Illinois Deserves the Truth

Edwardsville Ed Board Comes Out Swinging

The Edwardsville Intelligencer wrote a commendable editorial on the med mal cap issue yesterday.  They’re right when they say egregious malpractice cases are more complicated than they appear.  Caps, of course, ignore this fact, and apply the same standard to all cases, which only hurts victims of the most serious cases.  My favorite part of the editorial is when they tamp down on the false cries that docs were leaving the state before the law passed:

Did more than 170 doctors in the Metro East area really leave? Again, all we have are words.

In fact, repeated requests in the past from this newspaper for proof have never — and we repeat, never — been met with any kind of verifiable evidence.

In one instance we even found several area doctors named as leaving who, when contacted, adamantly denied ever considering such a move. Another doctor notified patients that he was leaving only to show up a short while later with another office in a different part of Madison County.

Sounds fishy to me.  And yet this was supposed to be "tort reformers'" main argument for caps?

Illinois News Roundup

IL Attorney General Lisa Madigan is suing seven companies responsible for mortgage scams targeted at struggling homeowners.

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After a derailment killed two and injured 80 others, Metra agreed to pay the families of the deceased $11 million.

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A Cicero woman overdosed and died from a leaky “pain relieving” skin patch in 2004.  Her family just won their suit against the manufacturers.

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A Chicago woman who contracted HIV from her kidney donor sued the hospital, which never told her the donor was high-risk.

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Apparently, there is a coal company downstate that has no qualms about the civil justice system.  It filed a lawsuit against federal pollution regulators.

Major Victory for Rights of Developmentally Disabled in IL

You have to love the power of class actions.  Last week, the IL developmentally disabled community hailed a settled federal class action as a huge step forward.  For the first time, it will give thousands of Illinoisans a choice in where they want to live.  From the Sun-Times,

"Finally, the state of Illinois has listened," said Zena Naiditich, president and CEO of Equip for Equality, an advocacy group for people with disabilities. "The outcome of this development is nothing short of remarkable. I'd like to say awesome."

Awesome, indeed!

Med Mal Caps, in Court and in the News

The state state Supreme Court just listened to oral arguments over IL's 2005 medical malpractice caps law.  To coincide, the Illinois Times ran a story this morning outlining the issue.  It features quotations from CJ&D executive director Joanne Doroshow, and - what do you know? - actually presents the perspective of victims.  This perspective has been lost underneath a lot of biased reporting this year (here, here, here for a few examples), so it's nice to see a news organization honestly explain to the public what, and who, this issue is ultimately all about.

“In a very, very serious case, a cap like this is very cruel to the patient,” Doroshow says. “Especially if we’re talking about a child that is catastrophically injured and will need compensation for the rest of their life. There really is a tremendous hardship on families.”

Check out the story here.

Med Mal Caps Law in IL Supreme Court Tomorrow

It’s been a long time coming.  Almost a year ago exactly, a Cook County Circuit Court Judge declared Illinois' cruel 2005 caps law unconstitutional.  The case went to the state Supreme Court, with oral arguments slated for tomorrow morning.  We don't need to repeat why this law must be struck down (see here, here, and all over our blog).  It is unlawful, cruel and harmful to the most vulnerable patients, and does not alleviate malpractice insurance costs.  Hopefully, the High Court follows the lead of previous decisions and puts patients' rights over Big Insurance.

Settlement makes nursing home safer

As we have long been touting the benefits of lawsuits that help not only the injured person, but everyone, here is an example out of Lake County.  Because of the settlement the nursing home is now implementing stricter monitoring of beds and implementing new wheelchair technologies. 

Hey “Tort Reform” Groups – Time to Go Away Now!

Cross posted from The Pop Tort by Andy Hoffman

Check out this article in the Madison County/St. Claire Record (a newspaper owned by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce) for a great description of how Obama’s win last night is fabulous news for the civil justice system—only be forewarned, because it’s written by someone from the right-wing (and obviously out-of-touch) Manhattan Institute you’ll have to translate the semi-Orwellian language.  So, when you read something like “Efforts to restore fairness and balance to the nation’s courts could take a giant step backward,” know that you’re actually reading something like “Cruel efforts to deny injured consumers access to the courts may be headed for the scrap heap!”

While you’re at it, also check out this entertaining UPI article that shows how the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (recent blog links here and here) is now trying to make nice with Obama, U.S. Senators and other members of Congress it tried to defeat.  The Chamber went from “deploying nearly 600 staffers to key states, spending millions of dollars on ads, sending 15 million emails and 6.5 million pieces of mail, and making more than 6 million phone calls,” to curling up like a lapdog, pledging to “play a helpful role in the transition process.” 

Let’s hope their “helpful role” consists of going away now. 

Madigan Taking it to Distributor of Flawed Children's Product

You may have heard the phrase “profits over people”, but how about “profits over little people”?  Sounds even worse, doesn’t it?  IL Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed a lawsuit yesterday to force the distributor of a dangerous crib to stop peddling the product once and for all.  The Simplicity bassinet made the news earlier this year when we learned that its flawed design caused at least two infant deaths.  But despite knowing this, distributor SFCA refused to participate in a recall.  Their argument, in a nutshell: ‘Hey, we’re not the ones who designed it’.  Details on the suit:

Madigan’s lawsuit asks the court to prohibit SFCA from selling and distributing the unsafe bassinets in Illinois and to require SFCA to:
* Hire an independent consultant to develop a product safety protocol and review all of SFCA’s product designs to ensure compliance with safety standards;
* Recall all Simplicity bassinets that use the recalled design;
* Provide refunds to retailers who issued refunds or store credits to consumers who returned Simplicity bassinets; and
* Notify the public of CPSC recalls by advertising in newspapers throughout Illinois.

Let’s hope the suit accomplishes all of these objectives.  Go to the website for Kids In Danger for more on children’s product safety.

Hot Off the Presses! Report Finds Corporate Immunity Endangers Women!

Cross posted from The Pop Tort by Andy Hoffman

In anticipation of the important Supreme Court "preemption" case Wyeth v. Levine that will be argued in the Supreme Court this Monday (November 3), the Center for Justice & Democracy (CJ&D) has released a new report (exec. summary here): THE BITTEREST PILL – How Drug Companies Fail To Protect Women And How Lawsuits Save Their Lives.

The report illustrates the vital role that lawsuits have played in protecting women from unsafe or defective drugs and devices, and how women, in particular, would suffer should the Court give the drug industry complete immunity from lawsuits.

Check it out!

Scaffolding Deconstructs

Pedestrians walking Chicago’s River North neighborhood witnessed a harrowing scene today.  The Tribune reports that construction site scaffolding collapsed seven stories up and left two workers in need of rescue.  Firefighters saved the men, both of whom are in critical condition. 

Regardless of what caused this particular collapse, scaffolding is dangerous for workers and pedestrians alike.  As the fire department chief of Special Operations told the Tribune, “We do this quite often…There’s a lot of scaffolding in this city”.  A simple statement, but it tells the story.  Clearly, workers need all of the safeguards they can get.  Let’s hope the General Assembly redeems itself in the future after missing a chance to strengthen safety standards in this dangerous industry. 

Learn more about construction safety in Illinois in the CJ&D-IL report Deadly Trade.

Lawsuit Paved the Way for Burge's Downfall

Former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge finally faces prosecution, but not for what you’d expect.  Since expired statutes of limitations prevent any charges related to torture or coercing confessions, Burge was instead indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice - crimes that occurred during the federal lawsuit that compensated four of his torture victims.

Also worth a read: this subsequent AP story about the challenges facing Burge’s other torture victims.

Illinois News Roundup

Illinois will pocket $3 million from a 33-state settlement over deceptive marketing practices by drug manufacturer Pfizer.

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The FDA announced a new website for consumers looking into current FDA safety efforts.  Visit it at http://www.fda.gov/cder/drugSafety.htm.

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Doctors misdiagnosed a 33 year old Chicago man's heart condition five times, leading to an infection and eventually a permanently disabling stroke.  Last week, the man settled his lawsuit with those responsible.

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Another faulty children’s product recall: this time it’s 1.6 million Delta cribs responsible for several infant deaths.

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The Department of Justice and AGs from 13 states – including neighbors Iowa and Missouri - filed a lawsuit to stop a merger of two of the nation’s top beef packers. 

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The FDA denied Illinois-based Abbott Labs’ request for approval of their extended-release Vicodin.

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Read this sobering article about how seniors have had to watch their legal rights slowly stripped away in recent years.

Memo to U.S. Supreme Court: Immunity Bad! Reading the Newspaper Good!

Cross posted from The Pop Tort by Andy Hoffman

As we count down the days before the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments in the big “preemption” case, Wyeth v. Levine, the news has been filled with compelling evidence that granting drug companies complete immunity from lawsuits is a truly terrible idea.  Here are a few samples…

Citing a new report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the Wall Street Journal reported today  that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “is failing to keep accurate data about foreign drug facilities it is supposed to oversee and often doesn't follow up warning letters with inspections.”

A new study out of the Netherlands found that “Nearly one in four recently approved products in a relatively new class of medicines needed some type of regulatory action because of safety issues that arose after they came on the market,” according to the USA Today.

Meanwhile, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), in anticipation of Wyeth, has written an editorial forcefully condemning blanket immunity for drug and medical device manufacturers.  Here’s an excerpt.

“Given the current imperfect process for approval and the flawed postmarketing surveillance system, the drug and device regulation process is at best an inexact and incomplete science. Until these deficiencies in the system are remedied, some patients inevitably will continue to experience harm from the use of newly marketed products as well as from use of other approved medications. Just as with other consumer products that cause harms, consumers (ie, patients) who are injured by defective medical devices or by pharmaceutical products with inadequate warnings of potential harms may have to resort to legal action as recourse for their injuries…Litigation and state tort law ‘provides a system of civil justice designed to compensate patients, deter unreasonably hazardous conduct, and encourage innovation in product design, packaging, labeling, and advertising.”

“Thus, tort law serves in effect as a way to close regulatory gaps in the FDA premarketing approval process and to provide a mechanism for postmarketing surveillance. Moreover, litigation has been a rich source of information about how drug and device manufacturing companies behave, such as with off-label promotion, guest and ghost authorship, and reporting of safety findings. Without the information revealed by the public release of documents in tort liability actions, many of these behaviors would remain unknown, some drug manufacturers’ judgments about safety issues would be hidden from view, review, or oversight, and the FDA would not be able to uncover them either…”

Pot Calling the Kettle Black

Big Business spends a lot of time and money whining about the need for "tort reform", but that doesn’t stop them from turning around and quietly using the courts themselves.  Lately, we need look no further than a trio of homegrown Chicago-area corporations that evidently think the civil justice system is great (as long as they're the plaintiffs, that is).

• Deerfield-based pharmacy chain Walgreen Co., which filed a suit against drug manufacturer Wyeth.

• Schaumburg-based iPCS Inc., a telecom company suing affiliate Sprint Nextel.

• Riverwoods-based Discover Financial Services, the credit card company that recently settled its suit against Visa and Mastercard.

Let's see...pharmaceuticals, telecoms, and credit card companies.  Yeah, those industries just love the civil justice system.  Visit The Pop Tort ‘hypocrisy’ page for more examples corporate duplicity.

Business as usual in Chicago

By now, we’ve all heard the old song and dance of “tort reformers” in Illinois: that our legal system hurts the local economy.  Of course, this is preposterous (read the CJ&D-IL Facts about the Illinois Economy).

Here's more evidence for the naysayers: Chicago - a favorite target of state “tort reformers” - claimed #8 on the 2008 Global Cities Index, which ranks globalization in cities around the world.  And what, pray tell, was a main criterion for making this list?  Business Activity, including "the number of Fortune Global 500 firms headquartered and the value of capital markets in a city."

See the full rankings in Foreign Policy Magazine.