MALPRACTICE INSURANCE

Fabrizio v. Provena United Samaritans Med. Ctr., No. 4-05-0586 (Ill. App. Ct. May 24, 2006)

Several doctors on the medical staff of a hospital filed suit seeking a declaration of their rights with regard to the minimum malpractice insurance coverage required under the medical staff bylaws. The doctors alleged that the hospital breached the bylaws by passing a resolution increasing the minimum coverage from $200,000 per occurrence, $600,000 in the aggregate, to $1,000,000/$3,000,000. The trial court ruled in the physicians' favor. That decision was reversed by the Appellate Court of Illinois. The Court of Appeals noted that the bylaws required the Board and MEC to agree on the malpractice insurance limits. The court then ruled that the MEC had agreed on those limits even if the staff subsequently rejected the MEC's recommendation. As such, the Court of Appeals ruled that the increase in the malpractice insurance limits was consistent with the medical staff bylaws.