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Damage caps are limits on how much money you can be awarded in a lawsuit. Many states have caps or limits on medical malpractice cases. In Illinois, however, there are no limits. It’s up to the jury.

There are different types of damages that people ask for in a lawsuit. One type is economic damages, such as medical bills, lost wages for missed work, etc. This is not always straight forward because while we can calculate what time you missed from work or how much your bills were, it takes expert testimony to determine what your future wage loss is and what your future medical costs might be.

Another type is non-economic damages, which is where limits are often imposed in other states, but not in Illinois. Non-economic damages include pain and suffering and other harm that isn’t as easy to quantify such as the loss of being able to be with your spouse romantically, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life and inconvenience. To get these damages it has to be a major impact on a life.

Lawmakers in Illinois have tried more than once to put limits on non-economic damages. So far, these laws have been found unconstitutional by the courts. The most recent decision in 2010, by the Illinois Supreme Court, stated that damage caps violate the principle of separation of powers. In other words, the Court said that damages should be determined by judges and juries, not lawmakers. The Court also said that the limits, which were $500,000 against a doctor and $1,000,000 against a hospital, were arbitrary.

If there were caps on non-economic damages, it would essentially eliminate medical malpractice cases in Illinois except for cases where there is a lifetime of future medical care needed or a high wage earner who can no longer work. The exact same thing could happen to a business person and their spouse. The stay at home spouse would get nothing because their contribution to the home isn’t recognized.

A third type of damages – punitive damages – is not allowed in Illinois medical malpractice lawsuits.

Damages in Illinois medical malpractice lawsuits can be lowered based on a concept called contributory negligence. Basically if you are considered to be at fault for an injury, your settlement would be reduced by the percentage of your fault. In other words, if a jury awards you $500,000 and says you are 20% at fault, you would receive $400,000.00. If you are more th

an 50% at fault then you would get nothing. An example of contributory negligence would be if your doctor recommended a cancer screening test and you failed to do it and later ended up with cancer.

If you have any questions about Illinois medical malpractice damage caps or would like a referral to an experienced Illinois medical malpractice lawyer please do not hesitate to contact us. All calls and e-mails are free and confidential.