In Illinois, when someone dies prematurely due to the negligence or intentional act of another person or entity, that’s referred to as a “wrongful death” and can lead to a lawsuit by the survivors for damages.
The term “statute of limitations” refers to the amount of time someone has to file their lawsuit and if they fail to file their lawsuit within that period of time, they may be barred from ever suing for their injuries.
In Chicago, and more broadly in the State of Illinois, a wrongful death case must be commenced within two years after the death of the victim.
There are various exceptions to this, including if the decedent is a minor, if it’s against a municipality or the type of incident that caused the death and, as with any personal injury case, we strongly recommend that you contact an experienced attorney immediately so that you can be advised of the statute of limitations that applies in our case.
Your statute of limitations may be longer or shorter depending on your facts and circumstances, so if you haven’t filed a case but think you may have one, please act now to make sure that too much time doesn’t pass.