Keith A. Hebeisen, partner at Clifford Law Offices, is featured in the 2022 October/November issue of Chicago Lawyer Magazine in an article entitled, “Med-Mal Malaise.”
The article explores the possible conditions causing a “continued slump” in settlements of medical malpractice cases with the implication that as courts have returned to pre-pandemic levels of operation, medical malpractice settlements should be closing at a higher rate.
A prejudgment interest law was signed into law in May 2021, providing 6% interest from the time of filing a lawsuit until a judgment at trial. That law has not yet encouraged defendants to settle due to the defendants’ unwarranted belief that the law is unconstitutional. To date, only one of 13 trial judges have ruled it is unconstitutional. This ruling is widely viewed as an aberration. Hebeisen predicts that this law will eventually have the desired effect of encouraging defendants to settle before reaching trial.
He also discusses the importance of having continued patience with clients and providing reasonable expectations and timelines as court business returns to normal. He reiterates that the key factor to moving a case toward a settlement is having a trial date in place. “If you don’t have trial dates, there’s no incentive for the insurance company to pay the money.”
Mr. Hebeisen is a highly distinguished medical malpractice attorney in Illinois who has received remarkable results for his clients across dozens of settlements and verdicts and has received numerous awards over the course of his career. He approaches each case with a direct, no-nonsense style, applying a comprehensive method to the investigative work and trial preparations required by each unique case.
Read the full article on page 38 of the publication.