Wisconsin Supreme Court to hear tort reform challenge

Organized medicine says the damages cap being tested is vital to the state's stable liability climate.

By Mike Norbut, AMNews staff. March 14, 2005.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court, which in the past has ruled in favor of a cap on noneconomic damages in medical liability lawsuits, has agreed to hear another challenge to the law that once again puts the long-time protection for physicians in jeopardy.

The latest challenge to the cap's constitutionality has mobilized organized medicine. Doctors say the cap is a key tort reform factor keeping liability insurance premiums from rising exponentially in Wisconsin the way they have in other states.

"It's hard to speculate on why [the court] chose to hear this case, but our position has always been the state should have a comprehensive system for medical malpractice liability, including a cap and a patients' compensation fund," said Melanie Cohen, an attorney for the Wisconsin Medical Society.

Wisconsin originally established a $1 million cap in 1985, but the law expired in 1991. In 1995, the state enacted a new $350,000 cap that is regularly adjusted for inflation. The cap now stands at $423,000.

The American Medical Association credits the cap for making Wisconsin one of six states with a stable medical liability climate, said Donald J. Palmisano, MD, the AMA's immediate past-president. While the 20 states on the crisis list are seeing physicians retire early, discontinue high-risk procedures or move to a different state, Wisconsin has held steady, he said.

"The AMA strongly urges the court in Wisconsin to uphold its cap," Dr. Palmisano said. "Failure to do so will then place Wisconsin in the position of having the problems that crisis states and states approaching crisis are having."