Texas cap on pain, suffering passes court
Texas cap on pain, suffering passes court
A Texas law that caps pain and suffering awards in healthcare lawsuits was ruled constitutional by a federal judge recently. U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap issued a brief one-page ruling stating "all claims by plaintiffs in this matter are denied," which left the state's 2003 cap on non-economic damages standing.
In 2003, Texas joined 26 other states in limiting awards in medical lawsuits for hard-to-quantify injuries such as mental anguish, emotional distress, or loss of companionship. The capped amount varies from $250,000 to $750,000, depending upon the variety of defendants in the suit. Past, present, and future medical costs, as well as lost wages, remain uncapped, explains Michael Hull, JD, general counsel of Texas Alliance for Patient Access, the statewide healthcare coalition that defended the cap.
"The court's decision removes any lingering uncertainty about the voter-approved cap on non-economic damages," Hull says. "A trial lawyer victory would have gutted the benefits of reform and been a big blow to the delivery of healthcare."
The Texas Hospital Association is pleased with the court's decision because it upholds one of the key 2003 medical liability reforms that has improved access to healthcare in Texas, says President and CEO Dan Stultz, MD. "Since implementation of these reforms, hospitals have invested savings from reduced liability insurance coverage back into hospital operations, including new technology that saves lives and improves patient safety," Stultz says "Hospitals also have been able attract new physicians to their community and offer new or expanded services to patients."
Doctors see liability costs drop 46%
In 2008, 10 plaintiffs filed a federal lawsuit in Marshall claiming the state's non-economic cap violates the U.S. Constitution. Among the plaintiffs was the family of the late Dallas Cowboy Ron Springs, who died after a four-year coma. The suit argued the cap had a direct impact on an injured patient's potential jury award and whether the cost of proving up the damages was worth pursuing the case. Named as defendants were healthcare providers who sought to enforce the damage cap and more than 600 Texas trial court judges who are required to enforce the damage limits. The judge subsequently removed those parties from the suit.
Gilstrap recently dismissed the remaining two claims: that a cap on damages unconstitutionally takes private property and that the cap bars access to the courts.
Hull explains that Texas lawmakers passed the cap in 2003 in response to a medical lawsuit crisis. Later that year, Texas voters affirmed the legislature's authority to set caps on non-economic damages in healthcare lawsuits. Unlike most cap challenges, the federal suit in Marshall did not claim the non-economic cap violated the state's constitution, Hull says. Rather, the plaintiffs claimed the cap violated the U.S. Constitution. This argument gave them the right to have the issue resolved in federal court, they contended.
Prior to the passage of the cap, most Texas doctors had seen their insurance costs double, Hull says. Many had stopped taking emergency calls or restricted their practice out of fear it would make them vulnerable to a career-threatening lawsuit, he says.
Proponents argued that emergency department services for head injuries, childbirth, and trauma involving small children were in shorter supply due to the prospects of an over-sized award. Since the passage of reforms, Texas doctors have seen their liability rates cut in half, Hull says.
Consequently, Texas doctors have seen their liability costs cut, on average, 46%, Hull says. Thirty-four rate cuts have occurred in Texas since the passage of the 2003 landmark reforms. The combined premium reduction for doctors has been $1.9 billion, he says. Premium reductions include rate cuts and dividends.
Physician growth has outpaced population growth every year since 2007 and the ranks of high-risk specialists have grown twice as fast as the state's population.
"As a result of the liability limits, new doctors have flocked to the state in record numbers," Hull says. "Counties that lacked an orthopedic surgeon, an emergency medicine physician, or a cardiologist now have one."
Sources
Michael Hull, JD, General Counsel, Texas Alliance for Patient Access, Austin. Telephone: (512) 494-8089. Email: [email protected].
Dan Stultz, President and CEO, Texas Hospital Association, Austin. Telephone: (512) 465-1000. Email: [email protected].
A Texas law that caps pain and suffering awards in healthcare lawsuits was ruled constitutional by a federal judge recently. U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap issued a brief one-page ruling stating "all claims by plaintiffs in this matter are denied," which left the state's 2003 cap on non-economic damages standing.Subscribe Now for Access
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