Illinois Supreme Court Again Nixes Malpractice Caps

By Prescott Carlson in News on Feb 4, 2010 9:40PM

Tort reform is repeatedly put forth by Republicans as part of the solution to the health care problems in this country. But the question of whether or not that would actually work to lower health care costs might soon be moot, as the Illinois Supreme Court ruled today that a current medical malpractice cap law is unconstitutional.

Pushed through in 2005 with the help of a group of downstate Democrats after a contentious battle on the House floor, Illinois passed a law capping malpractice pain and suffering lawsuits at $500,000, and a maximum award of $1 million against hospitals. At the time, State Senator Ira Silverstein called it "feel-good legislation." The law was first ruled unconstitutional by a Cook County in a 2007 medical malpractice trial, and the case made its way to the higher court. The Illinois Supreme Court struck down a similar law in 1997.

Not surprisingly, the American Medical Association disagrees with the decision, saying in a statement:

The cap enacted in 2005 by the Illinois legislature has proven to be a remedy for the clear social and economic problems caused by the state’s broken liability system. Today’s court decision threatens to undo all that Illinois patients and physicians have gained under the cap, including greater access to health care, lower medical liability rates and increased competition among medical liability insurers... It is critical to preserve strong medical liability reforms among the states so no patient is prevented from getting needed health care because of the broken liability system.

Thirty-one other states currently have medical malpractice caps enacted.