HB1798 Enrolled LRB095 08371 AJO 28544 b

1     AN ACT concerning civil law.
 
2     Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
 
4     Section 5. The Wrongful Death Act is amended by changing
5 Section 2 as follows:
 
6     (740 ILCS 180/2)  (from Ch. 70, par. 2)
7     Sec. 2. Every such action shall be brought by and in the
8 names of the personal representatives of such deceased person,
9 and, except as otherwise hereinafter provided, the amount
10 recovered in every such action shall be for the exclusive
11 benefit of the surviving spouse and next of kin of such
12 deceased person. In and in every such action the jury may give
13 such damages as they shall deem a fair and just compensation
14 with reference to the pecuniary injuries resulting from such
15 death, including damages for grief, sorrow, and mental
16 suffering, to the surviving spouse and next of kin of such
17 deceased person.
18     In every such action, the jury shall determine the amount
19 of damages to be recovered without regard to and with no
20 special instruction as to the dollar limits on recovery imposed
21 by this Section. In no event shall the judgment entered upon
22 such verdict exceed $20,000 where such death occurred prior to
23 July 14, 1955, and not exceeding $25,000 where such death

 

 

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1 occurred on or after July 14, 1955 and prior to July 8, 1957,
2 and not exceeding $30,000 where such death occurs on or after
3 July 8, 1957 and prior to the effective date of this amendatory
4 Act of 1967, and without limitation where such death occurs on
5 or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1967.
6     The amount recovered in any such action shall be
7 distributed by the court in which the cause is heard or, in the
8 case of an agreed settlement, by the circuit court, to each of
9 the surviving spouse and next of kin of such deceased person in
10 the proportion, as determined by the court, that the percentage
11 of dependency of each such person upon the deceased person
12 bears to the sum of the percentages of dependency of all such
13 persons upon the deceased person.
14     Where the deceased person left no surviving spouse or next
15 of kin entitled to recovery, the damages shall, subject to the
16 following limitations inure, to the exclusive benefit of the
17 following persons, or any one or more of them:
18     (a) to the person or persons furnishing hospitalization or
19 hospital services in connection with the last illness or injury
20 of the deceased person, not exceeding $450;
21     (b) to the person or persons furnishing medical or surgical
22 services in connection with such last illness or injury, not
23 exceeding $450;
24     (c) to the personal representatives, as such, for the costs
25 and expenses of administering the estate and prosecuting or
26 compromising the action, including a reasonable attorney's

 

 

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1 fee. In any such case the measure of damages to be recovered
2 shall be the total of the reasonable value of such
3 hospitalization or hospital service, medical and surgical
4 services, funeral expenses, and such costs and expenses of
5 administration, including attorney fees, not exceeding the
6 foregoing limitations for each class of such expenses and not
7 exceeding $900 plus a reasonable attorney's fee.
8     Every such action shall be commenced within 2 years after
9 the death of such person but an action against a defendant
10 arising from a crime committed by the defendant in whose name
11 an escrow account was established under the "Criminal Victims'
12 Escrow Account Act" shall be commenced within 2 years after the
13 establishment of such account. For the purposes of this Section
14 2, next of kin includes an adopting parent and an adopted
15 child, and they shall be treated as a natural parent and a
16 natural child, respectively. However, if a person entitled to
17 recover benefits under this Act, is, at the time the cause of
18 action accrued, within the age of 18 years, he or she may cause
19 such action to be brought within 2 years after attainment of
20 the age of 18.
21     In any such action to recover damages, it shall not be a
22 defense that the death was caused in whole or in part by the
23 contributory negligence of one or more of the beneficiaries on
24 behalf of whom the action is brought, but the amount of damages
25 given shall be reduced in the following manner.
26     The trier of fact shall first determine the decedent's

 

 

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1 contributory fault in accordance with Sections 2-1116 and
2 2-1107.1 of the Code of Civil Procedure. Recovery of damages
3 shall be barred or diminished accordingly. The trier of fact
4 shall then determine the contributory fault, if any, of each
5 beneficiary on behalf of whom the action was brought:
6         (1) Where the trier of fact finds that the contributory
7     fault of a beneficiary on whose behalf the action is
8     brought is not more than 50% of the proximate cause of the
9     wrongful death of the decedent, then the damages allowed to
10     that beneficiary shall be diminished in proportion to the
11     contributory fault attributed to that beneficiary. The
12     amount of the reduction shall not be payable by any
13     defendant.
14         (2) Where the trier of fact finds that the contributory
15     fault of a beneficiary on whose behalf the action is
16     brought is more than 50% of the proximate cause of the
17     wrongful death of the decedent, then the beneficiary shall
18     be barred from recovering damages and the amount of damages
19     which would have been payable to that beneficiary, but for
20     the beneficiary's contributory fault, shall not inure to
21     the benefit of the remaining beneficiaries and shall not be
22     payable by any defendant.
23     The trial judge shall conduct a hearing to determine the
24 degree of dependency of each beneficiary upon the decedent. The
25 trial judge shall calculate the amount of damages to be awarded
26 each beneficiary, taking into account any reduction arising

 

 

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1 from either the decedent's or the beneficiary's contributory
2 fault.
3     This amendatory Act of the 91st General Assembly applies to
4 all actions pending on or filed after the effective date of
5 this amendatory Act.
6     This amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly applies to
7 causes of actions accruing on or after its effective date.
8 (Source: P.A. 91-380, eff. 7-30-99.)
 
9     Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
10 becoming law.