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[Illinois] House votes to expand malpractice damagesFrom: Dean Huffman . (dean@thehuffpeople.net)Sat Apr 28 11:42:14 2007
.. House votes to expand malpractice damages BY DANA HEUPEL STATE CAPITOL BUREAU Published Saturday, April 28, 2007 Legislation that passed the Illinois House on Wednesday would allow families to collect damages for grief, sorrow and mental suffering in wrongful death lawsuits. Current law already allows juries to award damages for loss of consortium or loss to society, as well as for economic harm, according to Rep. James Brosnahan, D-Evergreen Park, who sponsored House Bill 1798. "We are adding a new area where plaintiffs can recover ... We're allowing grief, sorrow and mental anguish to be considered as non-economic damages," he said in explaining the bill on the House floor. Rep. James Meyer, R-Bolingbrook, said he thinks the law, if enacted, would increase insurance premiums for businesses and the general public because juries would have more opportunities to punish defendants in wrongful death suits. Another opponent, Rep. Rosemary Mulligan, R-Des Plaines, said she worries about the effect the legislation would have on nursing homes, which she said have become a focus of legal actions. "Trial lawyers are advertising on televisions late night," looking for plaintiffs to sue nursing facilities, she said. Rep. Dave Winters, R-Shirland, said placing more legal burdens on businesses could drive them away from Illinois. He called Brosnahan's legislation "one more brick on their back." The Illinois State Medical Society also opposes the bill, believing that a court could interpret it to override current caps on damages that can be awarded in medical malpractice cases. "HB 1798 is clearly an attempt to inflate damages in medical liability awards and is a major step in the wrong direction," Dr. Rodney Osborn, president of the state medical society, said in a news release. During floor debate, however, Brosnahan said the bill would not affect medical malpractice cases or caps on economic damages, which juries can award for lost wages or other financial problems arising from a death. He denied that he was trying to skirt existing laws. "I think this is more about fairness to the victims that lose a loved one to the actions of another," Brosnahan said. Under his proposal, only surviving spouses or next of kin of wrongful death victims could collect damages for grief, sorrow and mental anguish. Twenty-two other states permit similar jury awards, he said. The legislation passed 63-52 and goes to the Senate. To become law, it must gain approval in that chamber and be signed by the governor. Dana Heupel can be reached at 217 788-1518 or dana.heupel@sj-r.com. http://www.sj-r.com/sections/news/stories/113213.asp
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