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90_HB0089
New Act
745 ILCS 5/1 from Ch. 127, par. 801
Creates the Institutional Neglect and Abuse Damages Act
and amends the State Lawsuit Immunity Act. Provides a cause
of action for damage for a resident of a long-term care
facility or group home who is injured by the reckless conduct
of a State employee or a contractor with the State. Includes
a cause of action against the State agency that licenses or
certifies the facility, placed the injured person in the
facility, provides funding for the injured person's placement
in the facility, or has jurisdiction over the injured
person's placement in the facility. Waives sovereign
immunity.
LRB9000778SMdv
LRB9000778SMdv
1 AN ACT concerning institutional neglect and abuse.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5 Institutional Neglect and Abuse Damages Act.
6 Section 5. Definitions. In this Act:
7 "Abuse" means any physical injury, sexual abuse, or
8 mental injury inflicted on a resident by means of reckless
9 conduct on the part of a State agency employee or a person
10 contracting with a State agency to provide medical or
11 personal care or maintenance to the resident.
12 "Group home" has the same meaning ascribed to that term
13 in the Child Care Act of 1969.
14 "Long-term care facility" has the same meaning ascribed
15 to that term in the Nursing Home Care Act, except that the
16 term as used in this Act is limited to facilities licensed or
17 certified by the Department of Public Aid or the Department
18 of Public Health.
19 "Neglect" means a reckless failure in a group home or
20 long-term care facility to provide adequate medical or
21 personal care or maintenance when the failure results in
22 physical or mental injury to a resident or in the
23 deterioration of a resident's physical or mental condition.
24 "Resident" means a person residing in and receiving
25 medical or personal care or maintenance from a group home or
26 long-term care facility and who meets any of the following
27 criteria:
28 (1) The person is placed in the care of the group
29 home or long-term care facility by a State agency.
30 (2) The person's placement in the group home or
31 long-term care facility requires State funding.
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1 (3) The person's placement in the group home or
2 long-term care facility falls under the jurisdiction of a
3 State agency.
4 "State agency" means the Department of Public Aid, the
5 Department of Public Health, or the Department of Children
6 and Family Services.
7 Section 10. Cause of action. A resident who has suffered
8 an injury as a result of abuse or neglect has a cause of
9 action for damages against the State employee or contractor
10 with the State whose reckless conduct resulted in the injury
11 as well as against the State agency that employs the employee
12 or contracts with the contractor and that (i) licenses or
13 certifies the long-term care facility or group home where the
14 injured person was a resident at the time of the injury, (ii)
15 placed the injured person in the long-term care facility or
16 group home where the person was injured, (iii) provides
17 funding for the injured person's placement in the long-term
18 care facility or group home where the person was injured, or
19 (iv) has jurisdiction over the injured person's placement in
20 the long-term care facility or group home where the person
21 was injured. This cause of action is in addition to any other
22 civil or criminal proceeding authorized by the laws of this
23 State or by federal law.
24 Section 15. Commencement of action. An action may be
25 commenced under this Act by the filing of a verified
26 complaint as in other civil cases.
27 Section 20. Waiver of sovereign immunity. For purposes of
28 this Act, the State of Illinois waives sovereign immunity.
29 Section 90. The State Lawsuit Immunity Act is amended by
30 changing Section 1 as follows:
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1 (745 ILCS 5/1) (from Ch. 127, par. 801)
2 Sec. 1. Except as provided in the "Illinois Public Labor
3 Relations Act", enacted by the 83rd General Assembly, or
4 except as provided in "AN ACT to create the Court of Claims,
5 to prescribe its powers and duties, and to repeal AN ACT
6 herein named", filed July 17, 1945, as amended, or except as
7 provided in the Institutional Neglect and Abuse Damages Act,
8 the State of Illinois shall not be made a defendant or party
9 in any court.
10 (Source: P.A. 83-1012.)
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