How much is your arm worth? Really, how much would it take for you to give up a limb? I seriously doubt it’s less than $250,000. That is the amount of non-economical damages that can be awarded from each hospital or institution in the state of Texas. This law was passed in 2003. As expected it drew physicians from around the country into Texas to open up new practices. This was imagined as a way to increase physicians in rural areas and to boost the specialists working in major hospitals. The law was touted as a no-brainer for helping everyone in Texas. What didn’t receive any campaign time were the people who are affected by this cap. First off the cap is not indexed for inflation. Essentially a malpractice victim’s health, wrongly amputated limb, discomfort and possible new disability is only worth $250,000. With inflation that means in 20 years victims will get even less for their injury. It might sound like a lot of money to some, but tell that to the person who had the wrong limb amputated. Texas malpractice cap places the burden of the mistake on the injured, the victim of the malpractice These mistakes are more common than you think. Doctors are human and mistakes will be made, but does that mean the victims should end up paying?
