Medical Malpractice Lawyers Could See Pay Rise Under New State Law
From the Chicago Tribune
Medical malpractice lawyers are poised to make more money after Gov. Pat Quinn quietly signed a law allowing them to collect higher fees.
Doctors groups criticize the change, arguing that it will result in less money for injured patients who need it for costly health care and therapy. They also contend the measure was quickly pushed through the General Assembly in the waning days of a lame-duck session by ruling Democrats friendly to trial lawyers.
But supporters say the law is aimed at setting a standardized rate of pay instead of an old system that allowed some lawyers to petition for fees as high as 50 percent of what a client was awarded.
The issue represents the latest back-and-forth between two powerful lobbying groups at the Capitol: the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, which represents attorneys who sue doctors and hospitals accused of negligence, and the Illinois State Medical Society, which represents health care providers. For decades, the two organizations have tossed around millions of dollars in campaign contributions, with the lawyers primarily giving to Democratic candidates and the doctors historically donating to Republicans.
Doctors groups cried foul when the latest measure to raise attorney's fees came up in Springfield during the final days of the legislative session this month. Much of the attention was focused on last-ditch efforts to reform the state's financially faltering government worker pension system.
"With Illinois' financial crisis growing worse by the day, the Illinois General Assembly is instead focused on delivering a big pay increase for trial lawyers handling medical liability lawsuits, all at the expense of injured patients," the medical society said in a news release issued as legislators weighed the bill.
Read more in our daily News Update...
From the Chicago Tribune
Medical malpractice lawyers are poised to make more money after Gov. Pat Quinn quietly signed a law allowing them to collect higher fees.
Doctors groups criticize the change, arguing that it will result in less money for injured patients who need it for costly health care and therapy. They also contend the measure was quickly pushed through the General Assembly in the waning days of a lame-duck session by ruling Democrats friendly to trial lawyers.
But supporters say the law is aimed at setting a standardized rate of pay instead of an old system that allowed some lawyers to petition for fees as high as 50 percent of what a client was awarded.
The issue represents the latest back-and-forth between two powerful lobbying groups at the Capitol: the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, which represents attorneys who sue doctors and hospitals accused of negligence, and the Illinois State Medical Society, which represents health care providers. For decades, the two organizations have tossed around millions of dollars in campaign contributions, with the lawyers primarily giving to Democratic candidates and the doctors historically donating to Republicans.
Doctors groups cried foul when the latest measure to raise attorney's fees came up in Springfield during the final days of the legislative session this month. Much of the attention was focused on last-ditch efforts to reform the state's financially faltering government worker pension system.
"With Illinois' financial crisis growing worse by the day, the Illinois General Assembly is instead focused on delivering a big pay increase for trial lawyers handling medical liability lawsuits, all at the expense of injured patients," the medical society said in a news release issued as legislators weighed the bill.
Read more in our daily News Update...