By KWMU
St. Louis, MO – The Missouri House gave its final approval to legislation on Thurdsay that limits jury awards in lawsuits for medical malpractice and other kinds of injury.
All but three House Republicans voted for the measure.
The bill reduces the maximum damages for pain and suffering in medical malpratice cases. It also expands the definition of health care providers to include nursing homes and drug manufacturers.
The legislation was sponsored by state Rep. Richard Byrd (R-Kirkwood). He says the cap will protect Missouri jobs because "when you start having a jury with the opportunity get emotional with punitive damages like an Illinois jury did recently on $13 billion, then what you're doing is depriving Missourians' opportunity for jobs."
House Democrats tried unsuccessfully to revise the measure, saying it would deny fair compensation to injured parties.
Governor Blunt has made the bill a top priority and it's likely he'll sign it if the Senate passes the measure.