Abstract
Illinois Public Act 82-280, § 2-1706.5, as amended by P.A. 94-677, § 330 (eff. Aug. 25, 2005), and as codified as 735 ILCS 5/2-1706.5(a), imposes a $500,000 “cap” on the noneconomic damages that may be awarded in a medical malpractice suit against a physician or other health care professional, and a $1 million “cap” on the noneconomic damages that may be awarded against a hospital, its affiliates, or their employees.
This brief will address two of the questions presented for review by the parties:
1. Does the cap violate the Illinois Constitution’s prohibition on “special legislation,” Art. IV, § 3, because it unnecessarily, arbitrarily, and irrationally grants exceptional benefits and privileges exclusively to certain classes of tort defendants.
2. Does the cap violate the Illinois Constitution’s guarantee of “equal protection,” Art. I, § 2, because it unnecessarily, arbitrarily, and irrationally imposes extraordinary burdens uniquely upon certain classes and sub-classes of tort plaintiffs.
Repository Citation
Neil Vidmar; Tom Baker; Ralph L. Brill; Martha Chamallas; Stephen Daniels; Thomas A. Eaton; Theodore Eisenberg; Neal R. Feigenson; Lucinda M. Finley; Marc Galanter; Valerie P. Hans; Michael Heise; Edward J. Kionka; Thomas H. Koenig; Herbert M. Kritzer; David I. Levine; Nancy S. Marder; Joanne Martin; Frank M. McClellan; Deborah Jones Merritt; Philip G. Peters, Jr.; James T. Richardson; Charles Silver; and Richard W. Wright,
Amicus Brief, Lebron v. Gottlieb Memorial Hospital
(2008),
Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.uga.edu/fac_artchop/497
Amicus Brief in support of Plaintiffs-Appellees, Abigaile Lebron v. Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, No. 105741 (Ill. Aug. 21, 2008)