Bid to limit awards on medical suits dies

The doctors won battle after battle, but yesterday, the lawyers won the war.

The fight over limits on how much juries can award for pain and suffering in medical malpractice lawsuits is over until at least 2007.

That is the earliest voters could decide to allow limits on lawsuit awards, after the House and Senate each procedurally killed bills yesterday.

Proponents touted the legislation as a way to stem rising insurance rates for doctors. Opponents said the measure would curtail the rights of victims of medical mistakes.

"We have to protect the rights of people who have had catastrophic injuries. They should not be capped," said Senate Judiciary Chairman Stewart Greenleaf, R-Montgomery, whose committee helped kill the issue.

"It is disappointing that both chambers can pass identical bills, doing the right thing for patients and doctors, and due to procedure and the clout of trial lawyers, we got nothing," said Chuck Moran, spokesman, Pennsylvania Medical Society.

Nationally, the American Medical Association claimed doctors were leaving 44 states because of lawsuit-driven high insurance premiums. Pennsylvania doctors said this state was among the very worst, and claimed doctors were fleeing the state in droves.

After their claims were questioned, they conceded that only some specialties and surgeons were leaving the state due to lawsuits.

Trial lawyers and victims fought back, claiming that absolving doctors of mistakes was attacking the victim.

Many of Pennsylvania's top trial lawyers roamed the Capitol halls, meeting with key House and Senate members on Thursday and yesterday. They included former Pennsylvania Bar Association President James Mundy and Philadelphia-based trial lawyer Shanin Specter, son of U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa.

Both chambers of the Legislature approved almost-identical measures authorizing a state Constitutional amendment ballot question on the issue.

But yesterday, as time began to run out to have both chambers approve identical bills, caps foes killed the measures in procedural moves.

Just after midnight yesterday morning, Greenleaf convened a surprise meeting of his committee.

Sen. Jay Costa, D-Pittsburgh, and Greenleaf said the Legislature and state Supreme Court had taken several measures to decrease medical malpractice insurance costs. They also called for hearings to determine whether doctors were really leaving the state.

Sen. Jeffrey Piccola, R-Dauphin, said, "If we do not let the Senate, which has already supported this bill, vote on it, we will lose three years before we can do this again."

The committee voted 10-4 to keep the bill from the floor.

Three Republican senators who had voted for a similar bill earlier this year helped kill it yesterday. They were Charles Lemmond of Luzerne, Jane Earll of Erie and Mary Jo White of Venango.

Yesterday afternoon, a last-ditch House attempt to pass a Senate bill containing the caps amendment failed, by 93-107 vote.

To amend the state Constitution, the House and Senate must pass the measure in two consecutive two-year sessions and then it must be approved by voters in a statewide referendum.

Because of constitutional provisions, the deadline to pass the measure in this two-year session is early August, 90 days before the Nov. 2 general election.

PETER L. DeCOURSEY: 255-8115 or pdecoursey@patriot-news.com