Medical Malpractice Law Blog

Damages Cap Unconstitutional

In Louisiana the cap on Medical Malpractice damages was set at $500,000 in 1975.  Well the Louisiana Supreme Court has recently ruled that that amount ($500,000) in not adequate anymore.  It is too low.

BATON ROUGE -- Louisiana's $500,000 cap on medical malpractice damages, set in 1975, is unconstitutional because it no longer provides an adequate remedy to patients, the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal in Lake Charles has ruled in a 3-2 decision.

A $500,000 award would be worth about $160,000 today, the opinion, issued Wednesday, said. The court said evidence indicates the cap would have to be raised to $1.6 million or $1.7 million to provide the same protection as it did 31 years ago. 

"In either case, we find the current $500,000 cap fails to provide an adequate remedy to today's severely injured plaintiffs, and thus, is unconstitutional. ," the ruling says.

For the full story please see www.wwltv.com

Remember -- Insurance Premiums are supposed to go down.

In South Carolina a cap on malpractice verdicts went into effect about 1 year ago.  Here is an article discussing when or whether doctor's premiums will go down.  Time will tell.

It's been a little more than a year since the state cap on malpractice pay-outs took effect, but both supporters and opponents say it will be years before its impact is felt -- if ever.

The law took effect in July 2005 and limits damages commonly known as pain and suffering to $350,000 per defendant and a total of $1.05 million if more than one provider is involved. It does not affect economic losses.

Supporters of the caps say they are needed to reduce high jury awards and frivolous lawsuits, which they say led to soaring malpractice premiums that have been driving doctors out of the profession.

Opponents say the premiums were so high to offset insurers' investment losses, artificially low premiums offered to attract business in the 1990s, and other industry factors. They also say caps hurt those who've suffered legitimate injuries.

Source:  GreenvilleOnline.com