By KCUR / KWMU
Kansas City, MO – Missouri Governor Matt Blunt says unusually high medical malpractice rates have pushed some doctors out of the state. He says legislation he signed Monday will help stem the flow.
"We had to take a step, and we've taken a massive leap forward in improving the medical malpractice environment in our state, so that doctors will be there to provide health care to citizens," Blunt said.
The new law, which Blunt will ceremoniously sign Tuesday morning in St. Louis, will limit the awards for pain and suffering in medical malpractice and product liability law suits to $350,000. It will also shield defendants who are less than half at fault from having to pay an entire award, when other defendants don't have the money to cover their share of the damages.
But opponents of the new caps say such measures have virtually no effect on malpractice rates and that they will unfairly restrict compensation available to people grievously injured by traffic accidents, defective merchandise, or medical mistakes.