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…
As patients, we entrust our health and well-being to our physicians and rely on their expertise to make us well. Perhaps this trust is nowhere more obvious than in Intensive Care Units (ICU), where most patients’ lives are hanging in the balance. The wrongful death lawsuit of Estate of Tyrone…
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…
For over twenty-five years, Robert Kreisman has been a member of Chicago’s Union League Club and has helped support its motto of “commitment to community and country.” As part of its commitment to examining critical social issues, the Union League Club (ULC) hosted a forum examining the role race plays…
Cancer misdiagnosis lawsuits make up a fair share of medical malpractice lawsuits. However, most of those misdiagnosis lawsuits deal with a delay in diagnosis that results in a fatal outcome for the plaintiff. Whereas in Pamela Chouinard v. Dr. Janis Atkinson, North Shore Pathology Consultants S.C., 08 L 9295, the…
While some doctors are working to create cures for cancer, others are working to create effective solutions to combat the destructive effects of certain types of cancer. Take for example the recent breakthroughs in tissue engineering that allowed doctors to replace the cancerous windpipe of a Baltimore man with a…
As we enter the short, cold days of winter, we remember the advice our parents gave us as we’d leave the house to brave the cold: bundle up, put on a hat, and zip up your jacket. As we ourselves grow older and become parents, it is important we ensure…
When a civil lawsuit is settled, both parties can agree on whether or not to disclose various aspects of the lawsuit and subsequent settlement. For example, it is common for high profile cases to include a stipulation that neither party will disclose the specifics of the settlement, leaving the public…
A Chicago jury examined the question of what duty of care does a surgeon owe his patients following a surgery in the medical malpractice lawsuit of Marvin Rieker v. Libby Kristal, M.D., 08 L 90 (LaSalle County). For example, is the surgeon required to keep an eye on his patient’s…
In Illinois, the statute of limitations governing civil cases, e.g. medical malpractice, product liability, and personal injury cases, is typically two years. However, the Illinois Appellate Court recently revisited exactly when that two-year statute begins in its analysis of the “discovery rule” as it relates to Mitsias v. I-Flow, 2011…