Caps on Personal Injury Damages – Not in New Hampshire
By C. Kevin Leonard – New Hampshire Personal Injury Attorney
In a previous blog, we explained that in 1980 the New Hampshire Supreme Court rejected the legislature’s attempt to impose a $250,000 cap on pain and suffering or non-economic losses. Well, in 1990, those in favor of limiting such damage awards were back at it.
This time, the proponents wanted to impose a statutory cap of $875,000 for non-economic loss in all personal injury cases, which would include medical malpractice cases. Although the cap amount was higher, the Court rejected the idea of having a cap itself. In Birannigan v. Usitalo, the New Hampshire Supreme Court noted it was “unfair and unreasonable” to impose such a burden (limit on damages) on those severely injured and in need of compensation.
In this time of rising health care costs, it is easy to come up with a simplistic (although incorrect) solution to the problem and target victims of personal injury. Our Supreme Court has rejected as unconstitutional previous efforts to single out personal injury victims with arbitrary caps or limits on their right to recovery non-economic or pain and suffering damages.
If you believe you have been the victim of a personal injury, you should consult an experienced medical malpractice or personal injury lawyer such as one of the attorneys at Douglas, Leonard & Garvey, P.C. Call us at 1-800-240-1988 or fill out our online contact form.
Contact C. Kevin Leonard for a free case evaluation:
1-800-240-1988 or kleonard@nhlawoffice.com
