Malpractice Damage Caps are Front and Center in Missouri – Missouri Malpractice

Florida recently had a series of crucial decisions regarding the limits set on damages for medical malpractice cases. Now, Missouri is set to hear a critical case which will have far-reaching implications.

Missouri Malpractice

In August 2013, the husband and children of Shannon Dodson were awarded $10.83 million in damages, $9 million of which were non-economic damages, after a medical procedure at on the campus of Mercy Hospital St. Louis resulted in her death. At the time, the case appeared to result in one of the largest awards ever granted in a medical negligence case in the St. Louis area.

But just a few months later, the court reduced the award for non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering, to $350,000 based on state law.

How does someone, especially a group of state legislators removed from the intricacies of a tragedy like this, decide how much pain and suffering are worth? The truth is, they can’t.

A malpractice case is decided by a judge or jury and once malpractice is established, the same judge or jury decide, after knowing all the details of the case, exactly how much damages are appropriate for that case.

The fact that anyone, another judge or a legislative body can limit what has been decided in court is unconscionable and should not be permitted.

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