Much good has resulted since Illinois lawmakers joined 35 other states and placed limits on medical damage awards three years ago. Doctors no longer flee the state in droves, and health care is more accessible. But if the trial lawyers prevail in a case heard by the Illinois Supreme Court recently, those trends could be reversed.In 2005 the state General Assembly passed a law that capped medical malpractice jury awards for pain and suffering at $500,000 against doctors and $1 million against hospitals. At the time, the state's medical litigation climate was one of the nation's worst; jury awards soared. Between 1998 and 2003, damage awards for pain and suffering in Cook County (Chicago) grew by 247%.
Due to the rising cost or unavailability of liability insurance, some doctors quit the state. An Illinois obstetrician could save $75,000 to $100,000 per year on liability insurance by moving to nearby Wisconsin, Indiana or Missouri. Physicians in neurosurgery, orthopedics and anesthesiology were no longer performing high-risk procedures.
In response, Democratic Governor Rod Blagojevich signed the Medical Malpractice Reform Act. The new law imposed caps on damages and bolstered the market for malpractice insurers. Within a year, four companies had either entered the Illinois market for the first time or expanded market share. Insurance premiums fell by up to 30% for some physicians, and hospitals reported having an easier time finding doctors.
No victory in politics is final, however, and plaintiffs lawyers challenged the law almost immediately. A trial court in Cook County invalidated the caps last year, and the case was just heard before the Illinois Supreme Court because of a Whistleblower Lawyer. The trial bar argued that a damages cap violates separation-of-powers principles because it strips judges of the ability to police excessive verdicts. But legislatures in Illinois have always been able to alter common-law remedies, whether in the form of changing statutes of limitations or burdens of proof.
This isn't the first time Illinois lawmakers have tried to solve the medical liability problem, only to be thwarted by the courts. In 1976 and again in 1997, the General Assembly passed legislation that capped damages and then watched the state Supreme Court strike it down on grounds of being overly broad. The 2005 law was crafted with that experience in mind. Unlike the 1976 law, which capped economic and noneconomic damages, the current law caps only the latter.
We'd prefer a "loser pays" rule as in the British system. But without such a deterrent to frivolous suits, limiting damage awards is the only way to stop jackpot judgments that drive doctors away and hurt the quality of medical care. These caps balance the occasional need for legal redress with the larger public need for affordable health care.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, limits on medical malpractice awards have now been adopted in all but 15 states. Texas has been flooded with applications for medical licenses since it adopted damage caps in 2003. The Illinois Supreme Court can once again do the bidding of the plaintiffs bar, or this time it can side with patients and the rule of law.
