The Ohio Supreme Court has determined that caps on damage settlements do not violate the state's Constitution, climaxing a 27-year effort by the state Legislature to write legislation imposing such limits that can pass legal muster.

Four other efforts by the state Legislature since 1975 to limit damage awards had been rejected by the Ohio Supreme Court as unconstitutional.

Thursday's court decision affirms a state law passed in April 2005 capping the amount of noneconomic “pain and suffering” damages that can be awarded to personal injury plaintiffs at $250,000, or three times the amount of economic damages, whichever is greater, up to a combined limit of $350,000–with the exception for plaintiffs who suffer permanent or major injuries.

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