In the weeks after a sudden loss, the last thing a family should have to think about is paperwork, deadlines, and an insurance company. And yet that's often exactly when the pressure starts — a claims representative calling with condolences and, close behind them, an offer designed to close the matter before anyone has caught their breath. Part of my job is to stand between your family and that machinery.
I'm Scott DeSalvo, and for almost 30 years I've walked DuPage County families through the worst thing that can happen to them. I'll carry the legal weight so you can grieve. This page explains, gently and plainly, how these cases work in Illinois, and everything here comes with a free, unhurried conversation whenever you're ready.
Here's what an insurer counts on after a death: that the family is too overwhelmed to fight, and that a fast check will look like relief. So the early number arrives before anyone has measured the real scope of the loss — the income that vanished, the years of support and guidance gone, the future your loved one was building for the people they left behind.
Accepting that number almost always closes the door on anything more, permanently. There is no cost to let me look at an offer first and tell you honestly whether it's anywhere near fair.
Most families don't realize a single loss can support two separate legal claims, and a well-built case usually pursues both together. One is for the family's loss — the financial support, companionship, and guidance the survivors no longer have, along with their grief and sorrow. The other belongs to the person who died, carried by their estate, and covers what they themselves went through between the injury and their passing: the conscious pain, the medical bills, the wages lost in that window.
Pursued together, those two claims account for the whole of what happened. Handled as one, or missed entirely, part of the harm goes uncompensated — and families rarely know to ask.
This part surprises people in the middle of their grief: a wrongful death case in Illinois isn't filed by "the family" as a group. It's brought by the personal representative of the deceased person's estate — often a spouse or adult child who has to be formally appointed, sometimes through a probate step — and the recovery is then shared among the surviving spouse and next of kin according to their loss.
It sounds like bureaucracy layered on top of heartbreak, and it is. Handling that machinery — the appointment, the estate, the court process at the DuPage County courthouse in Wheaton — is precisely the part I take off the family's plate
Wrongful death claims arise wherever a death could have been prevented: a fatal crash on I-88, a workplace incident, a medical error, a fall, a defective product, neglect in a care facility. The cause differs; the central question is always the same — did someone's failure to act with reasonable care end this life, and can it be proven. Because you only get one chance to hold the right party accountable, these cases have to be built carefully from the start.
Bottom line: the accountability and security your family is owed won't arrive on their own — someone has to demand them, carefully, on your behalf.
When You're Ready, I'm Here
There is no rush in this conversation and no pressure in it. When the time feels right, call me and walk me through what happened. I'll explain your family's rights, take on the parts that feel impossible right now, and never charge you a dime unless I recover for your family.
Reach me whenever you need to, at any hour. Call 312-500-4500.
It's filed by the personal representative of the person's estate — usually a surviving spouse or adult child, who may first need to be appointed by the court. Whatever is recovered is then divided among the surviving spouse and next of kin based on their dependency and loss. If no one has been appointed yet, helping the family handle that is one of the first things I do.
Generally two years from the date of death, but the deadline can change with the cause — a death involving medical malpractice or a government entity can carry different timing and notice rules. Because those exceptions can shorten the window sharply, and because building the case well takes time, it's best to talk to a lawyer sooner rather than later.
A wrongful death claim compensates the surviving family for their loss. A survival claim is brought on behalf of the person who died and covers what they endured before passing — conscious pain and suffering, medical expenses, and lost wages in that period. Illinois allows both, and strong cases usually pursue them together so nothing is left on the table.
Nothing up front, and nothing unless I recover for you. I handle these on contingency and advance the costs of investigation and litigation myself. A grieving family shouldn't be handed a legal bill, so you'll never pay one out of pocket to pursue justice for the person you lost.
Please don't sign anything until a lawyer has looked at it. An early offer, made before the full loss has been measured, is almost always far below the claim's real value — and taking it usually forecloses anything more. It costs nothing to have me review it and give you an honest read.
Scott DeSalvo founded DeSalvo Law to help injured people throughout Chicago and surrounding suburbs. Licensed to practice law in Illinois since 1998, IARDC #6244452, Scott has represented over 3,000 clients in personal injury, workers compensation, and accident cases.
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