[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.rizklaw.com\/blog\/horton-decision-stirs-controversy-over-damages-caps\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.rizklaw.com\/blog\/horton-decision-stirs-controversy-over-damages-caps\/","headline":"Horton Decision Stirs Controversy over Damages Caps","name":"Horton Decision Stirs Controversy over Damages Caps","description":"On May 5, 2016, the Oregon Supreme Court put the nail in the coffin of a personal injury case that has been brewing since 2011, when the parents of a\u00a0Klamath Falls boy\u00a0were awarded a mere $3 million in damages for multiple life-threatening surgeries their son endured at the hands of Oregon Health & Science University...","datePublished":"2016-10-18","dateModified":"2024-05-22","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.rizklaw.com\/blog\/author\/rizklaw\/#Person","name":"Rizk Law","url":"https:\/\/www.rizklaw.com\/blog\/author\/rizklaw\/","identifier":9,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/10e23ce5e6c4dadb4589cd8edf2c3f59ac356a6e876c3656917777913d9c3bc1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/10e23ce5e6c4dadb4589cd8edf2c3f59ac356a6e876c3656917777913d9c3bc1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Rizk Law","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.rizklaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/rizk-law-logo-footer.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.rizklaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/rizk-law-logo-footer.jpg","width":278,"height":65}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.rizklaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/OHSU_Physicians_Pavilion_-_Portland_Oregon.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/www.rizklaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/OHSU_Physicians_Pavilion_-_Portland_Oregon.jpeg","height":213,"width":300},"url":"https:\/\/www.rizklaw.com\/blog\/horton-decision-stirs-controversy-over-damages-caps\/","about":["Legal News"],"wordCount":792,"articleBody":"On May 5, 2016, the Oregon Supreme Court put the nail in the coffin of a personal injury case that has been brewing since 2011, when the parents of a\u00a0Klamath Falls boy\u00a0were awarded a mere $3 million in damages for multiple life-threatening surgeries their son endured at the hands of Oregon Health & Science University physicians. The case:\u00a0Horton v. OHSU.\u00a0The outcome: Oregon Supreme Court upholds $3 million cap on damages against the state.The Story behind\u00a0HortonIn\u00a0Horton v. OHSU,\u00a0plaintiffs Steve and Lori Horton (now Lori Spiesschaert) sued OHSU and the physicians responsible for their son\u2019s surgery for medical malpractice. The surgery, which took place in 2009, nearly took his life at just 8 months old. Speisschaert felt a lump on her infant son which led to the discovery of a malignant tumor on his liver. The boy was taken to OHSU to have the tumor removed. OHSU and the physicians both admitted to liability for what took place.The two surgeons providing care accidentally snipped key blood vessels, leading to liver failure. It took up to 45 minutes for them to realize this. The boy was taken to OHSU two more times for surgeries that caused further harm. Two days after the final surgery, OHSU arranged for the family to fly in an air ambulance to a children\u2019s hospital at Stanford University in California for life-saving treatment. The surgeons at the California hospital were successful in transplanting a piece of the mother\u2019s liver to save his life. Over the course of three months, the child would undergo 4 more surgeries fighting for his life. Two years later, OHSU paid the $3 million that was the maximum allowed under the Oregon Tort Claims Act ORS 30.260, which caps judgments against public entities like OHSU and state employees.Despite the $3 million, the family came up short on their Stanford medical bills, which amounted to $5 million. None of this was covered by insurance by the way; as as soon as the insurance companies discovered the medical bills were due to negligence they started demanding the family pay them back. The $3 million were divided between Stanford, paying back the insurance companies, lost wages, and several other expenses.After a few months, the family sued OHSU and the surgeons responsible a second time. OHSU had never disputed that they were at fault for the harm they caused. With $30 million in insurance on the surgery; therefore, the jury was only responsible for issuing a judgment. Spiesschaert also suffered complications from donating her liver, and attempted to recover for that as well.Hortons Sue for DamagesM.O. Stevens,\u00a0OHSU Physicians Pavilion \u2013 Portland, Oregon,\u00a0CC BY-SA 3.0In 2013, a Multnomah County jury awarded the boy over $12 million in damages for negligence by\u00a0OHSU and its\u00a0physicians. It took over 2 weeks for the jury to calculate the sum; calculating that past and\u00a0future medical expenses\u00a0would exceed $6 million and awarding another $6 million for pain and suffering. Defendants asked the trial judge to impose the Oregon Tort Claim Act, limiting damages to $3 million. The trial court granted the request to the hospital, but not to the doctors. OHSU immediately appealed the decision and moved to reduce the verdict to the $3 million. Because of provisions in the Oregon Tort Claim Act it went directly to the Oregon Supreme Court which sided with OHSU and the state employees. While claiming its awareness that $3 million was not enough to cover the boy\u2019s basic medical expenses, Justice Rives Kistler wrote that \u201cwe cannot say that $3 million tort claims limit on damages against state employees is insubstantial.\u201dHow it is\u00a0not\u00a0insubstantial when it fails to cover just the basic medical expenses for\u00a0personal injury\u00a0and not a dollar for pain and suffering, nobody knows. Because the cap protects publicly-funded agencies, it seems that it is here to stay.What does this mean for Oregonians?This is a huge disgrace as that shows that any public entity is entitled to make a mistake that can seriously injure or even kill a human being, because to own up to it all they\u2019ll have to pay is pennies on the dollar for the expenses. This sets a dangerous precedent for all Oregonians, particularly those who are seriously hurt and whose expenses balloon to the millions of dollars, meaning they truly need the multi-million dollar damages the jury would like to award. The family, now divided, are facing bankruptcy and the uncertainty of their child\u2019s long-term well-being.Oregonians need to know that this decision is wrong and can literally ruin people\u2019s lives. The Horton\u2019s case could happen to anyone. If you are facing the possibility of medical malpractice litigation in Portland, you\u2019ve got a friend in Rizk Law. Call\u00a0503.245.5677\u00a0today for a free case evaluation."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.rizklaw.com\/blog\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Horton Decision Stirs Controversy over Damages Caps","item":"https:\/\/www.rizklaw.com\/blog\/horton-decision-stirs-controversy-over-damages-caps\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]