§ 5/2-1706.5 Standards for economic and non-economic damages
§ 2-1706.5. Standards for economic and non-economic damages.
(a) In any medical malpractice action or wrongful death action based on medical malpractice in which economic and non-economic damages may be awarded, the following standards shall apply:
(1) In a case of an award against a hospital and its personnel or hospital affiliates, as defined in Section 10.8 of the Hospital Licensing Act, the total amount of non-economic damages shall not exceed $1,000,000 awarded to all plaintiffs in any civil action arising out of the care.
(2) In a case of an award against a physician and the physician's business or corporate entity and personnel or health care professional, the total amount of non-economic damages shall not exceed $500,000 awarded to all plaintiffs in any civil action arising out of the care.
(3) In awarding damages in a medical malpractice case, the finder of fact shall render verdicts with a specific award of damages for economic loss, if any, and a specific award of damages for non-economic loss, if any.
The trier of fact shall not be informed of the provisions of items (1) and (2) of this subsection (a).
(b) In any medical malpractice action where an individual plaintiff earns less than the annual average weekly wage, as determined by the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission, at the time the action is filed, any award may include an amount equal to the wage the individual plaintiff earns or the annual average weekly wage.
(c) This Section applies to all causes of action accruing on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly.
VALIDITY
P.A. 94-677, effective August 25, 2005, a comprehensive revision of the law relating to health care and medical
malpractice actions, is unconstitutional in its entirety because (i) provisions limiting the recovery of damages for
non-economic losses in medical malpractice actions violate the separation of powers principle of the Illinois Constitution (ILCON Art. II, Sec. 1) and (ii) other provisions are inseverable. Lebron v. Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, 237 Ill.2d 217 (2010).