Lawmakers seek emergency amendement to address malpractice crisis
HARRISBURG – In an effort to fix the medical malpractice crisis in the state, a group of lawmakers are proposing an emergency amendment to the state Constitution that would allow them to impose caps on jury awards. Constitutional amendments normally take at least a few years to make, but the proposed measure could conceivably be enacted as early as May. It would require unprecedented political maneuvering, though.
Doctors say caps could help reduce skyrocketing medical malpractice insurance costs, which have driven many doctors to move to other states that have jury caps and cheaper policy premiums. But some consumer groups, trial lawyers and others vow to fight the measure vigorously.
“What price do you put on blindness, deafness?” said Mark Phenicie, legislative counsel for the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association. “Any cap of any amount takes power away from the jury. This legislation is basically legislators saying they don’t trust juries.”
House Bill 53, authored by Rep. Chuck McIlhinney, R-Doylestown, allows the General Assembly to impose caps on the amounts of money juries can award for non-economic damages, or so-called “pain and suffering,” in civil lawsuits, including medical malpractice lawsuits. Currently, the state Constitution specifies that only the court system can set caps on jury awards, something it has not done.
If approved by the General Assembly, voters would have to approve the proposed amendment in an election in order for it to become law.
Pennsylvania is one of only 19 states that has not enacted limits on jury awards for pain and suffering, McIlhinney said. Only New York pays out more than Pennsylvania in medical malpractice awards. Capping awards for non-economic damages would not prevent victims of medical malpractice from collecting their full amount of economic damages, such as the cost of rehabilitative surgery, prescription drugs and hospitalization.
The bill is being sponsored by seven other House Republicans from Bucks County. Imposing caps around $250,000 would to stop Pennsylvania’s doctors from setting up shop in neighboring states that have enacted legal reform, such as Delaware, the lawmakers said.
If the amendment passes by a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate, it can be put before the voters during an election, as early as the next primary election this May. Otherwise, proposed amendments must be passed by at least a simple majority in both the House and Senate in two consecutive sessions of the General Assembly – which could take up to four years – before going to the voters for approval by a majority.
“When you get to the issue of an emergency Constitutional amendment, you’re really treading into uncharted waters, so I don’t think anybody could give an accurate reading of where either chamber would be at this point,” said Erik Arneson, chief of staff for Senate Majority Leader David Brightbill, R-Lebanon.
“They’re really asking two questions. Should there be caps on non-economic damages, which is a pretty tough question on its own. But they are also asking, does this rise to the level of an emergency the likes of which has never before been seen in this state?”
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