in county history. Timothy Ashe represented the family.

After trial: The $20,000,000 settlement was approved by the Cook County Board of Commissioners on February 5, 2013, and is funded by the county. No appeal; the case resolved before trial.

Movie Extra Wins $18.5 Million After Stunt Cable Shatters Skull on Transformers 3 Set

A Cook County judge approved an $18.5 million settlement for Gabriela Cedillo, a 24-year-old extra who suffered catastrophic brain damage when a snapped tow cable tore through her windshield during filming of Transformers: Dark of the Moon in Hammond, Indiana.

Three Women Died in a 103-Degree Senior Apartment. Their Families Won $16 Million.

After management at a Rogers Park senior building kept the heat running through a May 2022 heat wave, three elderly residents died of heat exposure; their families settled for $16 million against the building's owner and property manager.

Elk Grove Village Settles for $10.5 Million Over Police Shooting of Man in Mental Health Crisis

Jack Murray, 24, was shot and killed by Elk Grove Village police on December 1, 2023, after he called 911 during a mental health crisis. His mother sued the village and its officers for wrongful death in Cook County Circuit Court. In June 2026 the village board approved a $10.5 million settlement, funded almost entirely by the village's insurance carriers.

After trial: Settled before trial in Cook County Circuit Court with no appeal. The village's insurance carriers funded the settlement apart from the village's deductible. See more

$10 Million Settlement for Family of Sonya Massey, Shot in Her Kitchen After Calling 911 for Help

Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, representing the family of Sonya Massey, secured a $10 million wrongful-death settlement with Sangamon County, Illinois, after sheriff's deputy Sean Grayson shot the 36-year-old mother in her own kitchen when she called 911 to report a possible prowler. Crump called it by far the largest settlement of any kind in the county's history.

Family of Man Killed by Drunk Off-Duty Detective Settles With Chicago for $10 Million

Early on April 10, 2009, off-duty Chicago police detective Joseph Frugoli, driving with a blood alcohol level about three times the legal limit, slammed his SUV into a car stopped on the shoulder of the Dan Ryan Expressway with a flat tire. The car caught fire and both occupants, 23-year-old Andrew Cazares and 21-year-old Fausto Manzera, were killed. The families sued Frugoli and the City of Chicago, arguing a departmental 'code of silence' had let Frugoli drink and drive for years without discipline. The city settled in December 2017 during closing arguments, and the Chicago City Council approved the payout on February 28, 2018: $20 million total, split evenly between the two families. Timothy Cavanagh and Michael Sorich were attorneys of record for the Cazares side, which took $10 million; Kevin Conway of Cooney & Conway represented the Manzera family.

After trial: Settlement with the City of Chicago, with no appeal. The Manzera family's separate $10,000,000 share of the same $20,000,000 resolution was negotiated by other counsel and is not part of this figure.

Chicago Pays $9.5 Million After Cyclist's Wheel Caught in Forgotten Streetcar Rails on Designated Bike Route

Chicago agreed to pay $9.5 million to Catalin Dumitrescu, who suffered catastrophic injuries in 2014 when his bicycle wheel lodged in exposed streetcar rails that had been buried in an East Hyde Park street and then re-designated as a bike route without removing the decades-old hazard.

$8.15 Million Settlement After Helicopter Bearing Failure Killed Air Ambulance Pilot

The estate of helicopter pilot Michael Russell recovered $8.15 million, then Illinois's highest reported product-liability settlement involving a helicopter, after a defective tail-rotor drive-shaft bearing caused his Agusta 109C to spin out of control and crash near DuPage Airport. Todd Smith and Brian LaCien, who later founded Smith LaCien LLP, handled the case at their prior firm, Power, Rogers & Smith P.C.

Silver Cross Hospital Settles for $8 Million After Woman Dies From Untreated Septic Kidney Infection

Silver Cross Hospital paid $8 million on the first day of jury selection to resolve a wrongful death suit brought by the family of a 61-year-old woman who died within 26 hours of admission after hospital staff failed to treat a septic kidney infection that records showed was apparent within two hours of her arrival.

$7.3 Million Settlement for Family of Woman Who Died After Botched Endoscopy at Joliet Hospital

The family of Michelle Swallow, 30, recovered $7.3 million after a bile duct procedure at Presence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet created an unrepaired bowel leak that led to fatal sepsis.