Unwise and unnecessary: statutory caps on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases and the appellate review alternative.

In June 1999, a New York jury awarded over $76 million dollars to Gaelle Prindilus, a woman who suffered brain damage when she was an infant because of the purported carelessness of the resident doctors who delivered her at Harlem Hospital. Allegedly, the hospital staff failed to do a sonogram that would have revealed the umbilical cord tied around the plaintiff’s neck. Such headlinegrabbing stories have motivated many in legal, medical, and political communities to demand tort reform. Specifically, many desire a cap on the amount of non-economic damages a plaintiff can receive. The concern of many commentators and advocacy groups is that large awards like these are having profoundly adverse effects on the medical community and healthcare in general.