HB6083 EnrolledLRB099 17215 HEP 41573 b

1    AN ACT concerning the disclosure of information.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
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. (a) Every such action shall be brought by and in
9the names of the personal representatives of such deceased
10person, and, except as otherwise hereinafter provided, the
11amount recovered in every such action shall be for the
12exclusive benefit of the surviving spouse and next of kin of
13such deceased person. In every such action the jury may give
14such damages as they shall deem a fair and just compensation
15with reference to the pecuniary injuries resulting from such
16death, including damages for grief, sorrow, and mental
17suffering, to the surviving spouse and next of kin of such
18deceased person.
19    (b) The amount recovered in any such action shall be
20distributed by the court in which the cause is heard or, in the
21case of an agreed settlement, by the circuit court, to each of
22the surviving spouse and next of kin of such deceased person in

 

 

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1the proportion, as determined by the court, that the percentage
2of dependency of each such person upon the deceased person
3bears to the sum of the percentages of dependency of all such
4persons upon the deceased person.
5    (c) Where the deceased person left no surviving spouse or
6next of kin entitled to recovery, the damages shall, subject to
7the following limitations inure, to the exclusive benefit of
8the following persons, or any one or more of them:
9        (1) (a) to the person or persons furnishing
10    hospitalization or hospital services in connection with
11    the last illness or injury of the deceased person, not
12    exceeding $450;
13        (2) (b) to the person or persons furnishing medical or
14    surgical services in connection with such last illness or
15    injury, not exceeding $450;
16        (3) (c) to the personal representatives, as such, for
17    the costs and expenses of administering the estate and
18    prosecuting or compromising the action, including a
19    reasonable attorney's fee. In any such case the measure of
20    damages to be recovered shall be the total of the
21    reasonable value of such hospitalization or hospital
22    service, medical and surgical services, funeral expenses,
23    and such costs and expenses of administration, including
24    attorney fees, not exceeding the foregoing limitations for
25    each class of such expenses and not exceeding $900 plus a
26    reasonable attorney's fee.

 

 

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1    (d) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (e) of this
2Section, every Every such action shall be commenced within 2
3years after the death of such person but an action against a
4defendant arising from a crime committed by the defendant in
5whose name an escrow account was established under the
6"Criminal Victims' Escrow Account Act" shall be commenced
7within 2 years after the establishment of such account.
8    (e) An action may be brought within 5 years after the date
9of the death if the death is the result of violent intentional
10conduct or within one year after the final disposition of the
11criminal case if the defendant is charged with:
12        (1) first degree murder under Section 9-1 of the
13    Criminal Code of 2012;
14        (2) intentional homicide of an unborn child under
15    Section 9-1.2 of the Criminal Code of 2012;
16        (3) second degree murder under Section 9-2 of the
17    Criminal Code of 2012;
18        (4) voluntary manslaughter of an unborn child under
19    Section 9-2.1 of the Criminal Code of 2012;
20        (5) involuntary manslaughter or reckless homicide
21    under Section 9-3 of the Criminal Code of 2012;
22        (6) involuntary manslaughter or reckless homicide of
23    an unborn child under Section 9-3.2 of the Criminal Code of
24    2012; or
25        (7) drug-induced homicide under Section 9-3.3 of the
26    Criminal Code of 2012.

 

 

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1    This subsection extends the statute of limitations only
2against the individual who allegedly committed a violent
3intentional act or was the defendant charged with a crime
4listed in this subsection. It does not extend the statute of
5limitations against any other person or entity. The changes to
6this Section made by this amendatory Act of the 99th General
7Assembly apply to causes of action arising on or after the
8effective date of this amendatory Act of the 99th General
9Assembly.
10    (f) For the purposes of this Section 2, next of kin
11includes an adopting parent and an adopted child, and they
12shall be treated as a natural parent and a natural child,
13respectively. However, if a person entitled to recover benefits
14under this Act, is, at the time the cause of action accrued,
15within the age of 18 years, he or she may cause such action to
16be brought within 2 years after attainment of the age of 18.
17    (g) In any such action to recover damages, it shall not be
18a defense that the death was caused in whole or in part by the
19contributory negligence of one or more of the beneficiaries on
20behalf of whom the action is brought, but the amount of damages
21given shall be reduced in the following manner.
22    (h) The trier of fact shall first determine the decedent's
23contributory fault in accordance with Sections 2-1116 and
242-1107.1 of the Code of Civil Procedure. Recovery of damages
25shall be barred or diminished accordingly. The trier of fact
26shall then determine the contributory fault, if any, of each

 

 

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1beneficiary on behalf of whom the action was brought:
2        (1) Where the trier of fact finds that the contributory
3    fault of a beneficiary on whose behalf the action is
4    brought is not more than 50% of the proximate cause of the
5    wrongful death of the decedent, then the damages allowed to
6    that beneficiary shall be diminished in proportion to the
7    contributory fault attributed to that beneficiary. The
8    amount of the reduction shall not be payable by any
9    defendant.
10        (2) Where the trier of fact finds that the contributory
11    fault of a beneficiary on whose behalf the action is
12    brought is more than 50% of the proximate cause of the
13    wrongful death of the decedent, then the beneficiary shall
14    be barred from recovering damages and the amount of damages
15    which would have been payable to that beneficiary, but for
16    the beneficiary's contributory fault, shall not inure to
17    the benefit of the remaining beneficiaries and shall not be
18    payable by any defendant.
19    (i) The trial judge shall conduct a hearing to determine
20the degree of dependency of each beneficiary upon the decedent.
21The trial judge shall calculate the amount of damages to be
22awarded each beneficiary, taking into account any reduction
23arising from either the decedent's or the beneficiary's
24contributory fault.
25    (j) This amendatory Act of the 91st General Assembly
26applies to all actions pending on or filed after the effective

 

 

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1date of this amendatory Act.
2    (k) This amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly
3applies to causes of actions accruing on or after its effective
4date.
5(Source: P.A. 95-3, eff. 5-31-07.)