Corrections or additions?
This article by Barbara Fox was prepared for the November 20, 2002 edition of U.S. 1 Newspaper. All rights reserved.
Tort Reform?
In New Jersey there is no cap on compensatory damages
for medical malpractice, and the damages come in three forms: medical
expenses, lost wages, and non-economic damages. The latter category,
often known as "pain and suffering," includes the loss of recreational
activities and enjoyment of life.
Bills on the federal and state level would put caps on non-economic
damages for medical malpractice insurance. SB 1902, introduced in
Trenton by Republican senators Joe Kyrillos Jr. and William Gormley in
October, would put a $250,000 or $500,000 cap on non-economic damages
depending on the extent of the injury.
The American Insurance Association (AIA) and the Concerned Citizens
for Care New Jersey (www.concernedcitizensforcarenj.org) supports this
bill. "In other states, such as Maryland, that have enacted
non-economic damages caps, the markets and premiums have been much
more stable," says Jack Andryszak of the AIA. A different reform bill,
without caps, is also being proposed in the state senate.
On the federal level, the House of Representatives was considering HR
4600, the Help Efficient, Accessible, Low Cost, Timely Health Care
(HEALTH), supported by the American Association of Health Plans.
Nevertheless, most lawyers would insist that today’s rise in insurance
premiums is due, not so much to outrageous jury awards, but to the
general rise in insurance premiums from the stock market downturn
(which turned insurance investments sour) and the payouts that the
companies had to make as a result of the 9/11 attack. Moreover, they
insist, no long term study has shown conclusively that a reduction in
caps will result in lower premiums.
Says Michael Donahue of Stark & Stark: "Tort limitations restrict
people’s access to the court system and forces the court to treat
everyone the same."
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