Proposition 12 challenged in Texas over Constitutionality
In Texas, Proposition 12 is facing new challenges in the medical malpractice arena. Proposition 12 was passed in 2003 and limits non-economic damages granted by jurors to $250,000. A lawsuit has been filed by Adrian Cerny against orthopedist John McKeever and his assistant charging negligent care when an infection led to further damage to his knee. For more than four years, non-economic damages granted by juries in medical malpractice lawsuits have been limited to $250,000 per defendant and a total of $750,000 because of Texas House Bill 4 and Proposition 12. Recent medical malpractice lawsuits are now routinely challenging those caps as unconstitutional. Cerny's lawsuit says the caps violate the Texas Constitution's provision for access to open courts for those having an injury done to them. It also challenges constitutionality under other provisions, including prohibitions against the Legislature passing laws limiting civil actions and guarantees of due course of law.
