Yes. Illinois is an at-fault state for car accidents, which means the driver who causes an accident is financially responsible for the resulting harm. Unlike no-fault states, where each driver files a claim with their own insurance regardless of who caused the crash, Illinois requires the injured party to seek compensation from the at-fault driver’s liability insurer. If insurance alone isn’t enough to cover your losses, you also have the right to file a Chicago car accident lawsuit directly against the responsible party.
That said, fault in Illinois is rarely an all-or-nothing issue. The state also follows a modified comparative negligence system that can affect how much money you ultimately recover. Learning about how all of this works is important for anyone involved in a car accident in the state.
How At-Fault Insurance Works in Illinois
Since Illinois operates under a fault-based system for auto insurance, the process of recovering compensation after a car accident looks different than it does in the dozen or so states with no-fault laws. In those states, your own personal injury protection (PIP) coverage pays for your medical bills and lost wages up to a certain limit, no matter who caused the wreck. PIP coverage is mandatory in no-fault states but optional in Illinois.
In Illinois, injured drivers generally have three options for pursuing compensation:
- File a third-party claim against the at-fault driver’s liability insurance
- Use your own coverage, such as collision, MedPay, or uninsured motorist coverage, if applicable
- File a personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault driver in court
You’ll need to bring evidence to support your claim for compensation, including things like police reports, expert analysis, medical records, and more.
How Does Illinois’s At-Fault System Affect My Right to Compensation?
The at-fault system in Illinois gives injured drivers more flexibility than a no-fault model in many respects. You can pursue compensation for pain and suffering, which is often limited or unavailable in no-fault states. There are also no statutory caps on non-economic damages in most Illinois personal injury cases.
However, the flip side is that you carry the burden of proving the other driver’s negligence. If you cannot demonstrate that someone else was at fault, or if the other side successfully pins more than 50% of the blame on you, your claim could fall apart entirely.
This is one reason why hiring a personal injury attorney early on in the process can make a significant difference. A lawyer can protect you from unfair fault allegations and handle all of the communications with the insurance company so that nothing you say is used against you.
Contact a Car Accident Attorney in Illinois for a Free Consultation
Illinois is an at-fault state, and the percentage of blame assigned to you after a crash can make or break your claim. If you were recently injured in an accident, one of the best things you can do is contact an attorney for a free case review.
Contact Meyers & Flowers today to set up a time to meet at (630) 576-9696. Our car accident lawyers have won billions of dollars for our clients and work on contingency, so you only pay attorney’s fees if we win compensation for you.