Opinion ID: 3134232
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Ill 2d 350 (1986). Also, common law meanings of words and terms

Text: may be assumed to apply in statutes dealing with new or different subject matter, to the extent that they appear fitting and absent evidence indicating a contrary meaning. 2B N. Singer, Sutherland on Statutory Construction §50.3, at 103 (5th ed 1992). Equipped with these principles, we examine the disputed language, exercised due care and followed professional standards of care in providing the service according to the current state of the medical arts. A commonly accepted definition of due care is: [j]ust, proper, and sufficient care, so far as the circumstances demand; the absence of negligence. That degree of care that a reasonable person can be expected to exercise . That care which an ordinarily prudent person would have exercised under the same or similar circumstances. Black's Law Dictionary 499 (6th ed. 1990). See also 28 Ill. L. & Prac. Negligence §25, at 24 (1957) (due care often used as a controvertible term with reasonable care and ordinary care); Langston v. Chicago & Northwestern Ry. Co., 330 Ill. App. 260 (1946) (same), aff'd, 398 Ill. 248 (1947). Webster's Third New International Dictionary 1811 (1986). Profession is commonly defined as a vocation or occupation that requires advanced education and training and involves intellectual skills, such as medicine, law, theology, engineering, teaching, etc. See Webster's New World Dictionary 1134 (2d Coll. ed. 1974); see also Webster's Third International Dictionary 1811 (1986). The term standard of care is one of legal significance. In common law negligence theory, a standard of care is generally understood to mean a measure or rule against which a defendant's conduct is to be measured. See W. Keeton, Prosser & Keeton on Torts §§31, 32 (5th ed. 1984); see also 28 Ill. L. & Prac. Negligence §§25, 24 (1957). Black's defines standard of care as the degree of care which a reasonably prudent person should exercise in the same or similar circumstances. Black's also states that in medical, legal, etc., malpractice cases, a standard of care is applied to measure the competence of the professional. Black's Law Dictionary 1404-05 (6th ed. 1990). The rule that courts must not disregard the plain language of a statute operates only when the statute under consideration is free from apparent ambiguity. See People v. Drakeford, 139 Ill. 2d 206 (1990); see also Roche v. City of Chicago, 818 F. Supp. 233 (N.D. Ill. 1993) (court may only look beyond statutory language where it is ambiguous or inconclusive, or a literal interpretation would lead to absurd result), aff'd, 24 F.3d 882 (7th Cir. 1994). A statute is ambiguous when it is capable of being understood by reasonably well-informed persons in two or more different senses, thus warranting the consideration of other sources to ascertain the legislative intent. See People v. Jameson, 162 Ill. 2d 282 (1994). If one relies only on commonly accepted and understood meanings, section 3 appears ambiguous, seemingly indicating that a blood bank's conduct is to be measured both by a lay, reasonable person standard of care and by professional standards of care. And joins exercised due care with followed professional standards of care, indicating that the two phrases are additional to one another and implying that they are also grammatically coordinate. Black's Law Dictionary 86 (6th ed. 1990); see also Coalition for Political Honesty v. State Board of Elections, 65