Ortho Evra Lawsuit Speeds Constitutional Debate
In Ohio, where non-economic damages are capped in civil suits, an upcoming Ortho Evra lawsuit is forcing a fast review of the law. According to the Toledo Blade, U.S. District Court Judge David Katz has requested the Supreme Court review the constitutionality of the law, which was passed in 2004. That law gives no restrictions on economic damages including medical bills and lost wages. However, non-economic damages including pain and suffering are capped at just $500,000.
Judge Katz would like to see a ruling soon because he has an Ortho Evra lawsuit in his court right now, and the Supreme Court’s decision could affect the outcome. Both sides of the constitutional issue have 20 days to file documents outlining their positions, but there is no time limit on how long the Supreme has to decide whether it will consider the request or actually make a ruling.
Award caps are nothing new in the United States, and many states have laws capping the non-economic damages in many areas, including personal injury cases like the mounting Ortho Evra lawsuits and especially medical malpractice. The powerful insurance lobby backed by physicians threatening to leave their jobs have pressured governments to put these laws in place to “reduce medical malpractice insurance.” However time and again the theory does not work.
In California, for example, lawmakers reacted to doctors’ demands by instituting a cap. Insurance premiums kept rising though, and despite the threats very few doctors actually left practice. It wasn’t until the cap was repealed and insurance industry reforms were put into place that medical malpractice insurance rates started to level out in that state.
All across the country, Ortho Evra lawsuits are starting to enter the courts. But there are signs that its manufacturer Ortho-McNeil and its parent company Johnson & Johnson are not willing to put up much of a fight. Already, there have been dozens of suits settled out of court, the company quietly paying claimants undisclosed amounts. However in states like Ohio that have a damage cap, the companies may be more likely to fight their cases since the penalties are not that stiff.