Trial Lawyers Receive Payment for Supporting Democrats

My interpretation of the legislation that State Senator Craig Wilcox explains below, not his:

Prejudgment interest bill passes General Assembly

Craig Wilcox

On Thursday, the Senate passed Senate Bill 72, which increases liabilities and payouts for all personal injury lawsuits.

Under this legislation, a prejudgment interest rate of 6 percent is added onto judgments awarded by the courts for personal injury or wrongful death cases.

Previously, prejudgment interest was only applied to damages in specific cases that did not include personal injury or wrongful death, and was awarded at a 5 percent interest rate.

Without question, people who have been harmed by negligence or wrongdoing deserve to be compensated; however, I believe this legislation unfairly punishes any party, including small business owners and health care workers, who choose to dispute claims brought against them. SB 72 now heads to the Governor, who is expected to sign it.


Comments

Trial Lawyers Receive Payment for Supporting Democrats — 5 Comments

  1. Almost all personal injury cases are paid by insurance companies.

    Premiums of course could be affected but small businesses etc do not directly pay claims unless they went uninsured (not smart).

    I imagine the interest could be waived as part of any settlement

    At least 95% of all cases are resolved via settlement.

  2. **MADIKAHN EXIT GIFT TO ALL**

    You do know that it passed the House and the Senate in the last two weeks, after Madigan resigned, right?

  3. Illinois’ statutory interest rates are too high.

    The 9% rate on judgments is borderline usurious.

  4. BecauseScience is correct.

    We’re talking here about insurance companies.

    Now, if an insurance company withholds agreement on and payment of a legitimate claim for as long as possible, what do you think the motivation could be for that, hmm ?

    Moreover, we might very well be talking about an injured party experiencing financial hardship all the while such resolution and payments are withheld, which can induce an injured party to ultimately settle for a amount less than he or she would otherwise agree to.

    So, why would folks be in favor of insurance companies as opposed to injured parties with legitimate claims ?

    (Remember, if the claim ultimately fails, no interest is owed.)

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