The lines began forming early and were as long as ever when workers began trying to close the office for the day. Most of those waiting were young people, some casually dressed.
Bruce Springsteen coming back to town? Guess again.
These were young law clerks, along with a few lawyers, waiting in line in the Daley Center to file medical malpractice suits before a tough new state law takes effect Thursday.
Though lawyers prepare suits, they usually assign aides to file them.
Lawyers had good reason to assign the filings to someone else on Tuesday. The lines–4 abreast and at least 50 deep–in the Circuit Court clerk`s office meant it took at least 45 minutes to reach the counter to file.
Normally there is no waiting and a suit can be filed within two minutes.
Deputy court clerks said the deluge of medical malpractice suits began Monday and worsened on Tuesday.
There were 221 personal injury suits filed Monday and 318 on Tuesday. An inspection found that at least three-quarters of them were medical malpractice suits.
This means that about 400 such suits have been filed in the last two days, compared with the 9 or 10 usually filed each day.
”We might be here all night,” a court clerk said late Tuesday as he viewed a pile of lawsuits to be processed.
The rush to file malpractice suits developed because the new state law does not apply to suits filed before Thursday.
After that, things will become a lot tougher for malpratice lawyers and their clients. For one thing, malpractice suits will have to be accompanied by a doctor`s certificate that the suit has merit.
And before the case can go to trial, it must be heard by a panel consisting of a doctor, a judge and a lawyer. Severe financial penalties can be imposed if a suit against a doctor or hospital is found to be frivolous.
If the panel votes 3-0 against a plaintiff and he insists on going to trial and loses, he can be forced to pay all of the defendant`s attorneys`
fees and court costs.
The law was strongly endorsed by the Illinois State Medical Society.
In May there was a surge in the number of medical malpractice suits filed when it became clear the law would pass.
But deputy clerks said what happened in May was nothing compared with what is going on this week. In May there were 414 malpractice suits filed in the last nine days of the month.
