OLYMPIA – Backers of two initiatives dealing with the legal and human costs of medical malpractice dueled before state lawmakers Monday, the first skirmish in a fight that will last until the election this fall.
Arguments raged for two hours on the measure pushed by doctors to cap pain and suffering payments and limit attorney fees and the one backed by lawyers to crack down on bad doctors and limit insurance companies ability to increase malpractice premiums.
In the end, the state Senate panel holding the hearing took no vote, and its leader voiced a desire for a third option.
“I’m perplexed because we heard that both of the initiatives have fundamental flaws,” said Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Des Moines, chairwoman of the Senate Health and Long-Term Care Committee. She said she wished the two sides could compromise.
That goal has been unattainable in the Legislature. Last year, the House and Senate each passed a slew of bills but none reached the governor’s desk.
This stalemate spurred the Washington State Medical Association to craft its initiative, I-330, and triggered malpractice “survivors” backed by the Washington State Trial Lawyers Association to respond with its measure, I-336.
“Any doctor knows that in an emergency the first step is to stop bleeding and stabilize the patient,” said Gary Morse, an attorney with Physicians Insurance. “Initiative 330 is the vehicle for stabilizing the patient.”
The key element is a $350,000 cap on noneconomic damages. The controversial piece is a sliding scale for contingency fees for patient attorneys. The larger the settlement, the smaller the percentage lawyers could receive.
Sen. Adam Kline, D-Seattle, a lawyer, said that would deter lawyers from taking cases and thus send patients shopping for representation.
“Aren’t you really trying to close the courthouse door?” he said to I-330 backers.
No, replied Len Eddinger of the medical association. They don’t expect the number of lawsuits to decline – just the amount of money reaching patients to rise.
Karin Coppernoll of Monroe disagreed in her testimony, saying the focus should not be on limiting what patients get but rooting out bad doctors.
Coppernoll spoke about her daughter, Camille, who turns 5 next month. She has cerebral palsy, cannot speak, lives with a tube in her throat to breathe and will be in a wheelchair for life. The reason, Coppernoll said: an undiagnosed problem during her pregnancy and doctor errors during birth.
“The proponents of I-330 talk about patient safety but it’s just talk. The bottom line is money,” she said.
Initiative 336 would revoke licenses of doctors who have three jury verdicts against them in 10 years for preventable medical injuries. It would beef up the state’s investigation of allegations against physicians and require public hearings if an insurance company wants to increase malpractice rates by more than 15 percent.
“We have nothing to be proud of with the way we deal with negligent doctors,” Dylan Malone of Everett told senators. His son died in May from injuries caused at birth. (Malone is a noneditorial employee of The Herald.)
At the outset of the hearing, Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler urged senators to reject both initiatives.
“I think both of them are fundamentally flawed,” he said, without elaborating on the failings of either.
This is already an expensive battle as the two sides spent a combined $1.5 million last year.
Supporters of I-336 raised $727,500 and spent $699,397 in 2004, according to the most recent reports filed with the state Public Disclosure Commission. All of the funds came from the Washington State Trial Lawyers Association.
Backers of I-330 raised $1,044,473 and spent $769,331 in 2004. Nearly 60 percent of the monies came from the Washington State Medical Association. Individual doctors contributed most of the remainder.
Reporter Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623 or jcornfield@heraldnet.com.
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