MO: Constitutional Challenge to Med Mal Cap

Yesterday the Missouri Supreme Court heard arguments on whether that state’s 2005 cap on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases violates the state constitution.  In 2011, a jury decided that physicians failed to act when an unborn child showed signs of distress in the womb.  The child was born with cerebral palsy and will not progress beyond the mental capacity of a three-year-old.  The jury awarded $4,821,000 in total damages.  Of that amount, $1.45M was non-economic and was reduced to $350,000 pursuant to the cap.  The Springfield News-Leader has the details.

–CJR