[ Search ] [ Legislation ] [ Bill Summary ]
[ Home ] [ Back ] [ Bottom ]
90_HB3648
New Act
Creates the Assistance Animal Damages Act. Provides that
a physically impaired person who uses an assistance animal or
the owner of an assistance animal may bring an action for
economic and noneconomic damages against any person who
steals or, without provocation, attacks the assistance
animal. Permits an action for additional damages under
specified circumstances. Provides that no cause of action
arises if a physically impaired person, owner, or the person
having custody or supervision of an assistance animal was
committing a criminal or civil trespass at the time of the
theft of or attack on the assistance animal. Provides for
the awarding of attorney's fees under specified
circumstances.
LRB9011007WHbd
LRB9011007WHbd
1 AN ACT in relation to assistance animals.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5 Assistance Animal Damages Act.
6 Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
7 "Blind person" means a person who has vision of 20/200 or
8 less with the best correction or has a visual field of 20
9 degrees or less.
10 "Guide dog" means a dog that is trained to lead or guide
11 a blind person.
12 "Deaf person" means a person whose hearing disability
13 precludes successful processing of linguistic information
14 through audition with or without a hearing aid.
15 "Hearing ear dog" means a dog that is trained to assist a
16 deaf person.
17 "Assistance animal" means any animal trained to assist a
18 physically impaired person in one or more daily life
19 activities, including but not limited to:
20 (1) guide dogs;
21 (2) hearing ear dogs;
22 (3) an animal trained to pull a wheelchair;
23 (4) an animal trained to fetch dropped items; and
24 (5) an animal trained to perform balance work.
25 "Daily life activity" includes but is not limited to:
26 (1) self-care;
27 (2) ambulation;
28 (3) communication; or
29 (4) transportation.
30 "Physically impaired person" means any person who is
31 permanently physically impaired, whose physical impairment
-2- LRB9011007WHbd
1 limits one or more of daily life activities and who has a
2 record of impairment and is regarded by health care
3 practitioners as having such an impairment, requiring the use
4 of an assistance animal including but not limited to
5 blindness, deafness and complete or partial paralysis.
6 Section 10. Damages recoverable for harm or theft of
7 assistance animal.
8 (a) In addition to and not in lieu of any other penalty
9 provided by State law, a physically impaired person who uses
10 an assistance animal or the owner of an assistance animal may
11 bring an action for economic and noneconomic damages against
12 any person who steals or, without provocation, attacks the
13 assistance animal. The physically impaired person or owner
14 may also bring an action for such damages against the owner
15 of any animal that, without provocation, attacks an
16 assistance animal. The action authorized by this subsection
17 may be brought by the physically impaired person or owner
18 even if the assistance animal was in the custody or under the
19 supervision of another person when the theft or attack
20 occurred.
21 (b) If the theft of or unprovoked attack on an assistance
22 animal described in subsection (a) of this Section results in
23 the death of the animal or the animal is not returned or if
24 injuries sustained in the theft or attack prevent the animal
25 from returning to service as an assistance animal, the
26 measure of economic damages shall include, but need not be
27 limited to, the replacement value of an equally trained
28 assistance animal, without any differentiation for the age or
29 the experience of the animal. In addition, the physically
30 impaired person or owner may recover any other costs and
31 expenses, including, but not limited to, costs of temporary
32 replacement assistance services, whether provided by another
33 assistance animal or a person, incurred as a result of the
-3- LRB9011007WHbd
1 theft of or injury to the animal.
2 (c) If the theft of or unprovoked attack on an assistance
3 animal described in subsection (a) of this Section results in
4 injuries from which the animal recovers and returns to
5 service, or if the animal is stolen but is recovered and
6 returns to service, the measure of economic damages shall
7 include, but need not be limited to, the veterinary medical
8 expenses, costs of temporary replacement assistance services,
9 whether provided by another assistance animal or a person,
10 and any other costs and expenses incurred by the physically
11 impaired person or owner as a result of the theft of or
12 injury to the animal.
13 (d) No cause of action arises under this Section if the
14 physically impaired person, owner or the person having
15 custody or supervision of the assistance animal was
16 committing a criminal or civil trespass at the time of the
17 theft of or attack on the assistance animal.
18 (e) The court shall award reasonable attorney's fees to
19 the prevailing plaintiff in an action under this Section. The
20 court may award reasonable attorney's fees and expert witness
21 fees incurred by a defendant who prevails in the action if
22 the court determines that the plaintiff had no objectively
23 reasonable basis for asserting a claim or no objectively
24 reasonable basis for appealing an adverse decision of a trial
25 court.