Medical malpractice damage
Last week, members of the Missouri Supreme Court voted to overturn a ruling that placed a cap on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits.
The case prompting this ruling involved a birth injury lawsuit in which a third-year medical student was deemed to be responsible for a child’s birth injuries. The medical student did not properly monitor the vitals of a woman who was experiencing pregnancy complications, significantly injury her child as a result. A jury awarded the woman $1.45 million in noneconomic damages, but due to the damage cap that was in place at the time, that amount was drastically declined to $350,000.
The Supreme Court in the state of Missouri determined that these types of damage caps were unconstitutional and violated an individual’s right to a fair trial by jury. The $350,000 damage cap will be lifted in Missouri, and juries will be solely responsible for awarding these damages in malpractice cases in the future.
