Letter: Noneconomic damage caps deny justice

To the editor: According to your Oct. 30 article, "Medical Malpractice Rates Stable, But Still At 'Very High Levels,"' while the frequency of hospital medical malpractice liability claims has stabilized, the severity of claims continues to grow, though at a slower rate, according to a study by Aon Risk Consultants, a unit of Chicago-based Aon Corp.

The drop in frequency is greatest in California, Florida, Pennsylvania and Texas-all of which have enacted some tort reform designed to limit plaintiffs' damages, the study noted.

Insurance companies are winners. Doctors are winners. Most definitely, victims of medical malpractice are losers, especially the elderly, children and stay-at-home parents. Virtually without exception, lawyers find that it is not financially feasible to represent victims who are not working.

Legislators of every state that placed a cap on noneconomic damages should repeal the law and enable medical malpractice victims to pursue the only justice that is available to them.

Jane Marshall

Dover, Tenn.