The Ohio Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a request from a woman raped by a pastor when she was 15 to boost the amount of damages paid by the church where the minister worked. Attorneys for the woman and her father argued a state law that limits noneconomic damages to $350,000 violates the constitutional rights of underage sexual assault victims.
Justices William O’Neill and Paul Pfeifer dissented by criticizing the 2005 law that limited damages in such lawsuits, sometimes known as tort reform. “It turns out that ‘tort reform’ (and the justices who sanctioned it) also ensured that rapists and those who enable them will not have to pay the full measure of the damages they cause — even if they rape a child,” Pfeiffer wrote.
If you disagree with the Court’s ruling upholding this law limiting recovery by victims, please contact your state representative to urge him or her to repeal this law and make your voice heard on behalf of all victims in Ohio.
Reference: http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/rod/docs/pdf/0/2016/2016-Ohio-8118.pdf