Medical Malpractice Damages Cap Before the Supreme Court
Attorneys for a woman who suffered severe facial disfigurement as a result of a botched cosmetic surgery procedure have told the Georgia Supreme Court about the unfairness and injustice of tort reform laws that cap medical malpractice damages.
In 2005, enthusiastic lawmakers cheered on by vested interests, including health care companies and insurers, passed sweeping reform laws that limited the non-economic damages that an injured patient could receive at $350,000. Non-economic damages include those for physical and mental pain and suffering and diminishment of the quality of one’s life. Since the law was passed, hundreds of patients who have suffered serious injuries from the negligence of their health care professionals, including doctors and nurses, have had their recovery options limited.
One of those patients, Betty Nestlehutt, visited an Atlanta cosmetic surgeon for a facelift. The results of that surgery illustrate how important it is that doctors continue to be held fully accountable to their patient’s for their negligence. Nestlehutt’s skin was left severely disfigured, and even after extensive treatment, continues to be scarred.
A Fulton county jury returned a verdict of $115,000 for her medical expenses and $1.15 million in non-economic damages. The facility, where the surgery was performed, appealed against the verdict. This week, the Supreme Court heard an appeal, and will decide whether placing caps on damages in medical malpractice cases is unconstitutional in Georgia.
This is definitely a case that has been closely followed by injured patients, safety advocates and Fulton County Georgia medical malpractice lawyers . For four years, we have waited and watched frustrated, as the cap severely restricted the rights of victims injured by medical negligence. Medical malpractice lawsuits are notoriously expensive to litigate, and when damages are capped, it's makes it economically infeasible to pursue a number of meritorious claims for injured patients. The cap limits the rights of ordinary citizens in Georgia and we hope that the Supreme Court will uphold the Georgia Constitution and strike down the cap.
It is wrong for there to be tort reform for doctors only. Tort reform is needed for everyone but not by limiting damages. We need a "loser pays" system like almost every other western country.