Healthcare liens can trip up plaintiffs and their counsel as well as derail reasonable settlements. Since the Illinois legislature “clarified” the obligations of the parties in the Health Care Services Lien Act, 770 ILCS 23/1 et seq., injured victims have generally been on the losing end of health care lien disputes. Yet a case recently decided by the Illinois Appellate Court from the Fourth District gives plaintiffs an avenue to relief. In Turner v. Orthopedic and Shoulder Center, S.C., 2017 IL App (4th) 160552 (July 6, 2017), the court considered multiple arguments to defeat the health care services lien including claims by the plaintiff against the healthcare service provider for consumer fraud and intentional infliction of emotional distress. These claims did not make it across the finish line for plaintiff; notwithstanding this, the court ultimately adjudicated the plaintiff’s health care lien to zero.

In the Turner case, the court looked at the specific provisions of the Health Care Services Lien Act, what was included and not included in it. It rejected any interpretation of the legislative history urged by the defendant because it found the statute unambiguous. The panel concluded that to have a health care services lien on the plaintiff’s settlement proceeds, the defendant had to be the plaintiff’s creditor, in other words, the plaintiff had to owe a debt to defendant for health care services. The existence of such a debt depended not on the Lien Act but, rather, on the contractual relationship between the defendant and plaintiff. The plaintiff was an intended third party beneficiary of the governing contract, the “Participating Provider Agreement” so the court looked to this document for answers. Under this agreement, the defendant was not the plaintiff’s creditor, and the defendant had no “reasonable charges” against her because Blue Cross’s payment of its “Usual and Customary Fee allowance” was, as defendant had agreed, “full payment for each [covered] service.” Thus, the court determined without an unpaid debt owed by the plaintiff, there could be no valid lien on her property.

What this case and its recent predecessor, Barry v. St. Mary’s Hospital Decatur, 2016 IL App (4th) 150961, tell us as plaintiff’s attorneys is to look deeper when evaluating and negotiating health care liens on behalf of our clients. The underlying provider agreements should be obtained from all health care providers claiming a lien. These contracts may be fertile ground for reducing or eliminating liens, putting more dollars in the pockets of injured victims.

Laird M. Ozmon, Attorney at Law

Looking out over the newly unveiled Chicago Riverwalk the city has never looked more vibrant. It’s alive with boats of every size and shape sharing the waterways, and bikes, Segways and pedestrians sharing the roads, sidewalks and paths. The City of Big Shoulders has opened its arms to every mode of transportation and residents and tourists alike are game to experience it. Whether you’re grabbing a Divvy bike, renting a party boat, hopping in a kayak or scheduling the next Segway tour, adventure, and for the unlucky few, potential disaster, awaits.

The way I see it, through the eyes of someone whose job it is to represent the unlucky few, the sharing/tourist economy is fraught with opportunities for novice vehicle operators to collide with peril. Too often people confuse access with skill and fail to appreciate the risks of endeavors like riding an unfamiliar bike in strange urban surroundings or operating a boat on a river filled with many and larger vessels while throwing back a few cold ones. So I’d like to offer some strategies to lower the odds that you’ll be the victim of personal injury.

Don’t approach these activities as if you’re immune to injury or mishap. Here are some basic steps to protect you.

STEP 1: Familiarize Yourself with the Vehicle. When you buy a new vehicle, the first thing you do is get to know how it operates. Rented or borrowed vehicles are no different. Every bike is not the same, no boat stops on a dime, so you need to know how to navigate the basic functions that ensure your safety. Go to a safe area and figure out how to stop, turn and maneuver the vehicle. Make sure it is working properly; return and report defective equipment.

STEP 2: Use Appropriate Safety Gear. Just because you’re on a Divvy bike doesn’t mean you don’t need a bike helmet. Renting a small boat on the river where you can see land very closely on both sides doesn’t obviate the need for a life jacket (anyone can hit their head falling off of a boat and sink to the bottom). At least make sure there are life preserver’s aboard.

STEP 3: Know the Rules. Make sure you understand the rules of operating your vehicle of choice. Follow posted signs for bike lanes and traffic. If you’re in a boat comply with “No Wake” zones, keep a close eye out for other vessels and always have a spotter to back you up. Leave the alcohol for after you park your bike or Segway, or hang up your captain’s hat.

STEP 4: Don’t Take Unnecessary Risks. Just because you’re out of your normal routine or being a tourist doesn’t mean you have to reenact a scene from the latest Marvel movie. One dart out into a lane of traffic or dive into unexpectedly frigid waters can spell disaster. Define fun as new and shared experiences with friends and family, not the rueful moment that ends with you on way to the hospital.

If you follow these rules, then in the unlikely event that something goes wrong, it is more likely that someone or something else is responsible, and if that is the case, please call me at 815.727.7700.

This month our country was stunned by another jury verdict exonerating a police officer for criminal conduct in shooting an innocent black person. Police officer Jeronimo Yanez of St. Anthony Minnesota shot Philando Castile five times during a routine traffic stop in which Mr. Castile volunteered the information that he was in lawful possession of a firearm.

The video footage of the incident is heartbreaking. Mr. Castile’s girlfriend demonstrated remarkable composure, respect and even deference to the officer as her boyfriend lay dying. Even more gut wrenching is the bodycam footage released this week showing the officer literally becoming unhinged and firing shot after shot into his helpless victim. Then there’s the final excruciating image of the child in the backseat getting out of the car in the aftermath of the shooting.

It’s difficult for me to indict the legal system to which I’ve devoted my career or the jury of twelve that included two members of the black community (who incidentally voted to acquit within the first day of deliberations). I remind myself that we do not see the evidence as they see it; nor is the court of public opinion bound by the rules of evidence or the law as laid out in the jury instructions. I know members of the jury can feel cowed or hamstrung by those instructions, and yet, in my experience, the majority of the time they do their duty and follow the law. But I can’t shake the feeling that justice was not served in that criminal court in Minnesota. So, is there a small measure of solace knowing that the Castile family has a second chance at justice in civil court, the arena in which I practice? A bit, just a tiny bit.

Likely due to public pressure and outcry, the family’s quest for a civil remedy proved less arduous. Shortly after the bodycam video was released this week the City of St. Anthony announced the settlement of the Castile family’s civil case against it for $3,000,000, the limits of the City’s insurance policy. Is this mere consolation? It certainly is. There is no amount of money that can restore Philando Castile to his loved ones, or obliterate the images of that horrific incident. Nevertheless, it does represent a form of justice within the design or our imperfect legal system, something the family can hold onto that represents acknowledgement by the wrongdoer that they indeed suffered a wrong. It empowers them to use the settlement money to honor the memory of their loved one. This may be in the form of their own mental health care or grief counseling, a memorial, a scholarship fund or any number of ways that hopefully sets them on the path to healing.

If they operate as intended, in their purest form civil damages should also have a deterrent effect. No entity, or insurer, for that matter, wants to see its payment of a multi-million dollar settlement on the news crawl, or reported at the city council meeting. And as we know there have been many such settlements recently: Tamir Rice, $6 million, Freddie Gray, $6.4 million, Eric Garner, $5.9 million. Heads do roll, regulators come knocking, people lose their jobs and those in power are taken to account. When the dust settles, the eternal optimist, Officer of the Court in me hopes that better police training programs are implemented, regular and mandatory on-the-job training includes race and cultural sensitivity training and counseling, that concerted and innovative efforts are made by police departments to engage the community and restore trust.

We’ve never gotten this quite right. In the face of so much that is wrong, a firestorm of tremendous loss and injustice, civil damages can carve the way forward; and generally, is the only one that lowers the grade on that steep road toward healing for a nation and every single one of its citizens.

Product recalls are constantly in the news these days. Last month four car companies, Toyota, BMW, Subaru and Mazda, settled a class action covering nearly 16 million vehicles that plaintiffs claimed contained defective Takata airbags. The settlement didn’t even address the multitude of personal injury and property damage claims (those are being handled in other litigation); rather it involved the residual consumer damages such as rental car reimbursement. This highlights the many facets of consumer safety efforts and the roads to redress for consumers whether they suffer residual losses, property damage or personal injury.

In 2015 the U.S. automobile industry logged a record number of product recalls, nearly 900, affecting 51.26 million vehicles according to the national Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Some tout this as emblematic of stellar product safety efforts and tip their hats to regulators and manufacturers alike. I’m not quite as quick to reach for the brim.

While I know the system is not perfect, I would advocate for proactive measures in the manufacturing and quality control inspection process so that fewer defective products get to market resulting in less injuries and fewer lawsuits. As the airbag class action demonstrates with the settlement involving the set up of an outreach program for the recalls, product recalls do not always result in substantial remediation of the problem. Consumers may not get the proper notification and/or the hardship in undergoing the repair necessitated by the recall disincentivizes them to get the repair. So defective cars stay on the road, defective products remain in the stream of commerce, and consumers remain at risk.

As a consumer, what can you do to reduce your own risk? First, register the products that you purchase with the manufacturer. Pay attention to the notices you receive regarding the product, follow-up on any notices and follow instructions for recall or return of the product. If you see something in the news about a specific product and you suspect you own it, then check it out. If you do have the product, visit the company website or call or email them for instructions and follow them. The manufacturer should provide you with a replacement or some form of compensation, if not then ask for it.

If you are injured when using a product, i.e. a motor vehicle, tool, or even food, don’t dismiss the possibility that the product is defective. Retain the product or at least photo or video evidence of it and contact an attorney as soon as possible. Our role as attorneys is to demand better products and safety measures and be vigilant when it comes to making companies accountable for the safety of their products.

Learn more about product liability.

The Supreme Court is at it again, sacrificing the rights of plaintiffs for the benefit of the almighty corporation. In its latest turn of the knife, the nation’s highest court has limited the locations where injured personal injury victims may sue corporations. This week the Court decided BNSF Railway v. Tyrrell. The plaintiffs sued BNSF in Montana for claims that occurred outside of the state. The basis for jurisdiction in Montana was that the railroad had more than 2,000 miles of track and 2,000 employees in the state. The Montana Supreme Court found these facts to be sufficient contacts with the state to invoke jurisdiction.

The U.S. Supreme Court said “no” in an 8-1 decision. Rather, it ruled that a corporation cannot be held liable for claims that are unrelated to any activity occurring in the state. State courts may not hear claims by injured parties against companies when they are not based or headquartered in the state or the alleged injuries did not occur there.

This may sound logical at first, until you consider the global economy in which we live. We travel and every day we encounter multi-state and multi-national corporations and their products and services. So, if you’re visiting a neighboring state like Wisconsin and you’re injured using a defective product manufactured by a multinational company like Yamaha but they’re headquartered in New York, you may not be able to sue them in Illinois even though this is where you live and Yamaha does significant business in Illinois.

Under this scenario, the plaintiff is not seeking to sue Yamaha in Illinois because Illinois has laws more favorable to plaintiffs, a strategy we call “forum shopping” and something courts seek to protect against, the victim just doesn’t want to have to travel to Wisconsin to prosecute the case, such as meeting with an attorney, taking depositions and even sitting for trial.

The only dissenting Justice, Sonia Sotomayor, got it right calling it a “jurisdictional windfall” for large multistate and multinational corporations. “It is individual plaintiffs, harmed by the actions of a far-flung foreign corporation, who will bear the brunt of the majority’s approach and be forced to sue in distant jurisdictions with which they have no contacts or connection.” The ultimate irony here is that corporate defendants are the ones that are equipped for and can afford the interstate nature of litigation. Even worse, the overriding effect of this decision will be that less lawsuits are filed as personal injury victims simply can’t afford or don’t have the will to pursue their claims across state lines with such obstacles impeding their access to recovery.

It’s about time plaintiffs get a complete and unequivocal win at trial and on appeal in a medical malpractice case. In Gapinski v Gujrati the jury returned a verdict of $1.727 million for the plaintiff in a case alleging medical negligence against a physician pathologist and her employer for the failure to diagnose cancer that resulted in the patient’s death. 2017 IL App (3d) 150502 (April 24, 2017). The Illinois Appellate Court considered multiple issues on appeal including whether the trial court erred when it barred the doctor and her practice from dual representation during the trial proceedings, an issue of trial management that is wholly within the judge’s discretion (concurring Justice Carter provides an informative exposition on the topic). The Appellate Court also reviewed, the allowance of a supplemental disclosure of the plaintiff’s expert’s opinion and the scope of the testimony of several of her expert witnesses, whether the complaint was barred by the statute of limitations based on when the plaintiff discovered the patient was injured, the denial of the defendants’ motions for a new trial based on the conduct of the plaintiff’s attorney, and finally whether the jury verdict was against the manifest weight of the evidence.

This case will likely be relied on by future med-mal plaintiffs because it appears to shut down many of the typical trial maneuvers of defendants, among them, double-teaming of counsel, accusing the plaintiff of exceeding the boundaries of expert discovery disclosures (when actually exceeding the rules themselves) and trying to limit expert testimony and making statute of limitations arguments that border on the frivolous. The court even foreclosed on defendants’ efforts to paint the plaintiff’s attorney as temperamental and unscrupulous rather than a motivated advocate seeking a fair recovery for his client’s widow. Let’s be clear, some of the defenses would certainly fuel the fire of any plaintiff’s attorney.

Among the more callous of defenses presented by the doctor was that the case was barred by the statute of limitations because the plaintiff suspected cancer before her husband was told by any doctors that he had cancer. This suspicion, according to the defendants, was enough to start the clock on the malpractice claim. Both the trial court and appellate courts rejected that defense and went with the actual day documented in evidence that the doctors gave the diagnosis of cancer. Even worse, the crux of the substantive defense was that the patient was going to die anyway, so the extra two years that cancer was allowed to ravage his body unimpeded didn’t matter. The treating radiologist even testified that he would not have altered his radiation treatment that he believed he was administering to a patient with a benign tumor, if he had known it was a malignant growth. The jury didn’t buy this argument and other defense theories; the trial and appellate court weren’t having any of it either. The court’s opinion in the Gapinski case is a rebuke for all-too-common defense trial tactics meant to marginalize and demonize victims of medical malpractice.

The incident with the United Airlines customer being dragged off an overbooked plane is firmly emblazoned in our minds by now. The viral video is unimpeachable evidence of the infliction of personal injury on a victim as the result of negligent and willful conduct by multiple actors, both corporate and governmental. Rarely are we privy to a set of facts that makes such a clear case for the plaintiff. Indeed, the case was so open and shut that it went from incident to settlement in a record 18 days. I have heard people comment that it was “easy money” for the plaintiff’s attorney. What we don’t hear is that the role of the victim’s attorney, in advocating on his behalf, making his case in the media, and stemming the tide of the impunity with which his character is attacked, is vital. We also don’t hear about all the times that an attorney fought long and hard and lost a case he truly believed in.

The plaintiff’s attorney’s role in our legal system is vital to the process that resulted in almost immediate systemic changes in the airline industry relative to this incident. United, and likely its competitors, have changed their rules regarding overbooking, the process of boarding passengers in an overbooking situation, and providing fair compensation to passengers who agree to forfeit their seat for another passenger or airline personnel. Dr. Dao’s harrowing tale was not for naught. While it represents the worst our institutions have to offer, the aftermath represents the best: a working constitutional democracy, in all its glory.

A citizen was victimized by corporate and governmental actors. Thanks to modern technology, the incident was recorded and exhaustively covered in the press. The citizen retained an attorney to enforce the law and obtain a remedy on his behalf. The pressure brought to bear by his counsel, the media and the public, resulted in swift compensation to the victim, an immediate change in policy at the corporate and governmental level, a Congressional investigation and the undertaking of measures to improve corporate policies and governmental intervention. As a society we’re often so consumed with criticism that we fail to see the success when our systems work as designed. In this case we should applaud all of those, attorneys and citizens alike, who stood beside the victim and effected abrupt change because in the end, we all benefit.

Congress is aiming to resurrect tort reform as part of its overhaul of the Affordable Care Act (ACA); and we can’t let them get away with it. See nytimes.com. Seemingly undeterred by President Trump’s failed attempts to wipe the ACA off of the books, the recent iteration of the repeal legislation drafted by House Republicans scapegoats patients who are the victims of medical malpractice and lets the real bandits in the healthcare system walk away scot-free. Like I always say, immunity from responsibility promotes irresponsibility.

Citing alleged healthcare cost savings, the bill seeks to impose new limits on lawsuits involving healthcare covered by Medicare, Medicaid or private health insurance policies subsidized by the ACA. These restrictions would apply to medical malpractice claims against doctors, hospitals or nursing homes and even some product liability claims. Anyone who tells you that this is the golden ticket to reducing healthcare costs is trying to extract black and white from gray; it’s just not that simple, and it’s simply not true.

As President of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, I lead the charge in opposition to one of three unsuccessful attempts to enact tort reform that was ultimately struck down by the Illinois Supreme Court in Best v. Taylor Machine Works, 179 Ill.2d 367 (1997). Tort reform advocates often point to reduction of high healthcare costs, but caps in other states have neither reduced costs, nor reduced insurance premiums.

The New York Times article references studies that suggest the cost of medical malpractice, “including damages awards, legal fees and the effects of defensive medicine, may represent 2 percent to 2.5 percent of national health spending.” By any measure, this is a small number making tort reform unlikely to significantly reduce overall healthcare costs even if the suggested measures were 100% successful.

It always astonishes me when public policymakers look to the victims, society’s most vulnerable, to recoup or cap allegedly skyrocketing costs. When are they going to focus on the real culprits, like the pharmaceutical and medical equipment companies with monstrous and now infamous profit margins (think EpiPens) or so-called not-for-profit healthcare institutions that can afford to pay their executives in the multi-millions (some reported as high as $8.5 million) or insurance companies that charge astronomical premiums for pitiful high-deductible, low-coverage policies and those CEO’s aren’t suffering either (it was just announced Centene’s Michael Neidorff’s 2016 pay topped out at $22 million).

The reality is that healthcare practitioners are humans treating humans. Mistakes are inevitable. Insurance provides compensation when these mistakes occur. Like most systems, it’s not perfect, but at least it’s fairly balanced. I would be thrilled if we eliminated medical negligence and not one more person suffered as a result of malpractice, but that is an unreasonable expectation, and if the 2.5% figure is correct, it would do little to reverse soaring healthcare costs. The way to truly cut costs is to eliminate the profit motive in institutional healthcare. The same people who advocate tort reform claim the moral high ground, but isn’t it immoral to deny healthcare or, as the draft bill proposes, limit a medical malpractice recovery, because a person is poor or jobless? It’s time to focus our public policy on efforts designed to permanently correct America’s healthcare system, increase competency and reduce incidents of negligence, a win-win-win. And no one would cap those winnings.

When you hear on the news someone had a terrible motor vehicle accident due to a pothole in the road, drown on a Lake Michigan beach where there were no lifeguards, got hurt during a school activity or was the victim of excessive force at the hands of a police officer, you might think, “the municipality or school will pay for that injury.” Like many things in the law, it just isn’t that simple.

For a myriad of reasons, many of them financial, governmental entities like cities, villages and public schools have what is called “tort immunity.” This means they cannot be held liable for civil wrongs such as negligence in failing to, repair the roads or sidewalks, provide a lifeguard on the beach, require athletes to wear safety glasses or refrain from physically harming a prisoner. The parameters under which governments and their employees are protected are dictated by the Illinois Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act. Where the real gymnastics kick in is when the courts interpret this law.

Without boring you with too many details, the Act has certain exceptions. For instance, there is immunity for executing and enforcing the law, but if the conduct rises to the level of willful and wanton misconduct then the immunity is lost and the governmental entity can be liable. If a government employee is supervising an activity on public property they are likewise immune for their negligence but responsible for willful and wanton conduct. This issue was recently addressed by the Illinois Supreme Court in Barr v. Cunningham, 2017 IL 120751. Most other conduct whether it is deemed negligent or willful and wanton is protected by immunity. A city or county may be liable for failing to repair a pothole or a sidewalk defect but it is very fact specific. It depends on size, how it was created, evidence of the length of time it existed, and other factors relating to whether the governmental entity had or could have had notice of the condition.

Other issues affecting governmental tort immunity involve whether the entity or employee had a duty. The Act is not designed to create duties on the part of the governmental entities and its employees. However, cases interpreting the Act inevitably address the duties imposed on them and whether this gives rise to liability when they breach the duty to the detriment of a member of the public. Simply stated, all is not lost if an injury is caused by a governmental entity or employee.

As an experienced Plaintiff’s attorney, I am intimately familiar with the intricacies of the Tort Immunity Act and the strategies to pursue to secure a successful result for my clients when the government is a defendant. Your case may not be a slam dunk, but odds are we will stick the landing on the vault to recovery.

Handing a win to plaintiffs and their lawyers, the Second District Appellate Court vacated an order compelling the plaintiff to allow forensic imagining of personal computers used by him. In Carlson v. Jerousek, 2016 IL App (2d) 151248, the plaintiff brought a personal injury action against a motorcoach company that owned and operated a bus that rear-ended him. The victim alleged he suffered disability, emotional distress, disfigurement and loss of a normal life due in part to a brain injury. The defendants admitted liability but contested the extent of the plaintiff’s damages.

In an attempt to undermine the plaintiff’s credibility regarding his brain injury, the defendants moved to compel discovery of “electronically retrievable information” seeking full access to the plaintiff’s five personal computers and a laptop leased to him by his employer for forensic imaging. They were after metadata the would illustrate how long it took the plaintiff to complete tasks as well as his gaming habits that might demonstrate his ability to concentrate. The court granted the defendant’s motion. On reconsideration the plaintiff offered an affidavit from his employer’s counsel attesting the company laptop contained restricted information. The trial court refused consideration of the affidavit. When plaintiff still refused to produce the computers the court held him in “friendly contempt.”

On appeal the court applied a balancing test weighing both the proportionality rule and the constitutional right to privacy to find that the defendant’s discovery request was overly broad and intrusive and might ultimately lead to no discoverable information. In an extensive opinion analyzing the treatment of Electronically Stored Information or “ESI” and the nature of forensic analysis as discussed by other courts, the court ironed out a framework for evaluating such discovery requests. The requesting party must show that, (1) there is a compelling need for the information; (2) the information is not available from other sources; and (3) the requesting party is using the least intrusive means to obtain the information. The opinion makes clear that due to the sheer volume of information stored on a computer, it could contain massive amounts of personal information or confidential business data. Thus the affidavit from plaintiff’s employer’s counsel was relevant. Also, because there is a myriad of ways in which the data can be used, the defendant had to focus the request for ESI. It suggested an expert would aid in narrowing the scope of the request and directing the search thus making a litigant’s argument more compelling.

Plaintiff’s attorneys should be emboldened that Illinois courts will protect their client’s electronically stored information from such an intrusive fishing expedition. Counsel should keep the Carlson case close at hand as a guide not just to block such discovery, but also to create a viable discovery request when ESI will serve the plaintiff’s purposes.