The case of an injured oilfield worker who lost an arm in an accident and saw his $6 million court judgment capped by a state law has led to the Supreme Court declaring the law unconstitutional.
In a split decision, the court stated the 2011 law that put a $700,000 cap on noneconomic damages to James Todd Beason was a violation of the state Constitution.
Beason was injured by a crane while working on an oil rig in Texas and filed suit in Oklahoma County District Court against the company that operated the crane, I.E. Miller Services. The jury awarded $14 million to Todd Beason and $1 million to his wife Dara Beason. But the jurors than determined $5 million of the $14 million awarded to Todd Beason was “actual noneconomic damages” and Dara Beason’s were the same.
But the court pointed out that Article 5, Section 46 of the Oklahoma Constitution provides that the Legislature “shall not pass special laws affecting certain subjects.” The justices noted that a statute is a special law when part of an entire class of similarly affected persons is segregated and targeted for different treatment.
“Here, the statutory cap on noneconomic damages resulting from bodily injury—is the type of special law that is forbidden by Article 5, section 46 of the Oklahoma Constitution,” wrote the justices.
The high court sent the case back to the district court with directions to enter judgment on the jury’s verdict.