What are "damages caps", and what is their purpose?
A damages cap sets a restriction on the amount of money that a plaintiff can claim for medical malpractice. It can apply to the entire award or just part of it. A damage limitation is intended to restrict juries from granting a compassionate plaintiff disproportionate amounts of compensation and unnecessarily penalizing a negligent medical professional. Caps are also intended to keep the cost of premiums for medical malpractice manageable and discourage physicians from being dismissed from the profession based on a single complaint.