Suffering an injury or a worsened medical condition due to a doctor’s or medical facility’s error or negligence feels like a deep betrayal of trust. Sadly, medical malpractice remains a growing problem despite greater awareness and an increasing number of lawsuits.
After experiencing harm caused by a medical provider you trusted with your care, you have every right to seek compensation for the damages caused to you, but does Illinois cap or limit the medical malpractice damages available to an injured patient? Contact our medical malpractice attorney in Chicago for a free consultation with Smith LaCien LLP.
Illinois has never capped the recoverable economic damages in medical malpractice claims, allowing injured patients to recover the full value of losses, such as medical expenses and reduced earning ability.
However, prior to a 2010 court ruling overturning Illinois’s damages caps, the state had imposed limits on recoverable non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering, allowing only $500,000 in lawsuits against individual medical providers and $1 million in lawsuits against hospitals. The state repealed this cap on non-economic damages in 2010 in the Lebron v. Gottlieb Memorial Hospital ruling.
Today, there are no caps or limits on the compensation you can recover for your economic and non-economic losses in Illinois medical malpractice claims; however, there are many variables that impact the total amount you recover in your claim.
The compensation you can recover in a medical malpractice claim depends on the damages you’ve sustained from the injury or worsened medical condition caused by the provider’s negligence. Depending on the unique circumstances of each case, the economic losses suffered, the level of pain caused, and whether the malpractice has permanent consequences or has caused catastrophic injury, the available compensation amount varies widely among malpractice victims.
Common damages recovered in Illinois medical malpractice claims include:
If you lost a loved one due to medical malpractice, your family can recover compensation and a sense of justice through a medical malpractice wrongful death claim.
Although Illinois does not cap compensatory damages in medical malpractice claims, the state prohibits punitive damages in such cases under 735 ILCS 5/2-1115. While economic and non-economic damages compensate the injury victim, punitive damages are awarded to the injury victim as a punishment for the wrongdoer.
Some states allow punitive damages for egregious wrongdoing in medical malpractice claims, but Illinois does not, including for medical malpractice wrongful death, although punitive damages are available for other causes of wrongful death in Illinois.
It takes clear evidence of the medical provider’s liability and a carefully calculated list of past and future damages to recover the maximum compensation available to you in a medical malpractice claim in Illinois. Claims are filed against the at-fault party’s insurance company, and insurers are not on the claimant’s side.
Instead, the insurance company may actively undermine or undervalue a claim to protect the company’s profits. Call or contact Smith LaCien LLP online to learn how a personal injury lawyer in Chicago protects your best interests throughout the process.
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