2022 JVR SETTLEMENTS REPORT
Auto Collision Settlements Hit 5-Year Highs
After dropping to a five-year low in 2021 for both auto collision settlements and total recoveries, this year saw those numbers set a new five-year high, surpassing the prior five-year high in 2020. Auto collision cases represented 32% of the 663 settle- ments reported to the Jury Verdict Reporter and included in the 2022 Report as compared to 33% in 2021. Auto collision settlement totals more than doubled in 2022 compared to 2021. The total settlement amount for 2022 was $324 million compared with $156 million for 2021. The num- ber of auto cases that settled spiked from 164 in 2021 to 210 in 2022. Similarly, those who were able to settle auto cases saw their average amount increase 62% from $954,000 in 2021 to $1.5 million in 2022. The top auto collision settlement involved a t-bone accident
that resulted in a thoracic spinal fracture and a $20 million settlement handled by Salvi Schostok & Pritchard PC. The total number of 2022 settlements and amounts showed a return to a Cook County majority versus the other 101 counties in Illinois. Non-Cook County settlement amounts accounted for $71 million of the $324 million total for auto settlements in 2022. A little more than 60% of the 2022 settle- ments occurred in Cook County for a total of $234 million. In addition, settling a case outside of Cook County saw the average settlement amount decrease and not even reach half the 2022 average settlement for auto cases of $1.8 million. With the courts reopening, the settlement-to-trial ratio saw an increase in trials with 24% trials and 76% settlements. The win rate for plaintiffs in the 51 reported trials was 73% in 2021 versus 100% in 2021 and 80% in 2020.
juryverdictreporter@lawbulletinmedia.com
JURY VERDICT REPORTER • 2022 ANNUAL TRIAL LAWYER EXCELLENCE AWARDS 59
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