Pain and Suffering Caps on lawsuits are unfair
Posted by
Donald CaminitiFebruary 26, 2008 2:08 PMFormer Dallas Cowboy Ron Springs, who has been in a coma since the fall after surgery to remove a cyst, is one of 11 plaintiffs challenging Texas' medical malpractice cap in a lawsuit filed Monday.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Marshall, challenges the 2003 Medical Malpractice and Tort Reform Act, which limits awards in Texas. The lawsuit asks the court to declare the cap unconstitutional.
The law caps awards for pain and suffering at $250,000 for doctors, $250,000 for hospitals and $250,000 for nursing homes and other institutions for a maximum of $750,000 per claimant.
The plaintiffs are asking for class-action status.
In January, Springs' wife filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against two doctors she said caused her husband's brain damage during a routine surgery to remove a cyst.