Wisconsin makes another run at damage caps

Physicians are advocating a measure they hope will pass constitutional muster.

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

Only a few months have passed since the Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down the state's noneconomic damage caps in medical liability cases, but legislators are looking to redo what the legal system has undone.

The Wisconsin State Assembly passed a bill last month creating a two-tiered cap system for noneconomic damages, a design supporters are hoping can pass constitutional muster. The bill would set a ceiling of $550,000 for a child younger than 18 and $450,000 for an adult.

In July, the state's high court declared Wisconsin's noneconomic damages cap unconstitutional because it violated plaintiffs' rights to equal protection guarantees. The 4-3 decision wiped out the state's long-standing liability protection and shocked the medical community.

Since the court's ruling, "we've been working diligently to convince legislators that the cap is important as an access-to-care issue," said Susan Turney, MD, executive vice president and CEO of the Wisconsin Medical Society. Without a cap, "we will see physicians start to restrict services," she said.

The AMA identifies 20 states as being in a medical liability crisis, marked by escalating insurance premiums that are forcing physicians to retire early, stop seeing high-risk patients or move to a different state with a healthier liability climate. Meanwhile, 23 states are showing signs that they soon could be headed into deep trouble, while Texas is classified as a state in which effective reforms have stopped its crisis, according to the AMA. Doctors saw Wisconsin as one of the six states with greener pastures because of its cap and stable liability environment, but they are now worried the state will drift into a crisis.