Comments on: “Chicago officer sues estate of teen he shot, claiming trauma”

By: MattS

MattS — Thu, 11 Feb 2016 01:44:09 +0000

David7134,

The malpractice lawsuit itself is privileged. You can not counter sue for damages caused by the suit itself. To have a valid counter-suit, the plaintiff would have had to have injured you in some actionable way separate from the lawsuit itself.

“Further, the attorney should be held accountable for frivolous filling”

You can seek legal costs and / or sanctions against the lawyer, but only after a judge has ruled that the filing was frivolous. It’s not something you can counter-sue for up front.

By: david7134

david7134 — Wed, 10 Feb 2016 22:13:37 +0000

In reply to David C. A doctor is harmed in many ways with a malpractice suit. First, pain and suffering, it is very traumatic to any physician to have to be confronted with a legal action, especially when the issue is unjustified. Then, time spent, it is very difficult to quantitate the amount of time given over to defense, especially when you have to defend yourself against the presumption of guilt (not innocence). Then there is the significant amount of paper work to all agencies, health insurance carriers, board, malpractice carriers, hospitals, etc. Then, loss of reputation, this is a public proclamation and the public takes the side of the plaintiff. If you are a lawyer, you should be aware that it only takes $50 as reason to file a suit and that the possibility of winning the worst case is about 50%. Further, the attorney should be held accountable for frivolous filling, yes, I know I countered my previous statement, but then that is American justice, which sucks.

By: David C

David C — Wed, 10 Feb 2016 18:00:23 +0000

In reply to david7134. I am curious as to what your legal theory would be when counter-suing in a malpractice case. How did the patient harm YOU? (And the lawsuit itself doesn't count, even if frivolous.)

By: david7134

david7134 — Tue, 09 Feb 2016 22:35:09 +0000

As a physician, I have had my share of malpractice suits, usually as my name was the only one that could be read and another doctor had screwed up or because someone only wanted to see if they would win the court lottery. I have always advocated that to protect me, a countersuit should be filed. The attorneys have never, ever done so. I think if they did it would end malpractice suits, or for that matter any suits. If you don’t have skin in the game, the game is rigged. Also, I have become aware that the plaintiff attorneys are not necessarily the bad guys, the defense attorneys have just as much to gain by keeping the status quo. In fact, the really bad guys are the hospital administrators and Obamacare just gave them the power of God.

By: wfjag

wfjag — Mon, 08 Feb 2016 15:56:26 +0000

Given the Illinois Supreme Court’s abrogation of the public duty doctrine, counter-claims against the estates are warranted. The estates sue the police for wrongful death. The cop then counter-claims against the estates. If the estates (or one of them) win, there is money to satisfy a judgment or settlement with the estates. And, the attorneys for the estates and the cop both collect their contingencies from the Chicago PD’s judgment or settlement. Everyone wins (except the decedents and the taxpayers).