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New York's Cap for Medical Malpractice Damages
New York State is pro-plaintiff in the sense that it does not have any restrictions on how much a person can recover in their lawsuit for pain and suffering, lost wages, “punishment” damages, or any other type of court money award. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, all but fifteen states have caps on medical damage awards. Texas, California, and Colorado, for example, have some of the lowest caps on pain and suffering damages, at $250,000. Many other states cap pain and suffering at $500,000.
Caps for pain and suffering in medical malpractice cases have been enacted or proposed in all states, ever since the 1970s era of tort reform. In the legal field of medical malpractice, a tort concerns the doctor’s breach of her duty to maintain a professional standard. Caps on pain and suffering damages aim to decrease malpractice insurance rates before they drive doctors out of their specialty.
Medical associations have traditionally encouraged caps since this will lower physicians’ liability, and thus insurance rates. However, consumer activists have criticized the caps for preventing injured children from collecting an amount equal to their lifelong pain and suffering. Also, recent trial decisions in other states have ruled that caps are unconstitutional.
Researchers at Harvard University examined thousands of medical records in a four-year study. They found that only one lawsuit was filed for every ten cases of confirmed malpractice. So it could be that not enough malpractice lawsuits are filed, leaving unaccounted-for injuries and deaths.
There are reports of doctors fleeing New York State and going to states such as Texas because of the lower premiums. Birth injury damages can be more than $10 million in New York, because injuries leading to cerebral palsy cause a lifetime of pain and suffering.
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