Quality of Life

Quality of life damages compensate you for the life an injury takes away, not the bills it creates. Illinois recognizes this loss as its own category of compensation, separate from medical expenses, lost income, and physical pain. In an Illinois courtroom, it is usually called loss of a normal life, and it covers the routines, hobbies, relationships, and independence that a serious injury changes or ends.

A diminished quality of life is harder to document than a broken bone; it is also the part of a claim insurance companies most often leave out of an offer. Conboy Law represents injured people and their families throughout Chicago in claims involving permanent injuries and lasting limitations.

Call 312-726-9000 for a free case evaluation.

What Are Quality of Life Damages in an Illinois Injury Claim?

Quality of life damages are non-economic compensation for a reduced ability to live the way you did before an injury. Illinois treats this as its own element of damages, distinct from physical pain and distinct from emotional distress.

The terminology matters in an Illinois case. Juries here are instructed on either disability or loss of a normal life, and that choice is not automatic.

How Illinois Defines Loss of a Normal Life

The Illinois Pattern Jury Instructions supply the definition read aloud to the jury. Under IPI 30.04.02, loss of a normal life means "the temporary or permanent diminished ability to enjoy life." The instruction adds that this includes a person's inability to pursue the pleasurable aspects of life.

Two words in that definition do a great deal of work. Temporary means the claim does not require a permanent injury. Diminished means an activity does not have to be lost completely before it counts.

Why Illinois Courts Split on Disability and Loss of a Normal Life

IPI 30.04.01 presents disability and loss of a normal life as alternatives. The committee recommends that one be used, but not both.

Illinois appellate decisions have taken different approaches to whether the jury should be instructed on disability or loss of a normal life.

Smith v. City of Evanston disapproved of the term disability and held that loss of a normal life described the element more accurately and confused juries less. Torres v. Irving Press reached the opposite conclusion and held that disability was the appropriate element.

Both decisions come out of the First District, which covers Cook County. In a Chicago case, the wording a jury hears can turn on how the trial judge resolves that tension.

How Quality of Life Damages Differ From Pain and Suffering

Pain and suffering is a separate element under IPI 30.05, and Illinois courts have held that pain and suffering is not included within disability. Emotional distress is separate again under IPI 30.05.01. Some attorneys and insurers also use the phrase loss of enjoyment of life, which describes the same underlying loss.

The practical difference comes down to what each element measures:

• Pain and suffering measures physical pain and the discomfort of the injury itself
• Loss of a normal life measures the activities, roles, and independence the injury takes away
• Emotional distress measures the mental and psychological harm that follows

A jury may award more than one of these in the same case. They are not duplicates of one another.

Illinois Laws That Apply to Quality of Life Damages

Several Illinois rules decide whether this element reaches a jury at all, and what happens to the figure after a verdict.

Illinois Pattern Jury Instructions 30.01, 30.04.01, and 30.04.02

IPI 30.01 is the base damages instruction in Illinois injury cases. It directs jurors to award only those elements proved by the evidence, and it tells them that whether any element was proved is theirs to decide.

Individual elements are inserted into that instruction only when the evidence supports them. If the record never develops a loss of quality of life, the jury is never given the option. Illinois verdict forms then itemize the element on its own line.

Comparative Fault Under 735 ILCS 5/2-1116

Illinois follows modified comparative fault. Under 735 ILCS 5/2-1116, an injured person recovers nothing if their share of fault is more than 50 percent of the proximate cause of the injury.

At 50 percent or less, the award is reduced in proportion to that percentage. The reduction applies to quality of life damages exactly as it applies to medical bills.

Deadlines Under 735 ILCS 5/13-202 and 745 ILCS 10/8-101

Most Illinois injury lawsuits must be filed within two years of the date the cause of action accrued, under 735 ILCS 5/13-202.

Claims against local government are different. Under 745 ILCS 10/8-101, a civil action against a local public entity or its employees generally must be commenced within one year of the date the injury was received.

That shortened deadline matters in Chicago. It can reach claims involving municipal agencies, transit operations, school districts, park districts, and county entities.

Whether Illinois Caps Non-Economic Damages

Illinois does not currently cap non-economic damages in personal injury cases. In Lebron v. Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, decided in 2010, the Illinois Supreme Court held that statutory caps on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases violated the separation of powers clause of the Illinois Constitution.

The reasoning was that a cap forces a court to reduce a jury's award regardless of the facts of the case. The practical result is that no fixed ceiling applies to quality of life damages. What a jury may award depends on the evidence in front of it.

When the Injured Person Does Not Survive

If an injury results in death, two separate claims can exist side by side. The Illinois Wrongful Death Act allows the surviving spouse and next of kin to recover fair and just compensation, including damages for grief, sorrow, and mental suffering.

A separate claim brought by the estate under the Illinois Survival Act, 755 ILCS 5/27-6, covers what the injured person could have recovered had they lived. Losses tied to the period between the injury and the death belong to that claim.

Examples of a Diminished Quality of Life After a Serious Injury

Abstract descriptions rarely move an adjuster or a jury. Specific losses do. The examples below reflect the kinds of changes that support this element in a real claim.

Physical Activity and Independence

• Giving up running, cycling, swimming, or a sport played for years
• Needing help with bathing, dressing, or climbing stairs
• Losing the ability to drive or to use public transit without assistance
• Sleeping in a different room or a different position because of constant pain

Family, Social, and Community Roles

• No longer lifting, carrying, or playing with your children or grandchildren
• Stepping away from coaching, volunteering, or a role at your place of worship
• Missing family gatherings because travel or seating has become too difficult
• Relying on a spouse or an adult child for tasks you always handled yourself

Work, Hobbies, and Daily Routine

• Leaving a trade or a profession that shaped your identity, not only your income
• Abandoning gardening, woodworking, music, cooking, or another long-held hobby
• Struggling to read, concentrate, or follow a conversation after a brain injury
• Rebuilding an entire day around medication, therapy appointments, and rest

What Injuries Can Lead to Loss of a Normal Life?

Loss of a normal life can arise from many types of serious injuries when they limit a person’s ability to work, care for themselves, maintain relationships, or enjoy activities they once did regularly.

Common examples include:

• Spinal cord injuries that affect mobility or independence
• Traumatic brain injuries that interfere with memory, concentration, communication, or daily routines
• Amputations that permanently change movement and physical activity
• Severe fractures or orthopedic injuries that cause lasting pain or restricted motion
• Burn injuries that result in physical limitations, scarring, or difficulty performing everyday tasks
• Chronic pain conditions that make work, recreation, sleep, or household activities harder
• Permanent mobility limitations that require assistive devices or help from others

The diagnosis alone does not determine whether these damages are available. What matters is how the injury has actually changed the person’s ability to participate in the ordinary and pleasurable parts of life.

How to Prove a Loss of Quality of Life in Illinois

Insurance companies pay for what is documented. Medical records establish a diagnosis; however, they rarely capture what a life looked like before the injury and after it.

Evidence That Supports the Claim

• Medical records and imaging that establish permanence and physical restrictions
• Treating physician testimony connecting the injury to specific functional limits
• Photographs and video from before the injury showing prior activity levels
• A day in the life video showing current routines and the help now required
• Testimony from family members, coworkers, teammates, and longtime friends
• Life care planner and vocational expert opinions addressing long-term needs
• Dated journals or calendars tracking missed activities and daily limitations

Building the Record Step by Step

1. Follow the treatment plan and keep appointments, because gaps in care become an argument that the limitations are not genuine
2. Describe function to your providers, not only pain levels, so that restrictions appear in the chart
3. Gather pre-injury proof early, including photographs, race results, league rosters, and work records
4. Keep a simple log of activities you attempted, modified, or gave up entirely
5. Identify the people who knew you well before the injury and can describe the change
6. Bring in expert opinions when the limitations are permanent, complex, or disputed

Who Can Testify About the Change

Your own testimony matters, but corroboration carries the weight. A coworker who watched a skilled tradesperson stop working describes the loss in terms a jury can picture.

The strongest witnesses knew you across years, not weeks. They can compare a specific before and a specific after without appearing rehearsed.

How Quality of Life Damages Are Valued in Illinois

Why Illinois Uses No Fixed Formula

No Illinois statute assigns a dollar value to this element. The instruction asks jurors to fix an amount that reasonably and fairly compensates the injured person for what the evidence proved.

That means two people with identical diagnoses can receive very different figures. The difference is usually the quality of the record, not the severity of the scan.

Factors That Affect Value

• Severity of the injury and whether the limitations are permanent
• Age and remaining life expectancy at the time of the injury
• How well the pre-injury lifestyle was documented
• Whether the limitations are visible to others or largely invisible
• The percentage of comparative fault assigned to the injured person

Mistakes That Reduce Quality of Life Damages

• Giving an early recorded statement that minimizes daily limitations
• Posting photographs online that appear to contradict reported restrictions
• Downplaying symptoms to a doctor out of habit or pride
• Allowing long gaps between medical appointments
• Waiting until late in a case to gather pre-injury photographs and witnesses
• Missing the filing deadline, particularly the shortened government deadline

How Conboy Law Handles Quality of Life Claims in Chicago

Our attorneys build these claims around evidence of daily life, not adjectives. We identify what changed, document it through treating providers and people who knew you before, and present it as a distinct element of your damages.

Conboy Law handles personal injury and medical malpractice claims from our Chicago office at 53 W Jackson Blvd, Suite 1152. Our practice includes birth injury, spinal cord injury, car accident, truck accident, and rideshare accident cases.

We also represent injured people in Aurora, Elgin, Joliet, Naperville, and Waukegan. We handle personal injury claims on a contingency fee basis.

Frequently Asked Questions About Quality of Life Damages

Contact Conboy Law for a Free Case Evaluation

A serious injury changes far more than a medical chart, and Illinois law recognizes that. A diminished quality of life is a real element of damages, and it is often the one an insurance company works hardest to keep out of an offer.

Our Chicago attorneys can review what your injury has changed and explain what evidence would support that part of your claim. Call Conboy Law at 312-726-9000 or reach us through our contact page to schedule a free case evaluation.