 "We fought long and hard to pass meaningful medical malpractice
reform," Mitchell said. "We don't want to go back to the days of
doctors fleeing Illinois due to outrageous lawsuit abuses."After
years of negotiation and compromise, the Illinois General Assembly
in 2005 passed comprehensive medical malpractice reform. Senate Bill
475 (Public
Act 94-677) discouraged frivolous lawsuits and limited
noneconomic damages in malpractice cases to $500,000 for physicians
and $1 million for hospitals. Mitchell strongly supported passage of
the legislation.
Despite strong public support for medical malpractice reform,
trial lawyers and other special interest groups filed suit to
overrule the lawsuit limits. Circuit Judge Diane Larsen ruled
Tuesday that the law violates the state constitution's
separation-of-powers clause. The case will now go to the Illinois
Supreme Court.
[to top of second column]
 |
 "The trial lawyers lost this issue at the ballot box and in the
General Assembly, so they decided to fight it in the courts," said
Mitchell. "I'm hopeful that the Supreme Court will declare this law
constitutional."
Following passage of the 2005 law, malpractice liability insurers
proceeded to lower premium rates for doctors and hospitals. The
state's largest medical insurer even lifted a four-year moratorium
on new policies, allowing up to 400 more doctors to receive
coverage. In Cook County, medical malpractice lawsuits dropped 25
percent, to their lowest level in at least a decade.
"Medical malpractice reform is working as intended, and the caps
should be kept in place," Mitchell said. "Families throughout
Illinois deserve to have access to quality health care."
[Text from file received from
Rep. Bill
Mitchell] |
