Oregon Supreme Court knocks down OHSU liability cap

By Todd Murphy

The Portland Tribune, Dec 28, 2007, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (19 Reader comments)

The Oregon Supreme Court today issued an opinion that effectively eliminates the $200,000 cap against lawsuit damages that has for years protected Oregon Health & Science University and its hospital.

But the ruling also may have broad implications for other public agencies within Oregon.

The Supreme Court agreed with a 2006 Oregon Court of Appeals ruling that allowed the family of a brain-damaged child to sue the OHSU hospital for more than $17 million in connection with injuries the child suffered at the hospital as a three-month-old in 1998.

“We look forward to having our day in court,” Sari Clarke, the mother of the now 9-year-old child, Jordaan Clarke, said in a statement issued shortly after the Supreme Court’s decision. “We now have the opportunity to tell Jordaan’s story to a jury and work to have those who harmed him contribute to his care.”

A state law limits jury awards against public agencies — including OHSU — to $200,000. But medical malpractice cases often involve lawsuit claims, and awards, far in excess of that figure.

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