Bosco v. Janowitz

              SECOND DIVISION
FEBRUARY 10, 2009
1-07-0617
PAMELA BOSCO, Individually and as Executor of ) Appeal from the
the Estate of Peter Bosco, Deceased, ) Circuit Court of
) Cook County.
Plaintiff-Appellant, ))
v. ) No. 02 L 011372
)
ROBERT JANOWITZ; WESTMONT FAMILY )
PRACTICE, S.C.; GREGORIO ORBETA, JR.; )
and GREGORIO R. ORBETA, JR., M.D., S.C., ) Honorable
) Thomas R. Chiola,
Defendants-Appellees. ) Judge Presiding.
JUSTICE CUNNINGHAM delivered the opinion of the court:
Following a jury verdict in favor of the defendants in a medical malpractice case, the plaintiff
filed a posttrial motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict and a request for a new trial on all
issues. On February 27, 2008, the circuit court denied the plaintiff’s motion, holding that the jury’s
decision was fully supported by the evidence. On appeal, the plaintiff argues that: (1) a judgment
notwithstanding the verdict and a new trial on all issues was warranted; (2) the trial court abused its
discretion in admitting irrelevant and highly prejudicial evidence against the plaintiff; and (3) the
trial court abused its discretion in admitting evidence of other physicians’ negligence, and in
instructing the jury with the long forms of the Illinois Pattern Jury Instructions, Civil, Nos. 12.04 and
12.05 (2000). For the following reasons, we affirm.
BACKGROUND
Peter Bosco (Bosco) battled a series of long, complicated gastrointestinal illnesses before