2025 JVR SETTLEMENTS REPORT
Work injury settlements reach record high despite fewer cases compared to 2024
66 TOTAL CASES
Work Injury Cases 2025
Source: Jury Verdict Reporter
WORK INJURY CASES WERE 9% OF ALL REPORTED SETTLEMENTS
SETTLEMENTS 57
TOTAL AWARDS
MEDIAN
AVERAGE
86 % SETTLEMENTS
$2,425,000
$5,706,714
$325,282,718
2025
87
$1,350,000
$2,819,506
$245,296,996
2024
58
$174,548,191 $1,412,861 $3,009,452
2023
$20,794,988 Taxman, Pollock, Murray & Bekkerman; Dudley & Lake Work Injury
$50,000,000 Cavanagh Sorich Law Group; Herbert Law Firm Work Injury
$50,000,000 Strellis Firm Chtd. Work Injury
$30,500,000 Smith LaCien LLP Work Injury
$23,500,000 GWC Injury Lawyers Work Injury
TOP CASES
NOTABLE DEFENSE VERDICT Daniel Napoles v Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corp., d/b/a Metra CASE NUMBER 19-L-12406 DEFENSE ATTORNEYS Michael E. Kujawa, Jonathon R. Sommerfeld of Schain, Banks, Kenny & Schwartz FACTS Highway crash injures Metra worker riding in Metra pickup truck
14 % TRIALS
DEFENSE VERDICTS
$5.78M ASK
1
11 % DEFENSE
$2M $100K DEMAND OFFER
8
PLAINTIFF VERDICTS
The total settlements for work injuries in the 2025 Jury Verdict Reporter Settlements Report reached a new record of more than $325 million, besting last year’s record of $245 million. The 33% increase in total amounts is notable because it involved 34% fewer cases compared to last year. There were 57 work in- jury settlements in 2025 and 87 in 2024. Work injury settlements represented 9% of the overall settle- ments and 15% of the overall settlement amounts in the 2025 report. The majority of work injury cases were settlements with just 14% of cases going to trial. Of the nine cases that went to trial, all but one resulted in a verdict for the plaintiff. Both the average and median work injury settlement amounts dramatically increased. The average amount more than doubled from $2.8 million in 2024 to $5.7 million this year. The median amount increased 80% to $2.4 million in 2025 compared to $1.4 million last year.
Cook County settlements made up 95% of the total amounts with $309 million compared to the non-Cook total amounts of $16 million. The Cook totals were led by a $50 million settlement involving a railyard worker run over by a crane and suffered cata- strophic permanent injuries. The case was handled by Cavanagh Sorich Law Group and Herbert Law Firm. Cook County averages were three times more ($6.3 million) than the non-Cook averages ($2 million). The 2025 average also was more than double ($5.7 million) the Cook County average in 2024 ($2.8 million). Non-Cook County average settlement amounts were the lowest in five years at $2 million, which is also 64% lower than the overall work injury settlement in 2025 and a 35% drop from 2024. juryverdictreporter@lawbulletinmedia.com
JURY VERDICT REPORTER • 2025 ANNUAL TRIAL LAWYER EXCELLENCE AWARDS 43
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