When a Chicago family loses someone because a driver, a company, or an agency was careless, the questions arrive all at once: who can sue, which court, and how long there is to decide. Illinois answers through two statutes, a probate step most families have never dealt with, and deadlines as short as one year. Shammas Law Office handles these cases from its office at 161 N Clark Street, a short walk from the Daley Center, home of the Cook County Law Division. The firm manages the filings, the estate paperwork, and the insurers so the family can focus on each other.
If your family lost someone because of another person’s negligence, call Shammas Law Office at 312-971-5959 for a free and confidential conversation.
Who Brings the Case in Illinois
A Chicago parent, child, or spouse cannot file a wrongful death lawsuit in their own name. Section 2 of the Illinois Wrongful Death Act (740 ILCS 180) requires the personal representative of the person who died to file, and any recovery belongs to the surviving spouse and next of kin. Most families start by asking the probate court in the county where the person lived to name an executor or administrator. In Chicago, that is the Cook County Probate Division. If the death claim is the estate’s only asset and no estate has been opened, Section 2.1 lets the court appoint a special administrator instead.
The representative runs the lawsuit but does not keep the money. After a hearing, the court distributes any recovery by each family member’s percentage of dependency on the person who died.
The Wrongful Death Claim and the Survival Claim
Illinois treats a fatal injury as two claims, normally filed together in one lawsuit. The wrongful death claim covers what the family lost when the person died. The survival claim, preserved by Section 27-6 of the Probate Act (755 ILCS 5/27-6), carries forward the injury claim the person could have brought if they had lived, such as their own conscious pain and suffering, medical bills, and wages lost before death.
That second claim is easy to miss when someone lives for a time after the injury, for example after days in a trauma unit following a crash on the Dan Ryan. When the death followed a hospital or physician error, both claims also have to meet medical malpractice rules, covered on the Chicago medical malpractice page.
Damages Illinois Law Allows
Section 2 of the Wrongful Death Act lets a jury award fair and just compensation for the family’s financial losses, including grief, sorrow, and mental suffering. Those losses can include the income, support, and household services the person would have provided, and Illinois courts have also counted lost companionship, guidance, and society. The Act has set no dollar limit on these damages since 1967.
Public Act 103-514 added punitive damages “when applicable” to both Acts for cases filed on or after August 11, 2023. They are unavailable in medical or legal malpractice cases and against the State, local governments, or government employees acting officially. In negligence and product liability cases, 735 ILCS 5/2-604.1 keeps them out of the first complaint. They are added only by pretrial motion, after a hearing shows a reasonable likelihood of proving supporting facts.
Filing Deadlines and Government Claims
Section 2(d) of the Wrongful Death Act sets a general two-year deadline from death. Violent intentional conduct extends it to five years, or one year after a listed homicide charge is resolved, but only against that person. A minor beneficiary has two years after turning 18. Under 735 ILCS 5/13-209, the survival claim can be filed before the original injury deadline or within one year after death, whichever is later.
City of Chicago, Cook County, and other local entity claims generally have one year under 745 ILCS 10/8-101, with a separate patient-care rule. CTA claims also have one year under 70 ILCS 3605/41. For the State, 705 ILCS 505/22-1 requires Court of Claims notice within one year of death or the administrator’s appointment, whichever is later, unless the claim is filed within a year.
Where Chicago Cases Are Filed
Chicago cases are usually filed in the Law Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County, which hears claims above $30,000 arising from Cook County events. City cases are generally heard at the Daley Center, 50 W. Washington Street. The estate is a separate case in the Probate Division, or in a collar county’s probate court if the person lived in DuPage, Lake, or Will. Cook County has its own approval steps for settling wrongful death and survival actions, so the two cases move together.
The facts are local: crashes on the Kennedy, the Eisenhower, and DuSable Lake Shore Drive, pedestrians struck at intersections, CTA bus and train incidents, and trucks in South and West Side industrial corridors. The Illinois Department of Transportation posts crash figures by county. Transit deaths are covered on the Chicago CTA bus and train accident page and in the firm’s CTA claims guide. Truck cases are covered on the Chicago truck accident page.
What to Do in the First Few Weeks
Ask the funeral home for several certified copies of the death certificate, or order them from the Cook County Clerk’s Office. Certified copies go only to relatives and people with a financial interest, so bring photo ID and proof of relationship. Banks, life insurers, employers, and the probate court may each ask for one.
Write down witness names, the location, the police report number, and any CTA bus or train number, and ask nearby businesses to save their video. Do not sign insurance paperwork or give a recorded statement first. Under 735 ILCS 5/2-1116, if the person who died is found more than 50 percent at fault, the claim is barred, and a smaller share reduces the award.
Talk to a Chicago Wrongful Death Lawyer
A first call is free and does not obligate your family to anything. Some families call only to learn the deadline and what to save, and decide on a lawyer later. The firm’s Chicago personal injury lawyers represent families throughout the city and nearby suburbs.
Call 312-971-5959, visit the Chicago office at 161 N Clark St #3050, Chicago, IL 60601, or use the contact page. You pay nothing up front, and you owe no fee unless the firm recovers money for you.
This article is general information, not legal advice.
