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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.—A $350,000 cap on noneconomic medical malpractice damages required by Missouri state law is a violation of residents' constitutional rights, according to the Missouri Supreme Court, which overturned the state Legislature's cap.
A divided Supreme Court in Jefferson City, Mo., on Tuesday ruled that the 20-year-old decision to uphold the caps violated a citizen's right to trial by jury.
Deborah Watts, the mother of Naython Watts, who suffered disabling brain injuries as a result of allegedly negligent care provided by doctors at Cox Medical Center in Springfield, Mo., was awarded $1.45 million in noneconomic damages by a jury, according to court documents.
After a trial court judge reduced the amount to $350,000 as required by state law, Ms. Watts appealed, arguing that the caps violated Missouri's constitution.
Writing for the majority, Chief Justice Richard Teitelman said in the ruling that “overturning erroneous precedent is particularly important where the precedent violates a constitutional right.”
Justice Teitelman said that removing a jury's ability to decide the amount of damages owed to an injured party is a violation of a citizen's “inviolable right” to a trial by jury for noneconomic medical malpractice damages.
“While this court always is hesitant to overturn precedent, it nonetheless has followed its obligation to do so where necessary to protect the constitutional rights of Missouri's citizens,” he said in the ruling.