OB-GYN assault claim based on voluntary undertaking

The Procedural Thicket

By Anthony J. Longo

Anthony J. Longo is a founding partner of Brennan Burtker LLC. He defends civil litigation matters in both state and federal court, and is a frequent speaker on issues of Illinois Civil Procedure.

Posted June 12, 2018 12:48 PM

My son Max giggles when I say “duty,” but it’s no laughing matter. Duty is the cornerstone of negligence law.Any case begins with the plaintiff who chooses the duty he wishes to allege. The court will not bother with duties that the plaintiff has not pressed in a formal pleading. See Nelson v. Aurora Equipment Co., 391 Ill.App.3d 1036, 1038 (2nd Dist. 2009) (courts “must consider whether a duty arises within the context of the cause of action actually pleaded, not whether some other theory of …

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