Public Act 103-0514

HB0219 Enrolled LRB103 03743 LNS 48749 b

AN ACT concerning civil law.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,

represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Wrongful Death Act is amended by changing

Sections 1 and 2 as follows:

(740 ILCS 180/1) (from Ch. 70, par. 1)

(Text of Section WITHOUT the changes made by P.A. 89-7,

which has been held unconstitutional)

Sec. 1. Whenever the death of a person shall be caused by

wrongful act, neglect or default, and the act, neglect or

default is such as would, if death had not ensued, have

entitled the party injured to maintain an action and recover

damages, including punitive damages when applicable, in

respect thereof, then and in every such case the person who or

company or corporation which would have been liable if death

had not ensued, shall be liable to an action for damages,

including punitive damages when applicable, notwithstanding

the death of the person injured, and although the death shall

have been caused under such circumstances as amount in law to

felony. Nothing in this Section affects the applicability of

Section 2-1115 of the Code of Civil Procedure or Section 2-102

or 2-213 of the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees

Tort Immunity Act. Punitive damages are not available in an

action for healing art malpractice or legal malpractice or in

an action against the State or unit of local government or an

employee of the State or an employee of a unit of local

government in his or her official capacity. The changes made

to this Section by this amendatory Act of the 103rd General

Assembly apply to actions filed on and after the effective

date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly.

(Source: Laws 1853, p. 97.)

(740 ILCS 180/2) (from Ch. 70, par. 2)

Sec. 2. (a) Every such action shall be brought by and in

the names of the personal representatives of such deceased

person, and, except as otherwise hereinafter provided, the

amount recovered in every such action shall be for the

exclusive benefit of the surviving spouse and next of kin of

such deceased person. In every such action the jury may give

such damages as they shall deem a fair and just compensation

with reference to the pecuniary injuries resulting from such

death, including damages for grief, sorrow, and mental

suffering, and punitive damages when applicable, to the

surviving spouse and next of kin of such deceased person.

Nothing in this Section affects the applicability of Section

2-1115 of the Code of Civil Procedure or Section 2-102 or 2-213

of the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort

Immunity Act. Punitive damages are not available in an action

for healing art malpractice or legal malpractice or in an

action against the State or unit of local government or an

employee of the State or an employee of a unit of local

government in his or her official capacity. The changes made

to this Section by this amendatory Act of the 103rd General

Assembly apply to actions filed on and after the effective

date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly.

(b) The amount recovered in any such action shall be

distributed by the court in which the cause is heard or, in the

case of an agreed settlement, by the circuit court, to each of

the surviving spouse and next of kin of such deceased person in

the proportion, as determined by the court, that the

percentage of dependency of each such person upon the deceased

person bears to the sum of the percentages of dependency of all

such persons upon the deceased person.

(c) Where the deceased person left no surviving spouse or

next of kin entitled to recovery, the damages shall, subject

to the following limitations inure, to the exclusive benefit

of the following persons, or any one or more of them:

(1) to the person or persons furnishing

hospitalization or hospital services in connection with

the last illness or injury of the deceased person, not

exceeding $450;

(2) to the person or persons furnishing medical or

surgical services in connection with such last illness or

injury, not exceeding $450;

(3) to the personal representatives, as such, for the

costs and expenses of administering the estate and

prosecuting or compromising the action, including a

reasonable attorney's fee. In any such case the measure of

damages to be recovered shall be the total of the

reasonable value of such hospitalization or hospital

service, medical and surgical services, funeral expenses,

and such costs and expenses of administration, including

attorney fees, not exceeding the foregoing limitations for

each class of such expenses and not exceeding $900 plus a

reasonable attorney's fee.

(d) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (e) of this

Section, every such action shall be commenced within 2 years

after the death of such person but an action against a

defendant arising from a crime committed by the defendant in

whose name an escrow account was established under the

"Criminal Victims' Escrow Account Act" shall be commenced

within 2 years after the establishment of such account.

(e) An action may be brought within 5 years after the date

of the death if the death is the result of violent intentional

conduct or within one year after the final disposition of the

criminal case if the defendant is charged with:

(1) first degree murder under Section 9-1 of the

Criminal Code of 2012;

(2) intentional homicide of an unborn child under

Section 9-1.2 of the Criminal Code of 2012;

(3) second degree murder under Section 9-2 of the

Criminal Code of 2012;

(4) voluntary manslaughter of an unborn child under

Section 9-2.1 of the Criminal Code of 2012;

(5) involuntary manslaughter or reckless homicide

under Section 9-3 of the Criminal Code of 2012;

(6) involuntary manslaughter or reckless homicide of

an unborn child under Section 9-3.2 of the Criminal Code

of 2012; or

(7) drug-induced homicide under Section 9-3.3 of the

Criminal Code of 2012.

This subsection extends the statute of limitations only

against the individual who allegedly committed a violent

intentional act or was the defendant charged with a crime

listed in this subsection. It does not extend the statute of

limitations against any other person or entity. The changes to

this Section made by this amendatory Act of the 99th General

Assembly apply to causes of action arising on or after the

effective date of this amendatory Act of the 99th General

Assembly.

(f) For the purposes of this Section 2, next of kin

includes an adopting parent and an adopted child, and they

shall be treated as a natural parent and a natural child,

respectively. However, if a person entitled to recover

benefits under this Act, is, at the time the cause of action

accrued, within the age of 18 years, he or she may cause such

action to be brought within 2 years after attainment of the age

of 18.

(g) In any such action to recover damages, it shall not be

a defense that the death was caused in whole or in part by the

contributory negligence of one or more of the beneficiaries on

behalf of whom the action is brought, but the amount of damages

given shall be reduced in the following manner.

(h) The trier of fact shall first determine the decedent's

contributory fault in accordance with Sections 2-1116 and

2-1107.1 of the Code of Civil Procedure. Recovery of damages

shall be barred or diminished accordingly. The trier of fact

shall then determine the contributory fault, if any, of each

beneficiary on behalf of whom the action was brought:

(1) Where the trier of fact finds that the

contributory fault of a beneficiary on whose behalf the

action is brought is not more than 50% of the proximate

cause of the wrongful death of the decedent, then the

damages allowed to that beneficiary shall be diminished in

proportion to the contributory fault attributed to that

beneficiary. The amount of the reduction shall not be

payable by any defendant.

(2) Where the trier of fact finds that the

contributory fault of a beneficiary on whose behalf the

action is brought is more than 50% of the proximate cause

of the wrongful death of the decedent, then the

beneficiary shall be barred from recovering damages and

the amount of damages which would have been payable to

that beneficiary, but for the beneficiary's contributory

fault, shall not inure to the benefit of the remaining

beneficiaries and shall not be payable by any defendant.

(i) The trial judge shall conduct a hearing to determine

the degree of dependency of each beneficiary upon the

decedent. The trial judge shall calculate the amount of

damages to be awarded each beneficiary, taking into account

any reduction arising from either the decedent's or the

beneficiary's contributory fault.

(j) This amendatory Act of the 91st General Assembly

applies to all actions pending on or filed after the effective

date of this amendatory Act.

(k) This amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly

applies to causes of actions accruing on or after its

effective date.

(Source: P.A. 99-587, eff. 1-1-17.)

Section 10. The Probate Act of 1975 is amended by changing

Section 27-6 as follows:

(755 ILCS 5/27-6) (from Ch. 110 1/2, par. 27-6)

Sec. 27-6. Actions which survive.) In addition to the

actions which survive by the common law, the following also

survive: actions of replevin, actions to recover damages,

including punitive damages when applicable, for an injury to

the person (except slander and libel), actions to recover

damages for an injury to real or personal property or for the

detention or conversion of personal property, actions against

officers for misfeasance, malfeasance, or nonfeasance of

themselves or their deputies, actions for fraud or deceit, and

actions provided in Section 6-21 of the Liquor Control Act of

1934 "An Act relating to alcoholic liquors". Nothing in this

Section affects the applicability of Section 2-1115 of the

Code of Civil Procedure or Section 2-102 or 2-213 of the Local

Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act.

Punitive damages are not available in an action for healing

art malpractice or legal malpractice or in an action against

the State or unit of local government or an employee of the

State or an employee of a unit of local government in his or

her official capacity.

(Source: P.A. 82-783.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon

becoming law.