Should there be a limit on the amount that can be awarded for medical malpractice suits?

There is now a great controversy over the amount of monetary awards that are granted to plaintiffs in malpractice lawsuits brought against doctors and other medical personnel by patients. For instance, James Nelson dies of cancer and his widow feels that he did not receive proper medical treatment. If he had, he would have survived. She files a lawsuit against the hospital and doctors. The jury awards her$40,000,000 in damages.
- Do you feel such awards are excessive? Why or why not?鈥? Should there be a limit on the amount that can be awarded for medical malpractice suits? Why or why not?

I am in favor of placing limits on awards.
People do not realize that there is a cost to everyone to these huge "jackpots".
There are plenty of doctors who have either retired or switched to less targeted specialties because they cannot afford the insurance premiums. This reduces the available medical care and the quality of care. The ones who remain have to charge much higher prices per visit, to cover the increased premiums that they must pay.

If you feel you can put a price on life. Doctors are not God, they are well paid individuals that need to be held accountable.

I think that how much is awarded depends on the situation. I do not know anything about this story but there are always circumstances in every case. Was this man the bread winner for his family? If he was then that amount was fair. How is the wife supposed to live and take care a family without her husband.

If he was denied proper treatment I think the money from a malpractice suit should be enough to cover whatever bills are left that insurance wouldn't cover and to make sure the widow/er has enough money that they would be taken care of them selves.

It depends on the degree of negligence and the amount of the loss. If Mr. Nelson made $5,000,000 and would have expected 10 more working years, that is $50,000,000. If Mr. Nelson's poor treatment was deliberate, grossly negligent or beneath any and all standards of care, then sending a message with a high punitive award has merit.

But if Mr. Nelson was 85, and his widow simply had a good lawyer than I would say it is excessive.

But a few things to know about 'limiting' awards. We hear about multi-million dollar awards all the time. But the average payout on medical malpractice claims in 2006 (including everything: multi-million dollar jury awards and out of court settlements) was just over $300,000. The total amount paid out is up only slightly from 1991 when adjusted for inflation. But Medical costs and the costs of malpractice insurance have risen many times the base inflation rate in the same period.