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In this issue
This issue includes articles on the latest update of the healthcare reform bill, job accommodation requests in the healthcare industry, the Good Samaritan Act, and the importance of apparent agency in jury instruction.

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About the Hospital Law & Medical Liability Group
Johnson & Bell’s Hospital Law & Medical Liability Group attorneys built our reputation in the defense of healthcare providers.  In addition, we also represent our clients in quality of care and general corporate issues, EMTALA matters, credentialing, privileging and peer review issues, professional licensing issues, IDPH matters, HIPAA issues, OCR matters, employment issues and litigation, and ERISA litigation.

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NEWS OF NOTE

Blagojevich signs historic reform bill -
measure likely headed to court
By Carl M. Schultz, David J. Loughnane, and William K. McVisk

On Thursday, August 25, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich signed into law SB 0475 (now Public Act 94-0677) capping the non-economic damages malpractice claimants can win in court at $500,000 for doctors and $1 million for hospitals. It also includes amendments to the Medical Malpractice Act (including tougher expert witness standards), greater public access to information about physicians, and new mandates for the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation to regulate insurance rates. The Bill does not address the issue of "apparent agency" used against hospitals.

To read the complete article, click here.

LEGAL ALERTS

The keys to reduce exposure: Job accommodation
requests in the health care industry

By Michael C. Holy, Esq.

It is commonly understood that the health care profession is a service industry which often makes significant physical demands on its employees. For example, nursing and related support staff must be able to lift, transport and care for frail or obese patients.  It is hardly surprising to find that nursing personnel suffer a high incidence of work-related injuries. In fact, recent Bureau of Labor Statistics reflect that registered nurses are sixth in a list of at-risk occupations for strains and sprains.  Given these realities, health care employers often encounter employees whose injuries make them no longer capable of performing tasks assigned to them. Since numerous federal, state and local disability laws expose employers to significant liability for violation of disabled employees rights, health care employers – like many others- must be careful in dealing with job accommodation requests. This article discusses worker requests for “reasonable accommodation” under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ ADA ”) and ways in which healthcare employers can reduce their exposure to alleged violations under the Act.

To read the complete article, click here.

The Good Samaritan Act – Don’t forget about it
By Andrew J. Kovarik

Good Samaritan laws generally help protect rescuers voluntarily helping a victim in distress from being successfully sued in Tort.  They’re designed to encourage people to help a stranger in an emergency by reducing or eliminating the fear that if they do help, and inadvertently make a mistake in treating that person, that they will be sued for that mistake.  All states have some form of Good Samaritan laws.  In practice, we need to be aware of the provisions of the Act so we can use them to our advantage under the right set of circumstances.  In fact, the General Assembly states in the Legislative Purpose section of the Act that the Act is to “liberally construed” to encourage persons to volunteer their time and talents.

To read the complete article, click here.

Apparent agency – jury instruction
By Sammi L. Renken

Apparent agency is an important issue to understand in evaluating hospital exposure in cases where the defendant physician is not an actual employee or actual agent of the hospital.  Apparent agency is essentially the plaintiff’s claim that the hospital is vicariously liable for the acts of its non-employees, or independent contractors, providing services at the hospital.  Where a hospital leads a reasonable person to believe that the physician or staff was its employee or agent, then the hospital will not be permitted to later deny the employment or agency relationship.

To read the complete article, click here.