Cook County Judge Diane Larsen has ruled Illinois’ law limiting jury awards for medical malpractice cases unconstitutional. The law imposed a cap on non-economic damages (pain and suffering and disfigurement) of $500,000 against doctors and $1,000,000 million against hospitals.
The ruling was made in Estate of Lebron Abigaile, et. al., v. Roberto Levi Dancona, M.D., et. al., Cook County Case No. 2006 L 012109. The case will now most likely go up on appeal directly to the Illinois Supreme Court.
In Chicago, Illinois four transplant recipients have contracted HIV from a high risk organ donor whose infection went undetected, according to the Chicago Tribune. The transplants occurred at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Rush University Medical Center and the University of Chicago Medical Center.
The Tribune reports that an Elmhurst, Illinois based organ donor agency involved in the matter has admitted that a screening questionnaire showed that the HIV infected donor had engaged in high-risk behavior, but the agency still tested and approved the organs for donation.
Whether it was negligent for the agency to approve the organ donation after the disclosure of high risk behavior is an issue that will likely be decided in Court.
Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer Blog