Binkowski v. International Health Systems, Inc.

Defendant appealed after a jury entered a verdict against it in a medical malpractice case. On appeal, defendant argued that plaintiff failed to prove proximate cause, that the jury verdict was against the manifest weight of the evidence, that plaintiff’s counsel committed error that “distracted” the jury from the absence of proximate cause evidence, and that the damages for loss of society and survival were excessive. The appellate court affirmed, finding that the trial testimony supported a finding of proximate cause, that the jury’s verdict was not against the manifest weight of the evidence, that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying defendant’s motion for a new trial based on allegations of misconduct, and that the damages were not against the manifest weight of the evidence based on the evidence presented at trial. (MITCHELL and NAVARRO, concurring)