Every personal injury lawyer in Ohio has to be a little upset today. The Ohio Supreme Court voted and on a 5 to 2 basis upheld the caps on damages for personal injury lawsuits. Earlier in 2004 the state legislature passed a law capping jury awards for pain and suffering, mental anguish and other non-economic damages to $350,000. This is applied unless the injured person loses a limb of organ.
This law was passed because of the case of Melisa Arbino vs. Johnson & Johnson. In this case Melisa was suing because she had suffered blood clots and several other medical problems after using Johnson & Johnson’s birth control patch.
Both Justices Paul E. Pfeifer and Terrance O’Donnell disagreed with the ruling and wrote dissenting opinions.
Justices Pfeifer stated that caps were unconstitutional because they took away the benefit of a jury trail for the injured.
O’Donnell said the cap on pain and suffering awards “substitutes the judgment of the General Assembly for that of a jury.”