HB0219 EngrossedLRB103 03743 LNS 48749 b

1    AN ACT concerning civil law.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Wrongful Death Act is amended by changing
5Sections 1 and 2 as follows:
 
6    (740 ILCS 180/1)  (from Ch. 70, par. 1)
7    (Text of Section WITHOUT the changes made by P.A. 89-7,
8which has been held unconstitutional)
9    Sec. 1. Whenever the death of a person shall be caused by
10wrongful act, neglect or default, and the act, neglect or
11default is such as would, if death had not ensued, have
12entitled the party injured to maintain an action and recover
13damages, including punitive damages when applicable, in
14respect thereof, then and in every such case the person who or
15company or corporation which would have been liable if death
16had not ensued, shall be liable to an action for damages,
17including punitive damages when applicable, notwithstanding
18the death of the person injured, and although the death shall
19have been caused under such circumstances as amount in law to
20felony. Nothing in this Section affects the applicability of
21Section 2-1115 of the Code of Civil Procedure or Section 2-102
22or 2-213 of the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees
23Tort Immunity Act. Punitive damages are not available in an

 

 

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1action for healing art malpractice or legal malpractice or in
2an action against the State or unit of local government or an
3employee of the State or an employee of a unit of local
4government in his or her official capacity. The changes made
5to this Section by this amendatory Act of the 103rd General
6Assembly apply to actions filed on and after the effective
7date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly.
8(Source: Laws 1853, p. 97.)
 
9    (740 ILCS 180/2)  (from Ch. 70, par. 2)
10    Sec. 2. (a) Every such action shall be brought by and in
11the names of the personal representatives of such deceased
12person, and, except as otherwise hereinafter provided, the
13amount recovered in every such action shall be for the
14exclusive benefit of the surviving spouse and next of kin of
15such deceased person. In every such action the jury may give
16such damages as they shall deem a fair and just compensation
17with reference to the pecuniary injuries resulting from such
18death, including damages for grief, sorrow, and mental
19suffering, and punitive damages when applicable, to the
20surviving spouse and next of kin of such deceased person.
21Nothing in this Section affects the applicability of Section
222-1115 of the Code of Civil Procedure or Section 2-102 or 2-213
23of the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort
24Immunity Act. Punitive damages are not available in an action
25for healing art malpractice or legal malpractice or in an

 

 

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1action against the State or unit of local government or an
2employee of the State or an employee of a unit of local
3government in his or her official capacity. The changes made
4to this Section by this amendatory Act of the 103rd General
5Assembly apply to actions filed on and after the effective
6date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly.
7    (b) The amount recovered in any such action shall be
8distributed by the court in which the cause is heard or, in the
9case of an agreed settlement, by the circuit court, to each of
10the surviving spouse and next of kin of such deceased person in
11the proportion, as determined by the court, that the
12percentage of dependency of each such person upon the deceased
13person bears to the sum of the percentages of dependency of all
14such persons upon the deceased person.
15    (c) Where the deceased person left no surviving spouse or
16next of kin entitled to recovery, the damages shall, subject
17to the following limitations inure, to the exclusive benefit
18of the following persons, or any one or more of them:
19        (1) to the person or persons furnishing
20    hospitalization or hospital services in connection with
21    the last illness or injury of the deceased person, not
22    exceeding $450;
23        (2) to the person or persons furnishing medical or
24    surgical services in connection with such last illness or
25    injury, not exceeding $450;
26        (3) to the personal representatives, as such, for the

 

 

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1    costs and expenses of administering the estate and
2    prosecuting or compromising the action, including a
3    reasonable attorney's fee. In any such case the measure of
4    damages to be recovered shall be the total of the
5    reasonable value of such hospitalization or hospital
6    service, medical and surgical services, funeral expenses,
7    and such costs and expenses of administration, including
8    attorney fees, not exceeding the foregoing limitations for
9    each class of such expenses and not exceeding $900 plus a
10    reasonable attorney's fee.
11    (d) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (e) of this
12Section, every such action shall be commenced within 2 years
13after the death of such person but an action against a
14defendant arising from a crime committed by the defendant in
15whose name an escrow account was established under the
16"Criminal Victims' Escrow Account Act" shall be commenced
17within 2 years after the establishment of such account.
18    (e) An action may be brought within 5 years after the date
19of the death if the death is the result of violent intentional
20conduct or within one year after the final disposition of the
21criminal case if the defendant is charged with:
22        (1) first degree murder under Section 9-1 of the
23    Criminal Code of 2012;
24        (2) intentional homicide of an unborn child under
25    Section 9-1.2 of the Criminal Code of 2012;
26        (3) second degree murder under Section 9-2 of the

 

 

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1    Criminal Code of 2012;
2        (4) voluntary manslaughter of an unborn child under
3    Section 9-2.1 of the Criminal Code of 2012;
4        (5) involuntary manslaughter or reckless homicide
5    under Section 9-3 of the Criminal Code of 2012;
6        (6) involuntary manslaughter or reckless homicide of
7    an unborn child under Section 9-3.2 of the Criminal Code
8    of 2012; or
9        (7) drug-induced homicide under Section 9-3.3 of the
10    Criminal Code of 2012.
11    This subsection extends the statute of limitations only
12against the individual who allegedly committed a violent
13intentional act or was the defendant charged with a crime
14listed in this subsection. It does not extend the statute of
15limitations against any other person or entity. The changes to
16this Section made by this amendatory Act of the 99th General
17Assembly apply to causes of action arising on or after the
18effective date of this amendatory Act of the 99th General
19Assembly.
20    (f) For the purposes of this Section 2, next of kin
21includes an adopting parent and an adopted child, and they
22shall be treated as a natural parent and a natural child,
23respectively. However, if a person entitled to recover
24benefits under this Act, is, at the time the cause of action
25accrued, within the age of 18 years, he or she may cause such
26action to be brought within 2 years after attainment of the age

 

 

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1of 18.
2    (g) In any such action to recover damages, it shall not be
3a defense that the death was caused in whole or in part by the
4contributory negligence of one or more of the beneficiaries on
5behalf of whom the action is brought, but the amount of damages
6given shall be reduced in the following manner.
7    (h) The trier of fact shall first determine the decedent's
8contributory fault in accordance with Sections 2-1116 and
92-1107.1 of the Code of Civil Procedure. Recovery of damages
10shall be barred or diminished accordingly. The trier of fact
11shall then determine the contributory fault, if any, of each
12beneficiary on behalf of whom the action was brought:
13        (1) Where the trier of fact finds that the
14    contributory fault of a beneficiary on whose behalf the
15    action is brought is not more than 50% of the proximate
16    cause of the wrongful death of the decedent, then the
17    damages allowed to that beneficiary shall be diminished in
18    proportion to the contributory fault attributed to that
19    beneficiary. The amount of the reduction shall not be
20    payable by any defendant.
21        (2) Where the trier of fact finds that the
22    contributory fault of a beneficiary on whose behalf the
23    action is brought is more than 50% of the proximate cause
24    of the wrongful death of the decedent, then the
25    beneficiary shall be barred from recovering damages and
26    the amount of damages which would have been payable to

 

 

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1    that beneficiary, but for the beneficiary's contributory
2    fault, shall not inure to the benefit of the remaining
3    beneficiaries and shall not be payable by any defendant.
4    (i) The trial judge shall conduct a hearing to determine
5the degree of dependency of each beneficiary upon the
6decedent. The trial judge shall calculate the amount of
7damages to be awarded each beneficiary, taking into account
8any reduction arising from either the decedent's or the
9beneficiary's contributory fault.
10    (j) This amendatory Act of the 91st General Assembly
11applies to all actions pending on or filed after the effective
12date of this amendatory Act.
13    (k) This amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly
14applies to causes of actions accruing on or after its
15effective date.
16(Source: P.A. 99-587, eff. 1-1-17.)
 
17    Section 10. The Probate Act of 1975 is amended by changing
18Section 27-6 as follows:
 
19    (755 ILCS 5/27-6)  (from Ch. 110 1/2, par. 27-6)
20    Sec. 27-6. Actions which survive.) In addition to the
21actions which survive by the common law, the following also
22survive: actions of replevin, actions to recover damages,
23including punitive damages when applicable, for an injury to
24the person (except slander and libel), actions to recover

 

 

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1damages for an injury to real or personal property or for the
2detention or conversion of personal property, actions against
3officers for misfeasance, malfeasance, or nonfeasance of
4themselves or their deputies, actions for fraud or deceit, and
5actions provided in Section 6-21 of the Liquor Control Act of
61934 "An Act relating to alcoholic liquors". Nothing in this
7Section affects the applicability of Section 2-1115 of the
8Code of Civil Procedure or Section 2-102 or 2-213 of the Local
9Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act.
10Punitive damages are not available in an action for healing
11art malpractice or legal malpractice or in an action against
12the State or unit of local government or an employee of the
13State or an employee of a unit of local government in his or
14her official capacity.
15(Source: P.A. 82-783.)
 
16    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
17becoming law.