Re: Illinois' Malpractice Caps Likely To Go To State's High Court
From: Joe Cutchin (forcep@intercom.net)
Wed Nov 14 07:46:31 2007
The fox is still eating those chickens. Joe C
Dean Huffman . wrote:
> .
>
> Medical lawsuit limits overruled
> Malpractice caps case likely to go to state's high court
> By DANA HEUPEL
>
> Published Wednesday, November 14, 2007
>
> Illinois' hard-fought law limiting jury awards in medical malpractice cases is
> unconstitutional, a Cook County judge ruled Tuesday, setting the table for a
> decision by the state Supreme Court.
>
> Circuit Judge Diane Larsen found that the 2005 law violates the state
> Constitution's separation of powers clause. The legislative branch of
> government, she ruled, cannot pre-determine how juries can decide cases in
> courts.
>
> The case in Larsen's court involved the birth in October 2005 of Abigaile
> LeBron. Last December, her family sued Gottlieb Memorial Hospital in Melrose
> Park, along with a doctor and nurse, contending that the medical team did not
> act quickly enough when she began to display problems. She suffers from brain
> damage and other developmental disabilities.
>
> After Larsen's ruling, opponents of the law, which became a prime legislative
> issue during a two-year battle to pass it, were jubilant. Supporters vowed to
> continue the court fight to retain the $500,000 cap on non-economic damage
> awards against doctors and the $1 million ceiling on verdicts against
> hospitals.
>
> Abigaile LeBron "is at least a step closer to receiving some justice," said
> Bruce Kohen, president of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, which fought
> hard against the legislation.
>
> "Judge Larsen's ruling provides further confirmation that despite the power and
> influence of the insurance lobby, laws that violate the state Constitution will
> not be allowed," he said.
>
> In a written statement, Dr. Rodney Osborn, president of the Illinois State
> Medical Society, said, "This is only 'round one' in the battle to uphold these
> reforms, which have been crucial in slowing the number of doctors fleeing our
> state and helping in the recruitment of specialists."
>
> A spokeswoman for Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who said he was confident the
> legislation was constitutional when he signed it in August 2005, said
> administration officials are reviewing Larsen's ruling.
>
> Medical malpractice reform became the key issue during the 2004 and 2005
> sessions of the General Assembly, with supporters saying high jury awards were
> driving doctors away from Illinois. The legislation resulted from an arduous
> compromise that crossed party lines.
>
> Twice, the Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that caps on jury awards are
> unconstitutional. Backers of the current legislation believed it would survive
> a constitutional challenge because it is limited only to medical malpractice
> awards and doesn’t restrict jury verdicts involving other injuries.
>
> LeBron's family raised a number of constitutional questions in challenging the
> law. Larsen, however, ruled only on the one dealing with separation of powers.
> Because that provision is unconstitutional, she decided, the entire law is
> invalid.
>
> Along with setting caps on damages, the law established stricter standards for
> expert witnesses in malpractice cases, allowed some damage awards to be paid
> over time, extended immunity to retired physicians providing free care, and
> permitted physicians to apologize to patients without allowing those apologies
> to be used against them in court.
>
> It also changed some procedures involving how the state disciplines doctors, and
> gave state regulators more authority in reviewing malpractice insurance rates.
>
> In her ruling, Larsen said a previous Supreme Court decision had emphasized that
> "we should not and need not balance the advantages and disadvantages of reform."
>
> The Supreme Court already has decided that caps on non-economic damages "often
> referred to as 'pain and suffering'" violate the Constitution's provision
> regarding separation of powers provision, she stated. That ruling "is no less
> applicable to the present case simply because the cap at issue applies only in
> medical malpractice cases," Larsen wrote.
>
> Because the circuit court case involves constitutional questions, it will go
> straight to the state Supreme Court, bypassing the appellate court. The lawsuit
> consolidates three cases that challenge the law's constitutionality, with the
> LeBron suit designated as the lead case.
>
> "We will fight to overturn today's decision so that when the 2005 reforms are
> ultimately upheld by the state's high court, doctors can once again look to
> Illinois as a good place to practice medicine,"Dr. Harold Jensen, chairman of
> ISMIE Mutual Insurance Co., the state's largest medical malpractice insurer,
> said in a prepared statement.
>
> "We eagerly wait for that day," he said.
>
> http://www.sj-r.com/News/stories/20025.asp
>
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