The case stems from the death of a five-year old, who drowned in July 2006 at the Crofton Country Club pool. After hearing all of the evidence presented at trial, including information about the negligence of the pool operators and the impact the death has had on the parents, the jury awarded the family $4 million in compensation. However, under the Maryland damage cap, that jury award was cut to about $1 million.

The Maryland pain and suffering damage cap currently limits a plaintiffs damages to $725,000. However, the cap increases by $15,000 on October 1st of each year, so it was $665,000 at the time of this child’s death in 2006.

For Maryland wrongful death lawsuits where there are two or more claimants (in this case both parents presented claims), the court can award damages equal to 150% of the cap. Therefore, the family’s non-economic damages, including damages other than medical expenses, funeral expenses or other quantifiable financial loss, was capped at $997,500.00.

Caps on damages are imposed for all Maryland personal injury lawsuits, creating an unfair situation that does not provide adequate compensation to those who have suffered the most. Capping damages also results in a situation where corporations are able to act without regard to consumer safety, knowing that their damages will be limited regardless of the catastrophic impact of their negligence.

Plaintiffs argued at a hearing last week that the damage cap is also unconstitutional by interfering with the decision of the jury.

Although it is unlikely the Court of Appeals will strike down the 24 year old law, and reverse prior rulings that have upheld the cap, several courts from other states have recently overturned or limited the use of such jury award caps. This year, the state supreme courts in both Illinois and Georgia have overturned medical malpractice caps in those states, agreeing that they violate individuals’ constitutional right to a trial by jury.

Our Maryland personal injury lawyers have seen first hand the unjust impact that the damage cap can have by limiting the recovery for individuals who have suffered devastating loss and who are often left with a life-time of severe pain and suffering. It is impossible for the legislature to determine the amount of compensation an individual is entitled to as a result of the negligence of another. That decision is best left to the individual jury and judge who sat through the trial and heard all of the evidence presented.

A state law requires that all Maryland hospitals make public disclosure of any medical mistakes that result in harm to patients. The fine is the first of its kind in the state since the law was enacted five years ago.

According to the article published June 15, 2009 in the Washington Post:

In some cases, state regulators found, Doctors did minimal investigations to determine what went wrong and did not classify the errors by their level of seriousness, as required by law. A few near misses, in which patients escaped serious harm, were never investigated, documents show. Those included a reported assault on one patient by another’s visitor, an eight-day delay in getting medication to a 49-year-old man with a history of heart failure, and a case in which an antibiotic was given to a 65-year-old woman by a technician who mistook it for plain IV fluid.

Maryland is one of more than 20 states with laws on the books requiring hospitals to report mistakes or infections that could have been prevented. There is also federal law requiring all hospitals to report any disciplinary actions against doctors. However, the situation at Doctors Hospital is not unique, and appears to be occurring nationwide, according to a recent report by the consumer advocacy group, Public Citizen.

In a report released earlier this month, Public Citizen found that half of all hospitals in the U.S. avoid reporting disciplinary actions against physicians, usually by exploiting legal loopholes. The National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) was established 17 years ago, but in that time, only half all hospitals have actually used the mandatory system.

Many hospitals avoid such reporting by levying disciplinary actions that are designed to fly under the radar of federal reporting requirements. This can include disciplinary periods of less than 31 days, requiring a leave of absence instead actual disciplinary action, or simply not disciplining physicians who have been known to make mistakes.

Doctors Hospital had reported only three errors to the state since 2005, and while other area hospitals were investigated, only Doctors was fined. Officials at Doctors Community Hospital say they plan to hire a registered nurse who will head the hospital’s patient safety program, and the state has promised to review the hospital’s progress in several months.

MARYLAND HOSPITAL MALPRACTICE LAWYERS

Our Maryland medical malpractice lawyers investigate potential claims for mistakes and errors that result in serious physical harm at area hospitals. To review a potential claim on behalf of yourself, a friend or family member, request a free consultation and claim evaluation.