Missouri’s Cap on Noneconomic Damages Heads to State’s Top Court

The constitutionality of a Missouri law limiting the amount of damages plaintiffs can recover in medical malpractice cases for injuries like pain and suffering must be determined by the state’s top court because it’s a substantial question with no clear answer, a Missouri appeals court said.

The Missouri Supreme Court previously held a similar cap invalid under a state constitutional provision guaranteeing the right to have juries determine damages in actions at common law, the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District said.

But the state legislature repealed the common-law medical malpractice cause of action in 2015 and replaced it with ...