Court: Supreme Court of Missouri
Docket: SC98977
Opinion Date: July 22, 2021
Judge: Zel M. Fischer
Areas of Law: Constitutional Law, Medical Malpractice, Personal Injury
The Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court’s reduction of a damages award in favor of Appellant in a medical negligence case against University Physician Associates (UPA) and various physicians (collectively, the Physicians), holding that the circuit court did not err.
Appellant filed this lawsuit alleging that the Physicians acted negligently in the Caesarean delivery of her child and in her postpartum care. The jury allocated 100 percent of the fault to the Physicians and awarded $30,000 in past economic damages, $300,000 in past non-economic damages, and $700,000 in future non-economic damages. The circuit court concluded that Mo. Rev. Stat. 538.210.2(2)’s non-economic damages for catastrophic personal injury applied and reduced the non-economic damages award from $1 million to $748,828. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) section 538.210’s non-economic damage caps do not violate Mo. Const. art. I, 22(a); and (2) the Physicians’ points on appeal lacked merit.
This case law update is brought to you by Freeway Law auto accident and personal injury law attorneys. The following is not one of our cases, but it is of some significance, and we thought we should share it with our readers for informational purposes. The information above is for informational purposes only and not to be construed as legal advice.
