Illinois Wrongful Death Cases Based on Medical Malpractice Must Be Brought within Two Years of Death
Earlier this year, an Illinois appellate court decided a case holding that the time of accrual for a wrongful death action based on the legal theory of medical malpractice is the time of death, rather than the time the alleged negligence was discovered. In the case, Moon v. Rhode, the plaintiff was the son of a woman who died while in the care of the defendant doctors.
According to the court’s written opinion, the plaintiff’s mother was in the care of the defendant doctors for 11 days preceding her death. At some point in that period, a CT scan was conducted and the results examined by one of the defendant doctors. Action was not taken after reviewing the results, and several days later the woman passed.
The plaintiff obtained medical records one year after his mother’s death. Three years after that, he contacted a medical expert, who opined that any “reasonably, well-qualified radiologist and physician would have identified” a breakdown in anastomosis, which ultimately contributed to the death of his mother. The plaintiff then filed suit against several treating physicians, claiming that his mother’s death was a result of the allegedly negligent medical care provided by the defendants.
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