Illinois Lawyer Blog

Last week the Illinois Supreme Court heard argument on the constitutionality of the 2005 Illinois legislation capping damages in medical malpractice cases. The law caps non-economic[pain and suffering]awards against doctors are $500,000. In addition, the law caps similar damages against hospitals at $1million. The argument against caps is twofold. First, caps… Read More

A recent study in the Journal for Empirical Legal Studies suggests that plaintiffs should strongly consider accepting settlement offers and NOT going to trial. Law Consultant Randall Kiser and Cornell Legal Professor Jeffrey Rachlinski analyzed over 2000 civil cases from 2002 through 2005. According to the study, 61% of those plaintiffs received less in damage… Read More

The Catholic Diocese of Peoria , Illinois is claiming that personnel decisions regarding priests are confidential, and not subject to civil court review. This latest turn in the Catholic Church sex abuse crisis arises out of a lawsuit recently filed againts the Peoria Diocese by Andrew Ward. Ward, age 20, filed suit in June, accusing now retired Monsignor Thom… Read More

According to an article in the November 7, 2008 Chicago Sun-Times, approximately 500,000 diabetic syringes are being recalled. The article, written by Monifa Thomas, notes that the manufacturer,Covidien, recalled 4,710 boxes of single use ReliOn syringes, sold at Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club, between August 1 and October 8. According to the Food and Drug Admi… Read More

As noted in my October 27, 2008 post, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency[CFIA] recently issued a warning advising Canadian consumers not to eat Sherwood Brands Pirates Gold Chocolate Coins. Tests on the coins had revealed the presence of melamine. Sherwood Brands has now issued a notice to customers in response to the CFIA warning. The notice details that no… Read More

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency[CFIA] is warning Canadians not to eat, distribute or sell Sherwood Brand Pirates Gold Milk Chocolate Coins. Recent CFIA tests on the candy came back positive for the presence of melamine. The product at issue has 240 pieces of candy per package and bears UPC 0 36077 11240 and lot code 1928S1. The candy is distributed in Cand… Read More

Saw an interesting article in the CBA Record by James F. Costello Jr., the Veteran’s Rights Project Coordinator at the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago. Costello’s article discussed the Illinois Family Military Leave Act[The Act]. The Act is fairly new, having just become effective in 2005. The purpose of the Act is to afford lea… Read More

J.W. Elphinstone of the Associated Press had an article in the Chicago Tribune today discussing the Delta Enterprises recall of 1.6 million older models of a drop-side crib after two infant deaths. The company indicated on Monday that 985,000 drop-side cribs, made between 1985 and 2007 require safety pegs that may be lost during the assembly process. In additi… Read More