Recently, in Vincent v. Strathmoor, the Illinois Supreme Court was presented with a singular question of law:
– does a claim for punitive damages based upon allegations of willful and wanton violations of the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act(210 ILCS 45/1-101 et seq) survive the death of the nursing home resident, upon whose behalf the case was brought?
The case arose after Marjorie Vincent died in December of 2006 while a resident of Alden-Park Strathmoor, a nursing home in Rockford. After her death, the legal representative of her estate filed a three count complaint against Alden-Park. Count III of the Complaint, based upon the Nursing Home Act, alleged that the defendant acted with conscious or reckless disregard for Marjorie’s health and safety and that the misconduct was willful and wanton. Additionally, in Count III, plaintiff reserved the right to bring a claim for punitive damages. Defendant Alden didn’t wait for plaintiff to do so and moved to dismiss Count III. The defendant argued that punitive damages do not survive the death of the person whose injuries serve as the basis for the cause of action. The trial court agreed and struck the reservation of the right to request punitive damages in Count III. The Plaintiff appealed but the Appellate Court agreed with the trial court. The plaintiff them sought relief from the Illinois Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court however, agreed with the Appellate Court. The crux of their ruling was pretty basic. The Court ruled that generally, the right to punitive damages for personal injuries does NOT survive the death of the injured party. For a punitive damage claim to survive the death, the award of punitive damages must be expressly authorized by the statute on which the cause of action is based. As the Nursing Home Act does not contain a clause authorizing punitive damages, no such claim could be made.