AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 11-1-60, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO INCREASE THE NONECONOMIC DAMAGES LIMITATION FOR ANY CIVIL ACTION OTHER THAN AN ACTION FOR AN INJURY BASED ON MALPRACTICE OR BREACH OF STANDARD OF CARE AGAINST A PROVIDER OF HEALTH CARE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
SB 2691 amends Mississippi’s noneconomic damages cap in Section 11-1-60 of the Mississippi Code. The bill keeps the existing $500,000 cap for noneconomic damages in medical malpractice and other health-care-provider standard-of-care cases, but raises the cap for all other civil actions from $1,000,000 to $1,500,000. Noneconomic damages are defined broadly to include pain and suffering, mental anguish, emotional distress, loss of companionship, disfigurement, humiliation, and similar nonpecuniary harms.
The bill also preserves the current procedure for applying the cap: juries are not told about the statutory limit, and judges must reduce any noneconomic damages award that exceeds the applicable ceiling. The measure would apply to civil actions filed on or after September 1, 2004, as written in the underlying statute, and the act itself would take effect July 1, 2026.
If enacted, SB 2691 would directly amend Mississippi’s tort damages statute and increase the maximum recoverable noneconomic damages in most civil cases by $500,000, while leaving the medical malpractice cap unchanged. This would affect plaintiffs, defendants, insurers, and courts in personal injury and other civil litigation by allowing larger awards for subjective harms such as pain and suffering, but only outside the health-care malpractice context. The bill does not change economic damages, punitive damages, or the rule that judges, not juries, apply the cap after verdict.
Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee debate or votes, the available context suggests a straightforward policy proposal rather than a heavily contested measure in the record provided. The caption indicates the bill is intended to increase damages available in non-medical civil actions, which generally aligns with plaintiff-side interests and may be viewed as a partial adjustment to Mississippi’s tort reform framework. No formal vote history or transcript is available here to show organized support or opposition.
The main point of contention is likely the increase in exposure for defendants and insurers in non-medical civil cases, since the bill raises the noneconomic damages ceiling from $1 million to $1.5 million. Supporters would likely emphasize fairness to injured plaintiffs and the need to better compensate pain-and-suffering losses, while opponents would likely argue that higher caps increase litigation costs, insurance premiums, and business liability. The bill preserves the lower $500,000 cap for health-care malpractice cases, so any debate would likely focus on why non-medical cases should receive a higher ceiling while medical cases remain unchanged.