GOVERNMENT3 states pass tort reform; others still waitingMeanwhile, medical liability measures were defeated in two states.By Tanya Albert, AMNews staff. June 14, 2004. State lawmakers in most cases aren't agreeing to the doctor-sought $250,000 noneconomic damages cap in medical malpractice lawsuits. But as numerous state legislatures wrapped up sessions in recent weeks, several made other strides toward reforming the tort system physicians say is driving up insurance costs. New Jersey, Ohio and Oklahoma passed bills. Tightening expert witness requirements and creating funds to help offset rising medical liability insurance premiums are among the adopted reforms. Oklahoma doctors came up the biggest winners with a $300,000 noneconomic damages cap that applies per case. In New Jersey, doctors say the changes will help. But, they add, the new laws are just a first step in the fight to stop physicians from retiring early, giving up high-risk procedures and moving to states with affordable insurance premiums. "The financial stability of the few medical liability insurance providers willing to write in New Jersey continues to deteriorate," said Medical Society of New Jersey President S. Manzoor Abidi, MD. That state's bill, passed by the Assembly May 24, didn't include a noneconomic damages cap. "We are concerned that if more effective reforms are not enacted, neither these carriers nor physicians will be around in a few years," Dr. Abidi said. The New Jersey measure, which at press time was awaiting and was expected to receive Gov. James McGreevey's signature, would toughen expert witness requirements and shorten the time a minor would have to file a claim for a birth-related injury to 13 years of age. It also would give judges the authority to reduce awards they believe are excessive and allow physicians named in a lawsuit who weren't involved in the patient's care to sign an affidavit and be removed from the case. [...]Full text of AMNews content is available to AMA members and paid subscribers.
Copyright 2004 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
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