A damages cap imposes a limit on the amount of compensation that a medical malpractice plaintiff can receive. It may apply to the total award or only to part of the award, such as the non-economic damages. These caps often but not always are adjusted for inflation. A damages cap is meant to restrain juries from awarding excessive amounts of compensation to a sympathetic plaintiff and excessively penalizing a negligent medical professional. Caps also are meant to keep the costs of medical malpractice insurance reasonable and prevent doctors from being driven out of the profession based on a single lawsuit.