Chicago Wrongful Death Lawyer Helping Families Seek Accountability
When a Preventable Loss Leaves Your Family Searching for Answers
Nothing about this process is easy. You're grieving, you're likely dealing with financial pressure you didn't expect, and at some point someone is going to start asking questions about what happened and who's responsible. At the Law Offices of Leonard S. Becker, we've spent more than 30 years helping families in exactly this position across Chicago and the surrounding counties, including families in Cicero, Waukegan, and Naperville who are trying to understand their options during one of the hardest moments of their lives. A conversation with us won't undo what happened. But it can give you a clearer picture of your family's rights and what steps may be available under Illinois law.
When the Stakes Are High, Preparation Decides the Number
Fatal injury cases are the most serious claims we handle, and the insurers and corporate defendants on the other side treat them that way from the first week. Preparation is the answer to that, and our published record against well-resourced defendants shows what it produces:
- $11 million for a passenger struck by a CTA bus.
- $8 million verdict for a woman struck by a CTA bus.
- $5 million for a University of Chicago student struck by a CTA bus while riding a bicycle.
- $3 million for a woman struck by a garbage truck.
- $2 million verdict in a collision between an SUV and a truck.
Two of the three CTA cases settled during trial, which tells you what preparation is actually worth. The other side paid after the trial had already started. Every case here is prepared as though it will be tried, and a case involving a death gets that same preparation from the first conversation.
Situations That May Lead to a Wrongful Death Claim
A wrongful death claim may arise whenever negligence, unsafe conduct or a dangerous condition causes a fatal injury. The circumstances vary, but the cases we handle most often involve the following.
Fatal Car Accidents
A collision that might have been survivable in different circumstances can leave a family without warning. When another driver's negligence caused the crash, the family left behind may have the right to pursue accountability.
Commercial Truck or Bus Collisions
Large vehicle crashes carry devastating potential, and the companies behind them rarely accept responsibility without a fight. These cases often involve multiple liable parties and require thorough investigation from the start.
Motorcycle Accidents
Riders killed in crashes caused by careless drivers leave behind families who deserve answers and financial support. The same bias that shapes injury claims in motorcycle cases shows up in fatal ones, and we know how to counter it.
Workplace Fatalities
When unsafe conditions or an equipment failure cost someone their life on the job, the family often has more than one path forward. A death benefit is payable under Illinois workers' compensation, and where someone other than the employer caused the death, such as a general contractor, another subcontractor's crew or a machine manufacturer, a negligence case can run alongside it. A construction site death produces both claims more often than not.
Two Claims Come Out of One Death in Illinois
An Illinois death usually produces two separate claims, and they are not the same claim. Both are ordinarily filed together, by the same personal representative, in the same lawsuit. Which is which decides what your family is pursuing and, at the end, who receives it.
The Illinois Wrongful Death Act, 740 ILCS 180
This claim compensates the surviving spouse and next of kin for what the death cost them:
- The financial support your relative would have provided.
- The loss of that person's society and companionship.
- The grief, sorrow and mental suffering the death caused.
The Illinois Survival Act, 755 ILCS 5/27-6
This claim carries forward the case your relative would have had if the injury had not killed them:
- The conscious pain and suffering between the injury and the death.
- The medical bills incurred treating the fatal injury.
- The wages lost in that period.
Who Receives the Money From Each Claim
The two claims pay different people, and that is the part almost nobody explains.
Wrongful death proceeds are for the exclusive benefit of the surviving spouse and next of kin. The court divides them among those people in the proportions it determines, according to each person's degree of dependency on the person who died. Survival Act proceeds belong to the estate instead. They pass under the will, or under the Illinois intestacy rules where there is no will, and the estate's creditors can reach them.
That single distinction is why two families with nearly identical facts end up in different places. It is worth understanding before an Illinois Wrongful Death Act claim is filed on your family's behalf, and explaining it is part of the first conversation here rather than something you learn at the end.
Who Can File, and Why an Estate Comes First
A wrongful death action in Illinois is brought by the personal representative of the estate, not by a family member in their own name. In practice the representative is usually a surviving spouse or an adult child. Next of kin can also include parents and, in some circumstances, other dependent family members.
That rule creates the first practical obstacle, and it surprises nearly everyone: an estate has to be opened and letters of office issued naming a representative before suit can be filed. For a Cook County family that happens in the Probate Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County.
Opening the estate is part of the work we do. It is not something your family has to sort out and finish before you are allowed to call.
What a Wrongful Death Claim Is Built From
There is no standard figure in these cases, and any lawyer quoting one is guessing. The value of a claim is assembled from specific, provable pieces:
- The earnings your relative would have made and the years of support your family lost.
- Funeral and burial expenses.
- The medical costs of treating the fatal injury.
- The value of that person's society and companionship to each surviving family member.
- The grief, sorrow and mental suffering carried by the surviving spouse and next of kin.
- The conscious pain and suffering before death, recovered through the survival claim.
Some of those pieces come out of records. The rest have to be established through testimony about who your relative was to the people who depended on them, and that part of a case is built rather than collected.
Evidence That Can Support a Wrongful Death Claim
Fatal accident investigations rely on documentation gathered quickly and organized carefully. The most valuable evidence in these cases typically includes:
- Accident reports and investigation records
- Medical documentation
- Witness statements
- Vehicle data or surveillance footage
- Workplace safety records where applicable
- Expert analysis of the circumstances surrounding the accident
Preserving this evidence early helps establish how the incident occurred, who bears responsibility, and what the full impact on your family has been.
Partial Fault Does Not End an Illinois Claim
This is the question families are most afraid to ask out loud, so here is the answer plainly. Under 735 ILCS 5/2-1116, a claim is barred only if the person who died was more than 50 percent at fault for what happened. Below that line the recovery is reduced by their share rather than eliminated.
Families who believe their relative was partly responsible often never call anyone at all. The law does not work the way they assume it does, and a percentage of fault is not a fact the other side gets to assign. It is argued with evidence.
Two Years Is the Rule. The Exceptions Run Both Directions
Two years from the date of death is the general deadline for a wrongful death claim in Illinois. The survival claim runs on the same two-year injury period under 735 ILCS 5/13-202. The exceptions are what matter, because the family whose facts trigger one is the family most likely to lose a claim by waiting.
Where the death was caused by a violent intentional act, the Wrongful Death Act allows suit within five years of the death, or within one year after the final disposition of the criminal case, whichever is later.
Where the Chicago Transit Authority is involved, the clock is half as long: 70 ILCS 3605/41 gives one year from the date the cause of action accrued to commence suit, and that single deadline is the whole of it. Our CTA accident page carries the statute in full.
A claim against most other local public entities in Illinois runs out in one year under 745 ILCS 10/8-101.
If you do not know which clock is running on your family's case, that is the first thing to find out. Call (312) 492-7700
or email
info@lsblaw.net
and we will tell you.
An Illinois Wrongful Death Attorney for Families Across the Region
Every rule on this page is Illinois law, and the families we represent are spread across the region rather than concentrated downtown. We handle fatal injury claims in Chicago and Cook County and throughout DuPage, Lake, Will, Kane, McHenry and Kankakee counties, including families in Cicero, Waukegan and Naperville.
The estate is opened in the county where your relative lived, which is where the probate side of the case begins:
- A Cook County estate is opened in the Probate Division at the Richard J. Daley Center in Chicago.
- A DuPage County estate is opened in Wheaton.
- A Lake County estate is opened in Waukegan.
- A Will County estate is opened in Joliet.
- A Kane County estate is opened in St. Charles.
- A McHenry County estate is opened in Woodstock.
- A Kankakee County estate is opened in Kankakee.
If you are looking for a wrongful death lawyer near you, the questions that actually matter are where we are and whether we will come to you. Our office is at 311 N. Aberdeen, Suite 200D, Chicago, IL 60607, about ten blocks west of downtown, with parking and access from the CTA Blue and Green lines. A family in the middle of arranging a funeral cannot get downtown for a meeting, and we do not ask them to. We come to your home.
What Happens if Your Family Decides to Move Forward
We understand that many families need to understand what the process actually looks like before they're ready to make any decisions. The first step is always a conversation, no pressure, no obligation, just a clear review of what happened and what your family's options may be.
From there, the process typically involves the following.
Case review and eligibility evaluation
We go through the details of the accident, identify who may be responsible, and explain what legal options are available to your family.
Investigation and evidence collection
Accident reports, medical documentation, witness accounts, and any other materials that support the claim are gathered and preserved.
Claim development
The full scope of your family's losses, financial, personal, and otherwise, is organized into a claim that reflects what was actually taken from you.
Negotiation or litigation preparation
Whether the case moves toward settlement or into court, it's built from the beginning to go the distance if it needs to.
What a Wrongful Death Case Costs Your Family
Your family pays nothing up front and nothing out of pocket while the case is pending. We handle these cases on a contingency fee, which means the fee comes out of the recovery and there is no fee at all unless we recover compensation for your family. Our fee page sets out how the contingency fee works and what a wrongful death lawyer costs from a family's side of it.
You also do not have to be ready to file anything to call. Many of the families we talk to are weeks or months out, still settling accounts and still deciding whether they want to do this at all. A call to find out which claims exist and which deadline applies commits you to nothing. Call (312) 492-7700
or email
info@lsblaw.net.
Wrongful Death Questions Families Often Ask
Who can file a wrongful death lawsuit in Illinois?
The personal representative of the deceased person's estate files the suit, on behalf of the surviving spouse and next of kin. A family member cannot bring it in their own name, which is why an estate has to be opened and letters of office issued first. The representative is most often a surviving spouse or an adult child, and next of kin may include children, parents and other dependent family members.
What is the difference between a wrongful death claim and a survival action?
They compensate different losses and they pay different people. The wrongful death claim under 740 ILCS 180 compensates the surviving spouse and next of kin for lost financial support, lost society and companionship, and their grief and sorrow. The survival action under 755 ILCS 5/27-6 carries forward the claim the person who died would have had, the conscious pain and suffering before death, the medical bills and the lost wages, and that money belongs to the estate. Both are ordinarily filed together in one lawsuit.
How is a wrongful death settlement divided among family members in Illinois?
The court divides wrongful death proceeds among the surviving spouse and next of kin in the proportions it determines, based on each person's degree of dependency on the person who died. It is not a fixed split and it is not automatically equal. Survival Act proceeds work differently: they go to the estate, pass under the will or the intestacy rules, and are reachable by the estate's creditors.
How long do I have to file a wrongful death lawsuit in Illinois?
Two years from the date of death is the general rule, and the survival claim runs on the same two-year period under 735 ILCS 5/13-202. Some circumstances lengthen that, such as a death caused by a violent intentional act, where suit is allowed within five years of the death or one year after the criminal case concludes, whichever is later. Others shorten it sharply, including a claim involving the Chicago Transit Authority, where suit has to be commenced within one year of the date the cause of action accrued under 70 ILCS 3605/41.
Do I have to open an estate before a wrongful death claim can be filed?
Yes. The suit is brought by the personal representative of the estate, so the estate has to be opened and letters of office issued before it can be filed. For a Cook County family that happens in the Probate Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County. Opening the estate is work we handle as part of the case, not a step your family has to complete before calling.
What are the odds of winning a wrongful death lawsuit?
There is no percentage that applies to every case, because the answer depends on liability evidence, the defendant's resources and how early the proof was preserved. What can be said honestly is that most cases resolve before a verdict, and that the strength of the file is what determines the terms. Two of our three CTA cases settled during trial, which is what happens when a case is prepared to be tried rather than prepared to be negotiated.
What is the typical payout for a wrongful death suit?
No honest figure exists, because the number is built from facts specific to one family. It is assembled from your relative's earnings and the years of support lost, the medical and funeral expenses, the value of that person's society and companionship to each surviving family member, and the conscious pain and suffering recoverable through the survival claim. Any lawyer quoting an average before reviewing the facts is quoting nothing.
Can I sue for emotional distress in Illinois after a family member's death?
Grief, sorrow and mental suffering are recoverable damages under the Illinois Wrongful Death Act, which most families assume is not the case. Those losses are part of what the surviving spouse and next of kin can claim, alongside lost support and lost companionship. They are established through testimony about the relationship rather than through receipts.
What damages can families pursue in a wrongful death case?
Funeral and burial expenses, the medical costs of treating the fatal injury, the financial support your relative would have provided, the loss of that person's society and companionship, and the grief and sorrow the death caused. Through the survival claim, the family can also pursue the conscious pain and suffering your relative experienced between the injury and the death. Which categories apply and what each is worth depends on the facts.
What if my loved one died in a car or truck crash?
Fatal transportation cases give rise to a wrongful death claim when another party's negligence caused or contributed to the collision, and they often involve more than one liable party. Expect the same insurance resistance that shows up in serious injury claims, with more at stake and more investigators working early. Evidence in these cases, including vehicle data and carrier records, needs to be preserved before it is lost.
Do you charge fees upfront for wrongful death cases?
No. The case evaluation is free and we work on a contingency fee, so your family pays no legal fee unless we recover compensation. There is nothing out of pocket while the case is pending.
Speak With a Chicago Wrongful Death Lawyer About Your Options
We opened this practice in 1993 and have spent more than thirty years in Chicago courtrooms. This is what stands behind a fatal injury case here:
Admission in the Illinois state courts, the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
Membership in the Illinois Bar Association, the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association and the Federal Trial Bar for the Northern District of Illinois.
Work covered by the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin.
We represent families across Chicago and the surrounding counties, including Cicero, Waukegan and Naperville. Call (312) 492-7700
or email
info@lsblaw.net, and we will tell you which claims your family has and who receives what.