Hochbaum v. Casiano
Case Date: 09/29/1997
Court: 1st District Appellate
Docket No: 1-96-0493
September 29, 1997 No. 1-96-0493 PATRICIA HOCHBAUM, ) Appeal from the ) Circuit Court Plaintiff-Appellant, ) of Cook County. ) v. ) ) MARLENE E. CASIANO, JOSEPH M. ) MERCOLA, indiv., JOSEPH M. ) MERCOLA, D.O.S.C., ELI LILLY & ) COMPANY, and DISTA PRODUCTS ) COMPANY, a division of Eli ) Lilly & Company, ) Honorable ) PHILLIP L. BRONSTEIN, Defendants-Appellees. ) Judge Presiding. JUSTICE BUCKLEY delivered the opinion of the court: Plaintiff, Patricia Hochbaum, brought this medical malpractice and product liability action against Dr. Marlene Casiano and Dr. Joseph Mercola, her treating physicians, and Eli Lilly and Company and its division Dista Products (Lilly), manufacturers of the drug Prozac. Plaintiff sought to recover damages for personal injuries she sustained when she attempted to commit suicide while being treated with Prozac by Dr. Casiano and Dr. Mercola. The circuit court granted summary judgment in favor of defendants, finding that the action was barred by the two-year statute of limitations. Plaintiff now appeals, claiming that (1) the discovery rule tolled the limitations period, and (2) plaintiff was a person under a legal disability so as to toll the statute. In September 1986, plaintiff began seeing Dr. Mercola, a family practitioner, for headaches. In December 1986, Dr. Mercola diagnosed plaintiff as suffering from depression caused by marital discord. Over the next 2 |