Georgia Supreme Court Strikes Down Caps on Noneconomic Damages - March 31, 2010

On March 22, the Georgia Supreme Court held that a 2005 statute capping noneconomic damages in medical liability cases violated the Georgia Constitution right to a jury trial. In the decision, the Court determined that by capping noneconomic damages, which are an element of total damages in medical liability cases, jurors are stripped of their core function as finders of fact regarding damage amounts. By contrast, in a different decision on March 23, the Missouri Supreme Court upheld its noneconomic damages cap, ruling that it did not violate Missouri Constitutional rights, including the right to trial by jury. The opinion for the Georgia decision can be found here, and the Missouri decision here.