Public Act 93-0051
SB274 Enrolled LRB093 03377 DRJ 03395 b
AN ACT to amend certain Acts in relation to liens.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
Health Care Services Lien Act.
Section 5. Definitions. In this Act:
"Health care professional" means any individual in any of
the following license categories: licensed physician,
licensed dentist, licensed optometrist, licensed naprapath,
licensed clinical psychologist, or licensed physical
therapist.
"Heath care provider" means any entity in any of the
following license categories: licensed hospital, licensed
home health agency, licensed ambulatory surgical treatment
center, or licensed emergency medical services personnel.
Section 10. Lien created; limitation.
(a) Every health care professional and health care
provider that renders any service in the treatment, care, or
maintenance of an injured person, except services rendered
under the provisions of the Workers' Compensation Act or the
Workers' Occupational Diseases Act, shall have a lien upon
all claims and causes of action of the injured person for the
amount of the health care professional's or health care
provider's reasonable charges up to the date of payment of
damages to the injured person. The total amount of all liens
under this Act, however, shall not exceed 40% of the verdict,
judgment, award, settlement, or compromise secured by or on
behalf of the injured person on his or her claim or right of
action.
(b) The lien shall include a written notice containing
the name and address of the injured person, the date of the
injury, the name and address of the health care professional
or health care provider, and the name of the party alleged to
be liable to make compensation to the injured person for the
injuries received. The lien notice shall be served on both
the injured person and the party against whom the claim or
right of action exists. Notwithstanding any other provision
of this Act, payment in good faith to any person other than
the healthcare professional or healthcare provider claiming
or asserting such lien prior to the service of such notice of
lien shall, to the extent of the payment so made, bar or
prevent the creation of an enforceable lien. Service shall be
made by registered or certified mail or in person.
(c) All health care professionals and health care
providers holding liens under this Act with respect to a
particular injured person shall share proportionate amounts
within the statutory limitation set forth in subsection (a).
The statutory limitations under this Section may be waived or
otherwise reduced only by the lienholder. No individual
licensed category of health care professional (such as
physicians) or health care provider (such as hospitals) as
set forth in Section 5, however, may receive more than
one-third of the verdict, judgment, award, settlement, or
compromise secured by or on behalf of the injured person on
his or her claim or right of action. If the total amount of
all liens under this Act meets or exceeds 40% of the verdict,
judgment, award, settlement, or compromise, then:
(1) all the liens of health care professionals
shall not exceed 20% of the verdict, judgment, award,
settlement, or compromise; and
(2) all the liens of health care providers shall
not exceed 20% of the verdict, judgment, award,
settlement, or compromise;
provided, however, that health care services liens shall be
satisfied to the extent possible for all health care
professionals and health care providers by reallocating the
amount unused within the aggregate total limitation of 40%
for all health care services liens under this Act; and
provided further that the amounts of liens under paragraphs
(1) and (2) are subject to the one-third limitation under
this subsection.
If the total amount of all liens under this Act meets
or exceeds 40% of the verdict, judgment, award, settlement,
or compromise, the total amount of all the liens of attorneys
under the Attorneys Lien Act shall not exceed 30% of the
verdict, judgment, award, settlement, or compromise. If an
appeal is taken by any party to a suit based on the claim or
cause of action, however, the attorney's lien shall not be
affected or limited by the provisions of this Act.
(d) If services furnished by health care professionals
and health care providers are billed at one all-inclusive
rate, the total reasonable charges for those services shall
be reasonably allocated among the health care professionals
and health care providers and treated as separate liens for
purposes of this Act, including the filing of separate lien
notices. For services provided under an all-inclusive rate,
the liens of health care professionals and health care
providers may be asserted by the entity that bills the
all-inclusive rate.
(e) Payments under the liens shall be made directly to
the health care professionals and health care providers. For
services provided under an all-inclusive rate, payments under
liens shall be made directly to the entity that bills the
all-inclusive rate.
Section 15. Notice of judgment or award. A judgment,
award, settlement, or compromise secured by or on behalf of
an injured person may not be satisfied without the injured
person or his or her authorized representative first giving
notice of the judgment, award, settlement, or compromise to
the health care professional or health care provider that
rendered a service in the treatment, care, or maintenance of
the injured person and that has served a lien notice pursuant
to subsection (b) of Section 10. The notice shall be in
writing and served upon the lien holder or, in the case of a
lien holder operated entirely by a unit of local government,
upon the individual or entity authorized to receive service
under Section 2-211 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
Section 20. Items to which lien attaches. The lien of a
health care professional or health care provider under this
Act shall, from and after the time of the service of the lien
notice, attach to any verdict, judgment, award, settlement,
or compromise secured by or on behalf of the injured person.
If the verdict, judgment, award, settlement, or compromise is
to be paid over time by means of an annuity or otherwise, any
lien under this Act shall be satisfied by the party obligated
to compensate the injured person to the fullest extent
permitted by Section 10 before the establishment of the
annuity or other extended payment mechanism.
Section 25. Examination of health care records.
(a) Upon written request by medical authorization signed
by the patient or the patient's representative, or by
subpoena, any party to a pending court action against whom a
claim is asserted for damages resulting from injuries shall
be permitted to examine the records of any health care
professional or health care provider concerning the health
care professional's or health care provider's treatment,
care, or maintenance of the injured person. Within 20 days
after receiving a written request by medical authorization
signed by the patient or the patient's representative, or by
subpoena, a health care professional or health care provider
claiming a lien under this Act must furnish to the requesting
party, or file with the clerk of the court in which the
action is pending, all of the following:
(1) A written statement of the nature and extent of
the injuries sustained by the injured person.
(2) A written statement of the nature and extent of
the treatment, care, or maintenance given to or furnished
for the injured person by the health care professional or
health care provider.
(3) A written statement of the history, if any, as
given by the injured person, insofar as shown by the
health care records, as to the manner in which the
injuries were received.
(b) If a health care professional or health care
provider fails or refuses to give or file a written statement
in conformity with and as required by subsection (a) after
being so requested in writing in conformity with subsection
(a), the lien of that health care professional or health care
provider under this Act shall immediately become null and
void.
Section 30. Adjudication of rights. On petition filed by
the injured person or the health care professional or health
care provider and on the petitioner's written notice to all
interested adverse parties, the circuit court shall
adjudicate the rights of all interested parties and enforce
their liens.
Section 35. Liens created under prior law. A lien
validly created under the Clinical Psychologists Lien Act,
the Dentists Lien Act, the Emergency Medical Services
Personnel Lien Act, Home Health Agency Lien Act, the Hospital
Lien Act, the Optometrists Lien Act, the Physical Therapist
Lien Act, or the Physicians Lien Act remains in full force
and effect on and after July 1, 2003. Such a lien shall be
enforceable according to, and otherwise governed by, the
provisions of the Act or Code under which it was created, as
those provisions existed on June 30, 2003.
Section 40. Attorney's lien. Nothing in this Act shall
affect the priority of any attorney's lien under the
Attorneys Lien Act.
Section 45. Amounts not recovered under lien. Nothing
in this Act shall be construed as limiting the right of a
health care professional or health care provider, or
attorney, to pursue collection, through all available means,
of its reasonable charges for the services it furnishes to an
injured person. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a
lien holder may seek payment of the amount of its reasonable
charges that remain not paid after the satisfaction of its
lien under this Act.
Section 900. The Attorneys Lien Act is amended by
changing Section 1 as follows:
(770 ILCS 5/1) (from Ch. 13, par. 14)
Sec. 1. Attorneys at law shall have a lien upon all
claims, demands and causes of action, including all claims
for unliquidated damages, which may be placed in their hands
by their clients for suit or collection, or upon which suit
or action has been instituted, for the amount of any fee
which may have been agreed upon by and between such attorneys
and their clients, or, in the absence of such agreement, for
a reasonable fee, for the services of such suits, claims,
demands or causes of action, plus costs and expenses. In the
case of a claim, demand, or cause of action with respect to
which the total amount of all liens under the Health Care
Services Lien Act meets or exceeds 40% of the sum paid or due
the injured person, the total amount of all liens under this
Act shall not exceed 30% of the sum paid or due the injured
person. All attorneys shall share proportionate amounts
within this statutory limitation. If an appeal is taken by
any party to a suit based on the claim or cause of action,
however, the attorney's lien shall not be affected or limited
by the provisions of this Act.
To enforce such lien, such attorneys shall serve notice
in writing, which service may be made by registered or
certified mail, upon the party against whom their clients may
have such suits, claims or causes of action, claiming such
lien and stating therein the interest they have in such
suits, claims, demands or causes of action. Such lien shall
attach to any verdict, judgment or order entered and to any
money or property which may be recovered, on account of such
suits, claims, demands or causes of action, from and after
the time of service of the notice. On petition filed by such
attorneys or their clients any court of competent
jurisdiction shall, on not less than 5 days' notice to the
adverse party, adjudicate the rights of the parties and
enforce the lien.
(Source: P.A. 86-1156; 87-425.)
(770 ILCS 10/Act rep.)
Section 905. The Clinical Psychologists Lien Act is
repealed.
(770 ILCS 20/Act rep.)
Section 910. The Dentists Lien Act is repealed.
(770 ILCS 22/Act rep.)
Section 915. The Emergency Medical Services Personnel
Lien Act is repealed.
(770 ILCS 25/Act rep.)
Section 920. The Home Health Agency Lien Act is
repealed.
(770 ILCS 35/Act rep.)
Section 925. The Hospital Lien Act is repealed.
(770 ILCS 72/Act rep.)
Section 930. The Optometrists Lien Act is repealed.
(770 ILCS 75/Act rep.)
Section 935. The Physical Therapist Lien Act is
repealed.
(770 ILCS 80/Act rep.)
Section 940. The Physicians Lien Act is repealed.
Section 945. If and only if the provisions of House Bill
1205 of the 93rd General Assembly creating the Naprapathic
Lien Act become law, the Naprapathic Lien Act is repealed.
Section 999. Effective date. This Act takes effect on
July 1, 2003.