Thomas McNalley filed an Ohio medical malpractice action against Dr. Vincent Keiser, a radiologist, and Dr. Keiser’s employer, Toledo Radiological Associates, Inc. He alleged that Dr. Keiser failed to diagnose a blood clot near his intestine, which led to the death of a large portion of his gut, necessitating removal of the dead gut and leaving him with short gut syndrome.
McNalley’s claim was tried before a jury. The jury rendered a verdict in favor of McNalley and awarded economic damages of $652,000; past noneconomic damages of $2,500,000; and future noneconomic damages of $2,000,000, for a total award of $5,152,000.
Dr. Keiser moved to enforce R.C. 2323.43(A)(3), which caps noneconomic damages for medical claims at $500,000 for plaintiffs who have suffered “permanent and substantial physical deformity, loss of use of a limb, or loss of a bodily organ system.” McNalley opposed Dr. Keiser’s motion, raising concerns of both due process and equal protection and arguing that R.C. 2323.43(A)(3) is unconstitutional as applied to him. While he characterized his challenge as “as applied,” the substance of his arguments suggested that he was also challenging the statute on its face.
The trial court concluded that R.C. 2323.43(A)(3)’s cap on noneconomic damages is unconstitutional as applied to McNalley. It declined to find the statute unconstitutional on its face. Dr. Keiser appealed.
The Court of Appeals of Ohio Sixth Appellate District stated in its December 12, 2025 Decision and Judgment: “We conclude that the trial court erred when it denied Dr. Keiser’s motion to enforce the statutory caps applicable to the award of noneconomic damages under R.C. 2323.43(A)(3). McNally purported to challenge the constitutionality of R.C. 2323.43(A)(3) as applied, however, he failed to articulate clear and convincing evidence of a presently-existing set of facts showing that the statute is unreasonable and arbitrary as applied to him. To the extent that McNalley argues that the statute is unconstitutional as applied generally to him and to others who have suffered catastrophic injuries, his challenge may only be interpreted as a facial challenge, which requires a heightened burden of proof that McNalley
did not meet. While the trial court found that “at least on a case by case basis, an argument can be made that for catastrophic injuries, as applied to a plaintiff in a medical malpractice case, unreasonable and arbitrary caps still exist,” the court cited nothing specific to the present case supporting the conclusion that application of the caps here was unreasonable and arbitrary.”
Source McNalley v. Keiser, 2025-Ohio-5561.
If you or a loved one may have been injured (or worse) as a result of medical negligence in Ohio or in another U.S. state, you should promptly seek the legal advice of an Ohio medical malpractice attorney, or a medical malpractice attorney in your state, who may investigate your medical malpractice claim for you and represent you or your loved one in a medical malpractice case, if appropriate.
Click here to visit our website or call us on our toll-free line in the United States (800-295-3959) to be connected with medical malpractice lawyers in your state who may be willing to help you with your medical malpractice claim.
Turn to us when you don’t know where to turn.
