Legislative leaders struck a second agreement Tuesday evening on reforms in the state`s medical malpractice laws and altered the original agreement to ensure that an injured patient may recover up to $250,000 in a lump sum payment.
Legislative leaders and Jim Reilly, Gov. James Thompson`s chief of staff, announced the agreement and said it represents final negotiations on the issue, which has become a battle between the state`s doctors and lawyers.
”As with any compromise, neither of the principal sides is particularly pleased,” said Senate President Philip Rock. (D., Oak Park).
Most observers said the original agreement benefited the Illinois State Medical Society, which watched some support for its proposals erode in the last two weeks. Members of the legal community, who had complained that they were not a party to the first agreement, were in on the negotiations for the new pact but still declined to endorse it.
John Hayes, Chicago Bar Association president, said he would respond to the agreement when it is considered Wednesday morning by the House Judiciary I Committee.
The new agreement alters the proposal that malpractice awards of more than $250,000 be paid in annual installments. If ratified by the General Assembly, the new agreement would allow for installment payments after the first $250,000–or 50 percent of a judgment, whichever is greater–was paid.
In addition, the new proposal provides that a malpractice verdict can be reduced by 100 percent of ”collateral sources” of revenue, such as insurance money collected by patients for charges for medical, hospital, nursing and caretaking services.
It also keeps intact state laws allowing the malpractice awards to be reduced by half of money collected through private or government disability programs, such as Social Security.
The measure also would restrict liability for attorneys` fees to plaintiffs and their lawyers only if they disregarded the finding of a special screening panel and filed a malpractice action in a case the screening panel found unwarranted. The recommendation of a panel as to the amount of monetary damages would be advisory and unusable in later legal action to tax the losing side with court costs.
Under the agreement, the new restrictions would take effect Aug. 15, instead of immediately upon the governor`s signature.
”We are trying to give those many lawyers that are concerned about the profession and reasonable lawyers the opportunity to analyze a malpractice case prior to filing it,” said House Minority Leader Lee Daniels (R. Elmhurst).
