Governor approves medical malpractice reform

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[AUG. 27, 2005]  SPRINGFIELD -- After two years of Republican prodding, Gov. Blagojevich has approved comprehensive medical malpractice reforms, announced state Sen. Larry Bomke, R-Springfield.

"This is an agreement the General Assembly has been working toward for a long time," Bomke noted. "The legislature met with doctors and health care workers, the insurance companies, and representatives from the legal system to address the concerns of all parties and come to a compromise that will satisfy everyone involved. Approval of these reforms is a great step toward re-establishing a thriving medical community in Illinois."

Bomke said that the measure includes caps on noneconomic damages, which have been set at $500,000 for physicians and $1 million for hospitals. He stressed that although placing caps on noneconomic damages has been a contentious and divisive issue, it was a necessary component of creating meaningful malpractice legislation.

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"Instituting caps on noneconomic damages is a very important provision of the medical malpractice reforms and one that Illinois doctors insist is necessary to limit the cost of insurance resulting from the huge jury awards that have been awarded in this state," Bomke explained.

He said that lawmakers in both parties worked together for over 18 months to create medical malpractice reforms that would place a reasonable limit on the costly jury awards and exorbitant insurance rates.

The new law went into effect immediately upon receiving the governor's signature.

[News release from Sen. Larry Bomke, 50th District]

 

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