wrongful death

The only thing worse than losing a loved one, is doing so when it wasn’t their time. Often this is the result of the negligence or intentional act of someone. When that happens, you may have a wrongful death lawsuit.

In Illinois, there are time limits for suing over a death. It is all covered in the Illinois Wrongful Death Act. The Act states that whenever a death happens, you can sue the party responsible for damages, sometimes including punitive damages. Generally speaking, these lawsuits have to be filed within two years of the death. There are two big exceptions to that which I’ll discuss, but I’d say 99% of calls we get have the two year time limit apply.

In considering a lawsuit, you should know that there aren’t loopholes to this time limit. About once a month someone will call me who lost a loved one more than two years ago. When I ask why they didn’t call sooner I usually hear that they were grieving and not ready to process it. That makes sense and is a normal emotional reaction. Unfortunately it doesn’t get you around the time limits. The same holds true for people who tell me they hadn’t contacted a lawyer because they’ve been busy, sick, moving, thought someone else was doing it or just about anything else.

Time limits are in place to make the process fair to all parties and because over time, witnesses disappear and memories fade. It’s not seen as fair to a defendant to make them try to fight a case that they didn’t know was coming for over two years.

There are, as I said, two really big exceptions.

The first has to do with criminal cases. Let me quote the statute for you:

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.

Basically you may have up to five years if the death is from violent intentional conduct or up to one year after criminal charges have been resolved. That said, it’s playing with fire to wait too long and we always encourage people to act sooner rather than later so their rights aren’t lost. And note, that this extension only applies to suing and recovering from the criminal defendant, nobody else.

The other exception has to do with children who had a right to bring the lawsuit. In their case, it can be brought within two years of them turning 18. Again, we strongly advise you to bring a lawsuit or at least consult with an attorney ASAP so you don’t lose your rights.

These are tough situations, but a great Illinois wrongful death attorney can take the emotion out of the situation and help you determine if there’s even a case at all. If you’d like to speak with an attorney for free, please call us any time at 312-346-5320.

A caller to my office was in a relationship with a man for 20 years. They did not have any children together, but he did have kids from a previous relationship. Although they considered themselves to be husband and wife, they were never legally married.

He, sadly, was hit by a car while crossing the street. He was in the hospital for a few days and then died from a blood clot that was not diagnosed in a timely manner. There is a potential wrongful death lawsuit against both the driver for hitting him as well as the hospital that did not diagnose him correctly.

The problem for my caller is that Illinois does not have common law marriage. So she has no right to sue for her emotional and economic loss as she doesn’t have a legal relationship with the man who was her partner for 20 years.

The man’s kids are the ones who have a right to sue and only them. It may not be fair, but Illinois wrongful death law isn’t always about fairness, at least when it comes to who can be compensated for a loss of a loved one.

The kids already have a lawyer and she was hoping to bring a separate lawsuit for herself. Even if she had a right to sue, there can’t be multiple lawsuits for the same action. One person gets designated to represent everyone’s claims.

The fact that his will left everything to her is unfortunately irrelevant. She will get his possessions such as the house that they shared and their joint bank account. A will though does not get to designate who can sue for an accidental or negligent death.

Of course nobody anticipates that they are going to die by accident. That said, if you are in a relationship with someone you’d be best served by getting married if something like this is important to you. If not, they and you risk suffering even worse if something bad happens.

If you have questions about Illinois wrongful death laws or would like our help in finding an attorney or learning if you have a case, please call us any time at (312) 346-5320. All calls are confidential and you can always speak with one of our attorneys for free. We can’t promise you a result, but do guarantee that we will give you honest advice and do whatever we can to help you.