Cook County Circuit Court — Richard J. Daley Center
50 W Washington St, Chicago, IL 60602
Court websiteIllinois · Claims for burns from hot soup
Claims for burns from hot soup in Illinois
See If You Qualify
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01 · Your filing deadline
What is the deadline in Illinois?
Illinois has a 2-year statute of limitations for personal injury claims and a 5-year SOL for strict liability product liability claims (735 ILCS 5/13-213). For minor victims, 735 ILCS 5/13-211 tolls the SOL during minority. Illinois has a 12-year statute of repose for product liability (735 ILCS 5/13-213(b)), extinguishing claims more than 12 years after the product's delivery. A lawyer can confirm yours.
2 years (personal injury) or 5 years (strict product liability) from date of burn; tolled until age 18 for minor victims; 12-year repose
Plaintiffs should rely on the longer 5-year product liability SOL where applicable.
Deadlines vary; a lawyer can confirm yours. An older diagnosis or a past filing window does not, by itself, establish whether you have a claim.
02 · Where cases are heard
Where would my case be heard?
Illinois follows modified comparative fault with a 51% bar. Illinois applies the Restatement Second § 402A strict liability standard for product defect claims, remaining one of the more plaintiff-favorable jurisdictions for consumer product liability. Cook County (Chicago) courts are consistently among the top product liability verdict venues in the nation, with juries familiar with consumer product defect claims and responsive to burn injury evidence involving children.
Illinois venue: Burn injury cases are filed in Illinois Circuit Courts (state court), most commonly in Cook County (Chicago) given its volume of personal injury filings and presence of distributor offices. No MDL has consolidated instant soup burn cases federally.
Statute of limitations: 735 ILCS 5/13-202 provides a 2-year SoL for personal injury actions, running from the date of the scalding injury. Under 735 ILCS 5/13-211, the SoL is tolled for minors until age 18, granting injured children a 2-year window after reaching majority.
Products liability standard: Illinois imposes strict liability under the consumer expectations test for design and manufacturing defects (Lamkin v. Towner). Plaintiffs in cup noodle burn cases need not prove negligence — they must show the container was unreasonably dangerous and that the defect caused the burn.
Consumer protection: The Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act (815 ILCS 505/2) enables burn plaintiffs to challenge false or misleading microwave-safety representations. Remedies include actual damages, punitive damages, injunctive relief, and attorney's fees.
Medical facilities in Illinois
Loyola University Medical Center — Burn and Reconstructive Center (Maywood)
Stroger Hospital of Cook County — Burn Unit
How this works nationally
For the overall process and updates, read the Claims for burns from hot soup overview. This page covers the local information available for Illinois.
What happens when I check?
You answer a few short questions about what happened. If you send them, your answers are kept on file. If a participating law firm takes these cases, it may contact you. People's Justice is not a law firm.
Live in Illinois? Read what applies in your state.
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