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Wisconsin lawmakers OK $750,000 tort cap

Physicians support the bill, passed by a veto-proof margin, but trial lawyers fight the legislation.

By Amy Lynn Sorrel, amednews staff. March 27, 2006.

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Wisconsin physicians hope that the second time is the charm in their fight to bring noneconomic damage caps back to their state. The Legislature this month overwhelmingly passed a measure setting a $750,000 limit on such awards.

The vote came just three months after Gov. Jim Doyle vetoed a $450,000 cap approved by legislators.

The medical community and lawmakers rallied behind the new bill, which would not adjust the award limit for inflation. The cap would be reviewed every two years by the board that approves fee adjustments to the state's Injured Patients and Families Compensation Fund.

"We feel good about this bill, and we think because it passed by a significant margin in both houses that it's a strong indication of consensus across the state to ensure access to care," said Mark Belknap, MD, Wisconsin Medical Society president.

Physicians' efforts to reinstitute caps started after the Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down the state's 10-year-old noneconomic damages limit last July. The court ruled that the prior $445,775 ceiling was arbitrarily set and violated plaintiffs' equal protection rights because it was too low. Doyle rejected the first bill to bring back caps, because he believed it would not meet the court's standards.

The medical community and lawmakers expect Doyle's stamp of approval this time. The new legislation passed with more than a veto-proof two-thirds majority in both the Assembly and the Senate.

"It's obviously a strong statement by the Legislature, but the governor wants to get a legal opinion because he doesn't want to sign [the bill] if it's certain to be overturned by the court," said Doyle spokesman Dan Leistikow. The deadline for signature is April 15.