Liability Reform

The centerpiece of Kansas' highly effective tort reforms is facing its first serious constitutional challenge (Miller v. Johnson) since it was upheld by the Kansas Supreme Court in 1990. The $250,000 cap on non-economic damages, which was enacted by the legislature in 1988 at KMS' urging, is widely credited with reversing a decade-long medical malpractice crisis that gripped the state from the mid-1970's until it was passed after a long, bitter legislative fight with the trial lawyers.

Even though the Supreme Court affirmed the constitutionality of the cap in a case twenty years ago, it is significant that the Court has agreed to take another look at the law. Arguments in the case will be re-heard on February 18, 2011; the original hearing in front of the Supreme Court was held in October 2009 but changes to the Court's make-up, including the death of Chief Justice Robert Davis and the recusal of Justic Eric Rosen contributed to the Court's decision to recently announce their intent to re-hear the case in it's entirety.