Constitutional Challenges to Caps on Tort Damages: Is Tort Reform the Dragon Slayer or Is It the Dragon?

Liability insurance consumers are convinced the dragon is only sleeping. Because insurance has become a near necessity for businesses, professionals, and municipalities, it is no surprise that fears of the return of insurance unavailability and prohibitive cost cause the boldest policyholders to break out in a cold sweat. In many states, this fear has prompted legislative changes in the civil justice system—tort reform, as a sure-fire way to kill the insurance-crisis dragon. One such tort reform is a statutory limitation on tort damages. In Maine, a legislative proposal capping noneconomic tort damages in medical negligence cases at $250,000 has received considerable attention. This Comment will focus on the validity of such a damage cap under the United States and Maine Constitutions and will consider whether this measure is the dragon slayer that the public now seeks.