Porter v. Decatur Memorial Hospital

Justices Freeman, Fitzgerald, Kilbride, Carman, Karmeier, and Burke concurred in the judgment and opinion.

OPINION

This appeal arises from a medical malpractice action filed in Macon County by plaintiff, Larry W. Porter, Jr. The primary issue for our review is whether count III of a second amended complaint, filed after the applicable statute of limitations expired, relates back to the timely filed previous complaints under section 2 — 616(b) of the Code of Civil Procedure (the Code) (735 ILCS 5/2 — 616(b) (West 2004)), so that the count is not time-barred. Under section 2 — 616(b), the key…