A jury verdict obtained by Paulson & Nace attorneys Barry J. Nace and Christopher T. Nace was recently the subject of a story in the Charleston Daily Mail.  The lawsuit, brought on behalf of James and Debbie MacDonald, sought damages for injuries James MacDonald sustained as the result of failure to protect him against a dangerous medication interaction.  A Berkeley County, West Virginia jury found in favor of the MacDonalds and returned a verdict of approximately $1.6 million.  Unfortunately, despite the verdict rendered by the jury comprised of six members of that community who heard all of the evidence, a “cap” on non-economic damages passed by the West Virginia legislature mandates that citizens who have been injured as a result of medical negligence cannot recover more than $500,000 even in the most egregious circumstances, regardless of the injuries sustained and / or the number of defendants responsible.  In other words, the politicians believe that they are better equipped to value a case than the members of the community who heard nearly two weeks of evidence.

Paulson & Nace, with the assistance of the Center for Constitutional Litigation and local counsel D. Michael Burke, are currently challenging the constitutionality of this one-size-fits-all approach to justice.  The case is in the briefing process and is expected to be argued in early 2011.