Insurance Claims After a Multi-Vehicle Pileup in Illinois

Last Updated: October 30, 2026

When more than one defendant is found liable for bodily injury, 735 ILCS 5/2-1117 makes them jointly and severally liable for the medical expenses. 735 ILCS 5/2-1116 still measures the injured person’s own share. 735 ILCS 5/13-202 requires the actions it covers within 2 years next after accrual.

Why These Claims Can Take Longer

When several drivers and insurers are tied to one pileup, each company may investigate who may be responsible, whether its policy applies, and what medical and property losses the records support before paying. Drivers, passengers, and witnesses may give different accounts, and each insurer may request police reports, photographs, and treatment records on its own schedule. Those separate reviews can extend the timeline compared with a two-vehicle crash even when some fault lines eventually overlap.

Identify the insurers that may apply, report accurate basic crash and injury information, and obtain a claim number and contact for each open claim. The Illinois Department of Insurance distinguishes a claim under your own coverage from a third-party claim against another driver’s insurer. Keep crash-report numbers, dated scene photographs, witness contacts, and medical and wage records. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners recommends gathering crash information and keeping notes of insurer conversations. When multiple claims are open, track each insurer, claim number, and document request separately. Do not assume that reporting a claim or negotiating with an insurer extends the lawsuit deadline measured by section 13-202.

Fault and the Medical Expenses

Section 2-1116 bars recovery when the plaintiff’s contributory fault is more than 50 percent of the proximate cause, and it diminishes damages when that fault is not more than 50 percent. The source is P.A. 103-1053, effective December 20, 2024. Section 2-1117 makes defendants found liable jointly and severally liable for past and future medical and medically related expenses, except as provided in section 2-1118. A defendant under 25 percent of the stated total fault is severally liable for the other damages. A defendant at 25 percent or more is jointly and severally liable for the other damages. The section does not say that each insurer pays only its driver’s percentage of the medical expenses.

The Liability Minimums and Underinsured Coverage

625 ILCS 5/7-203 requires the policy or bond it describes to provide at least $25,000 because of bodily injury to or death of any one person in any one crash, $50,000 because of bodily injury to or death of two or more persons in any one crash, and $20,000 because of injury to or destruction of property. Those are minimums for that policy or bond. They are not a combined payout from every driver in a crash.

215 ILCS 5/143a(1) requires the motor-vehicle liability policies it describes to include uninsured and hit-and-run coverage for persons insured under the policy. The limits on one vehicle may not be aggregated with similar coverage on other vehicles for one person’s bodily injury or death in one crash. Nothing in section 143a may be construed to prevent an insurer from extending coverage under terms and conditions more favorable to its insureds than the section requires. The policy and its endorsements decide whether that coverage applies. 215 ILCS 5/143a-2(4) defines an underinsured motor vehicle by comparing that vehicle’s applicable bodily-injury liability limits with the underinsured limits provided to the insured. The insurer’s limit is that coverage less the amounts actually recovered. Section 143a-2(5) permits policy terms so recovery under more than one policy or provision may equal, but may not exceed, the higher of the applicable limits. The policy and its endorsements decide whether those terms apply.

The Filing Period and Health-Care Liens

Section 13-202 measures 2 years next after the cause of action accrued. That two-year sentence does not cover damages resulting from first-degree murder or a Class X felony when the perpetrator is convicted of that crime. The source is P.A. 99-90, effective January 1, 2016. 735 ILCS 5/13-211(a) lets a person who was under 18 when a covered claim accrued bring the action within 2 years after attaining 18. In Lee v. Naperville Community Unit School District 203, 2015 IL App (2d) 150143, paragraph 14, section 13-211 tolls an action governed by 745 ILCS 10/8-101(a) until the plaintiff attains 18, and section 8-101 then requires the action within one year. Current section 8-101(b) is a separate patient-care period, and Lee did not apply it.

770 ILCS 23/10(a) gives a health care professional or provider a lien for reasonable charges, except services under the Workers’ Compensation Act or the Workers’ Occupational Diseases Act. All liens under the Act shall not exceed 40 percent of the verdict, judgment, award, settlement, or compromise. No individual licensed category may receive more than one-third of that recovery. When the liens meet or exceed 40 percent, professional liens shall not exceed 20 percent and provider liens shall not exceed 20 percent, with an unused share reallocated inside the 40 percent total. The source is P.A. 93-51, effective July 1, 2003. A medical-payments or collision term is decided by the policy. The statute does not set a $5,000 or $25,000 medical-payments range.

Parker & Parker Attorneys at Law
300 NE Perry Ave., Peoria, IL 61603
Phone: 309-673-0069
Contact us

Schedule online for injury cases:
Injury scheduling

Frequently Asked Questions

Does each insurer pay only its driver’s percentage of the medical bills?

Section 2-1116 measures the injured person’s own share. Section 2-1117 makes defendants found liable jointly and severally liable for the medical expenses, and it uses the 25 percent line for the other damages.

What liability minimums does section 7-203 state?

For the policy or bond it describes, section 7-203 requires at least $25,000 for one person’s bodily injury or death, $50,000 for two or more persons, and $20,000 for property damage. Those minimums are not added together across every driver.

Does underinsured coverage automatically pay the shortfall from several drivers?

Section 143a-2(4) compares one vehicle’s bodily-injury liability limits with the underinsured limits provided to the insured, and it subtracts amounts actually recovered. Section 143a(1) says the limits on one vehicle may not be aggregated with similar limits on other vehicles. Section 143a(3) permits more favorable coverage. The policy and its endorsements decide whether that coverage applies.

How long does the injured person have to file?

Section 13-202 requires the actions it covers within 2 years next after accrual. For a local public entity, section 13-211 tolls the section 8-101(a) limitations period until the plaintiff attains 18, and section 8-101 then requires the action within one year. Current subsection (b) is a separate patient-care period.

Need a lawyer? This article is part of our Peoria Car Accident Lawyer practice area. Call Parker & Parker at 309-673-0069 for a free consultation.

Insurance Claims After a Multi-Vehicle Pileup: Why These Cases Take Longer