The Illinois Supreme Court made a ruling this week that ended caps on pain and suffering in medical malpractice awards. The ruling could be a very positive thing for victims of medical malpractice in Missouri, where a similar debate over whether or not the current $350,000 caps is constitutional is taking place.

One attorney who argued before the Missouri Supreme Court claimed that limiting non-economic damages should be ruled unconstitutional. He intends to formally notify the Missouri Supreme Court of the ruling in Illinois in hopes that it will encourage the judges to also remove the cap in Missouri.

Many attorneys and victims think the cap should be lifted because it indirectly leads to placing a higher value on wealthy people's lives than poor peoples. While families of wealthy victims can recover more money from lost wages, poor people recover very little in the form of lost wages, thus making their suits worth less.

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Today is an important day for the healthcare industry, victims of medical malpractice, and their attorneys in Missouri. The Missouri Supreme Court will be hearing arguments in a case filed by Mary and James Klotz of Arnold, Missouri which seeks to overturn a law that caps non-economic damages in medical malpractice law suits.

If the courts overturn the law, it will definitely stir up things up down at the capital. The courtroom is expected to be completely full today, as everyone from Missouri medical schools, to the Chamber of Commerce has submitted briefs expressing their opinions on the matter to the court. The court will hear arguments today and rule at a later date.

The suit is a product of Dewayne and Suzanne Blankenship's $6 million verdict in a wrongful death suit for the medical malpractice suit filed on behalf of their son, Dylan. Dylan died at 6 months old after not being treated for a blood infection called meningococcemia. The infection can be treated with antibiotics, but the doctors did not administer antibiotics, or even intravenous fluids.

Although they received the $6,000,000 verdict, the Blankenships will never see beyond $350,000 for pain and suffering given the current law. James Klotz was also awarded more than the limits when his pacemaker became infected. Both parties have attested that they want to see things changed. Many think the law is unfair because the cap causes cases to be 'pre-judged' before they even going to trial.

The 2005 law, which was part of Governor Blunt's efforts to lower costs in medical malpractice law suits, sets the limit a malpractice victim can be awarded for pain and suffering at $350,000. Blunt argued that the high costs of medical malpractice suits, and thus the risk of practicing medicine in Missouri, were running doctors out of the state. Missouri medical malpractice attorneys and victims, however, say that the law discriminates primarily against poor victims of medical malpractice, and that there were other causes of high medical malpractice insurance back in 2005 when the law was written.

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Missouri Medical Malpractice Attorney Aaron W. Smith, based out of Columbia, Missouri, secured a $2,000,000 award for a case involving an unnecessary and unsafe medical procedure in southern Missouri.

Plaintiff "McGinnis", a 38-year-old man, was admitted to Wesley Medical Center, with severe right-sided abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. McGinnis, who weighed 420 pounds, had been suffering from these symptoms for the past two months. He believed that the symptoms were similar to a gallstone attack he had suffered eight year earlier, which ultimately required his bladder be removed.

A gastroenterologist (the defendant) at the Medical Center ordered a full lab work up with both upper and lower endoscopies. None of the tests were conclusive, and McGinnis continued to have pain, so the gastroenterologist suggested an endoscopic procedure called an ERCP. This, the doctor claimed, would allow them to see if McGinnis was suffering from a gallstone that obstructing the common bile duct.

The defendant advised McGinnis that if he did have an obstruction of the duct that it could be life threatening. However, the defendant did not explain to McGinnis that the ERCP is one of the most technically difficult endoscopic procedures to perform, and that it also carries the highest likelihood of both complications and death from the procedure. McGinnis was also not advised that the endoscopy should be avoided if the likelihood of a gallstone was low, or if there is a high risk of complications from the surgery.

During the procedure, the defendant encountered complications due to the plaintiff's size and weight, and was unable to locate the common bile duct on fluoroscopy. Immediately following the procedure, the plaintiff began to experience extreme abdominal pain and acute pancreatitis. Five days after the procedure, McGinnnis died of cardiomyopathy, pulmonary embolus and acute necrotizing pancreatitis.

During the trial, the plaintiff's injury attorney, Aaron W. Smith, alleged that the ERCP was not necessary, that the defendant didn't uphold the expected standard of care when he convinced the plaintiff to have the endoscopy, or when he was performing the procedure, and that alternative procedures should have been discussed and offered to the patient.

The trial resulted in a $2,000,000 verdict in favor of the plaintiff.

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Personal Injury attorney, Aaron W. Smith received a $375,000 verdict in federal court for a tractor trailer collision.

Elmer Connelly was injured in a collision when a tractor trailer hit his truck while traveling on U.S. Highway 71. The accident took place near Lamar, Missouri. Connelly sued the H.O. Wolding freighting company for negligence in circuit court, but the action was soon removed to federal court .

While the initial crash didn't severely injure Connelly, the subsequent injuries were devastating. Connelly was on blood-thinners at the time of the accident, causing a bruise on his leg to develop into a nerve injury. The nerve injury makes it difficult for Connelly to sit for long periods of time, as it causes him substantial pain.

The A.W. Smith Law Firm took the suit all the way to trial. After a two-day trial, a jury deliberated for less than seven hours before awarding $375,000 to Connelly in compensatory damages. The freighting company had originally offered to settle for $125,000, and then lowered their settlement offer to $80,000 immediately before the trial.

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