Wisconsin Med-Mal Caps Struck Down
The Wisconsin Supreme Court yesterday, to the dismay of insurers, declared unconstitutional the state's inflation-indexed caps on pain and suffering awards in medical malpractice suits.
In a 4-3 ruling in the case of Matthew Ferdon vs. Wisconsin Patients Compensation Fund, the court held that statutory limits on such damages violated the equal protection provisions of the Wisconsin constitution.
Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson said that the ruling does not strike down all caps in medical malpractice cases, only those that are meant for noneconomic damages such as mental distress and loss of society and companionship.
Last year the court upheld a similar limit on medical malpractice wrongful death awards.
"Just because caps on noneconomic damages are not unconstitutional per se does not mean that a particular cap is constitutional," Ms. Abrahamson wrote.
The case involved a boy now eight years old whose right arm was permanently disabled as a result of the doctor pulling on his head during birth.
A trial court awarded the family $700,000 in noneconomic damages. That figure was lowered to $402,322 by an appeals court judge in recognition of the state caps on such damages.
Steve Schneider, Chicago-based vice president of the American Insurance Association, decried the court's notion there is no rational basis behind caps. "Such ambiguity and disregard for the broader systemic issues leaves insurers, doctors and patients all scratching their heads."
Justice David Prosser, himself a former lawmaker, said in his dissent that the ruling "is effectively destroying the checks and balances in our constitutional system."
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