A cap that moves every year — and stays hidden from the jury
Under Idaho Code §6-1603, noneconomic damages are capped starting from a $250,000 base set in 1987, adjusted every July 1 according to the Idaho Industrial Commission's average annual wage calculation. The current figure runs well over $500,000. Unlike most caps, this one applies broadly — ordinary injury claims and medical malpractice alike.
A genuinely unusual feature: the statute specifically bars telling the jury the cap exists. The jury reaches its own noneconomic damages figure as if there were no limit, and the court applies the cap afterward only if the verdict exceeds it.
The cap doesn't apply to willful or reckless misconduct, or to conduct a jury finds beyond a reasonable doubt would constitute a felony. On fault, Idaho's modified comparative negligence rule under Idaho Code §6-801 bars recovery at exactly 50% fault — stricter than the 51% line many states use.