Kansas Supreme Court strikes down cap in injury cases

The Kansas Supreme Court has struck down the state’s statutory cap on noneconomic damages in personal injury cases other than medical malpractice actions.

The high court ruled Friday that capping damages that an injured person is allowed to receive in a lawsuit violates the right to trial by jury set out in \the Kansas Constitution’s Bill of Rights.

Its decision comes in a case filed by Diana Hilburn, who was injured in a 2010 accident when a semi-truck rear-ended the car she was riding.  A jury awarded Hilburn $33,490.86 for medical expenses and $301,509.14 for noneconomic losses.

She appealed when the jury’s noneconomic damages were capped at the $250,000 statutory limit.

The court found the limitation intrudes upon the jury’s determination of the compensation owed her to redress her injury.

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