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Laws Related to Practice Areas
A wide variety of statutes passed by the U.S. Congress as well as the state legislature impact each and every personal injury claim -- both in how the claim is pursued and in how much financial recovery can be expected from aggressively litigating the lawsuit in court. The growing tort reform movement is actively campaigning to limit the monetary redress available to injured plaintiffs in this state and across the country. Here are a few examples of powerful laws that must be considered with severe and serious personal injury claims:
Statute of Limitations
For all personal injury claims – except for defamation – an injury victim has two (2) years to file a claim under Illinois law. Any civil lawsuit based upon defamation must be filed within one year of the harm. Missing this deadline means that under the law, the lawsuit will be barred simply because the deadline for filing was missed: no matter how valid the claim, the court will dismiss the case based upon the statute of limitations. However, when a governmental entity, such as a State of Illinois agency or the Chicago Transit Authority may be responsible, special rules apply that may shorten the time for submitting your claim. Therefore, it is important to promptly consult with an attorney knowledgeable of the specific statutes and rules that apply to the specific facts of your case.
Punitive Damages
Punitive damages, otherwise known as “punishment damages.” are intended to punish wrongdoers -- and in doing so, provide them with incentive that prevents them from harming others in the future. Juries use punitive damages to send a message to evildoer corporations.
Whether or not a plaintiff pursuing a claim under Illinois law has the right to push for punishment damages depends upon the type of case is before the court. Punitive damages, for example, are not allowed at all in Illinois medical malpractice lawsuits. Doctors and hospitals are not punished with damages in Illinois. Nor are punitive damages allowed in wrongful death cases (absent “strong equitable reasons”).
Courts are also seeking to limit when plaintiffs are allowed to have punitive damages in Illinois. For example, an Illinois appellate court recently ruled that the Illinois statute denying punitive damages in wrongful death cases is constitutional unless there is “specific statutory authority or very strong equitable reasons.” Marston v. Walgreen Co., 1-07-0209 (Ill. App. Ct. 1 Dist. March 21, 2009). What did the court deem “very strong equitable reasons” meant? According to these appellate judges, it means “instances in which a party would otherwise be left without any remedy.”
Workers’ Compensation
The Illinois legislature has passed the Illinois Worker’s Compensation Act, which controls the damages that are provided to workers injured on the job while working in the State of Illinois. As a “no fault” statute, there is no determination of who is to blame for the injury; instead, lost wages, medical expenses and the like are simply covered by the insurance carried by the employer. Passed in an attempt to increase fairness to employees, the Act has taken away the ability of the employee to sue his employer for work on the job injuries in most cases. However, there are certain situations where claims can be made and there are many situations where the employee should pursue legal redress (for more information, please refer to the discussion on Work Injuries).
Medical Malpractice
Tort reform efforts in Illinois have resulted in laws being passed that limit the amount of money damages that can be awarded to victims who have been seriously injured by their doctor or health care provider (hospital, nurse, etc.) For example, while there is no “cap” on actual, economic damages (lost wages, for example) in Illinois medical malpractice case, the Illinois state legislature has enacted a law that “caps” all other damages – the non-economic damages – in medical malpractice cases at $500,000.00 against individual doctors and $1,000,000.00 against hospitals. (This is true for all medical errors that happened from September 2005 to date.)
How long this statute may be valid is debatable. The first time that the Illinois legislature tried to help doctors and hospitals limit their exposure for negligence or medical malpractice, the law was found to be unconstitutional. Best v. Taylor Machine Works, 179 Ill. 2d 367, 689 N.E.2d 1057 (1997). The damage caps are once again being challenged as unconstitutional.
If you or a loved one has been seriously injured or killed due to the wrongful acts of another, then you may have a legal claim for legal damages as well as the right for justice against the wrongdoer and you are welcomed to contact the Northwest Indiana and Chicagoland personal injury lawyers at Kenneth J. Allen & Associates to schedule a free initial legal consultation.