Challenge to Reform Law Has Day in Court 
“Courts have a duty to sustain legislation whenever possible and resolve all doubts in favor of constitutional validity.”
Scenes from a courtroom
Sustaining the medical litigation reform law was not what opposing trial lawyers had in mind on September 17 when they presented arguments to Cook County Circuit Court Judge Diane J. Larsen for overturning the law. (The lawyers represent plaintiffs and defendants in the case of
LeBron v. Gottlieb Memorial Hospital et al, the case used to launch the reform law challenge.)
The trial lawyers alleged the Illinois General Assembly had “no rational basis” for enacting the law. They also argued that a previous Illinois Supreme Court decision, Best v. Taylor Machine Works, which overturned a 1995 reform law limiting non-economic damage awards in personal injury actions, still sets a precedent in regard to the current LeBron case.
The ISMIE/ISMS defense team then argued vigorously that the state legislature certainly did have a “rational basis” for the reforms: Physicians were leaving the state, and citizens’ access to health care was in jeopardy. The defense team also produced “rational” precedents subsequent to the Best case that ruled the legislature can enact laws limiting damages in civil lawsuits. Therefore, it was noted, Best is not the definitive legal authority.
August 2005 Comprehensive medical litigation reforms are signed into law in Illinois. Plaintiffs' attorneys immediately begin planning their assault against the reform law. September 2007 Because the reform law applies only to injuries occurring after August 2005, the challenge in the courts only now begins. At a hearing on September 17, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Diane J. Larsen heard the ISMIE/ISMS defense team’s arguments toward sustaining the hard-won law – including its provision for a $500,000 cap on non-economic damage awards. At Press Time ISMIE expects Judge Larsen’s written opinion of the arguments presented. This marks only the first stage of what will likely be a drawn-out process, with an appeal on the initial ruling all but certain. |
Top-notch team
With former U.S. Solicitor General Theodore B. Olson leading the ISMIE/ISMS defense team, policyholders and Illinois citizens may be assured of expert arguments in support of the reform law’s constitutionality. (On September 14, Olson was cited in The Wall Street Journal as “… one of America’s finest lawyers.”)
Stay tuned for further updates via this newsletter and ISMIE-news. For more information on precedents that support the case for physicians and patients, go to www.realitymedicine.com.
 Sew up lawsuit reform for goodISMIE/ISMS print ads appearing in 20 Illinois newspapers declare the necessity of keeping Illinois’ reform law on the books. Available for download at www.realitymedicine.com |