Rep. Jay Hoffman

Filed: 5/15/2023

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 219

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 219 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
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,

 

 

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1including punitive damages when applicable, notwithstanding
2the death of the person injured, and although the death shall
3have been caused under such circumstances as amount in law to
4felony. Nothing in this Section affects the applicability of
5Section 2-1115 of the Code of Civil Procedure or Section 2-102
6of the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort
7Immunity Act. Punitive damages are not available in an action
8against the State or an employee of the State in his or her
9official capacity. The changes made to this Section by this
10amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly apply to actions
11filed on and after the effective date of this amendatory Act of
12the 103rd General Assembly.
13(Source: Laws 1853, p. 97.)
 
14    (740 ILCS 180/2)  (from Ch. 70, par. 2)
15    Sec. 2. (a) Every such action shall be brought by and in
16the names of the personal representatives of such deceased
17person, and, except as otherwise hereinafter provided, the
18amount recovered in every such action shall be for the
19exclusive benefit of the surviving spouse and next of kin of
20such deceased person. In every such action the jury may give
21such damages as they shall deem a fair and just compensation
22with reference to the pecuniary injuries resulting from such
23death, including damages for grief, sorrow, and mental
24suffering, and punitive damages when applicable, to the
25surviving spouse and next of kin of such deceased person. The

 

 

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1changes made to this Section by this amendatory Act of the
2103rd General Assembly apply to actions filed on and after the
3effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General
4Assembly.
5    (b) The amount recovered in any such action shall be
6distributed by the court in which the cause is heard or, in the
7case of an agreed settlement, by the circuit court, to each of
8the surviving spouse and next of kin of such deceased person in
9the proportion, as determined by the court, that the
10percentage of dependency of each such person upon the deceased
11person bears to the sum of the percentages of dependency of all
12such persons upon the deceased person.
13    (c) Where the deceased person left no surviving spouse or
14next of kin entitled to recovery, the damages shall, subject
15to the following limitations inure, to the exclusive benefit
16of the following persons, or any one or more of them:
17        (1) to the person or persons furnishing
18    hospitalization or hospital services in connection with
19    the last illness or injury of the deceased person, not
20    exceeding $450;
21        (2) to the person or persons furnishing medical or
22    surgical services in connection with such last illness or
23    injury, not exceeding $450;
24        (3) to the personal representatives, as such, for the
25    costs and expenses of administering the estate and
26    prosecuting or compromising the action, including a

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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1a defense that the death was caused in whole or in part by the
2contributory negligence of one or more of the beneficiaries on
3behalf of whom the action is brought, but the amount of damages
4given shall be reduced in the following manner.
5    (h) The trier of fact shall first determine the decedent's
6contributory fault in accordance with Sections 2-1116 and
72-1107.1 of the Code of Civil Procedure. Recovery of damages
8shall be barred or diminished accordingly. The trier of fact
9shall then determine the contributory fault, if any, of each
10beneficiary on behalf of whom the action was brought:
11        (1) Where the trier of fact finds that the
12    contributory fault of a beneficiary on whose behalf the
13    action is brought is not more than 50% of the proximate
14    cause of the wrongful death of the decedent, then the
15    damages allowed to that beneficiary shall be diminished in
16    proportion to the contributory fault attributed to that
17    beneficiary. The amount of the reduction shall not be
18    payable by any defendant.
19        (2) Where the trier of fact finds that the
20    contributory fault of a beneficiary on whose behalf the
21    action is brought is more than 50% of the proximate cause
22    of the wrongful death of the decedent, then the
23    beneficiary shall be barred from recovering damages and
24    the amount of damages which would have been payable to
25    that beneficiary, but for the beneficiary's contributory
26    fault, shall not inure to the benefit of the remaining

 

 

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

 

 

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1officers for misfeasance, malfeasance, or nonfeasance of
2themselves or their deputies, actions for fraud or deceit, and
3actions provided in Section 6-21 of the Liquor Control Act of
41934 "An Act relating to alcoholic liquors". Nothing in this
5Section affects the applicability of Section 2-1115 of the
6Code of Civil Procedure or Section 2-102 of the Local
7Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act.
8Punitive damages are not available in an action against the
9State or an employee of the State in his or her official
10capacity.
11(Source: P.A. 82-783.)
 
12    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
13becoming law.".