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Atlanta Oculoplastic Surgery, P.C. v. Nestlehutt

Georgia Supreme Court
691 S.E.2d 218 (2010)

Written by Sean Carroll, JD

Facts

As part of its Tort Reform Act of 2005, Georgia passed a law that capped noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases at $350,000. Betty Nestlehutt (plaintiff) had plastic surgery at Atlanta Oculoplastic Surgery, P.C. (Oculus) (defendant) that resulted in complications and permanent disfigurement. Nestlehutt sued Oculus for medical malpractice. The jury returned a verdict of $1,265,000, including $115,000 in medical expenses, $900,000 in noneconomic damages for Nestlehutt’s pain and suffering, and $250,000 in noneconomic damages for Nestlehutt’s husband’s loss of consortium. The Georgia statute would have reduced the noneconomic damages to the statutory limit of $350,000. Nestlehutt filed a motion asking the court to declare the statute unconstitutional on several grounds. The trial court granted the motion and entered judgment for Nestlehutt on the full verdict. Oculus appealed.

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Holding and Reasoning (Hunstein, C.J.)

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