In the space of just two days two state supreme courts have issued rulings that signal an ongoing trend by the plaintiffs’ bar to erode damage caps. Yesterday the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that state caps on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases cannot be applied retroactively. A 2005 state law had capped noneconomic damages such as pain and suffering in medical malpractice cases at $350,000. The decision came just a day after the Georgia Supreme Court, in a unanimous 7-0 ruling, found a state law limiting damages awarded for pain and suffering in medical malpractice cases to be unconstitutional. The St Louis Business Journal reports that the Missouri court stopped short of declaring the caps themselves unconstitutional but mentioned the Georgia action in a footnote in the Missouri ruling. For more on the Georgia ruling check out the Fulton County Daily Report via law.com. The rulings follow last month’s […]

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