Congratulations Brad Levison - Williams v. Athletico Win
Congratulations to Bradley Levison for the winning appellate briefs in Williams, et al. v. Athletico, Ltd., et al., 2017 Ill. App. (1st) 161902. On March 21, 2017, the First District Appellate Court agreed with Brad’s argument. The First District held that a plaintiff was required to comply with the requirements of Illinois’ Healing Art Malpractice statute, 735 ILCS 5/2-622, where the complaint alleged negligence against a licensed athletic trainer for failing to assess and evaluate a concussion sustained by a student athletic during a high school football game. Brad served as lead author of defendants’ Rule 308 appeal in Williams.
Williams is the first decision in Illinois to find that a lawsuit against a licensed athletic trainer for failing to perform his function as an athletic trainer alleges healing art malpractice and expands the application of section 2-622 of the Code. Williams confirms that healing art malpractice is not limited to merely doctors and nurses but includes those professions which treat medical ailments and injuries.
In Williams, the parents of a disabled student athlete brought a lawsuit against a licensed athletic trainer and two athletic training service providers alleging that defendants were negligent for failing to assess the student athlete for symptoms of head trauma during a high school football game. The complaint alleged ordinary negligence and defendants moved to dismiss on the basis that plaintiffs failed to attach a certificate from a health care professional as required by section 2-622 of the Code of Civil Procedure. The trial court denied the motions to dismiss but certified three questions which the First District Appellate Court agreed to consider.
The First District summarized that “as presented in both question one and question two, the core question of law to be answered is whether the alleged negligent conduct concerns the area of healing art malpractice and whether compliance with section 2-622 of the Code is required.” Williams, 2017 Ill. App. (1st) 161902 at ¶11. The First District answered the first and second questions in the affirmative holding that “plaintiffs were required to attach an affidavit and health professional’s report pursuant to section 2-622 of the Code, where the complaint alleges negligent conduct by a licensed athletic trainer hired to provide on-site injury evaluation and treatment to participants of an athletic competition for failing to assess and evaluate an athlete for a concussion and for failing to recognize signs of a concussion following head trauma sustained by a participant in the athletic competition.” Williams, 2017 Ill. App. (1st) 161902 at ¶31.