Opinion ID: 1800270
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Heading: State Court Cases Considering the Constitutionality of Medical Malpractice Damage Limitations

Text: I. Four states have upheld medical malpractice limitations on damages: Indiana; California; Nebraska and Virginia. California only limits noneconomic damages for medical malpractice and Virginia has a cap of $750,000. Johnson v. St. Vincent Hospital, Inc., 273 Ind. 374, 404 N.E.2d 585 (1980) upheld the Indiana medical malpractice act. The Louisiana Act is modeled on the Indiana Act, which provides a $500,000 limit on total recovery and a $100,000 limit on the liability of a health care provider for one occurrence. A state fund gives coverage between $100,000 and $500,000. The patient's compensation fund is administered by the Indiana Insurance Commissioner. Although the Louisiana act was amended to remove the limitation on medical expenses, the Indiana act has not been changed. Fein v. Permanente Medical Group, 38 Cal.3d 137, 211 Cal.Rptr. 368, 695 P.2d 665 (1985) upheld a California statute which limited recovery of noneconomic damages to $250,000, but did not limit recovery of economic losses. Footnote 17 of Fein points out that the American Bar Association's Commission on Medical Professional Liability has recommended that no dollar limit be imposed on recovery of economic losses. Fein also upheld a provision of the California statute which gives credit for any collateral recovery by a plaintiff against the total damages, thereby modifying the collateral source rule. Prendergast v. Nelson, 199 Neb. 97, 256 N.W.2d 657 (1977), considered the constitutionality of the Nebraska act which places a $500,000 ceiling on recovery for medical malpractice. Prendergast concluded that a claimant was being assured of $500,000 for the payment of any malpractice claim and thereby given a remedy not previously available. Etheridge v. Medical Center Hospitals, 237 Va. 87, 376 S.E.2d 525 (1989), upheld the Virginia statute which limited the total amount recoverable by one party against a health care provider to $750,000. The current statute raises the limit to $1 million. Other questions arising under the Virginia statute were certified to the Virginia Supreme Court in Boyd v. Bulala, 877 F.2d 1191 (4th Cir.1989).