This tool provides general cost estimates for informational purposes only. It is NOT legal advice. Costs vary significantly based on individual circumstances. Consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for specific guidance.
2026 cost estimates for personal injury in Illinois, including attorney fees, court costs, and other expenses.
As of June 29, 2026, a personal injury in Illinois costs on average $5,950, typically $2,400-$11,900 for a moderate-complexity case, based on sourced attorney-fee and court-cost data. A moderate-complexity case typically takes 6-12 months to resolve. Common related costs include court filing fee ($200-$500) and medical records and bills ($100-$500).
Data verified: June 29, 2026
| Complexity | Low | Median | High | Typical Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simple | $550 | $1,600 | $3,200 | 3-6 months |
| Moderate | $2,400 | $5,950 | $11,900 | 6-12 months |
| Complex | $5,650 | $16,900 | $33,800 | 12-36 months |
Last verified: June 2026
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</script>Personal injury cost formation works differently from most other legal matters because the attorney fee is usually contingent — a percentage of any settlement or verdict rather than an hourly bill. That percentage typically rises if the case proceeds to litigation or trial rather than settling early, since more attorney hours and case costs are involved. If there is no recovery, the client generally owes no attorney fee, though case costs (filing fees, expert reports) may still apply depending on the retainer agreement.
Separate from the attorney's percentage, a personal injury case accumulates its own case costs: expert witness fees (medical experts, accident reconstructionists), records requests, deposition transcription, and court filing fees if a lawsuit is filed. Simple claims that settle directly with an insurer before litigation avoid most of these costs; complex cases involving disputed liability, multiple parties, or serious injury typically require the full expert and litigation cost stack.
Take a moderate-complexity personal injury matter in Illinois. The recorded median total is $5,950, with reported quotes clustering between $2,400 and $11,900. Each statutory line below is sized against that median.
Added together the itemised lines come to $1,800–$6,000, which leaves roughly $0–$4,150 of the Illinois median as professional time — the part that differs between quotes. One further recorded fee is not itemised above and is not in that total.
At $5,950, the median personal injury cost in Illinois runs 21% above the $4,928 national average across all 50 states and DC.
Illinois carries 3 rows — simple, $550–$3,200 at $0–$0/hr over 3-6 months; moderate, $2,400–$11,900 at $0–$0/hr over 6-12 months; complex, $5,650–$33,800 at $0–$0/hr over 12-36 months — on 4 shared citations. Those figures put it in the top quarter of the table.
$5,950 is a median, not the middle of the band — $3,550 above the $2,400 floor, $5,950 under the $11,900 ceiling. Every rank below is out of 28.
Illinois ranks 3rd of 28 tracked states for a personal injury, inside the highest-cost quarter of the table. The gap to the $5,200 midpoint is $750 — 14% — and only 2 states record a higher median.
California ($6,050) and New Hampshire ($5,900) bracket Illinois inside a $150 window — narrow enough that 3rd is close to arbitrary.
California, New Hampshire, Alaska record medians within three percent of Illinois's $5,950. A personal injury quote anywhere in that group is describing effectively the same market.
| Rank | State | Median | Against Illinois |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hawaii | $6,650 | +$700 |
| 2 | California | $6,050 | +$100 |
| 3 | Illinois | $5,950 | — |
| 4 | New Hampshire | $5,900 | −$50 |
| 5 | Alaska | $5,800 | −$150 |
| 6 | Virginia | $5,750 | −$200 |
| 7 | Connecticut | $5,700 | −$250 |
| 8 | New York | $5,700 | −$250 |
| 9 | Delaware | $5,600 | −$350 |
The rows within ten percent are lopsided: 9 below Illinois against 1 above. $100 up or $50 down moves Illinois a row, so a downward revision would cost the state far more places than an equivalent upward one would gain — the 3rd position is propped up by a thin personal injury field above it and a crowded one beneath.
Climbing five places would mean passing Hawaii, California and adding $700 to the $5,950 recorded here.
Five places down means passing under New Hampshire, Alaska, Virginia, Connecticut, New York: $250.
$700 short of Hawaii ($6,650), $2,450 clear of Arkansas ($3,500).
From $2,400 to $11,900 the moderate band is $9,500 wide, close to the $8,325 peer median.
Per month of elapsed time the two tiers are close: about $661 a month across the 6-12 months recorded for a moderate matter, and $704 a month across the 12-36 months recorded for a complex one.
| Measure | Illinois | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Moderate median | $5,950 | 3rd |
| Hourly median | — | — |
| Implied hours | — | — |
| Simple median | $1,600 | 14th |
| Complex median | $16,900 | 9th |
Illinois moves up the table as complexity rises: 14th at the simple tier, 3rd at moderate, 9th at complex, a 5-place climb. The state's position on the headline moderate figure understates where it sits once a matter is contested.
$1,600 is 14th of 28 on a straightforward personal injury, under Connecticut ($1,600) and over Michigan ($1,600), $0 over the $1,600 tier midpoint.
$16,900 is 9th of 28 once contested, between Connecticut ($16,900) and Utah ($16,700), $1,000 off the $15,900 tier midpoint.
The three bands are continuous in Illinois: the simple tier reaches $3,200 where the moderate tier starts at $2,400, and the moderate tier reaches $11,900 where the complex tier starts at $5,650. A single quoted figure can therefore belong to two different tiers, and the tier label — not the number — is what identifies which.
| Tier | Illinois | Rank | Tier midpoint | Implied hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| simple | $1,600 | 14th | $1,600 | — |
| moderate | $5,950 | 3rd | $5,200 | — |
| complex | $16,900 | 9th | $15,900 | — |
$1,600 drops Illinois to 14th of 28 on straightforward matters, 11 below its moderate position and $0 (0%) over the $1,600 tier midpoint.
Connecticut ($1,600) and Michigan ($1,600) bracket it — a $0 window.
6 states record a simple-tier median within three percent of $1,600, denser than the 3 around the moderate row.
$16,900 drops Illinois to 9th of 28 on contested matters, 6 below its moderate position and $1,000 (6%) over the $15,900 tier midpoint.
Connecticut ($16,900) and Utah ($16,700) bracket it — a $200 window.
5 states record a complex-tier median within three percent of $16,900, denser than the 3 around the moderate row.
| Rank | State | Median |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | Alaska | $1,600 |
| 13 | Connecticut | $1,600 |
| 14 | Illinois | $1,600 |
| 15 | Michigan | $1,600 |
| 16 | New York | $1,600 |
| Rank | State | Median |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | District of Columbia | $17,550 |
| 8 | Connecticut | $16,900 |
| 9 | Illinois | $16,900 |
| 10 | Utah | $16,700 |
| 11 | New Jersey | $16,600 |
In Illinois a personal injury is 4th of 8 at $5,950, between DUI / DWI and Immigration. At 57% of Criminal Defense ($10,450).
The state does not rank uniformly. Illinois is 3rd of 28 for Personal Injury but 23rd for Real Estate Closing, a 20-place spread across the matter types tracked here, so its 3rd on personal injury says little about what the other lines cost.
The spread across practice areas is wide. Immigration runs 23% above its own midpoint, while Real Estate Closing runs 1% above its own midpoint — 22 percentage points apart. A single "Illinois is expensive" or "Illinois is inexpensive" claim would be wrong for at least one of the matter types tracked here.
The largest tracked median in Illinois is 4.8x the smallest, effectively the 5.1x that the typical state records: the internal spread is ordinary even where the levels are not.
5 of 8 matter types rank Illinois in the upper third, 0 in the lower, 3 between; personal injury is 3rd.
That places the personal injury figure in the 93th percentile of the 28 states tracked here.
| Matter | Simple | Moderate | Complex | Hours | Rank | vs mid | Above |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Criminal Defense | $3,450 | $10,450 | $33,400 | 32 | 22nd | +2% | Maryland |
| Divorce | $3,150 | $9,650 | $22,050 | 30 | 17th | +13% | District of Columbia |
| DUI / DWI | $3,650 | $7,850 | $19,400 | 27 | 21st | +5% | Oregon |
| Personal Injury | $1,600 | $5,950 | $16,900 | — | 3rd | +14% | California |
| Immigration | $2,150 | $5,850 | $11,800 | 20 | 12th | +23% | District of Columbia |
| Bankruptcy | $1,700 | $3,900 | $5,500 | 14 | 14th | +8% | Texas |
| Real Estate Closing | $1,000 | $2,250 | $4,900 | 8 | 23rd | +1% | Virginia |
| Estate Planning / Probate | $650 | $2,200 | $5,950 | 7 | 11th | +6% | New York |
Borrowing the wrong row. New Hampshire ($5,900) is $50 light, California ($6,050) is $100 heavy — but the $5,200 table midpoint is out by $750, 8x the neighbour error.
Verified June 2026. Filing fees change on the Illinoiscourt's own schedule; billing models are covered in the legal fees guide.
This tool provides general cost estimates for informational purposes only. It is NOT legal advice. Costs vary significantly based on individual circumstances. Consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for specific guidance.