Profession
Judge won't declare Illinois awards cap constitutional
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Feb. 19, 2007
An Illinois trial judge in January tossed out a hospital's request that the state's cap on noneconomic damages in medical liability lawsuits be declared constitutional.
The family of a patient who died sued Advocate Trinity Hospital in June 2006. The hospital answered with a counterclaim asking the judge to approve the state's jury award limit, which stands at $500,000 for physicians and $1 million for hospitals.
Illinois Hospital Assn. spokesman Danny Chun said hospitals and doctors want a speedy ruling on the cap to get relief from high medical liability insurance premiums. The IHA helped Advocate file its claim but is not a plaintiff in the suit.
"Until the Supreme Court rules on caps, we are in a waiting game in the insurance market," he said.
But Cook County Circuit Court Judge Robert Lopez Cepero dismissed Advocate's September 2006 suit, saying it was an improper vehicle to address the state's cap because the plaintiff's case did not raise a challenge or seek damages beyond the limit.
Advocate Healthcare representative Meghan Clune said the hospital was evaluating appeal options.
Meanwhile, trial lawyers await a ruling on a separate suit filed in November 2006 asking the court to declare the award limit unconstitutional.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2007/02/19/prbf0219.htm.
