Georgia High Court strikes down cap on medical malpractice awards

Posted on Mar 23, 2010

Georgia Supreme Court struck down limits on jury awards in medical malpractice cases, the cornerstone of the state's sweeping 2005 tort reform law.

The state high court determined that a $350,000 cap on noneconomic damages, which includes compensation for a plaintiff's pain and suffering, violates the right to a jury trial as guaranteed under the Georgia Constitution.

The ruling upheld a $1.265 million jury award to Marietta real estate agent Betty Nestlehutt, now 75. After a face-lift operation in 2006, Nestlehutt's face was covered with gaping wounds that required prolonged, excruciating treatments to keep them from becoming infected. The wounds left her permanently disfigured.

In its decision, the state Supreme Court noted that the right to a jury trial for negligence claims against health care providers predates the adoption of Georgia's Constitution in 1798.

The 2005 law's cap on damage awards "clearly nullifies the jury's findings of fact regarding damages and thereby undermines the jury's basic function," Chief Justice Carol Hunstein wrote for the court. She added, "The very existence of the caps, in any amount, is violative of the right to trial by jury."

The decision puts the General Assembly on notice that any renewed effort to impose caps on jury awards will be futile, said Atlanta lawyer Michael Terry, who argued the case on Nestlehutt's behalf. "The court was very clear in saying, ‘You can't do this.' "

By: Bill Rankin
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
March 22, 2010