The Illinois State Supreme Court has overturned caps on “pain and suffering in malpractice cases in Illinois. The caps were $500,000 for suits against doctors and $1 million for hospitals. California has had caps of $250,000 since 1975 and it has stabilized the malpractice insurance market in the state for 35 years. Illinois was notorious as a high malpractice premium state and doctors were leaving the state when the legislature passed this law five years ago. That migration should now resume. I remember one story of an OB GYN who moved across the state line to Indiana. His patients followed him but it was an inconvenience.
Doctors incomes have declined over the past 25 years and this will make Illinois a red letter state for the recruiters from other states. I’m retired but I get job offers almost every week. Some specialties are already showing a significant shortage as medical students are choosing “life style” specialties that don’t require weekend and all night work.
It will be interesting to see what happens in Illinois.
Tags: health care, medicine
In related news, John Edwards has announced plans to move to Illinois.
I recall a story back in the day about an Illinois neuro doctor who was essentially being forced out of practice by insurance premiums. It was touching because his patients really raved about his care. He had not had one claim against his practice.
We are supposed to have a balance of power in our government, but lawyers seem to dominate all three branches.
doombugguy, I read such a story about a neurosurgeon in Florida who paid, as I recall, $250,000 a year for coverage of $1 million. Florida is a toxic waste dump of malpractice claims.
Something else that gripes me is the asymmetry: suing a lawyer for malpractice is plenty tough, while mentioning a doctor for such is like ringing a dinner bell.
This seems like a fundamentally wrong decision befitting Illinois. The legislature can specify what is a crime and what the maximum penalty can be for that crime. There is simply no reason they cannot specify a maximum for civil suits. It may be time for an impeachment or two.
Well, I can certainly say I will never practice medicine in Illinois. I do think it is delicious irony that the socialist AMA is headquartered in Chicago. I can’t wait until all these people screaming for “free” national socialist health care can’t find a doctor …. because we’ve quit or moved elsewhere to practice medicine without the chains of socialist slavery.
I think it is long past time for physicians to refuse to provide medical care of any kind to lawyers, politicians and their family members until they stop pushing their anti-American, anti-liberty agendas.
Full disclosure: I haven’t read the opinion.
That said…
My initial reaction is this: The Illinois Supreme Court had/has no right to overturn the law, substituting their own policy prescriptions for those of the Peoples duly elected representatives.
Listen… the only way to deal with a situation like this is for the Legislature to simply overrule the Court’s decision or else Impeach the Justices in question and then pass the same exact law one more time, only add or subtract a word or two in order to make the “new” law… er… “new.”
BILL