Rick Santorum is probably familiar to most Illinois residents. Once considered a long shot for the Republican presidential nomination, the former Pennsylvania senator surprised everyone with victories in recent state primaries and has suddenly become a threat to front-runners Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney.

Here's something interesting about Santorum. Although he has long been a staunch supporter for capping the damages awarded in medical malpractice cases, in 1999 he helped his wife Karen seek $500,000 from her chiropractor after she was allegedly injured under his care.

This is clear proof that even people who are against medical malpractice lawsuits may find such lawsuits useful when they are the ones who are affected by a doctor's mistake or inattentiveness.

Karen Santorum filed her medical malpractice suit because she claimed a chiropractor herniated a disc in her back and she needed to have surgery to correct the issue. She asked for $500,000, and was awarded $350,000, but that sum was later reduced to $175,000. Santorum testified on his wife's behalf during the trial.

Santorum once co-sponsored a bill capping medical malpractice lawsuits at $250,000 for non-economic damages, so some in Washington have taken him to task for the incongruity between his public stance on this issue and his private life. Santorum has countered that it was his wife who filed the lawsuit, not him, and that he does not necessarily approve of everything she does. He also said that while he believes in capping medical malpractice suits, he is not "wedded" to the $250,000 figure.

Source: ABC News, "Rick Santorum's Medical Malpractice Lawsuit," Jonathan Karl, Feb. 14, 2012