Illinois Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

The Illinois Supreme Court reversed a 2005 medical malpractice law which placed a cap on pain and suffering awards. The Court stated that the caps are unconstitutional. The law capped non-economic damages at $1,000,000 against a hospital and half that amount against a doctor.

The Illinois Supreme Court determined that the caps violated a jury's right to determine such damages.

It is the third time the Illinois Supreme Court reversed legislative attempts to cap awards.

In 2007, after hearing the case of Abigaile Lebron v. Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, a Cook County judge ruled the caps as unconstitutional. Lebron's family filed suit again Gottlieb after the child was born with brain damage.

Unless there are extraordinary circumstances, the courts will stay with what is considered to be established law. The law determinig the caps violated the separation of powers between the legislature and the courts was ruled on twice before by the Illinois Supreme Court.

Business groups, doctors and hospitals in Illinois lobbied hard for the caps in 2005. They argued that doctors were leaving Illinois to practice in other states because of the high premiums they had to pay for medical malpractice insurance.

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On May 8, 2006, Alinda Rust filed a lawsuit in Madison County Circuit Court, against VIP Manor In Wood River, Illinois alleging medical malpractice in the care of her mother, Viola Baehler. According to the lawsuit, Baehler suffered from dehydration, malnutrition and sepsis. Baehler was aresident at VIP Manor from May 12, 2004 up until her death on Sept 20, 2004.

Madison County's rule on mandatory mediation in medical malpractice cases was instrumental in the two sides reacing a settlement and avoiding a lengthy trial. The Illinois Supreme Court approved the rule in June of 2007 and the rule was implemented in September 2007. Madison County was the first in Illinois counties, to make mediation mandatory in medical malpractice cases.

The rule is unique in that it allows for the parties to choose between a judge or lawyer to act as mediators in the their case. The rule also sets restrictions on motions to dismiss involving certificates of merit.

On February 7, Madison County Chief Judge Ann Callis assigned the case to Associate Judge Ralph Mendelsohn to mediate.

If the two sides were unable to reach a compromise during the mediation, a jury trial would have started October 14. The terms of the settlement were sealed and and disclosed.

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The 2008 Hospital Professional Liability and Physician Liability Benchmark Analysis was released on Monday. Their findings: that one out of six medical malpractice liability claims against health care entities result from infections, injuries and other conditions which are acquired at the hospital.

The study was conducted jointly by Aon Corp and the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management, both based in Chicago. It is intended to provide health care risk managers with a better understanding of the cost of risk compared to an industry benchmark. Hospital acquired illnesses were included in the study for the first time this year. The goal is to establish a benchmark for future liability costs for such ailments to which they can be compared.

Aon said in a statement that health care organizations can look at trends in frequency, severity and total loss cost to help better manage their liability concerns.

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Phillip Seaton, 61, scheduled a circumcision to treat inflammation. However, when he awoke from the procedure, Seaton discovered that his physician, Dr. John M. Patterson, had, without consent, removed his penis.

The doctor's post surgical notes indicate that the doctor thought he detected cancer. Later tests revealed that Mr. Seaton did not, in fact, have cancer.

Philip Seaton and his wife have filed a medical malpractice case seeking compensation for "loss of service, love and affection." The amount of compensation they are seeking was unspecified.

Their attorney, Kevin George said, "It was not an emergency. It didn't have to happen that way.

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Motions in a medical malpractice case against a plastic surgeon were decided on by Judge Andy Matoesian today. The motion were filed by Attorney Bob Perica of Wood River asking the courts to prevent testimonty as to the petitioner’s receipt of public aid and to ban any referance to his client’s wealth or poverty.

Zang, of Witt, IL., has accused Dr. R. Craig McKee Medical Malpractic by negligently peforming a breast reduction surgery and violating the standard of while performing a bilateral reduction.

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