Court Opinion

ID: 9687312
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 16:23:25.017783+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:18:25.632033
License: Public Domain

CURLEY, J.
¶ 26. (concurring). I reluctantly join the majority decision. My reluctance stems from my belief that the statute barely passes constitutional muster and, were I able as a court of appeals judge to overturn legal precedent that supports the legislature's action, I would have found the caps on non-economic medical malpractice damages unconstitutional.
¶ 27. I write to discuss two problems caused by non-economic damages caps which were raised in the briefs and alluded to during oral argument.
¶ 28. First, at present, the long-term effects of medical malpractice caps on non-economic damages are unknown. What is known, however, is that the cap on non-economic damages adversely impacts those injured parties who can least afford to be deprived of their compensation. Currently, the remedy harms *589medical malpractice victims with the lowest earning capacities, with the largest families (who must share the non-economic damages award with the victim), and/or with the most páin and suffering. In my opinion it is terribly unfair to short-change those with the lowest earning capacity, the biggest families and the most pain and suffering in order to remedy the perceived medical malpractice crisis in Wisconsin. If, indeed, a remedy is necessary, certainly a fairer remedy can be fashioned that achieves the goal of reducing medical malpractice costs.
¶ 29. Second, the majority opinion states that the legislature's act of capping non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases may have been done to shift the payment of part of the attorney fees back to the victim. In this regard, the legislature's decision in setting caps may have far-reaching unintended consequences. Large numbers of those injured at the hands of medical professionals may be prevented from seeking redress at all! This is so because capable attorneys are refusing to handle some medical malpractice cases because of the caps. The end result may be that entire classes of legitimate victims of medical negligence will be foreclosed from obtaining any relief for want of a competent attorney to handle their cases.
¶ 30. In Wisconsin, we are fortunate to have many excellent, highly skilled and competent doctors. However, not all doctors are created equal, and even the excellent doctor can make the exceptional tragic mistake. The right to sue and obtain compensation for medical negligence in Wisconsin has been part of our jurisprudence for some time. Despite the longstanding availability of medical malpractice suits, there are not large numbers of medical malpractice cases. This is because successful medical malpractice suits are diffi*590cult. They require lawyers to invest substantial time and money in the action. Voluminous medical records must be reviewed. Expert witnesses must be located and retained. Often the trials are lengthy and the outcomes uncertain — as more medical malpractice cases are lost than are won.
¶ 31. Occasionally media attention has focused on the infrequent large attorney fee recouped in a medical malpractice case through the operation of a contingency fee agreement. These articles lead the public to view medical malpractice attorney fee awards as undeserved windfalls. But behind each attorney fee award there stands a seriously injured victim who had to suffer a considerable wage loss, incur tremendous past and future medical expenses, or endure massive pain and suffering in order to be awarded such significant damages. Although an argument can be made that contingency fees are unfair — after all, by their operation, injured persons are never made whole because they are always obligated to pay their attorney a percentage of their award — it is currently the only way victims of medical negligence can secure legal counsel in these cases. I believe it would be poor public policy to continue capping non-economic damages if the caps result in large numbers of victims of medical malpractice being unable to bring suit because of the unwillingness of lawyers to take their cases.
¶ 32. Thus, I urge the legislature to revisit the question of whether a medical malpractice crisis actually exists in Wisconsin and, if it does exist, to consider whether the current remedy of placing caps on non-economic damages is just.