Last month marked the four-year anniversary of enactment of Illinois’ medical liability reform law. The road to achieving the law’s enactment is paved with the efforts of many reform-minded groups and individuals who are determined to keep doctors in Illinois and provide patients with access to quality medical care.

Key to these efforts is the Illinois Civil Justice League (ICJL). The ICJL works vigorously to bring our messages to state lawmakers and to maintain public awareness of the justice-related issues that can make or break the quality of life in Illinois. ISMIE Mutual has partnered with the ICJL since its founding in 1992. This month, Mutual Interests welcomes dialogue with ICJL President Ed Murnane.

The expression “it takes a village” is a well-worn cliché, but it seems to apply to ICJL’s strategy for advancing civil justice causes. True?

I think that’s true. While major concerns such as medical liability abuses attract a lot of attention, there are many other abuses to the civil justice system. Local governments are a major target of excessive, and frequently bogus, liability suits. This includes park districts, school districts and public transportation systems (such as the Chicago Transit Authority). School districts also are vulnerable to excessive litigation. All of these units of local government have high reserve funds or high insurance costs which, of course, add to the cost to the taxpayer.

Those involved in the manufacture and distribution of products are frequently targets of lawsuits when there is an injury that may or may not have been caused by the product. Frequently, these injuries are caused by misuse, but all those involved in the manufacturing and distribution chain can be named in a lawsuit, which can and does add to the cost of products and the insurance costs of everyone in the system.

All of these “villagers” have been involved in our efforts on behalf of a fair civil justice system. Not all of them get a lot of attention, but they all realize that an excessive number of lawsuits results in higher costs for all of us.

What was the turning point for effectively advancing Illinois’ medical liability reforms during 2004, and how did ICJL partner with others in this effort?

There is no doubt that the rising cost of medical liability insurance in the early 2000s and the decisions by doctors to move or reduce the scope of their practice opened a lot of eyes and a window of opportunity. While Southern Illinois was facing the most serious problem in Illinois in terms of the loss of physicians in the workforce, the problem was statewide. Our former governor even experienced the issue when his wife’s obstetrician went back to teaching because of the high cost of liability insurance.

Residents of Southern Illinois were particularly frustrated, and it turned out the Supreme Court election in 2004 in Southern Illinois included one candidate, Gordon Maag, who had been a plaintiff’s attorney in Madison County before becoming a judge. Madison and St. Clair Counties were considered among the worst in the state for medical malpractice litigation and the Supreme Court election provided residents of Southern Illinois the opportunity to express their views in the voting booth.

They did, loudly and clearly, and Judge Lloyd Karmeier of Washington County was elected.

This seat had been held by Democrats for years, and was closely tied to the Madison and St. Clair trial lawyer community. Therefore, Karmeier’s election sent a strong signal to Illinois legislators and Southern Illinois trial lawyers. It is doubtful that the 2005 medical liability reform legislation would have been passed by the General Assembly had not Justice Karmeier been elected.

ICJL was happy to play a leading role in this effort, as did ISMIE, ISMS and others. Doctors in Southern Illinois campaigned door-to-door, and made it clear that opening the Supreme Court to a less hostile justice system was an important step toward achieving medical liability reform.

Why are judicial elections so important to the process of civil justice reform, and why is 2010 considered a watershed year for electing judges?

Judges have the ultimate authority to overrule the actions of the other branches of government, including to determine (in their view) if legislation is constitutional. The arguments that are waged in legislative chambers may be convincing to legislators, and bills may turn into laws with the signature of the governor. But the courts – from lowest to highest – have the final say. A trial court (circuit court in Illinois) can rule a law unconstitutional, and then it is up to the Supreme Court to determine if the law is constitutional or not. If a law is ruled unconstitutional, virtually all the work of the legislature and of the proponents of the law has been wasted.

Because we elect judges in Illinois on a partisan basis, the competition for judicial offices can be intense and issues involving personal injury lawsuits, including medical liability, can be prominent – even controlling.

Next year will be one of the most critical judicial election years in Illinois. Typically, there would only be one Supreme Court seat on the ballot, and sometimes two, but in 2010 there will be four seats at stake. The justices whose terms expire could seek retention to another 10-year term, or one or all could decide to retire and there would be open competition for the seat.

What makes 2010 so critical is that half the court could be changed as a result of the 2010 election. That could change the philosophic balance on the court, which could be good or bad. Generally, the current court has not supported civil justice reform measures, but they have surprised at times.

An unknown and potentially enormous factor in the 2010 election will be the pending Illinois Supreme Court decision on the constitutionality of the 2005 medical liability reform law. If a decision is announced before the election (it is anticipated) the votes of the justices on the ruling could be major factors in the election.

What is the most important message you’d like to convey to physicians about being actively involved in letting their elected officials hear where they stand on the issues that impact patient care in Illinois?

Some physicians do an outstanding job in staying in contact with their elected officials. One added activity would be to encourage patients to stay in contact with lawmakers. Physicians can be a good source of factual information on liability and other medical issues that are being manipulated by politicians. A shirt-pocket sized card for patients that includes a suggested message to lawmakers, along with contact information for state and federal legislators (including e-mail addresses), can be very useful.

The Illinois Civil Justice League (ICJL) is a coalition of Illinois citizens, small and large businesses, associations, professional societies, not-for-profit organizations and local governments that have joined together to work for fairness in the Illinois civil justice system. Ed Murnane was named President of the ICJL early in 1993 after serving for four years in the Reagan and Bush Administrations. Mr. Murnane is also associated with the American Tort Reform Association (ATRA), the only national organization exclusively dedicated to reforming the civil justice system.

Physicians: Help educate your patients on the issues that affect their access to medical care. Order Reality Medicine “prescription pads” at no cost to you by sending an e-mail to johnmaszinski@ismie.com.