Rhode Island House considers bill limiting to $100,000 the states liability in lawsuits

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The Attorney General is pushing a bill that would protect Rhode Island taxpayers from paying out “multiple multi-million dollar claims” in civil suits filed against the state.

The bill (H 6261) would ensure the state only pays up to $100,000 in damages in civil cases, undercutting a recent Supreme Court decision that lifted the cap under certain circumstances.

The court’s April 2017 decision in the case of Victoria Roach, a contract nurse who was injured while working at the state’s Veterans Home, “constitutes an ‘Open Sesame’ for enormous damage awards,” wrote Chief Justice William P. Robinson in his dissent.

The background: while working an evening shift in 2008, Roach slipped on spilled cleaning fluid and fell on the bathroom floor. She “recalled hydroplaning on the liquid and landing in a split position.” She felt “excruciating pain, and her knee cracked on the way down.” She tore her anterior cruciate ligament — or ACL — and a meniscus, according to court documents.

Read more: http://www.providencejournal.com/news/20170622/ri-house-considers-bill-limiting-to-100000-states-liability-in-lawsuits

They might as well set the limit at $0 since there won't be any trial attorneys to work on a contingency basis for such a paltry payout. It is also devastating to the victims who are injured since they will not be able compensated even if the state is grossly negligent or fully liable. While tort claims should not amount to winning the lottery, the limits on caps also be high enough that the injured party is able to pay medical expenses and possibly retrain for new employment, provided that they can even return to work.