Medical Malpractice Insurance in Illinois: Where We’ve Been and Where We’re Going After Lebron v. Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, 930 N.E.2d 895 (Ill. 2010)

Authors

Grant McBride

Abstract

In the last thirty-five years, the Illinois legislature has passed three different statutory caps on compensatory damages in medical malpractice cases. Each time, the Illinois Supreme Court has invalidated those damage caps. This comment examines the history of medical malpractice reform in Illinois and how the Illinois Supreme Court has responded to those reform efforts. The author reviews whether caps on compensatory damages truly effectuate the stated goals of decreasing the cost of medical malpractice insurance and increasing the availability of medical care. This comment also reviews a number of alternatives to damage caps that would more efficiently achieve those goals without unfairly depriving severely injured plaintiffs of the ability to be made whole by the civil tort system.

Recommended Citation

Grant McBride, Medical Malpractice Insurance in Illinois: Where We’ve Been and Where We’re Going After Lebron v. Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, 930 N.E.2d 895 (Ill. 2010), 35 S. Ill. U. L.J. 517 (2011).
Available at: https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/siulj/vol35/iss3/6