Judge Callis
Madison County's five civil circuit judges who preside over medical malpractice cases have set a special Case Management Conferece (CMC) for all their cases to decide which ones will move forward with mediation.
Currently, there are 56 pending lawsuits that could be eligible for mediation.
On Nov 28, judges will hold the special hearings to get an idea of where the cases stand.
"The special CMC med-mal docket is to delineate the cases that are eventually to be mediated pursuant to Madison County's new mediation rule for med-mal cases," Madison County Circuit Judge Ann Callis said.
In September, the Illinois Supreme Court approved Madison County's medical malpractice rule on mandatory mediation.
According to Callis, the rule is the first of its kind in the state and is unique in that it not only calls for mandatory mediation of all medical malpractice cases, but also allows the parties to choose between judges or lawyers to mediate their cases.
All nine of Madison County's elected circuit judges approved the rule on June 18.