Illinois Statute of Limitations on Personal Injury

Illinois law limits the time a plaintiff has to file a personal injury lawsuit.

Statutes of limitations are laws passed by state legislatures restricting the time plaintiffs have to file a lawsuit or in which criminal charges may be brought. With regard to civil personal injury claims, Illinois has a general limitation, with some exceptions or situations that extend the limitation period.

General Personal Injury

Illinois statute limits the time a plaintiff has to file a personal injury claim to 2 years. This includes injuries caused by "false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, statutory penalty, abduction, seduction and criminal conversation (735 ILCS 5/13-202)".

Cases Involving Crime

There is no limit on the amount of time a person has to file a personal injury claim if that injury allegedly occurred as a result of the defendant committing and being convicted of first degree murder, a Class X or Class 1 felony (735 ILCS 5/13-202). A Class X felony is a crime generally punishable by incarceration for 6 to 30 years; a Class 1 is generally punishable by 4 to 15 years in jail (735 ILCS 5/5-4.5).

Minors and Disabled Persons

Parents and guardians can file lawsuits on behalf of the minor children or disabled individuals under their care. If they don't, the time for a child to file a suit on his own behalf doesn't start to run until he is 18 years old. In the case of a disabled person, the time for all potential claims doesn't start until she no longer has the disability (735 ILCS 5/13-211).

Product Liability

The basic limitation for filing a lawsuit caused by a product is 2 years. However, the suit must be filed within 12 years of the date the product was first sold, leased or delivered--unless the seller provided a longer warranty period. In that case, the suit must be filed during the applicable warranty period. Additionally, the 2-year limitation period doesn't start to run until the date the plaintiff knew or should have known about the injury, up to 8 years after the occurrence (735 ILCS 5/13-213). An example of this is in asbestos litigation, where plaintiffs sometimes can file lawsuits when they are diagnosed with a disease caused by asbestos, even though exposure to asbestos may have occurred years before.

Medical Malpractice

In Illinois, medical malpractice lawsuits against doctors, nurses, dentists, hospitals or other legal entities generally must be filed within 2 years of the incident. Illinois statute potentially extends this limitation to 2 years from the date the plaintiff or her legal representative knew or should have known about injury allegedly caused by medical care. However, this extension is limited to an additional 2 years, as the suit must be filed no later than 4 years after the actual alleged injury-causing care. If the plaintiff is less than age 18, the suit must be filed within 8 years of the care or the plaintiff's 22nd birthday--whichever occurs first, regardless of the date he knew or should have known about the injury (735 ILCS 4/13-212).

References

• Illinois General Assembly: Illinois Compiled Statutes