Introduced
by
To authorize a court to double the “non-economic” damages (“pain and suffering” or “punitive” damages) in a medical malpractice award, if the defendant engaged in specified misconduct, but still leave in place the current $500,000 cap on non-economic damages. Under the bill, the higher damages could be awarded if the defendant is found to have practiced medicine while drunk, intentionally tried to harm a patient, altered records, pursued personal gain by promoting an unnecessary device or drug, or other specified abuses.
Referred to the Committee on Insurance
