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Member, Beacon International Group, Ltd.
ATLANTA—The Georgia Supreme Court has declared that caps on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases are unconstitutional.
In its Monday ruling in Atlanta Oculoplastic Surgery P.C. vs. Nestlehutt et al., the state’s high court held unanimously that the $350,000 cap on noneconomic damages violated the state constitution’s guarantee of the right to a jury trial. The cap was part of Georgia’s Tort Reform Act of 2005.
The case involved a malpractice claim that arose from a 2006 face-lift that left Betty Nestlehutt disfigured. Mrs. Nestlehutt and her husband sued, and a jury awarded her $900,000 in noneconomic damages. The defendant, which did business as Oculus, argued that the awards violated the 2005 tort reform law. Oculus sought a retrial, which was denied.
The Georgia Supreme Court upheld the lower court. “We are compelled to conclude that the caps infringe on a party’s constitutional right…to a jury determination as to noneconomic damages,” Chief Justice Carol W. Hunstein wrote for the court.