Georgia Medical Malpractice Lawsuits: Is a cap on damages unconstitutional?

The Georgia Supreme Court has been considering a challenge to the constitutionality of the state law that puts a cap on damages in medical malpractice lawsuits.

Since 2005, when a law was passed that limits the amount that a jury can award medical malpractice victims, the maximum award for pain and suffering has been set at $350,000. Attorneys for Betty Nestlehutt of Marietta, Georgia argue that this limit is unconstitutional. It overturns the right of the jury to dete rmine how much compensation is fair for a plaintiff’s injuries.

Ms. Nestlehutt first filed her lawsuit against Atlanta Oculoplastic Surgery in 2006. Ms. Nestlehutt alleged that doctors at the practice had botched her facelift and left her with permanent scars. Even after corrective surgery, Ms. Nestlehutt has been permanently disfigured.

Following a jury trial, Ms. Nestlehutt was awarded more than $1.2 million for her plastic surgery malpractice suit. The award includes $115,000 for past and future medical expenses, and $1.15 million in non-economic damages. The defendants argued that the non-economic damage award should have been limited to $350,000, capping the plaintiff’s recovery at $465,000.

State Court Judge Diane Beesen agreed with the jury’s decision and declined to apply the state damage cap to the compensation awarded to Ms. Nestlehutt. Lawyers for Atlanta Oculoplastic Surgery are appealing the judge’s decision and are asking that the Georgia Supreme Court enforce the cap.

Tort reform law attempts to ease the cost of insurance by limiting the amount of damages that can be awarded in personal injury cases. Proponents of tort reform argue that high malpractice insurance costs are part of the reason for the high costs of medical care. When the medical malpractice damage cap was enacted in 2005, state legislators believed is was a necessary step to prevent doctors from leaving the state.

Ms. Nestlehutt’s lawyers are arguing that Georgia’s tort reform law, because it places an arbitrary limit on a jury’s ability to determine compensation, comes between the plaintiff and her constitutional right to trial by jury.

Earlier this month, the Georgia Supreme Court justices debated the limits of the powers of the legislature. They discussed whether lawmakers’ ability to limit liability in medical malpractice lawsuits interferes with the rights of the legal parties involved. One justice questioned whether tort reforms laws in the state of Georgia had effectively eradicated the right to trial by jury. The state Supreme Court is determining whether the law violates the right to a trial by a jury that is guaranteed in the state’s Constitution.

Currently more than thirty states have enacted laws that limit recoveries in medical malpractice suits. The issues being debated in the Georgia are also being debated in other states. In Indiana, a plaintiff who won an $8.5 million malpractice verdict for the death of his wife contested that state’s $750,000 cap. The plaintiff’s lawyers argued that the Indiana damage cap violates a section of the state’s constitution which says a jury decision must remain intact.

If you or a loved one has been a victim of medical malpractice in Georgia, Kaufman Law can help you get fair compensation. We have more than thirty years of experience and we can help you. Staff is available 24 hours a day. Contact us at 1-888-973-2540 for a free consultation.