Find The Best Personal Injury Lawyer In Chicago (2025)

How Much Does a Personal Injury Lawyer Cost in Chicago?

Sadly, many injured people suffer through their recovery in silence. Between facing astronomical medical costs and being unable to work, they may feel as though they can’t afford legal help.

Personal injury lawyers understand this predicament. As a result, they don’t require you to pay up front.

You have nothing to lose by seeking an attorney — your first consultation is free, and if a lawyer takes your case, you agree to pay them part of your compensation if you win. If your lawyer doesn’t recover any money for you, you pay nothing.

How to Hire a Chicago Personal Injury Attorney

Before you start looking for a lawyer, take a few moments to gather documentation of your injury. Depending on your situation, that documentation might include:

• A police report or incident report
• Pictures or videos of the accident scene
• Photos of your injuries
• Copies of your medical bills
• Proof of lost income
• Receipts for any other expenses related to your injury

Once you’ve assembled your documentation, the next step is to choose a personal injury law office (or more than one) and schedule a free consultation. Almost every personal injury lawyer in Chicago offers consultations by phone or video call, and you also may be able to schedule an in-person visit if you prefer.

During the consultation, the attorney will discuss your situation with you and look over your documentation. They should be able to give you an idea of what your case may be worth, and if they believe your case is strong enough, they’ll offer to take it on.

Before the lawyer officially takes your case, they will discuss fee arrangements with you. Usually, you agree to pay a percentage of the total amount of compensation they secure for you.

Average Personal Injury Settlement in Chicago

If you’ve seen the pain and suffering settlement examples that make the news, it’s easy to think every personal injury case is worth millions. This is not true.

Nationwide, the average personal injury settlement is $113,391. However, personal injury settlement amounts range from several thousand dollars to millions, and the only way to know how much accident compensation you may be eligible to receive is to talk to an experienced personal injury lawyer in Chicago.

Filing a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Illinois

Once a lawyer takes your case, the lawsuit process begins. It typically follows these steps:

• The lawyer investigates your case
• Once they have built a case, they file a lawsuit
• They attempt to reach a settlement with the at-fault party’s insurance company
• If no settlement is reached, the case is decided in court

The vast majority of personal injury cases are settled (meaning the other party pays you an agreed-upon amount, and you drop the lawsuit). However, your lawyer will be prepared to argue in court if need be.

How Does a Personal Injury Lawsuit Work in Chicago?

In order to win your case, your lawyer must be able to prove that the person who injured you was negligent. In determining negligence, the courts use what’s called the “reasonable person standard.”

Essentially, if the at-fault party acted in a way no reasonable person would, they might be guilty of negligence (and responsible for your injuries).

Imagine you are hit by a driver who is both speeding and texting, and you’re badly injured as a result. No reasonable person would think texting and speeding is a safe combination, so that driver would, in all likelihood, be found liable.

Types of Personal Injury Cases in Chicago

Unfortunately, there are many different ways a person can suffer life-altering injuries. These are some of the most common types of personal injury cases.

Car Accidents

In 2023, 2,337 people were seriously hurt in Chicago car accidents, so it’s not surprising that many people looking for personal injury lawyers have been injured in car crashes. Auto lawyers have the skills needed to thoroughly investigate your car accident and build a case against the at-fault driver.

Liability in these cases is not always as clear-cut as it seems. For instance, if you are hit by a commercial truck and badly injured, your lawyer would almost certainly pursue the truck driver for damages.

However, if they discover that the trucking company was illegally pressuring its drivers to disregard mandatory breaks, the company may share some liability as well.

Premises Liability Lawsuit

In a premises liability lawsuit (often called a “slip and fall” lawsuit), the owner or manager of a property is held accountable for maintaining unsafe premises. For example, if you visit a wholesale store and a heavy box falls from a high shelf and hits you, the store owner might be liable for your injury.

Medical Malpractice

Doctors are ethically and legally obligated to deliver care that falls within a certain standard. Not every medical mistake is an automatic malpractice case, but if a doctor acts negligently, you may be able to recover compensation for your injuries.

Workers’ Compensation Cases

The Illinois Workers' Compensation Act requires most employers to carry insurance in case an employee is hurt on the job.

Sometimes, the insurance companies that underwrite these policies try to unjustly deprive workers of the benefits they deserve. If that happens, a personal injury lawyer in Chicago may be able to negotiate with the insurer on your behalf.