Medical Malpractice Sample Verdict Form - Damages Issues (Page 2 of 2) in pdf

Medical Malpractice Sample Verdict Form - Damages Issues Page 2

Page 2 of 2

N.C.P.I.—Civil 809.199

MEDICAL MALPRACTICE SAMPLE VERDICT FORM—DAMAGES ISSUES.

GENERAL CIVIL VOLUME

REPLACEMENT JUNE 2015

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ISSUE (For use with N.C.P.I.-Civil 809.160)

Did the plaintiff suffer (disfigurement) (loss of use of part of the body)

(permanent injury) (death) that [was] [were] proximately caused by conduct

of the defendant that was (in reckless disregard of the rights of others)

(grossly negligent) (fraudulent) [or] (intentional) (with malice)?

ANSWER: _________

1 NOTE WELL: If the plaintiff seeks damages for both wrongful death and personal

injury, this issue and the liability issue can be modified to include at the end the phrase “other

than injuries that resulted in the death of the deceased.”

2 NOTE WELL: N.C. Gen. Stat. § 90-21.19(a) imposes a limit on “noneconomic

damages.” As of January, 1, 2014, that limit is $515,000. See N.C. Gen. Stat. § 90-21.19(a)

(limit on damages for non-economic loss reset every three years to reflect change in Consumer

Price Index). This issue is relevant only if the plaintiff seeks entry of judgment that includes

non-economic damages greater than $515,000, and therefore would displace the current

limit on non-economic damages.

3 NOTE WELL: N.C. R. Civ. P. 42(b)(3) requires the court, upon motion of a party, to

bifurcate issues of liability and damages when the plaintiff seeks damages greater than

$150,000, unless the court for “good cause shown orders a single trial.”

N.C. R. Civ. P.

42(b)(3) (2011).

In such a bifurcated case, “[e]vidence relating solely to compensatory

damages shall not be admissible until the trier of fact has determined that the defendant is

liable.” Id. Arguably, but not expressly, the issue of gross negligence/permanent injury is

one of damages- that is, whether there is a statutory cap on non-economic damages that

would be tried in the second phase of the case.

Medical Malpractice Sample Verdict Form - Damages Issues Page 2