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Archives: July, 2012

The Affordable Care Act and The Supreme Court’s Landmark Decision

In March 2010, President Obama signed into law one of the most historic and controversial pieces of legislation this nation has ever seen. On June 29, 2012, by a vote of 5-4, the Court upheld a majority of the Affordable Care Act as constitutional. Laura Petersen discusses the law and the court’s decision.

 

News From the Firm – Summer 2012

Four of Quinn Johnston’s attorneys successfully defended a surgeon and a neurosurgeon in two separate medical malpractice jury trials. Jon Stump won a trial related to a motor vehicle accident involving a semi-truck and farm tractor. John Kamin obtained a defense verdict for an employer in a case involving a trip-and-fall in a parking lot.

 

Medical Malpractice Statute of Limitations – Part 1

Kevin Miller describes a conversation he had with his Uncle Will, who wanted to understand why medical malpractice cases can take several years following the date of injury to proceed to trial. Kevin explained statute of limitations, the discovery rule, and the statute of repose. As an example, he used a recent case involving a doctor who allegedly should have diagnosed a case of cancer more quickly.

 

Court Affirms Award Rendered After Ex Parte Hearing on Red Line Case

In an unpublished Decision, the Appellate Court affirmed an Arbitrator’s award after an ex parte hearing on a red line case where no request for hearing had been filed. If an employer does not have an attorney on record once it reaches the red line, there is the possibility that petitioner’s attorney will be forced to go to trial by an Arbitrator on an ex parte basis.

 

Appellate Court Issues Missing Evidence Instruction in Nursing Home Care Act Case

In Graves v. Rosewood Care Center, Inc., the Illinois Appellate Court decided a trial court properly issued a missing evidence instruction due to the nursing home defendant’s alleged failure to produce a portion of a resident’s chart. The Director of Nursing testified that the form was “routinely prepared,” but there was no definitive evidence the form ever existed.

 

Commission Proposes Rules Regarding Intoxication Defense

Given proposed rules filed by the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission in connection with the intoxication defense, it is clear that employers will need to observe strict rules in testing their employees when drugs or alcohol are believed to have played a role in an accident.