Cap on noneconomic damages crimps Texas medical malpractice lawsuits

Three years after Texas capped noneconomic damages in medical malpractice suits, plaintiffs' attorneys and the medical industry are reporting a sharp drop in med-mal lawsuits.

Voters in Texas amended the constitution in 2003 to include a $750,000 overall limit on noneconomic damages in

The result has been a dramatic decline in the number of medical malpractice suits filed, which in turn has forced some plaintiffs' lawyers to shutter their offices or branch into new practice areas.

Other states have taken similar steps. Thus far, 22 states have implemented caps on noneconomic damages in med-mal cases. That legislation was ruled unconstitutional in one state - New Hampshire.

The numbers in Texas tell the tale. According to the Texas Alliance for Patient Access (TAPA), a healthcare industry group that lobbied for the caps, the number of med-mal suits filed in the San Antonio, Fort Worth, Dallas and Houston areas has declined by nearly 50 percent, from 1,517 in 2002 to 715 in 2005. In the first half of this year, a total of 359 med-mal suits were filed in the four counties.