Medical suits bill in danger
Chambers at odds over damages caps
JANET ELLIOTT, Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau
AUSTIN -- A high-stakes standoff over damages caps in medical malpractice lawsuits is threatening one of the major bills of the legislative session.
House Bill 4 is designed to address what proponents call a crisis in medical malpractice insurance cost and availability in Texas. Doctors are pushing for a $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages that could be awarded in a medical malpractice case.
Noneconomic damages include compensation for pain, suffering, disfigurement and loss of companionship. The House version included the $250,000 cap, but the Senate version allows for a cap of $750,000 in cases where multiple defendants, such as several doctors or a doctor and a hospital, are sued.
Under the Senate version, an individual doctor or health care provider would be liable for no more than $250,000. Sen. Bill Ratliff, who carried the bill in the Senate, said the flexible cap was fair to doctors as well as to people who may be severely injured by medical negligence.
Last Thursday, the House refused to concur with the Senate amendments and five representatives were appointed to serve on a committee that would work out differences in HB 4. But Ratliff has not yet appointed senators to the conference committee.
Ratliff, R-Mount Pleasant, said Monday that he asked Rep. Joe Nixon, R-Houston, last week for a list of items that would be discussed by a conference committee. He said he told Nixon he needed to see the list before deciding if a conference committee is needed.
"I haven't see that list," said Ratliff.
Nixon said that he doesn't plan on giving Ratliff such a list.
"I'm waiting for the Senate to appoint the conferees," said Nixon. "We've done too much work on this bill to not get together."
Lawmakers have until Sunday to work out their differences. The session ends Monday.
Supporters of the House version fear Nixon showed his hand last Thursday when he said that if time ran out, he would move to concur with the Senate version.
"I will not let the bill die," said Nixon on May 22.
But he also told the House that the $250,000 cap is not negotiable.
"Our bottom line may be being here on June 3," said Nixon, referring to a possible special session that Gov. Rick Perry could call if the bill dies.
In January, Perry declared medical malpractice reform an emergency issue.
HB 4 became one of the most contentious issues early in the session when Nixon merged the medical malpractice bill with a broader civil liability bill that impacted product liability and class-action lawsuits.
Rep. John Mabry, D-Waco, was among the House Democrats who argued against the bill.
"If it dies, it's fine with me. It's a bad bill for Texas," said Mabry.
Michael Hull, a lawyer who represents a physicians group, said he is confident that the bill will get resolved. He said doctors will hold out for the $250,000 cap "until they see something else that will work" to reduce insurance costs.
JANET ELLIOTT