Bill Text: IL HB1796 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Limitations Article of the Code of Civil Procedure. Provides that no product liability action based on the doctrine of strict liability in tort shall be commenced except within the applicable limitations period and within 15 years from the date of first installation of any medical joint replacement product that is claimed to have injured or damaged the plaintiff, unless the defendant expressly has warranted or promised the product for a longer period and the action is brought within that period. If personal injury, death, or property damage occurs in relation to a medical joint replacement within 12 years from the date of first sale, lease, or delivery of possession by a seller, within 10 years from the date of first sale, lease, or delivery of possession to its initial user, consumer, or other non-seller, or within 10 years from the date of alteration, modification, or change, allows a plaintiff to bring an action within 4 years after the date on which the claimant knew, or through the use of reasonable diligence should have known, of the existence of the personal injury, death, or property damages, but in no event more than 8 years after the date on which such personal injury, death, or property damage occurred.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-28 - Referred to Rules Committee [HB1796 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-HB1796-Introduced.html

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104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB1796 Introduced , by Rep. Tom Weber SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
735 ILCS 5/13-213 from Ch. 110, par. 13-213
Amends the Limitations Article of the Code of Civil Procedure. Provides that no product liability action based on the doctrine of strict liability in tort shall be commenced except within the applicable limitations period and within 15 years from the date of first installation of any medical joint replacement product that is claimed to have injured or damaged the plaintiff, unless the defendant expressly has warranted or promised the product for a longer period and the action is brought within that period. If personal injury, death, or property damage occurs in relation to a medical joint replacement within 12 years from the date of first sale, lease, or delivery of possession by a seller, within 10 years from the date of first sale, lease, or delivery of possession to its initial user, consumer, or other non-seller, or within 10 years from the date of alteration, modification, or change, allows a plaintiff to bring an action within 4 years after the date on which the claimant knew, or through the use of reasonable diligence should have known, of the existence of the personal injury, death, or property damages, but in no event more than 8 years after the date on which such personal injury, death, or property damage occurred.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning civil law.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by
changing Section 13-213 as follows:
(735 ILCS 5/13-213) (from Ch. 110, par. 13-213)
(Text of Section WITHOUT the changes made by P.A. 89-7,
which has been held unconstitutional)
Sec. 13-213. Product liability.
(a) As used in this Section, the term:
(1) "Alteration, modification or change" or "altered,
modified, or changed" means an alteration, modification or
change that was made in the original makeup
characteristics, function or design of a product or in the
original recommendations, instructions and warnings given
with respect to a product including the failure properly
to maintain and care for a product.
(2) "Product" means any tangible object or goods
distributed in commerce, including any service provided in
connection with the product. Where the term "product unit"
is used, it refers to a single item or unit of a product.
(3) "Product liability action" means any action based
on the doctrine of strict liability in tort brought

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against the seller of a product on account of personal
injury, (including illness, disease, disability and death)
or property, economic or other damage allegedly caused by
or resulting from the manufacture, construction,
preparation, assembly, installation, testing, makeup,
characteristics, functions, design, formula, plan,
recommendation, specification, prescription, advertising,
sale, marketing, packaging, labeling, repair, maintenance
or disposal of, or warning or instruction regarding any
product. This definition excludes actions brought by State
or federal regulatory agencies pursuant to statute.
(4) "Seller" means one who, in the course of a
business conducted for the purpose, sells, distributes,
leases, assembles, installs, produces, manufactures,
fabricates, prepares, constructs, packages, labels,
markets, repairs, maintains, or otherwise is involved in
placing a product in the stream of commerce.
(b) Subject to the provisions of subsections (c) and (d)
no product liability action based on the doctrine of strict
liability in tort shall be commenced except within the
applicable limitations period and, in any event, within 12
years from the date of first sale, lease or delivery of
possession by a seller or 10 years from the date of first sale,
lease or delivery of possession to its initial user, consumer,
or other non-seller, whichever period expires earlier, of any
product unit that is claimed to have injured or damaged the

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plaintiff, unless the defendant expressly has warranted or
promised the product for a longer period and the action is
brought within that period.
(b-5) Subject to the provisions of subsections (c) and
(d), no product liability action based on the doctrine of
strict liability in tort shall be commenced except within the
applicable limitations period and within 15 years from the
date of first installation of any medical joint replacement
product that is claimed to have injured or damaged the
plaintiff, unless the defendant expressly has warranted or
promised the product for a longer period and the action is
brought within that period.
(c) No product liability action based on the doctrine of
strict liability in tort to recover for injury or damage
claimed to have resulted from an alteration, modification or
change of the product unit subsequent to the date of first
sale, lease or delivery of possession of the product unit to
its initial user, consumer or other non-seller shall be
limited or barred by subsection (b) hereof if:
(1) the action is brought against a seller making,
authorizing, or furnishing materials for the
accomplishment of such alteration, modification or change
(or against a seller furnishing specifications or
instructions for the accomplishment of such alteration,
modification or change when the injury is claimed to have
resulted from failure to provide adequate specifications

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or instructions), and
(2) the action commenced within the applicable
limitation period and, in any event, within 10 years from
the date such alteration, modification or change was made,
unless defendant expressly has warranted or promised the
product for a longer period and the action is brought
within that period, and
(3) when the injury or damage is claimed to have
resulted from an alteration, modification or change of a
product unit, there is proof that such alteration,
modification or change had the effect of introducing into
the use of the product unit, by reason of defective
materials or workmanship, a hazard not existing prior to
such alteration, modification or change.
(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b) and
paragraph (2) of subsection (c) if the injury complained of
occurs within any of the periods provided by subsection (b)
and paragraph (2) of subsection (c), the plaintiff may bring
an action within 2 years, or within 4 years for a medical joint
replacement product, after the date on which the claimant
knew, or through the use of reasonable diligence should have
known, of the existence of the personal injury, death or
property damage, but in no event shall such action be brought
more than 8 years after the date on which such personal injury,
death or property damage occurred. In any such case, if the
person entitled to bring the action was, at the time the

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