Mar. 22--The Georgia Supreme Court on Monday unanimously declared caps on damage awards for medical malpractice cases to be unconstitutional.

Writing for the court, Chief Justice Carol Hunstein found that the $350,000 cap imposed by the Legislature in 2005 violates the right to a jury trial as guaranteed under the Georgia Constitution.

The tort reform law "clearly nullifies the jury's findings of fact regarding damages and thereby undermines the jury's basic function," Hunstein wrote. "Consequently, we are compelled to conclude that the caps infringe on a party's constitutional right."

The opinion added, "The very existence of the caps, in any amount, is violative of the right to trial by jury."

The ruling struck down the cornerstone of Georgia's controversial tort reform law, which was championed by the health care and insurance industries and condemned by plaintiffs' lawyers and numerous citizens' groups.

The court issued its ruling in a case involving a Marietta woman who was left permanently disfigured after a face-lift operation. Betty Nestlehutt was awarded $115,000 for past and future medical expenses and $1.15 million in noneconomic damages, including $900,000 for her pain and suffering.

Because the Legislature's 2005 tort reform law caps noneconomic damage awards at $350,000, the most Nestlehutt could have received under the law was $465,000 -- $115,000 for the medical expenses and the $350,000 cap. But under Monday's ruling, the initial award by a Fulton County jury for Nestlehutt stands.

Atlanta lawyer Adam Malone, who represented Nestlehutt at trial, applauded the court's decision.

"The bedrock of our democracy depends upon our ability to self govern at the ballot box and in the jury box," Malone said. "Any attempt by the government to invade either is an assault on what separates America from the rest of the world."

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