Non-economic Damages Caps in Medical Malpractice Suits

Non-economic Damages Caps in Medical Malpractice Suits

In response to an ever-increasing number of medical malpractice suits being filed as well as escalating jury verdicts in medical malpractice cases, malpractice insurers have increasingly been forced to increase rates dramatically or leave the market altogether. The increased cost of premiums has, in turn, caused physicians to move to states with lower insurance premiums or cease practicing medicine. As a result, both the federal government as well as many state governments have considered and many have adopted tort reform laws limiting the amount of non-economic damages recoverable in a medical malpractice case. The U.S. Congress has not been successful in enacting non-economic damage caps.

Medical malpractice damages can be divided into economic damages and non-economic damages. Economic damages consist of such things as medical bills, loss of income, and loss of future income. Non-economic damages consist of non-pecuniary injuries such as pain and suffering, inconvenience, disfigurement, and loss of consortium. Twenty-six states limit non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases. They are: Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin. While other states, such as Arkansas, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Wyoming, have constitutional provisions barring the legislature from capping damages in cases of personal injury and death.

Some damages caps have a number of exceptions that call into question their utility. For example, while Massachusetts caps non-economic damages at $500,000, the law provides exceptions in cases in which the jury finds there is a substantial disfigurement or a substantial or permanent loss or impairment of a bodily function or where the jury finds that limiting the award would result in injustice to the plaintiff. Likewise, Florida's $500,000 cap on non-economic damages increases to $1,000,000 if the negligence resulted in death or a permanent vegetative state or if the court finds that a manifest injustice would occur unless the non-economic damages cap was increased. This exception applies to cases in which the non-economic harm sustained by the plaintiff (or patient) was particularly severe and the defendant's negligence caused a catastrophic injury to the patient.

Courts in California, Colorado Michigan and Wisconsin have held the damages caps in those states to be constitutional. On the contrary, however, the Supreme Court of Alabama declared its cap on non-economic damages unconstitutional. Likewise, courts in Illinois, New Hampshire, and Washington (state) declared their caps on non-economic damages unconstitutional. The Washington Supreme Court reasoned that the cap on damages was a violation of the plaintiff's right to a jury trial.