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Category Archives: Illinois Law

Fee Shifting Provision of Illinois Nursing Home Care Act: Insight into Appellate Court’s Potential Interpretations

July 18, 2019

Nursing Home litigation has increased significantly in Illinois in recent years in large part due to the failure of Illinois to institute damages caps and eliminate attorney’s fees from their nursing home statute. Attorneys’ fees are recoverable under the Nursing Home Care Act. In fact, the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act provides for fee shifting […]

This entry was posted in Illinois Law, Nursing Homes and tagged , on by .

Susan Wagener
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Illinois Passes New Environmental Legislation in Spring 2019 Session

June 28, 2019

With what many have described as a historic Illinois legislative session having recently concluded, and with the focus having been on the budget, gaming, cannabis, and infrastructure, you’d be forgiven for thinking that there weren’t many significant changes to Illinois’ environmental laws. But you would be wrong. Several environmental bills of interest to the regulated […]

This entry was posted in Environmental Legislation, Illinois Law and tagged , , , on by .

Alec Messina
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The Antiquity of “Apparent Agency” in the Modern Health Care System

June 13, 2019

The question of what constitutes “apparent agency” in the context of alleged medical malpractice continues to be analyzed by the Illinois appellate courts. The issue was first addressed by the Illinois Supreme Court in the case of Gilbert v. Sycamore Municipal Hospital. 156 Ill.2d 511 (1993). In Gilbert, the Court set forth a multi-factor test […]

This entry was posted in Illinois Law, Medical Malpractice and tagged on by .

Benjamin Powell
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Shifting Attorney’s Fees Under Illinois’ Nursing Home Care Act: Another Form of Abuse

May 16, 2019

The Nursing Home Care Act (“Act”) was born of concerns about reports of inadequate or improper treatment of residents in such facilities and provided residents with a cause of action against those facilities. To encourage residents, residents’ families, and attorneys to bring claims against nursing homes, the Act originally provided that a resident whose rights […]

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Gary Meadows
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Involuntary Discharges and Transfers in Illinois: A Guide for Nursing Homes in the Pre-Hearing Stage

April 22, 2019

Illinois law provides specific rules that nursing homes must follow when discharging or transferring a resident when the resident does not agree to the discharge/transfer (an “involuntary discharge/transfer”). 210 ILCS 45/3-401 et seq. If the resident requests a hearing on the discharge/transfer, an attorney must represent the nursing home during the hearing/appeal process if the […]

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Leslie Odom
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Until Death Do Us Part … The Impact of a Plaintiff’s Death During Litigation

October 30, 2018

Practitioners usually face cases where they reasonably expect the health of a party to remain the same throughout the pendency of a lawsuit. An important, and sometimes overlooked, aspect of a litigation strategy is the long-term health of a party, or a key witness, which is a significant factor when considering both discovery and trial […]

This entry was posted in Medical Malpractice and tagged , , , , , on by .

Matthew Brandabur
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Excluding Evidence of Medical Malpractice Lawsuits Filed against Experts Testifying in Medical Malpractice Cases

May 17, 2018

Are you considering retaining an expert, in a medical malpractice case, who has a history of medical malpractice suits being filed against him or her? Have you just deposed an expert in a medical malpractice case and learned that they have been previously sued for medical malpractice? In either situation, you will likely have to […]

This entry was posted in Illinois Law, Medical Malpractice and tagged on by .

Julieta Kosiba
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Illinois Appellate Court Permits Insured to Prove Terms of Missing Policies with Specimen Coverage Forms for the Missing Policy Periods

March 28, 2018

Environmental contamination lawsuits frequently involve polluting activities which took place decades ago – long before the advent of computers and before it was possible for businesses to store information in an electronic format. When these lawsuits arise and a claim is tendered to an insurance carrier for defense and indemnity, the parties often struggle to […]

This entry was posted in Environmental Law, Illinois Law, Insurance, Insurance Law and tagged , on by .

Bradley Zaffiri
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Punitive Damages Demand Alone Likely Insufficient to Trigger Independent Counsel

March 6, 2018

Illinois courts have long made clear that when a conflict of interest exists between an insured and its insurer, the insured is entitled to independent counsel of the insured’s own choosing and at the insurer’s reasonable expense. See Maryland Cas. Co. v. Peppers, 64 Ill.2d 187, 193 (1976). What is less clear, however, is when […]

This entry was posted in Civil Litigation, Illinois Law, Insurance, Insurance Law and tagged , on by .

Katie Jacobi
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Read Your Insurance Policy Carefully: Insured Bound to Terms of Policy Despite Alleged Representations by Insurer’s Agent

February 6, 2018

As we have learned in recent days, we all need to be careful with the things we say, for sometimes those things we say can be used against us. But the life lessons do not end there. We also need to read things carefully, for the things we fail to read can be used against […]

This entry was posted in Civil Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Illinois Law, Insurance Law and tagged on by .

Mike Young
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