Chicago Wrongful Death Lawyer

Losing a family member to someone else's negligence leaves a grief that no legal action can undo. What the law provides is a path to hold the responsible party accountable and to protect your family's financial future during the most difficult period of your lives.

The Chicago wrongful death lawyers at Abels & Annes, P.C. take on the full weight of the legal process so families never have to manage an investigation, negotiate with insurers, or meet court deadlines while grieving. 

Our firm has spent decades fighting for fair compensation on behalf of Chicago families, Winning Millions for Our Clients in cases involving fatal car accidents, bicycle collisions, pedestrian crashes, and dangerous property conditions. Call (312) 924-7575 for a free consultation. Phones are answered 24/7.

How Abels & Annes, P.C. Stands Behind Families After a Fatal Accident

Wrongful death cases carry a weight that other personal injury claims do not. The stakes are permanent, the grief is immediate, and the legal process demands precision at a time when families have the least capacity to manage it. 

Abels & Annes, P.C. builds wrongful death cases around one commitment: the family focuses on each other while our attorneys handle the legal issues and insurance company.

What Our Legal Team Does in the First Days After a Fatal Accident

The earliest hours and days after a death are often the most critical for preserving a claim. Our attorneys take specific steps immediately to build the strongest possible foundation for the family's case:

• Secure physical evidence from the accident scene and request all available surveillance or traffic camera footage before it is recorded over
• Identify and contact witnesses while their accounts are still fresh and detailed
• Obtain police reports, coroner findings, and emergency medical records to establish a clear factual timeline
• Retain accident reconstructionists, engineers, or financial professionals when the facts require independent analysis
• File all necessary estate and probate paperwork to establish the personal representative and protect filing deadlines

These steps happen in the background. Families receive regular updates from their personal injury attorney without being asked to track down records, make calls to insurers, or manage court filings on their own.

A Firm That Opposing Insurers Take Seriously

Insurance companies and corporate defendants evaluate the law firm on the other side before deciding how aggressively to defend a claim. Abels & Annes, P.C. prepares every wrongful death case as though it may go to trial, and that preparation shapes how the opposition responds.

Our firm's history includes multi-million dollar recoveries in fatal accident cases, including a $6,000,000 policy limits settlement for the family of a bicyclist killed by a garbage truck. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. They do reflect, however, a pattern of thorough preparation that defense teams and adjusters recognize, especially in a wrongful death settlement context.

David Abels has been named to the Top 100 Lawyer List by Super Lawyers, and the firm holds membership in the Million Dollar and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forums.

Accessible Counsel in English, Spanish, and Polish

Grief does not wait for business hours. Our attorneys offer free consultations 24/7 and meet families by phone, video, or in person, including traveling to those who are unable to visit our offices in Chicago or Evanston.

How the Illinois Wrongful Death Act Protects Chicago Families

The Illinois Wrongful Death Act (740 ILCS 180) gives families the legal right to pursue a civil claim when a death results from another party's wrongful act, neglect, or default. The core principle is straightforward: if the person who died would have had a valid personal injury claim had they survived, the family may now bring a wrongful death action in their place.

Who Has the Legal Right to File

Illinois law requires the personal representative of the deceased person's estate to file the wrongful death lawsuit. This person is often named in a will or appointed by the court when no representative exists. The personal representative files on behalf of all eligible family members and manages the legal process from start to finish.

Our attorneys help coordinate the process of establishing the estate and appointing a personal representative when one has not yet been named. Families do not need to navigate these procedural steps on their own.

Who Receives Compensation Under the Act

The Wrongful Death Act directs compensation to the surviving spouse and next of kin. Next of kin may include children, parents, siblings, or other relatives, depending on the family relationship recognized under Illinois law.The court considers each family member's degree of financial and emotional dependence when dividing any recovery.

What a Chicago Wrongful Death Claim May Recover

The financial and emotional toll of losing a family member reaches into every part of daily life. Illinois law recognizes both economic and non-economic losses in a wrongful death action, and our attorneys document every consequence of the loss to pursue fair compensation.

Categories of damages available in an Illinois wrongful death claim include the following:

• Lost financial support the deceased would have provided, including future wages, employment benefits, and household contributions
• Loss of society, companionship, guidance, and moral training that the deceased offered to surviving family members
• Grief, sorrow, and mental suffering experienced by the surviving spouse and next of kin
• Funeral and burial expenses may also be recoverable through the estate or related claims

Each of these categories requires thorough documentation and, in many cases, testimony from financial professionals or family members. Our lawyers begin building this record immediately after taking the case.

The Survival Action: A Separate but Related Claim

In addition to the wrongful death claim, Illinois law provides a second legal tool. The Illinois Survival Act (755 ILCS 5/27-6) allows the deceased person's estate to recover damages the individual suffered between the time of injury and the time of death.

Survival action damages may include medical expenses from emergency treatment and hospitalization, lost wages the person would have earned during that period, and compensation for conscious pain and suffering. These damages go to the estate rather than directly to family members and are distributed according to the will or Illinois probate law.

Our attorneys evaluate whether both a wrongful death claim and a survival action apply in every case. Filing both claims together often increases the total compensation available to the family.

Punitive Damages Now Available in Illinois

A 2023 amendment to both the Wrongful Death Act and the Survival Act now permits families to seek punitive damages in certain cases, but not in medical malpractice, legal malpractice, or covered government claims. Punitive damages go beyond compensating for losses and serve to penalize particularly reckless or egregious conduct. 

This change expands the legal tools available to families when a death results from extreme negligence. Ask Abels & Annes, P.C.’s wrongful death attorneys in Chicago about what compensation may be available for your family. Call us 24/7 at (312) 924-7575. The first consultation is free. 

Ask Abels & Annes, P.C.

Q: How long do I have to file a wrongful death lawsuit in Chicago?

A: Most wrongful death claims in Illinois must be filed within two years of the date of death under 740 ILCS 180/2. Cases involving government entities may require earlier notice. Contacting an attorney as soon as possible protects the family's right to file before any deadline passes.

Q: Does a wrongful death case go to trial?

A: Many wrongful death claims resolve through negotiated settlements before trial. However, having attorneys who are prepared to take the case to court often influences how seriously insurers evaluate their settlement offers. Abels & Annes, P.C. prepares every wrongful death case with trial readiness in mind.

Q: What if the person who caused the death is also facing criminal charges?

A: A wrongful death lawsuit is a civil action that is separate from any criminal prosecution. The two cases proceed independently, and a civil claim may move forward regardless of whether criminal charges result in a conviction. The burden of proof in a civil case is lower than in a criminal case, so a wrongful death claim can succeed even if the wrongdoer is acquitted.

What Types of Fatal Accidents Lead to Wrongful Death Claims in Chicago

A wrongful death claim may arise from any fatal incident caused by negligence. The attorneys at Abels & Annes, P.C. apply case-specific investigative strategies to each type of accident.

Fatal Vehicle Collisions

Car accidents, truck crashes, motorcycle collisions, and rideshare accidents on Chicago's expressways and surface streets account for a significant share of wrongful death claims. These cases often involve multiple liable parties, including individual drivers, commercial carriers, and rideshare companies with layered insurance policies, which is common in a wrongful death claim after car accident.

Pedestrian and Bicycle Fatalities

Pedestrians and cyclists are among the most vulnerable road users in Chicago. A fatal collision involving a pedestrian or bicyclist struck by a vehicle may give rise to a wrongful death claim against the driver, a commercial entity, or a government body responsible for unsafe road design. 

Fatal Falls on Dangerous Property

Property owners in Chicago have a legal obligation to maintain reasonably safe conditions. When a fatal slip and fall or trip and fall results from hazardous conditions that the owner knew about or failed to address, the family may pursue a wrongful death claim under premises liability law.

Bus, Train, and Public Transit Fatalities

Fatal accidents involving CTA buses, Metra trains, or other public transit systems raise additional legal considerations, including shortened notice deadlines and government immunity defenses. Our attorneys are familiar with the procedural requirements that apply to claims against public entities in Illinois.

What If My Loved One Was Partly to Blame for the Accident? 

Illinois applies its modified comparative negligence standard to wrongful death cases under 735 ILCS 5/2-1116. The rule applies on a per-beneficiary basis, meaning each surviving family member's own share of fault is assessed individually.

A beneficiary may recover damages as long as their contributory fault does not exceed 50 percent. If a beneficiary's fault reaches 51 percent or higher, that individual is barred from recovery. The portion of damages that would have gone to a barred beneficiary does not transfer to the remaining family members.

Defendants in wrongful death cases frequently raise comparative negligence arguments to reduce the total payout. Insurance companies may also attempt to attribute fault to the deceased person. Our attorneys anticipate these strategies and build a factual record that protects the claim from the start.

Why Families Need to Act Quickly After a Fatal Accident

The statute of limitations for most wrongful death claims in Illinois is two years from the date of death, which reflects the statute of limitations for wrongful death. Missing this deadline permanently bars the family from pursuing a claim, regardless of how strong the evidence may be.

Beyond the legal deadline, practical concerns make early action critical. Evidence that supports a wrongful death claim is often time-sensitive. 

Types of proof that may degrade or disappear without prompt preservation include the following:

• Surveillance and traffic camera footage from the accident scene, which is frequently recorded over within days or weeks
• Physical evidence at the crash or incident location, which may be cleaned up, repaired, or altered before it is documented
• Witness recollections, which become less reliable as time passes after the event
• Digital records such as rideshare app data, vehicle black box information, or electronic communications

Our Chicago wrongful death attorneys move quickly to preserve this evidence and launch a thorough investigation on the family's behalf. Our team also handles all communication with insurance companies and opposing counsel so that grieving families are not subjected to adversarial calls or pressure tactics.

FAQs for Chicago Wrongful Death Attorneys

Your Family Does Not Have to Face This Alone – Call Abels & Annes, P.C.

The legal system provides tools to hold negligent parties accountable after a fatal accident. Using those tools effectively requires experienced attorneys who act immediately, handle every detail, and fight for the compensation your family needs to move forward.

Abels & Annes, P.C.’s Chicago wrongful death lawyers offer free consultations 24/7 by phone, video, or in person. If your family is unable to travel to our Chicago office, our attorneys come to you. 

Legal services are provided in English, Spanish, and Polish. Let Us Fight for You. Call (312) 924-7575.