Mississippi Lawmakers Still Working on Compromise Medical Malpractice Legislation

Mississippi House and Senate conferees will continue negotiations on the terms of a medical malpractice reform bill even though the majority of legislators adjourned until Oct. 7, the Biloxi Sun Herald reports. The conference committee plans to meet again next week to try and "hammer out a compromise" (Bryant, Biloxi Sun Herald, 9/26). The debate over the legislation comes during a special legislative session called by Gov. Ronnie Musgrove (D) on Sept. 5. Earlier in the session, the House passed a bill that would limit damages for pain and suffering in medical malpractice cases to $1 million. The Senate passed legislation 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 (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 9/9). On Sept. 23, Senate negotiators rejected the House proposal, saying that it did "not go far enough to protect the medical community," the Memphis Commercial Appeal reports. In addition to disagreeing with the maximum allowed amount of damages that could be awarded, Senate negotiators said the House proposal "does not address Senate attempts to protect defendants against unfair assessments in jury awards." For example, under the current system, a defendant who is found 1% liable for malpractice can be required to pay up to half of a jury award, the Commercial Appeal reports. Senate proposals would make defendants' financial responsibility equal to their degree of fault (Branson, Memphis Commercial Appeal, 9/24). On Sept. 24, House conferees rejected a Senate compromise proposal that would limit pain and suffering damages to $700,000, the Sun Herald reports (Bryant, Biloxi Sun Herald, 9/25). State Rep. Joe Warren (D) has said the Senate proposal would "eliminate the right of Mississippi citizens to sue out-of-state pharmaceutical companies" in state courts, the Associated Press reports (Wagster, Associated Press, 9/25).