A recent post noted the Hawaii legislature’s resurrection of the medical malpractice liability bill. The Honolulu Advertiser reports the bill was effectively killed two days later.
The Hawaii Medical Association promoted the reform legislation, contending a cap on non-economic damages would lower malpractice premiums and reduce some of the uncertainty about malpractice suits.
Failure to pass this measure at this time was probably a good thing. The bill would have capped non-economic damages for catastrophic injury at $3 million. While $3 million may be justified in many cases, it seems a low figure to apply across the board. For example, $3 million in non-economic damages for a life-changing injury suffered by a young child seems woefully inadequate.
