Supreme Court Upholds Key Provision of Tort Reform Law
The Ohio Supreme Court recently issued a favorable decision in a tort case in which OHCA participated as an amicus curiae. Last week, the Court reaffirmed that a claim for punitive damages may be tried separately (bifurcated) from a claim for malpractice or personal injuries. The decision reversed an appellate court’s refusal to consider a nursing facility’s request to have a trial for punitive damages bifurcated from a trial for personal injury. The ability to bifurcate damages is a key part of Ohio’s tort reform law that OHCA believes helps to reduce its members’ exposure to liability in personal injury claims by residents. OHCA’s legal counsel, Rolf Goffman Martin Lang, Co. LPA, filed an Amicus brief in the Supreme Court on behalf of OHCA members in support of the ability to bifurcate damages. OHCA believes the Supreme Court’s decision is an excellent result for its members.