Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam has signed a measure to cap payouts for medical malpractice and other civil cases.
The law places a $750,000 cap on non-economic damages such as pain and suffering. The cap will be raised to $1 million in cases involving serious spinal cord injuries, severe burns or the death of a parent of minor children.
Punitive damages are capped at twice the amount of compensatory damages or $500,000, whichever is greater.
“We wanted to make sure we did everything we could to protect victims’ rights, but also have a predictable playing field for businesses,” said the Republican governor.
Valerie Nagoshiner, of the National Federation of Independent Business in Tennessee, said the law should help businesses. “Small businesses are especially vulnerable to frivolous lawsuits,” Nagoshiner said. “It’s hard enough for them to defend themselves against even the weakest of claims, but one outrageous jury award or one frivolous lawsuit can be the difference between a small, family-owned business staying open or closing for good.”
Critics say the law weakens company accountability. They say juries should decide damages.
“Everyone should be held accountable when they make a mistake,” said Democratic Sen. Andy Berke of Chattanooga.
“All our jury system does is ensure that we have a fair way to judge that. Unfortunately, too often in our society we are seeing personal responsibility and accountability go by the wayside,” Berke said.
Topics Tennessee
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