Legal Briefs: Record Malpractice Award in Nebraska

After the trial, the jury found that the hospital and one of its physicians were negligent in discharging the child from the hospital. The jury awarded $21.5 million for lifetime medical care and damages to the 5-year-old and another $4.6 million to her parents. This is far more than, and may be reduced by, the state’s $2.25 million cap on medical malpractice verdicts. The hospital is expected to file a request that the judge impose Nebraska’s cap in the case, reducing the verdict to a total of $4.5 million ($2.25 million for the child, and $2.25 million for her parents). The attorney for the family has said that he will ask the judge to declare Nebraska’s cap on medical malpractice damages to be unconstitutional and that a lifetime of medical care would cost far more than the cap. Currently, about 29 states have medical malpractice caps. Nine states have ruled malpractice caps to be unconstitutional, including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Illinois, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Washington. We will watch to see how Nebraska decides to handle this.