Letter: Inaccuracies on lawsuit interest

Bob Goray's commentary ("Failed legal system is crippling Illinois business," June 9, 2022) is replete with inaccurate claims and rehashed talking points that have been fully discredited.

Goray complains about the recent adoption of prejudgment interest for personal injury cases. The newly signed law simply brings Illinois in line with the 46 other states which already have some form of prejudgment interest laws on the books.

For decades, Illinois has allowed prejudgment interest in breach of contract cases. Lawsuits filed over contract disputes typically involve big businesses suing one another. Prejudgment interest has proven to be effective at encouraging earlier resolution in those cases.

Additionally, Mr. Goray claims Illinois interest rate of 6% is the "highest in the county." This is simply inaccurate. Multiple states, including neighboring Indiana, have higher rates than Illinois.

Importantly, prejudgment interest is only awarded when a plaintiff wins at trial. The concept is to encourage reasonable settlement offers at earlier stages of the litigation rather than the typical tactics of deny, don't admit and delay.

Statistics from the Office of Illinois Courts show even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of Illinois civil lawsuits had dropped by 42 percent from 2010 to 2019. Cook County filings (a frequent target of critics of our civil justice system) have declined 50 percent since 2010.

Workers' compensation claims in Illinois have declined by 34 percent since 2011. The most recent available nationwide survey of workers' compensation insurance rates (2020) shows Illinois' premium index for workers' compensation places 24th in the nation and is lower than the rates of our neighboring states of Iowa, Wisconsin, and Missouri.

We should frequently assess and debate the state's civil justice system. However, when we do so, the discussion should be premised on facts rather than biased personal anecdotes and outright inaccuracies.

J. Mathew Dudley, President

Illinois Trial Lawyers Association