On July 31, 2012 the Missouri Supreme Court struck down a $350,000 cap on jury awards for noneconomic or “pain and suffering” damages in medical malpractice cases. The Missouri Supreme Court held that the law capping noneconomic damages violated a patient’s right to a jury trial.
Back in 2005, Republican legislators passed a cap on the premise of tort reform, however, the court found that this cap infringes on the jury constitutionally protected purpose of determining the amount of damages sustained by an injured party, in cases of medical negligence.
The underlying case was brought by Debra Watts whose son Naython was born with significant brain injuries at Cox South Hospital as a result in a delay in receiving an emergency c-section. Last year a Green County jury awarded Watts nearly $5 million which was then reduced under the medical negligence cap law.
The legislation capping damages was primarily supported by retired Governor Matt Blunt as a way to control rising medical malpractice insurance rates. Not surprisingly, Blunt was very disappointed by the Supreme Court’s ruling as were Republican legislators who indicated that they would consider asking Missouri voters to amend the constitution to reinstate the caps.
According to an analysis conducted by the Missouri Foundation for Health, medical negligence lawsuits since the enactment of the law have gone down from 847 to 643. Further, approximately 1% of lawsuits result in a jury verdict for a plaintiff which has remained consistent since the passing of the law.
According to Jeffery Harmon, who authored the analysis for the health foundation, the cap has done little to reduce healthcare costs and has had a negligible impact on malpractice premiums and the insurance companies remain profitable.
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