Wyoming Limitations on Damages for Noneconomic Loss Amendment (2016)
| Limitations on Damages for Noneconomic Loss Amendment | |
|---|---|
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| Election date November 8, 2016 | |
| Topic Insurance | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
The Wyoming Limitations on Damages for Noneconomic Loss Amendment was not put on the November 8, 2016, ballot in Wyoming as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment.
The measure would have allowed the Wyoming Legislature to limit "the amount of damages for noneconomic loss that could be awarded for injury or death caused by a health care provider." The legislature, however, would not have been allowed to lower this limit below $500,000.[1]
Text of measure
Ballot summary
The proposed summary title was:[1]
| “ |
This amendment would allow the Wyoming legislature to enact laws limiting the amount of damages for noneconomic loss that could be awarded for injury or death caused by a health care provider. "Noneconomic loss" generally includes, but is not limited to, losses such as pain and suffering, inconvenience, mental anguish, loss of capacity for enjoyment of life, loss of consortium, and other losses the claimant is entitled to recover as damages under general law. The legislature could not limit this amount to less than five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000.00). This amendment will not in any way affect the recovery of damages for economic loss under Wyoming law. "Economic loss" generally includes, but is not limited to, monetary losses such as past and future medical expenses, loss of past and future earnings, loss of use of property, costs of repair or replacement, the economic value of domestic services, or loss of employment or business opportunities. This amendment will not in any way affect the recovery of any additional damages known under Wyoming law as exemplary or punitive damages, which are damages allowed by law to punish a defendant and to deter persons from engaging in similar conduct in the future.[2] |
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Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the Wyoming Constitution
A two-thirds vote in both chambers of the Wyoming State Legislature was required to refer the amendment to the ballot.
The Wyoming Legislature's 2015 session ended in March 2015, without the bill passing both chambers.[3] Legislators had the opportunity to reintroduce the bill again during the 2016 legislative session, which began on February 8 and continued through early March. The legislature failed to refer the measure to the ballot as of the end of the session on March 4, 2016.
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Wyoming Legislature, "House Joint Resolution 11," accessed March 3, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ ‘’Wyoming Tribune Eagle’’, “Wyoming lawmakers talk pros, cons of 2015 legislative session,” March 6, 2015
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State of Wyoming Cheyenne (capital) |
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