West Virginia Supreme Court to decide on the validity of the state's cap on damages for medical malpractice

AboutLawsuits.com is reporting today that the West Virginia Supreme Court has before it a claim challenging the damage cap in medical malpractice cases imposed by the state legislature as an unconstitutional intrusion on the right to a trial by jury. The claim also argues that the statute is invalid because the statute makes an arbitrary legal decision, regardless of evidence and circumstances. The West Virginia cap on pain and suffering was first instituted in 1986, but then the cap was set at $1 million, which would be adequate in most cases and which is much higher than in all other states that have a cap. Since then, however, the cap has been lowered and now limits recovery for pain and suffering to $250,000 in most cases and $500,000 for the most serious injuries but regardless of the number of defendants involved in a case. In the case before the court, the jury awarded the plaintiffs a little over $1.6 million. Applying the statute, the lower court reduced the jury’s award to $500,000. Not suprisingly, lobbyist groups representing doctors and insurance companies have filed a brief in an attempt to ensure the cap remains in place, arguing that it is acceptable for the legislature to interfere with the cases to keep the price of medical insurance low and keep doctors from fleeing the state for fear of being targeted by medical malpractice lawsuits- two arguments that have been thoroughly discredited by all recent studies on the subject. See here. Oral arguments in the case are scheduled for January, with a decision expected later in 2011. State Supreme Courts in Illinois and Georgia have invalidated similar damages caps over the last year. For more on that, go here, here, here and here.