JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — With hundreds of medical doctors in the Capitol, the Missouri House of Representatives and the Missouri Senate worked on measures changing how lawsuits against medical professionals are handled. Missouri lawmakers approved language that would change malpractice lawsuits from common law claims to statutory cause-of-action claims.
Legislation in the House and Senate aimed at tort reform sparked lengthy debate in both chambers with both sides of the debate claiming the economic and moral high ground. Supporters of the bills say that frivolous lawsuits and huge damage awards have driven up premium costs, created a culture of “defensive medicine” and inflated the cost of healthcare.
“Do we want doctors in our communities or don’t we?” bill sponsor Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Springfield, said. “Without any caps, our medical community is in jeopardy. Without having caps, we’re pouring salt in [doctor’s] wounds”.
Opponents on both sides of the aisle say that the bill violates the state’s constitution, which provides all citizens the right to a speedy trial by a jury of their peers. Limiting the ability to sue or capping the amount of non-economic damages awarded, opponents say, is an arbitrary violation of that right.
“This bill attempts to rewrite history and take away a fundamental, ancient right,” Rep. Jeff Roorda, D-Barnhart, said on the floor. “We’re diminishing our right to go to the courts and be made whole, and that’s a right that is a central building block of our judicial system, a right that pre-dates our own U.S. constitution and comes from English common law.”
While the bill may have enough support in the senate to avoid a filibuster, Gov. Jay Nixon is unlikely to sign such a bill, and no vote on medical malpractice in the House has ever had the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto.
Burlison’s bill eliminates the common law right to sue and creates a statutory cause of action in its place. Under the statutory cause of action, non-economic damages are capped, with supporters believing the change will be enough to survive a court challenge.
“There are reasonable restrictions on all of our rights,” Burlison said. “So placing a reasonable restriction on how much you can sue a doctor for, it’s not unreasonable. We don’t cap punitive damages or economic damages, and there are at least 20 states in this country with caps like this. Those caps stand the test of good policy and court challenges.”
Jason Reinberg, a medical doctor and dermatologist at the Washington, Missouri Mercy Hospital, said doctors live in “constant fear” of “frivolous” lawsuits.
“We want to help people and expand our ability to care for them,” Reinberg said. “But we’re forced to practice very restrictive defensive medicine because we all live with the fear of an expensive and frivolous lawsuit hanging over our heads.”
Reinberg said tort reform would reduce care costs and make doctors more comfortable with providing the right care. Reinberg also noted that, when Missouri had medical malpractice caps in place several years ago, the number of doctors employed in the state increased. When caps were eliminated, Missouri lost, on average, 200 doctors per year.
Burlison’s bill passed by a vote of 94-61. A similar provision underwent the perfection process in the senate, but has not yet left the chamber.
Collin Reischman was the Managing Editor for The Missouri Times, and a graduate of Webster University with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.
