Justin St. Louis

Justin St. Louis (Of Counsel-Washington, DC) authored “Virginia’s Med-Mal Damages Cap Remains in Place Pending Review,” appearing in the April 13, 2026, posting of Virginia Lawyers Weekly. The article explains how Virginia lawmakers ultimately pulled back from a sweeping overhaul of medical malpractice law, opting instead for a more measured approach that preserves the current damages cap for now – while laying groundwork for future changes. Although earlier versions of SB 536 proposed dramatic increases to liability exposure (including doubling the cap and expanding claim timelines), the reconciled bill focuses on mandatory data reporting by insurers and self-insured hospitals to better inform future policy decisions. Justin highlights that, in the short term, this is a win for hospitals and health systems because “the existing damages cap schedule remains intact, and the malpractice liability exposure is unchanged for the foreseeable future.” However, the new disclosure requirements signal that lawmakers are preparing for renewed debate, Justin noting that the reporting framework is “an interim, data-gathering mechanism designed to inform – and likely precede – a future legislative overhaul of the cap.”