Keep a cap on lawsuits

Raising the cap on the amount governments entities can be forced to pay in a lawsuit will only hurt Nevada's smaller counties, special and school districts and incorporated cities.

Currently state law has set a $50,000 limit for some small counties, let alone special districts and other local entities.

The lawsuit limit is already higher than $50,000 because the state Supreme Court has interpreted that amount to be for each cause of action.

So when a person files suit, the lawyer seeks payment through as many causes of action as possible.

In a recent sexual misconduct case, the court ruled each of 100 instances of sexual misconduct could be taken as a separate cause of action, in effect multiplying the limit to a total of $5 million.

State officials need to consider that if the limit is raised, there should be a cap or ceiling placed on the number of multiple filings or cause of action that an attorney can file.

The local government won its side of that case but filing cases as multiple causes of action have raised the potential liability in each case to $300,000 or more.

If a cap is not imposed, then an alternate may be imposing a ruling that attorneys take their share after the doctors and hospitals paid, and the family's suffering eased. After all, in many cases, the attorneys are the ones telling individuals there just isn't enough money in suing government to really go after recompense.

Nevada law limiting governmental damage awards to $50,000 but allowing multiple causes of action should be changed, but there still needs to be a ceiling.