COURT CALLS MED-MAL AWARD CAP “UNCONSTITUTIONAL”

A Louisiana appellate court has ruled by a 3-to-2 vote that the state’s $500,000 cap on damages in medical malpractice cases is unconstitutional because the sum is no longer sufficient to cover losses in many cases. The cap, instituted in 1975, is worth around $160,000 in real terms and should be raised to more than $1.6m in current dollars, the court said. The current cap on damages “fails to provide an adequate remedy to today’s severely injured plaintiffs, and thus, is unconstitutional”, the court’s majority said. Lammico, the state’s largest med-mal carrier, warned that the ruling would discourage physicians and insurers from operating in the state, and “limit access to healthcare for Louisiana citizens”. The ruling stemmed from a case brought on behalf of a family of a man who died in 1994 at a hospital owned by Galen-Med Inc. Plaintiff attorney Oliver Scrimp countered that there is no evidence that higher awards will lead to skyrocketing rates or an exodus of doctors.