Amicus Brief, Lebron v. Gottlieb Memorial Hospital

Illinois Public Act 82-280, § 2-1706.5, as amended by P.A. 94-677, § 330 (eff. Aug. 25, 2005), and as codified as 735 ILCS 5/2-1706.5(a), imposes a $500,000 “cap” on the noneconomic damages that may be awarded in a medical malpractice suit against a physician or other health care professional, and a$1 million “cap” on the noneconomic damages that may be awarded against a hospital, its affiliates, or their employees. This brief will address two of the questions presented for review by the parties: 1. Does the cap violate the Illinois Constitution’s prohibition on “special legislation,” Art. IV, § 3, because it unnecessarily, arbitrarily, and irrationally grants exceptional benefits and privileges exclusively to certain classes of tort defendants. 2. Does the cap violate the Illinois Constitution’s guarantee of “equal protection,” Art. I, § 2, because it unnecessarily, arbitrarily, and irrationally imposes extraordinary burdens uniquely upon certain classes and sub-classes of tort plaintiffs

Things to do (or Not) to Address the Medical Malpractice Insurance Problem

The article begins with an overview of the tort reform problem; federal vs. state level reform; a history of tort reform in Illinois; current Illinois law (prior to P.A. 94-677) specific to medical malpractice cases or that particularly impacts those cases; discussion of prior caps and the cases holding them unconstitutional; discussion of P.A. 89-7, which was held unconstitutional in the Best case; discussion of the 2005 legislation (P.A. 94-677) and whether it is constitutional; and finally, "where do we go from here," which includes my ideas for reform that build on the reforms already in place. An appendix includes citations to some of the many recent articles (and a few books) relevant to this topic