Oregon Supreme Court Lifts Limit on Liabilities
The Oregon Supreme Court ruled that the family of a brain-damaged child can pursue damages from Oregon Health & Science University. This opens the door for compensation to be sought by people hurt by public employees. The court ruled that the liability cap of $200,000 violates the constitutional rights of Jordaan Michael Clarke, 9. In 1998 Jordaan suffered permanent brain damage while in the intensive care unit at OHSU hospital. The decision will affect state agencies, local governments and school districts. It cannot be appealed, but the Chief Justice left open the possibility that a legislative move could be made to the Oregon Constitution by raising the caps. In a concurring opinion made by Justice Thomas Balmer, "The arbitrarily low cap on damages for medical malpractice claims against OHSU and its employees is a problem that has long called for a legislative solution," Balmer wrote. "In my view, the Legislature should, at least for medical malpractice claims, increase the existing claims limit substantially and immediately and, perhaps, retroactively." Sen. Ginny Burdick, D-Portland, said the Legislature earlier this year looked at raising the caps to between $1 million and $2 million but couldn't reach an agreement that satisfied various groups, including trial lawyers and OHSU.
