More than half of Illinois products liability plaintiffs recovered over $100,000 and they obtained much more than that on average. Also, Illinois plaintiffs received sums over $1,000,000 much more frequently than other plaintiffs around the country.
Products Liability Jury Awards and Settlement Amounts
Here is what plaintiffs in Illinois have recovered from products liability cases according to data collected by our attorneys from jury verdict reporters, court files and reported settlements.
- RECOVERY RANGE
- $0
- $1-$50,000
- $50,000-$100,000
- $100,000-$200,000
- $200,000-$500,000
- $500,000-$1,000,000
- $1,000,000-$2,000,000
- $2,000,000-$5,000,000
- >$5,000,000
- PERCENTAGE OF PLAINTIFFS
- 31%
- 16%
- 3%
- 3%
- 9%
- 8%
- 9%
- 9%
- 12%
Here is what plaintiffs across the country have recovered from products liability cases:
- RECOVERY RANGE
- $0
- $1-$50,000
- $50,000-$100,000
- $100,000-$200,000
- $200,000-$500,000
- $500,000-$1,000,000
- $1,000,000-$2,000,000
- $2,000,000-$5,000,000
- >$5,000,000
- PERCENTAGE OF PLAINTIFFS
- 36%
- 16%
- 2%
- 4%
- 9%
- 8%
- 9%
- 7%
- 9%
Sample Products Liability Awards and Settlements
$1,450,000 Illinois Settlement.
This dispute popped up from a most common source-a bike! A middle-aged man (55) was riding in 2015 when the pedal broke off the crank. He fell down and badly hurt himself. He had purchased the bicycle from a store in Elk Grove Village. He sued that retailer. In his suit, he detailed the injuries that the accident caused. For instance, he broke his hip and reignited an older injury around the same area. Necrosis also emerged. That issue demanded him to actually replace the hip in the future. The medical bills reached almost $300,000. Plus, he missed a lot of work and lost out on those wages. He worked as an IT consultant before the event. He sued the shop. He alleged it sold a defective product and was liable to him. He further contended that he used the bike in a reasonable way. People often forget, but retailers in addition to makers and distributors can be held to blame in products liability actions. If this were a more complex case, the defendant may have offered a nuanced defense at trial. It was not. A bike merely broke down when he used it as it was meant to be used. This made settlement more likely as the need for trial waned. The man received north of $1 million.
$670,300 Illinois Jury Award.
This was a different kind of products liability case. It took place in Illinois. The lawsuit was filed in Kane County. The plaintiff built and maintained a nursery in Hampshire. In the late 1990s, she purchased a canvas to cover her entire greenhouse. Flashforward over a decade, it’s late summer 2011. The owner is still running her nursery. Everything is going fine until late one night. A fire breaks out in the greenhouse. The canvas catches on fire too and parts of it fall onto the plants underneath. These aren’t typical plaints either. They’re special orchids. All in all, the fire cost her over $1 million damages. When she inspected the canvas, she thought it was defective. She brought a products liability suit against its makers. Her case was that it was negligently made. In her opinion, it had the propensity to fall apart under high temperatures. Plus, the company should’ve warned her about these risks. To support these claims, she pointed to a Swedish case where this canvas came under fire for the same issue. The defendant denied these claims. It argued in the alternative that the plants most likely died from exposure to cold winds. Also, it said it had no obligation to warn the plaintiff to these risks. Failing to find common ground, the two sides went to trial. The jury awarded the plaintiff $670,300. Those damages represented compensation for damaged property, lost business, and similar business harms.
$225,000 Illinois Settlement.
This lawsuit was filed in Winnebago County, Illinois. The events arose at an amusement park. A young girl (Age 14) wanted to go on the bungee jump. This jump was a bit different. Users were harnessed in and then put on a trampoline. Apparently, the little girl had previous back problems in the form of scoliosis. Reports differ as to whether there was a sign saying people with back history problems shouldn’t get on this ride. Reports also differ as to whether users were warned not to do jumps or flips. In fact, she ended up doing a flip. It didn’t go well. She tried doing a back flip and hit herself on the end of the trampoline. She broke her spine at the C5/C6 mark. It required surgery. That cost her almost $100,000. Through her parents, she sued the company that owned the facility. They argued it didn’t instruct her well enough to use the rise. Also, they said staff didn’t bring her up high enough to avoid incident. The defendant shot back. It said they warned her not to do flips or ride it at all if she had prior back problems. This case meandered through discovery and approached trial. The defendant didn’t want that. It decided to end the case with settlement. The girl received $225,000.
$20,000,000 Illinois Jury Award.
The plaintiff here was a truck driver. He was a young man in his middle-20s. His truck was having difficulties just outside Chicago, so he pulled it off the road. He popped the hood and inspected the matter. As he was examining the engine, a gust of wind snapped the hood shut. His head was pinned in there. When he was finally finagled out of there, he was rushed to the ER. He lost an eye, suffered broken bones, and experienced lots of pain. He sued the maker of the hood and truck. He argued it produced a defective product. Further, it should have warned him to this risk. To buttress his claims, he offered evidence of his injuries, disabilities, and lost income. In fact, he wasn’t able to be a truck driver anymore. It appears the company had knowledge of this issue. Going back to the 1980s, it had been getting reports of similar problems. Also, in the early 1990s, some of its staff suggested a better option existed to prop up the hoods. Nevertheless, it kept making them the same way. The defendant denied all the plaintiff’s claims. It argued the man himself acted unreasonably. Also, it claimed the method it used was safe enough. It didn’t think it had any obligation to make it in the safest manner possible. However, the jury disagreed. It awarded the man $20 million in damages. Here’s the specific amounts they gave him.
- $10,000,000 for punitive damages.
- $2,500,000 for disfigurement.
- $3,750,000 for suffering and pain.
- $3,750,000 for disability.
$1,500,000 Illinois Settlement.
A young boy was tragically electrocuted in this incident. He was just 19 and out working in the back of his parents’ house. Out of nowhere, a cable fell down on him. He died from the contact. The electrocution killed him almost immediately. His parents and several siblings survived him. Before this incident, many of the family did see ComEd workers around the area. This made the family think that the power lines were not active. Consequently, they believed it was safe for the boy to clean the back yard. It wasn’t though, and the kid died because of it. The family settled with the power company and the makers of the equipment for $1.5 million.
How can I Figure out What I Will Receive in Court?
The facts of every case are different. They don’t align because of the myriad ways that people come in contact with products in their every day lives: toys, work tools, airbags, and a million others. However, there are some surefire ways to determine what you could receive in court. This won’t give you a precise estimate but it will give you a range of recovery that could be possible after a successful trial. First, add up all of your hospital bills, lost income, travel expenses, and other direct costs. Then, see how your life has changed in intangible ways since the accident like scars, disabilities, and losses in normal life. If you have both direct and indirect damages, you could see recovery as much as two or three times what your out-of-pocket losses were. This simple formula will give you a glimpse of what you could obtain through court or settlement. To understand more fully what you could achieve, speak with a qualified Illinois personal injury attorney.
How can I Maximize my Illinois Products Liability Case?
“What is my case worth?” Right off the bat, this will probably be your number-one focus and concern before you hire a lawyer and before you engage in litigation. However, what we try and stress to our clients is that you need to maximize your recovery by protecting it. Here are some things that you can do to ensure that you don’t squander the compensation that is rightfully yours under Illinois’ products liability law:
- Keep an index of all expenses that the accident created.
- Contact your employer and ask for a lost wages verification form.
- Speak with your healthcare providers to obtain a complete medical history.
- Promptly seek legal representation after the incident.
- Do not make contact or any communications with the maker or seller of the good that injured you.
- Try and record all of your memories about the accident including the people present, the circumstances, and other related information.
Wondering What You Could Receive From an Illinois Products Liability Suit?
Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC helps victims crafts lawsuits that seek the most amount of compensation possible under the law. We can work with you to do the same. Plus, we won’t charge a dime for our services unless we’re successful in getting the award or settlement that you need. Call today at (888) 424-5757 and the Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC will explain just exactly what might be possible according to Illinois law.