Damage Caps for Doctors, Hospitals in Illinois
By Danell Swim
February 28, 2008
It was the nightmare every expectant mother fears – a childbirth resulting in permanent brain injury to her baby.
Frances LeBron, the mother of Abigaile, faced that reality in 2005. She became party to a civil lawsuit against Gottlieb Memorial Hospital in Melrose Park and other defendants.
Now, Abigaile, 3, and the events surrounding her birth have become part of a state and national debate focused on an overturned Illinois law that capped damages in malpractice suits.
The LeBron case, consolidated with two other civil lawsuits, challenged a law signed in 2005 by Gov. Rod Blagojevich that capped damages for medical malpractice suits.
In an opinion issued Nov. 13, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Diane J. Larsen overturned the tort law on the grounds that the measure violated the Illinois Constitution.
The law had capped medical torts for “noneconomic damages” at $500,000 for doctors and $1 million for hospitals. These are the damages associated with pain and suffering. The law allowed unlimited compensation to cover hospital bills, lost wages and other quantifiable damages.
The Gottlieb legal team appealed Larsen’s decision to the Illinois Supreme Court.
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