Abstract
Liability insurance consumers are convinced the dragon is only sleeping. Because insurance has become a near necessity for businesses, professionals, and municipalities, it is no surprise that fears of the return of insurance unavailability and prohibitive cost cause the boldest policyholders to break out in a cold sweat. In many states, this fear has prompted legislative changes in the civil justice system—tort reform, as a sure-fire way to kill the insurance-crisis dragon. One such tort reform is a statutory limitation on tort damages. In Maine, a legislative proposal capping noneconomic tort damages in medical negligence cases at $250,000 has received considerable attention. This Comment will focus on the validity of such a damage cap under the United States and Maine Constitutions and will consider whether this measure is the dragon slayer that the public now seeks.
First Page
219
Recommended Citation
Kathryn L. Vezina,
Constitutional Challenges to Caps on Tort Damages: Is Tort Reform the Dragon Slayer or Is It the Dragon?,
42
Me. L. Rev.
219
(1990).
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.mainelaw.maine.edu/mlr/vol42/iss1/10
Included in
Constitutional Law Commons, Litigation Commons, Torts Commons