An Illinois law capping medical malpractice judgments is about to face a challenge. The law, which has been around for two years, limits judgments against doctors for noneconomic damages to $500,000 for doctors and $1 million for hospitals. The law seems to have cut the number of med mal suits being filed around the states, and some observers claim that it's easier to recruit doctors today.
Now, as often happens in such cases, a lawsuit challenging the law is working its way through the courts. (It comes not long after a similar challenge to Florida's med mal law.) Later this month, a case involving a brain-damaged baby will come before a county court, in which the attorney will argue that the caps don't deliver enough money. Not surprisingly, attorneys for the doctor--paid for the state's largest med mal insurer, ISMIE Mutual Insurance Co.--will be there fighting to keep the caps in place. It's not clear whether the challenge could strike down the entire law or just portions of it.
To learn more about the legal challenge:
- read this piece from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
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