Georgia Supreme Court strikes down cap on damages in med mal cases

The Georgia Supreme Court has been busy deciding cases related to tort reform initiatives. Less than a week ago, it decided to uphold a measure that made it more difficult for plaintiffs to support claims for malpractice against emergency room personnel (here) and a rule that forces a party to pay the other side's attorney fees in certain cases (here). Now comes news that the Court has struck down a cap on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases, declaring the cap to be a violation of the right to trial by jury. The case is Atlanta Oculoplastic Surgery, P.C. v. Nestlehutt (available here). The Court ruled that by "requiring a court to reduce a noneconomic damages award determined by a jury that exceeds the statutory limit, OCGA Sec. 51-13-1 clearly nullifies the jury's findings of fact regarding damages and thereby undermines the jury's basic function." Thanks to Day on Torts for the information and link. UPDATE 3/23/10: Here is a link to an article on the subject from the Wall Street Journal Law Blog UPDATE 3/24/10: Here are links to the version of the story in Law.com and AboutLawsuits.com. UPDATE 3/25/10: Here is a link to the story in the Tort Deform blog.