Posted On: May 12, 2006, 6:36 pm CDT

Posted By: bigbear5033

Caps on non-economic damages would remove the 'scare' factor that so often leads a defendant in any litigation involving bodily injury to settle. Cap that and the down side risk faced in litigating liability is more predictable when the only significant variables are economic damages -- loss of future income, future medical costs, &c. And just what "fair compensation" is the Plaintiff losing out on? Compensation for an intangible loss that varies wildly depending on the appeal of the Plaintiff, the skills of his or her lawyer, the location of the trial, the mindset of the jurors, &c. Caps won't solve all the problems inherent in our civil justice/insurance premium/med-mal/products liability/ "crises," but they would add predictability to the risk/benefit analysis and equalize the compensation of injured parties based on their actual damages.