Mississippi House, Senate Pass Competing Medical Malpractice Reform Bills

Negotiators for the Mississippi state House and Senate are deadlocked over legislation to limit medical malpractice awards after each chamber passed separate bills last week, the Memphis Commercial Appeal reports. During a special session called by Gov. Ronnie Musgrove (D), the House passed a bill that would limit damages for pain and suffering in medical malpractice cases to $1 million. The Senate passed a law that would cap damages at $250,000 and would apply to civil actions against any business and also "sharply limit" punitive damages in all lawsuits. House negotiators contend that the Senate bill violates a provision in the state constitution that allows the governor to set the limits of a special session. "We're here not to enact general legislation on any subject but legislation limited by the governor. We are bound by that," House Judiciary Chair Percy Watson (D) said. Senate leaders argue that their version is "legally within the scope" of Musgrove's call for a special session. The Commercial Appeal reports that state lawmakers are also debating other points of each bill, including whether patients should be allowed to sue drug makers in state courts (Branson, Memphis Commercial Appeal, 9/9).

National Legislative Trend
The Washington Post on Sept. 7 examined the actions of several state legislatures in what has become a "national convulsion over sharply increasing medical malpractice insurance rates." According to the Post, legislators have been "scrambling" to enact legislation to "soothe insurance companies" in states "with reputations for outlandish jury awards." The following are summaries of several states' legislative actions:

• Nevada: The state legislature was "hastily summoned" earlier this summer to a special session to address medical malpractice jury awards after Las Vegas' only medical trauma center closed its doors.
  
• New Mexico: Although legislators have enacted limits on plaintiffs in medical malpractice cases, the state has the nation's worst ratio of claims paid compared to premiums collected, the Post reports.
  
• Pennsylvania: Lawmakers approved limits on plaintiffs in medical malpractice cases in their regular session this year.
  
• West Virginia: Legislators passed a law which requires an "expert witness" in medical malpractice cases and created a state-run malpractice insurance plan. Just one private medical malpractice insurer remains in West Virginia (Nossiter, Washington Post, 9/7).