Doctors file Illinois Supreme Court Brief:
"Keep Medical Lawsuit Reforms, Preserve Patient Access to Care"
May 8, 2008
ISMS and the American Medical Association today filed a joint amicus brief asking the Illinois Supreme Court to preserve Illinois patients' future access to medical care by upholding the state's 2005 medical lawsuit reform law.
Also filed today was a brief authored by former U.S. Solicitor General and legal scholar Theodore Olson on behalf of the physician defendants in the three underlying medical malpractice cases being used to challenge the law. Other pro-reform briefs were also expected to be filed today.
No date has yet been set for oral arguments on the constitutionality of medical liability reforms. As always, we will keep you posted with all updated information.
View relevant documents including a copy of the press release and links to the legal briefs at RealityMedicine.com.
MORE ROADBLOCKS ON JUDICIAL TRAIL
Judge rules in favor of plaintiffs; refuses to "stay" reform law until high court review
March 31, 2008
There is new activity as we continue the journey to preserve critical medical liability reforms in Illinois. On March 10th, Cook County Court Judge Diane Larsen ruled against our request for a delay in enforcement (known as a "stay" in legal terms) of her order declaring the law unconstitutional. This signals the circuit court's unwillingness to keep the law in place, even temporarily, until high court review. While this adverse decision technically affects only the individual lawsuit to which it pertains, it may be considered a precedent by some Chicago area civil courts.
The deadline for legal briefs on the constitutional case is set for the first part of June. ISMS and ISMIE Mutual will be filing briefs, to which the plaintiff will respond. We will then have two weeks to prepare our rebuttal. The entire briefing process could last two to three months, from start to finish.
On the educational front, ISMS and ISMIE Mutual are producing a series of radio ads to air around the state. Their purpose is to heighten public awareness on the important issue of medical liability and its potential consequences for patient access to medical care. Visit www.realitymedicine.com to hear these ads or for more information, including news releases, posters, or a copy of our Reality Medicine issue booklet.
We will, of course, continue to provide updates. Thank you for your involvement and support.
Medical liability reform remains a top advocacy priority for the American Medical Association (AMA). Financial support being provided by the AMA to ISMS for its Reality Medicine campaign is part of the AMA's ongoing advocacy effort. Together we are stronger.
Unfavorable First Step for Physicians and Patients
Trial Judge: medical litigation reforms are "unconstitutional"
November 13, 2007
Today, Cook County Court Judge Diane Larsen issued her decision that Illinois' medical litigation reform law is unconstitutional. The appeal now proceeds directly to the Illinois Supreme Court.
As previously noted, this trial court ruling is only the first step in the process of court review of the law. This battle is far from over and your help is needed more than ever! It is critical to keep this issue alive. Please educate your patients so that, together, we can continue the fight to KEEP DOCTORS IN ILLINOIS!
For more information, including a copy of our news release on the ruling, posters, or a copy of our Reality Medicine issue booklet, please click here. Or call the department of governmental affairs at 800-782-4767.
Medical liability reform remains a top advocacy priority for the American Medical Association (AMA). Financial support being provided by the AMA to ISMS for its Reality Medicine campaign is part of the AMA's ongoing advocacy effort.
Together we are stronger.
Legal Battle, Round One: Trial Court to Rule Tuesday on Tort Reform Constitutionality
November 07, 2007
As promised, we are keeping you up to date with all things related to the constitutional challenge to our hard-won medical liability reform law.
Cook County Circuit Court Judge Diane Larsen has posted a Tuesday, November 13, 2007 hearing date, at 11:30 a.m., for release of her ruling on the constitutional challenge. At that time, the trial court will announce its decision on the case and accompanying motions.
It is important to keep in mind that this ruling is just one step in what will be a long journey.
Once the initial decision is released, ISMS and ISMIE Mutual will issue an update, with a summary of the ruling and what it means for the patients and physicians of Illinois. We are fortunate to have as our advocate noted constitutional scholar and former U.S. Solicitor General Ted Olson, who will guide us through the entire court challenge process.
Whatever the ruling, Judge Larsen's decision will likely spark immediate appeal to a higher Illinois court.
For additional information, please contact the department of governmental affairs at 800-782-4767 or visit us at www.realitymedicine.com
Medical liability reform remains a top advocacy priority for the American Medical Association (AMA). Financial support being provided by the AMA to ISMS for its Reality Medicine campaign is part of the AMA's ongoing advocacy effort. Together we are stronger.
Medical Liability Reform Ads Appear in Papers Statewide
September 19, 2007
Be sure to pick up a newspaper today (September 19th). ISMS, the AMA and ISMIE Mutual are running print advertisements to highlight the recent two year anniversary of medical liability reform in Illinois. The ads serve as a reminder to Illinois citizens as to why Illinois desperately needed medical liability reform. We cannot let trial attorneys erode the protections physicians and patients fought so hard to enact.
Ads also appear in these newspapers.
Alton Telegraph |
Belleville News Democrat |
Bloomington Pantagraph |
Carbondale Southern Illinoisan |
Centralia Morning Sentinel |
Champaign News-Gazette |
Chicago Daily Law Bulletin |
Chicago Sun-Times |
Chicago Tribune |
Daily Herald |
Danville Commercial News |
Decatur Herald & Review |
Effingham Daily News |
Joliet Herald News |
Moline Dispatch/Rock Island Argus |
Pekin Daily Times |
Peoria Journal-Star |
Quincy Herald-Whig |
Rockford Register Star |
State Journal Register |
If you do not have access to any of these papers, the ads are also be posted online.
Constitutional Challenge: Round One
September 19, 2007
On Monday, (9/17), Cook County Circuit Court Judge Diane J. Larsen heard arguments made by attorneys representing plaintiffs and defendants in LeBron v. Gottlieb Memorial Hospital et al.
Arguing against the constitutionality of 2005 medical liability reforms, plaintiffs alleged the Illinois General Assembly did not have a "rational basis" for enacting the law. According to plaintiffs, the General Assembly relied upon a "mishmash of contradictory material" - including studies by both the federal government and the AMA - to determine the need for reform. Plaintiff lawyers also argued that a previous Illinois Supreme Court decision, Best v. Taylor Machine Works, which overturned a 1995 reform law limiting non-economic damages in personal injury actions, still sets precedent in regard to LeBron.
Next, defense attorneys highlighted medicine's arguments supporting the 2005 reforms. The ISMS/ISMIE Mutual legal team argued the state legislature did indeed have a "rational basis" for the 2005 reforms. Doctors were leaving Illinois, and the public's access to medical care was endangered. They referenced specific provisions of the 2005 reforms as demonstrating a "rational basis" for the law's enactment, and identified several court decisions, subsequent to Best v. Taylor Machine Works, which ruled the state legislature can enact laws limiting damages in civil lawsuits. Therefore, it was noted, Best is not the definitive legal authority.
Upon conclusion of the arguments, Judge Larsen scheduled a case management conference for mid-October. She will issue a written opinion at some point thereafter.
We will of course update you frequently. For more information, please visit
www.realitymedicine.com or call the ISMS department of governmental affairs at 1-800-782-4767.
Medical liability reform remains a top advocacy priority for the American Medical Association (AMA). Financial support being provided by the AMA to ISMS for its Reality Medicine campaign is part of the AMA's ongoing advocacy effort. Together we are stronger. |
Heads Up... Reforms Under Attack!
August 29, 2007
Happy Anniversary! Two years ago this month, historic medical litigation reforms became the law of the land in Illinois. This is the first in a series of Reality Medicine e-updates, focused exclusively on developments in the legal battle to preserve our hard-won reform law.
The good news: These reforms have already sparked a fledgling turn-around in Illinois' medical litigation environment. Med mal premiums for physicians have stabilized and appear to be trending downward. The insurance marketplace is beginning to expand. For ISMIE Mutual, claims frequency ebbed by some 20-plus percent in 2006, and a newly announced dividend plan will share with policyholders the savings from reform.
The bad news: As expected, trial lawyers have moved aggressively to challenge the reforms in court. Over the course of the last year, three separate lawsuits took aim to completely derail the law. The first legal salvos are due to be launched September 17th, when the challenge receives an initial hearing in the Cook County Circuit Court's Chancery Division. Both sides have filed legal briefs.
See the August 2007 Illinois Medicine EXPRESS or the September 2007 Mutual Interests for a comprehensive update on the challenge. View this material and more on www.realitymedicine.com.
For further information, please contact the department of governmental affairs at 1-800-782-4767, or e-mail us at govt@isms.org.
Illinois Physicians thank the American Medical Association for their generous financial support for the Reality Medicine initiative.