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Friday, April 26, 2002"The bill would cap non-economic damage awards in malpractice suits at $250,000; limit punitive damages to the greater of $250,000 or twice the amount of economic damages; allow damage awards to be paid over time rather than in one lump sum; limit attorney fees; requires in most cases that suits be filed within 3 years; and alter rules under which plaintiffs who are only partially responsible can be held accountable for full damages." The malpractice crisis isn't just a lot of whining on the part of doctors. Malpractice premiums are skyrocketing across the country, in some cases making it impossible to cover the cost of overhead. Tort reform would be a welcome step forward, but even the sponsors of this act aren't optimistic it will pass. My home state, Ohio, tried something like this a few years ago, but it was struck down by the Ohio Supreme Court as unconstitutional. I don't know enough about law to know how this sort of thing would fare nationally, but it deserves some serious consideration. posted by Sydney on 4/26/2002 06:43:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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