§ 8-101 — Limitation

(a) No civil action other than an action described in subsection (b) may be commenced in any court against a local entity or any of its employees for any injury unless it is commenced within one year from the date that the injury was received or the cause of action accrued. (b) No action for damages for injury or death against any local public entity or public employee, whether based upon tort, or breach of contract, or otherwise, arising out of patient care shall be brought more than 2 years after the date on which the claimant knew, or through the use of reasonable diligence should have known, or received notice in writing of the existence of the injury or death for which damages are sought in the action, whichever of those dates occurs first, but in no event shall such an action be brought more than 4 years after the date on which occurred the act or omission or occurrence alleged in the action to have been the cause of the injury or death. (c) For purposes of this Article, the term "civil action" includes any action, whether based upon the common law or statutes or Constitution of this State. (d) The changes made by this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly apply to an action or proceeding pending on or after this amendatory Act's effective date, unless those changes (i) take away or impair a vested right that was acquired under existing law or (ii) with regard to a past transaction or past consideration, create a new obligation, impose a new duty, or attach a new disability.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 93-11, eff. 6-4-03.)