OPINION

Wisconsin opens door to liability crisis

The state now has to fight to regain the noneconomic damages cap that kept the state out of crisis.

Editorial. Oct. 17, 2005.

Some physicians in states recently ravaged by soaring medical liability insurance rates have been picking up and moving their practices to Wisconsin, a safe haven for two decades as a state with caps on noneconomic damages awarded in malpractice lawsuits. At least it was -- until two months ago, when the Wisconsin Supreme Court stripped the state's doctors of that protection.

In a 4-3 decision, the court said it didn't see a connection between the adjustable cap -- which stood at $445,775 at the time of the ruling -- and the legislative intent of "compensating victims of medical malpractice fairly." But a fair law would ensure that plaintiffs aren't paid too little and doctors don't pay too much. Without caps, though, the system goes off kilter, with plaintiffs' lawyers aiming to lead juries to return irrationally large verdicts.

And the majority of justices said they didn't see a specific connection between the cap and the idea that it keeps liability insurance premiums low.

They didn't see a connection? The AMA lists 20 states in the midst of a medical liability insurance crisis, with rates that have doctors retiring early, discontinuing high-risk procedures or fleeing to another state with a better insurance climate. Only six states make the AMA's "OK" list. The thing those states have -- or should we say had -- in common was a cap on noneconomic damages.

Wisconsin has been "OK" since the list's inception in June 2002. The question now is whether it can remain OK.

[...]

Full text of AMNews content is available to AMA members and paid subscribers.

Access details

Join the AMA