New York Times Examines Possibility of Congress Passing Medical Malpractice Reform

The New York Times on Nov. 17 examined tort reform, which is expected to be "higher on the legislative agenda" following the outcome of the 2002 elections. The changes will likely come in the areas of class actions and punitive damages, particularly in medical malpractice cases. A bill (HR 4600) passed by the House in September that would cap awards in medical malpractice lawsuits is likely to "resurface" in the 108th Congress, the Times reports (Liptak, New York Times, 11/18). The bill would cap noneconomic damages, such as compensation for pain and suffering, at $250,000, and punitive damages would be limited to $250,000 or twice economic damages, whichever is greater. Economic damages, such as medical expenses or lost income, would remain uncapped. In addition, lawyers' fees would be limited by a sliding scale (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 11/11). Joanne Doroshow, executive director of the Center for Justice and Democracy, said, "It's very scary for those of us concerned about protecting the jury system, but it's hardly a done deal that Congress will start passing huge amounts of tort reform." Joan Claybrook, president of the advocacy group Public Citizen, said, "It's going to be a hot priority. It's going to be brutal" (New York Times, 11/18).

Washington Times Editorial Weighs Issue
Tort reform "needs to be on the agenda" for the next Congress, but a "battle lies ahead," a Washington Times editorial states. Especially important are "the problems resulting from escalating jury awards in medical malpractice cases that have shaken the American medical system," the editorial adds. Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.), who the Times calls the "most tenacious proponent of medical-liability reform" in the Senate, said that "one positive sign" is the recent "liability insurance-related problems [that] are driving home to the public the need for reform." Ensign added that the best thing for tort reform is President Bush, who has a "great bully pulpit" he can use to "negate the lobbying power" of special interest groups opposed to the idea. The editorial concludes, "President Bush's willingness may well make the difference in the next Congress" (Washington Times, 11/18).

Georgia Doctors Rally
Doctors from around Georgia convened in Atlanta on Nov. 15 to rally for medical malpractice reform in the 2003 General Assembly, the Savannah Morning News reports. American Medical Association President-elect Donald Palmisano, who traveled to Savannah earlier in the week to "drum up support" for reform, called Georgia a "toxic environment" for doctors; the state is listed among the AMA's 12 malpractice "crisis states" (Lippincott Peterson, Savannah Morning News, 11/14). The Medical Association of Georgia and the Georgia Hospital Association proposed legislation for the 2003 General Assembly session that would cap noneconomic damages in malpractice suits at $250,000 and mandate that expert-witness physicians practice in the same medical specialty as the defendant, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Bill Clark, a lobbyist for the Trial Lawyers Association, said, "None of the proposals will help doctors and hospitals, and they will harm people who have already been harmed by medical malpractice." However the "new political arithmetic [in Georgia] and nationally suggests that liability reform now has a greater change of passage," according to the Journal-Constitution (Miller, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 11/15).