More Reasons for Doctors to Get Asset Protection
A bitterly contested challenge to a cap on non-economic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits in Nevada, will be closely watched by doctors and asset protection attorneys. The Supreme Court there is soon to decide on whether a cap on non-economic damages was set for the medical event as a whole, or for individual claims.
Adeline Villegas died in August 2007 of peritonitis and a ruptured ulcer. Her family alleges that her doctor wrongly diagnosed the condition. A lawsuit was filed in 2008 against the doctor as well as Spring Valley Hospital. Somewhere along the way, the lawsuit came up against the non-economic damages cap of $350,000 in place in Nevada. Attorneys for the doctor and hospital are arguing that the cap applies to the entire case, while the plaintiff – in this case, the family members of Villegas – claim that the cap must apply to each individual claimant. In this case, there is a family estate, and seven surviving family members. If the plaintiffs win, that would mean a total of 16 claims, and a cap of $350,000 in damages on ALL 16 claims. That immediately spikes the cap to $5.6 million in non-economic damages.
From the doctor’s perspective, the cap should be $350,000, no matter how many surviving family members there are. It would apply to the entire case. If the Supreme Court does not agree with the plaintiffs, they have asserted that they will ask that the cap be overthrown as a constitutional violation of equal protection guarantees under federal and state constitutions.
It’s not clear when the Nevada Supreme Court will deliver a ruling, but for doctors in that state, this is bound to be a landmark ruling, on which they will probably decide whether they want to continue working in the state or not. Obviously, a dramatically multiplied cap on non-economic damages barely constitutes a cap at all.
It’s just another example of the kind of challenges that doctors around the country are facing as many states move to overturn caps on non-economic damages. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court in Georgia ruled against a cap on non-economic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits, calling it unconstitutional.
This is a wake-up call to doctors to consider asset protection as a means of protecting wealth and assets from such runaway lawsuits.
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