Brief Facts: In Bauer v. Memorial Hospital, the plaintiff filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against Memorial Hospital. The plaintiff claimed the physicians and nurses failed to diagnose hypoglycemia in a newborn, which caused severe brain damage. The defense expert testified the child had a shortened life expectancy as a result of the child's brain damage. By introducing evidence of the child's decreased life expectancy, the defense hoped the jury would award at least $1 million less for the cost of his future care. However, this attempt at reducing damages backfired. Rather, based on the defense expert's testimony, the trial court allowed the plaintiff to submit a non-pattern jury instruction that allowed the jury to award damages to the child for "an increased risk of a decreased life expectancy". The jury awarded $7.15 million to the plaintiff, including an award for decreased life expectancy as well as future medical and care-taking costs. On 11/27/07, the 5th District Appellate Court affirmed the award for damages for a reduced life expectancy and noted it was the first Illinois appellate court to consider this issue.
Court's Reasoning: A defendant should be required to pay damages for wrongful conduct that reduces a plaintiff's life expectancy. A defendant should not be allowed to benefit from a reduction in a plaintiff's damages due to a decreased life expectancy when it was the defendant's wrongful conduct that caused the decreased life expectancy.
Bottom Line: A plaintiff can now recover damages for a reduced life expectancy that was caused by the claimed negligence.
Impact of Decision: I believe this ruling will have a significant impact on damages and will shackle the defense in trying to reduce the cost of life care plans by arguing the plaintiff has a reduced life expectancy. In fact, offering expert testimony to suggest a reduced life expectancy will now permit the plaintiff to ask the jury to award damages for the reduced life expectancy.
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