Fort Worth. The Texas Supreme Court upheld a judgment against a Fort Worth nursing home, ruling that punitive damages are not capped under the state’s Medical Malpractice Act.

A jury awarded the family of Martha Hary, who sued for abuse and neglect, $1.4 million in actual damages and $90 million in punitive damages, which a judge reduced to $9.5 million. Accrued interest brings the judgment to $14 million.

Hary died in 1996.

The ruling may be a mixed blessing for patients, said Dusty Fillmore III of Fillmore Law Firm, one of the plaintiff’s attorneys. While the court unanimously held that the law does not cap punitive damages, Fillmore said, that only applies if the patient is dead. "The health care industry now has all the incentive in the world to make sure the patient dies."

The Texas Medical Association filed the court brief on behalf of Horizon/CMS Healthcare Corp., owner of the nursing home when the suit was filed. The ruling will drive up insurance costs, said C.J. Francisco, senior counsel for the association. "People will have a tendency to file more frivolous lawsuits in hopes of a positive outcome. If you look at the law, patients are compensated for their care. The law simply caps other things."

The ruling should send a clear message to the nursing home industry, said Karen Littlejohn, of the Senior Citizens of Greater Dallas. "A significant financial penalty like this one is an important first step in improving the quality of care in nursing homes," she said.

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