Traditionally, Illinois law prevented prejudgment interest on personal injury and wrongful death claims. As of January 13, this rule changed when Illinois lawmakers passed House Bill 3360.
The measure modifies the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure to add 9% annual interest to "all actions brought to recover damages for personal injury or wrongful death resulting from or occasioned by the conduct of any other person or entity, whether by negligence, willful and wanton misconduct, intentional conduct, or strict liability of the other person or entity".
Of significance is when the prejudgment interest begins to accrue under the bill. Many of the jurisdictions that allow prejudgment interest on personal injury claims have varying different approaches on the start point of the interest accrual. Some states require rejection of a formal demand with specific requirements, other interest accrual starts on the date of loss, and others from the date of when the complaint was filed. In Illinois, the interest is to start accruing on the day the defendant has notice of the injury. That notice can either be written from the incident itself. Interest will begin accruing as soon as the law takes effect for injuries that occurred before the bill is effective, even currently pending suits.
The proposal provides that government bodies would not be subject to the new interest rule.
The bill has been passed by both houses, and will now go to Governor J.B. Pritzker to be signed into law.
Editor's Note: The full impact of this bill remains to be seen, but it will very likely cause an increase in the cost of personal injury claims in Illinois. The bill will also put pressure on defendants to settle early to stall the clock on the prejudgment interest, giving plaintiffs attorneys leverage.