Tort reform rallies draw thousands

With the support of their medical societies, physicians in Massachusetts, North Carolina and Washington call on their state legislatures to pass tort reform measures.

By Tanya Albert, amednews staff. May 5, 2003.

About 2,000 North Carolina physicians and 1,000 of their patients and colleagues rallied at the state Capitol in April, urging lawmakers there to pass tort reform.

The North Carolina Medical Society supports a bill before the state House that includes a $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages, a limit on lawyer contingency fees, a plan for physicians to pay future economic damages over time and a collateral source rule that allows the court to consider money a plaintiff received from insurers or other sources.

Topic: Liability crisis
Region: States

Thousands of physicians in Washington state and Massachusetts also called on their state lawmakers in early April to push for tort reform in their states.

The Massachusetts Medical Society supports a bill in the Legislature that would no longer give the court the discretion to waive the state's current $500,000 cap on noneconomic damages. The bill also calls for holding physicians responsible only for their portion of the damages and allowing judgment to be paid over time.

The Washington State Medical Assn. has supported similar reforms. At press time, a state Senate committee passed a bill that would cap noneconomic damages at $350,000, hold physicians responsible only for their portion of the damages and shorten the statute of limitations. But other amendments that the WSMA didn't support also were included in the bill that the committee passed.

North Carolina and Washington make the AMA's list of 18 states that are considered to be in a medical liability insurance crisis because physicians are retiring early, moving to other states and discontinuing high-risk procedures. The Association says Massachusetts is among the states that are seeing warning signs of a crisis.

More states, including Illinois, are expected to hold rallies in the coming weeks. On the federal level, legislation that includes a $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages passed the House earlier this year. The Senate has not taken action.