Rep. Terri Bryant

Filed: 3/31/2016

 

 


 

 


 
09900HB6083ham002LRB099 17215 HEP 46876 a

1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 6083

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 6083 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 1. This Act may be referred to as Molly's Law.
 
5    Section 5. The Wrongful Death Act is amended by changing
6Section 2 as follows:
 
7    (740 ILCS 180/2)  (from Ch. 70, par. 2)
8    Sec. 2. Every such action shall be brought by and in the
9names of the personal representatives of such deceased person,
10and, except as otherwise hereinafter provided, the amount
11recovered in every such action shall be for the exclusive
12benefit of the surviving spouse and next of kin of such
13deceased person. In every such action the jury may give such
14damages as they shall deem a fair and just compensation with
15reference to the pecuniary injuries resulting from such death,

 

 

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1including damages for grief, sorrow, and mental suffering, to
2the surviving spouse and next of kin of such deceased person.
3    The amount recovered in any such action shall be
4distributed by the court in which the cause is heard or, in the
5case of an agreed settlement, by the circuit court, to each of
6the surviving spouse and next of kin of such deceased person in
7the proportion, as determined by the court, that the percentage
8of dependency of each such person upon the deceased person
9bears to the sum of the percentages of dependency of all such
10persons upon the deceased person.
11    Where the deceased person left no surviving spouse or next
12of kin entitled to recovery, the damages shall, subject to the
13following limitations inure, to the exclusive benefit of the
14following persons, or any one or more of them:
15    (a) to the person or persons furnishing hospitalization or
16hospital services in connection with the last illness or injury
17of the deceased person, not exceeding $450;
18    (b) to the person or persons furnishing medical or surgical
19services in connection with such last illness or injury, not
20exceeding $450;
21    (c) to the personal representatives, as such, for the costs
22and expenses of administering the estate and prosecuting or
23compromising the action, including a reasonable attorney's
24fee. In any such case the measure of damages to be recovered
25shall be the total of the reasonable value of such
26hospitalization or hospital service, medical and surgical

 

 

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1services, funeral expenses, and such costs and expenses of
2administration, including attorney fees, not exceeding the
3foregoing limitations for each class of such expenses and not
4exceeding $900 plus a reasonable attorney's fee.
5    Except as otherwise provided in this Section, every Every
6such action shall be commenced within 2 years after the death
7of such person but an action against a defendant arising from a
8crime committed by the defendant in whose name an escrow
9account was established under the "Criminal Victims' Escrow
10Account Act" shall be commenced within 2 years after the
11establishment of such account. An action may be brought within
125 years after the date of the death if the death is the result
13of violent intentional conduct or within one year after the
14final disposition of the criminal case if the defendant is
15charged with:
16        (i) first degree murder under Section 9-1 of the
17    Criminal Code of 2012;
18        (ii) intentional homicide of an unborn child under
19    Section 9-1.2 of the Criminal Code of 2012;
20        (iii) second degree murder under Section 9-2 of the
21    Criminal Code of 2012;
22        (iv) voluntary manslaughter of an unborn child under
23    Section 9-2.1 of the Criminal Code of 2012;
24        (v) involuntary manslaughter or reckless homicide
25    under Section 9-3 of the Criminal Code of 2012;
26        (vi) involuntary manslaughter or reckless homicide of

 

 

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1    an unborn child under Section 9-3.2 of the Criminal Code of
2    2012; or
3        (vii) drug-induced homicide under Section 9-3.3 of the
4    Criminal Code of 2012.
5    For the purposes of this Section 2, next of kin includes an
6adopting parent and an adopted child, and they shall be treated
7as a natural parent and a natural child, respectively. However,
8if a person entitled to recover benefits under this Act, is, at
9the time the cause of action accrued, within the age of 18
10years, he or she may cause such action to be brought within 2
11years after attainment of the age of 18.
12    In any such action to recover damages, it shall not be a
13defense that the death was caused in whole or in part by the
14contributory negligence of one or more of the beneficiaries on
15behalf of whom the action is brought, but the amount of damages
16given shall be reduced in the following manner.
17    The trier of fact shall first determine the decedent's
18contributory fault in accordance with Sections 2-1116 and
192-1107.1 of the Code of Civil Procedure. Recovery of damages
20shall be barred or diminished accordingly. The trier of fact
21shall then determine the contributory fault, if any, of each
22beneficiary on behalf of whom the action was brought:
23        (1) Where the trier of fact finds that the contributory
24    fault of a beneficiary on whose behalf the action is
25    brought is not more than 50% of the proximate cause of the
26    wrongful death of the decedent, then the damages allowed to

 

 

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1    that beneficiary shall be diminished in proportion to the
2    contributory fault attributed to that beneficiary. The
3    amount of the reduction shall not be payable by any
4    defendant.
5        (2) Where the trier of fact finds that the contributory
6    fault of a beneficiary on whose behalf the action is
7    brought is more than 50% of the proximate cause of the
8    wrongful death of the decedent, then the beneficiary shall
9    be barred from recovering damages and the amount of damages
10    which would have been payable to that beneficiary, but for
11    the beneficiary's contributory fault, shall not inure to
12    the benefit of the remaining beneficiaries and shall not be
13    payable by any defendant.
14    The trial judge shall conduct a hearing to determine the
15degree of dependency of each beneficiary upon the decedent. The
16trial judge shall calculate the amount of damages to be awarded
17each beneficiary, taking into account any reduction arising
18from either the decedent's or the beneficiary's contributory
19fault.
20    This amendatory Act of the 91st General Assembly applies to
21all actions pending on or filed after the effective date of
22this amendatory Act.
23    This amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly applies to
24causes of actions accruing on or after its effective date.
25(Source: P.A. 95-3, eff. 5-31-07.)".