Earlier this month the Illinois Supreme Court issued an important ruling for medical malpractice plaintiffs. The Court ruled that statutory limits on medical malpractice damages are unconstitutional.
In 2005, Illinois enacted a law that limited non-economic damages (such as pain and suffering) to $500,000 against doctors and $1 million against hospitals. Litigation and appeals were expected from the time that the law was passed and in February 2010 the Illinois Supreme Court struck down the 2005 law reasoning that the law violated the separation of powers by allowing the legislature to interfere with the work of a jury.
Illinois citizens should be proud that our state’s Supreme Court recognized the rights of individual medical malpractice victims to recover the damages that they have actually incurred and not arbitrary limits set by a state legislature. The Supreme Court was not persuaded by arguments that “other states are doing it” and stood up for the constitutional rights of the people of Illinois.
If you have been hurt by the medical negligence of an Illinois doctor, nurse or hospital then we encourage you to seek the advice of an Illinois medical malpractice lawyer for more information about how this ruling will affect a pending or new medical malpractice case.
