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.