Chicago Medical Malpractice

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September 20th, 2004

"Cook Country medical malpractice suits actually decline"

According to files from the Cook County courthouse, the number of medical malpractice lawsuits in the Chicago-land area has declined 24 percent in the first eight months of 2004. Considering the so-called medical malpractice �crisis� that the state has been in, many theories have been developed to explain the large decline.

One theory on the Illinois medical malpractice lawsuits decline is that juries believe there is a crisis, which frightens plaintiffs'' lawyers who can spend as much as $100,00 per case on expert witnesses and depositions. If juries appear unsympathetic, Illinois medical malpractice lawyers may have some apprehension to pursue such costly cases. Another theory, according to trial lawyers, is the impact left from the highly visible media campaign by the medical field, insurance field and business groups lobbying to convince legislators and the public for caps on jury awards. While the campaign was unable to change Illinois medical malpractice law, the high visibility of the push for change affected the jury pool.

There are many other theories accounting for the decline in Illinois medical malpractice cases, which may affect malpractice premiums. Since insurers set policyholders'' rates on expectations of future claims, the decline could affect the numbers. The data is just based on part of the year''s numbers and is still unpredictable.