Here is a story that might be especially important to our Illinoise doctors.  It appears that some are lobbying to get around the lawsuit caps put in place for medical malpractice cases back in 2005.

One of the measures, signed into law last month, allows plaintiffs in wrongful death cases to seek damages for grief, sorrow and mental suffering. Previously in such cases, Illinois law allowed families to collect only for economic damages and some other specific categories, but not for grief.

The Illinois Trial Lawyers Association said 23 other states already allowed damages for grief and mental suffering.

And Illinois Sen. Kwame Raoul, D-Chicago, who sponsored the original bill, said Illinois’ restrictions were unfair – families couldn’t seek damages for emotional distress, but pet owners could.

“It’s outrageous,” Raoul said. “I can’t think of any survivor of a loved one or somebody’s child not being able to talk about grief and sorrow.”

But critics of the law say it could amount to an end-run around medical malpractice caps passed in 2005, which limited non-economic damages, such as for pain and suffering, to $500,000 against doctors and $1 million against hospitals. The caps were an effort to stem a growing tide of doctors leaving the state because of high insurance rates.

Plaintiffs now potentially could file separate malpractice and wrongful death lawsuits and collect on both, essentially allowing them to avoid the caps set in the malpractice law.

That could stick doctors and hospitals with higher legal bills, said Ed Murnane of the Illinois Civil Justice League, who said the new law just gave trial lawyers another way to cash in.

“We’ve taken and pushed that pendulum back to the plaintiff side way past the middle once again in Illinois,” said Sen. Kirk Dillard, R-Hinsdale, who said the law wiped out efforts to make the legal system more fair.

I doubt opposing compensation for grief is going to be a popular position.  But if it eventually translates into higher medical costs in Illinois, everyone will suffer.  It would be helpful if some middle ground could be taken, where families are compensated in a manner that is reasonable.