Oregon keeps wrongful death damage cap
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Oregon physicians say that a state Supreme Court decision upholding the noneconomic damage cap in wrongful death cases will help to preserve some stability in the state’s medical liability climate. The high court ruled on February 22 that the $ 500000 award limit in wrongful death actions in violation does not plaintiffs’ right to a jury trial or access to a legal remedy. Physicians feared that had a spike in such case filings and higher medical liability premiums would have ensued if the court had rejected the cap. The Oregon Medical Assn. And the American Medical Association / State Medical Societies Litigation Center filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case, urging the Supreme Court to keep the damage cap. Justices in 1999 struck down the state’s pain and suffering award-limit in personal injury cases as unconstitutional. |