In November 2003, the defendant R.A. was driving while intoxicated on Route 173 in Spring Grove, Ill. He apparently fell asleep, crossed the center line and crashed head-on into the car occupied by L.M., who was a passenger. L.M. was airlifted to Rockford Memorial Hospital where he remained in intensive…
In January 2007, J.F. underwent a splenectomy, which is the removal of the spleen, at the University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago. J.F. had a condition known as idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), which is a blood disorder managed by steroid use. Reportedly more than two-thirds of the ITP patients…
A Lake County jury entered a verdict in favor of a woman who was sustained a head injury after falling from a surgical table. While the original medical malpractice lawsuit was filed against both the hospital where the fall occurred and the anesthesiologist who administered an epidural prior to the…
In TV and movie trial dramas, we are always shown a jury hotly debating over the case facts, with one or two jurors holding out against the rest of the jury. However, in Illinois, in order for a jury verdict to stand it needs to be unanimous. This means that…
Jury instructions are invaluable in helping jurors make decisions that are in accordance with the law. It is through jury instructions that jurors are able to understand what questions they need to answer and how. Yet when a jury is given incorrect jury instructions it can bias its opinion and…