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Statutory Caps on Damages and the Right to Jury Trial

NCJ Number
120782
Journal
Missouri Law Review Volume: 54 Issue: 2 Dated: (Spring 1989) Pages: 471-484
Author(s)
K P Day
Date Published
1989
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This article examines three Kansas medical malpractice statutes enacted in 1986 and declared unconstitutional by the Kansas Supreme Court in 1988. Missouri's medical malpractice statute is examined in light of the Kansas decision.
Abstract
The Kansas Supreme Court found that a plaintiff's rights to remedy by due course of law and trial by jury were violated by provisions in the statutes that set caps or ceilings on the amount of recovery and required annuity payments for future economic harm. While the State had authority to limit the liability of a State-run insurance company, it could not limit by statute the liability of potential tortfeasors without violating the Kansas constitution. Missouri's statute authorizing a cap on malpractive recovery is compared with the Kansas statutes. Even though provisions in the Missouri statute authorize a cap on non-medical damages, the statute might resist attacks alleging it fails to provide equal protection or due process rights. However, the statute may be vulnerable to the charge that it violates a plaintiff's right to trial by jury. 149 footnotes.

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