Lien Act Proposal

All Illinois and Chicago-area Personal Injury Attorneys and their clients are waiting with bated breath to see what happens to House Bill 3206 in the Illinois legislature.

The bill would modify and amend the Health Care Services Lien Act to include subrogation rights of insurance companies in the 40% limit of verdicts or settlements (no more than that amount of a settlement or verdict may be allocated to liens or reimbursements of this type). It also would amend the way liens may be served, modernizing us into the 21st Century.

Of even more interest is that it would limit the amount of money that could be paid on a lien to the proportion the plaintiff's insurer would have paid and also would incorporate comparative fault and common fund principles into the calculations.

It would be extremely helpful to plaintiffs and their attorneys and I sincerely hope it stands a chance of passing and becoming law.

You can read more below or in the links.

Health Care Services Lien Act
House Bill 3206
House Bill 3206 (Thapedi, D-Chicago) does four things to this Act. (1) It makes the subrogation rights of insurance companies part of the 40% of a verdict or settlement. (2) Clarifies that notice of adjudication of lien may be served by mail, personal or substitute service. (3) Limits the health-care provider’s lien to 66% of the charge that would have been submitted had the charge been presented to the patient’s insurer. (4) If plaintiff's personal injury case is reduced by comparative fault or uncollectability of the full value of the case resulting from limited insurance proceeds or otherwise, then the lien or claim is likewise diminished in the same proportion. The party holding the lien or claim is barred from further collection for the unpaid balance. Common fund doctrine attorney's fees would apply if the lien or claim is reduced by comparative negligence or uncollectability of full value of case. In House Rules Committee