Long Term Care & Senior Living Blog

On October 13, 2015, the Missouri Supreme Court issued its opinion in Lang v. Goldsworthy, No. SC94814. In this case, the trial court granted defendants’ motion to dismiss plaintiffs’ Petition when they failed to file a health care affidavit required by R.S.Mo. §538.225 within the 180 day deadline. The Missouri Supreme Court affirmed this decision.

As reported by Missouri Lawyers Weekly, “a parade of lab-coated doctors” appeared before the Missouri State Senate and House of Representatives in early February 2013 to argue that the recent Missouri Supreme Court decision in Watts v. Cox Medical Center will reverse years of declining malpractice insurance rates. In Watts, the Court held in a 4-3 decision that the statutory cap of $350,000 on noneconomic damages such as pain and suffering is unconstitutional because it violates the plaintiff’s right to a trial by jury. The doctors argued that unlimited noneconomic damages will harm the availability and affordability of health care in Missouri and that restoring the cap will help to control costs and keep doctors in Missouri.