(770 ILCS 23/10)

Sec. 10. Lien created; limitation.

(a) Every health care professional and health care provider that renders any service in the treatment, care, or maintenance of an injured person, except services rendered under the provisions of the Workers' Compensation Act or the Workers' Occupational Diseases Act, shall have a lien upon all claims and causes of action of the injured person for the amount of the health care professional's or health care provider's reasonable charges up to the date of payment of damages to the injured person. The total amount of all liens under this Act, however, shall not exceed 40% of the verdict, judgment, award, settlement, or compromise secured by or on behalf of the injured person on his or her claim or right of action.

(b) The lien shall include a written notice containing the name and address of the injured person, the date of the injury, the name and address of the health care professional or health care provider, and the name of the party alleged to be liable to make compensation to the injured person for the injuries received. The lien notice shall be served on both the injured person and the party against whom the claim or right of action exists. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, payment in good faith to any person other than the healthcare professional or healthcare provider claiming or asserting such lien prior to the service of such notice of lien shall, to the extent of the payment so made, bar or prevent the creation of an enforceable lien. Service shall be made by registered or certified mail or in person.

(c) All health care professionals and health care providers holding liens under this Act with respect to a particular injured person shall share proportionate amounts within the statutory limitation set forth in subsection (a). The statutory limitations under this Section may be waived or otherwise reduced only by the lienholder. No individual licensed category of health care professional (such as physicians) or health care provider (such as hospitals) as set forth in Section 5, however, may receive more than one-third of the verdict, judgment, award, settlement, or compromise secured by or on behalf of the injured person on his or her claim or right of action. If the total amount of all liens under this Act meets or exceeds 40% of the verdict, judgment, award, settlement, or compromise, then:

(1) all the liens of health care professionals shall not exceed 20% of the verdict, judgment, award, settlement, or compromise; and

(2) all the liens of health care providers shall not exceed 20% of the verdict, judgment, award, settlement, or compromise;

provided, however, that health care services liens shall be satisfied to the extent possible for all health care professionals and health care providers by reallocating the amount unused within the aggregate total limitation of 40% for all health care services liens under this Act; and provided further that the amounts of liens under paragraphs (1) and (2) are subject to the one-third limitation under this subsection.

If the total amount of all liens under this Act meets or exceeds 40% of the verdict, judgment, award, settlement, or compromise, the total amount of all the liens of attorneys under the Attorneys Lien Act shall not exceed 30% of the verdict, judgment, award, settlement, or compromise. If an appeal is taken by any party to a suit based on the claim or cause of action, however, the attorney's lien shall not be affected or limited by the provisions of this Act.

(d) If services furnished by health care professionals and health care providers are billed at one all-inclusive rate, the total reasonable charges for those services shall be reasonably allocated among the health care professionals and health care providers and treated as separate liens for purposes of this Act, including the filing of separate lien notices. For services provided under an all-inclusive rate, the liens of health care professionals and health care providers may be asserted by the entity that bills the all-inclusive rate.

(e) Payments under the liens shall be made directly to the health care professionals and health care providers. For services provided under an all-inclusive rate, payments under liens shall be made directly to the entity that bills the all-inclusive rate.

(Source: P.A. 93-51, eff. 7-1-03.)