## Facts

- Jennifer Panky Burrell sued Southern Truss and its employee, Joel Kingston, for injuries allegedly caused by Kingston’s negligence in the course of employment.
- Burrell settled the tort claims for $8,500.
- After settlement, three medical providers filed liens against the settlement proceeds in the circuit court:
  - Wood River Township Hospital asserted a $913.65 lien under the Hospital Lien Act.
  - Medical Radiological Services, Inc. asserted a $473 lien under the Physicians Lien Act.
  - Dr. Anthony Marrese asserted a $1,529 lien under the Physicians Lien Act.
- The combined liens exceeded one-third of the settlement, although the total sought under each statute, viewed separately, did not exceed one-third.
- Burrell petitioned to adjudicate the liens, arguing the total liens could not exceed one-third of the settlement.

## Issues

1. Whether the Hospital Lien Act and Physicians Lien Act must be read together to impose a single, combined one-third cap on all medical liens arising from the same injury.
2. Whether each statute instead imposes its own independent one-third cap applicable only to liens created under that statute.

## Decision

- The Illinois Supreme Court reversed the appellate and circuit court judgments.
- The court held the Hospital Lien Act and Physicians Lien Act operate independently.
- Each statute’s one-third limitation applies only to liens created “hereunder” (i.e., under that specific Act), not to all medical liens collectively.
- The circuit court erred by aggregating liens under both Acts, imposing a single one-third cap, and prorating payments to fit within that global limit.

## Legal Principles

- Statutory interpretation begins with the statutory text; where the language is clear, courts apply it as written.
- The phrase limiting “the total amount of all liens hereunder” to one-third of the recovery imposes an aggregate cap only within the statute that creates those liens.
- Absent express legislative direction, courts may not combine separate statutory lien schemes to create an overarching cap across multiple lien statutes.
- Policy arguments about protecting an আহত plaintiff’s net recovery do not justify judicially adding limitations not found in the statutes.

## Conclusion

The one-third cap in the Hospital Lien Act limits only hospital liens under that Act, and the one-third cap in the Physicians Lien Act limits only physician-provider liens under that Act; courts may not impose a single combined one-third ceiling on liens asserted under both statutes.


Burrell v. S. Truss, 176 Ill. 2d 171, 679 N.E.2d 1230 (Ill. 1997)