State Watch | Doctors
Relocating to Texas After Implementation of Medical
Malpractice Caps
[Oct 05, 2007]
Doctors nationwide are
relocating to Texas four years after a constitutional
amendment was adopted in the state that limits awards in
medical malpractice lawsuits, the New York Times reports
(Blumenthal, New York Times, 10/5). In
September 2003, Texas voters passed Proposition 12, a
ballot measure that amended the state constitution to
allow state lawmakers to pass legislation to cap damages
in medical malpractice lawsuits. Gov. Rick Perry (R) in
2004 signed into law a bill that caps noneconomic
damages in malpractice lawsuits at $250,000 for
physicians, $250,000 for hospitals and $250,000 for
nursing homes and other health care facilities. The
legislation also caps total noneconomic damages in
malpractice lawsuits at $750,000 per plaintiff. The law
does not cap economic damages (Kaiser Daily Health Policy
Report, 9/28/04).
The state medical
board now is backlogged with applications from doctors
seeking to practice in the state, with 2,500
applications pending at last count. The number of
licenses issued jumped 30% in the last fiscal year, and
there has been an overall increase of 18% since 2003,
according to Donald Patrick, executive director of the
Texas
Medical Board, a neurosurgeon and lawyer. "Doctors
are coming to Texas because they sense a friendlier
malpractice climate," Patrick said.
However,
some experts "say the picture may be more complicated
and less positive," the Times reports,
questioning "how big a role the cap in malpractice
awards has played." In addition, some critics "question
whether the changes have left patients more vulnerable,"
asserting that with "doctors facing reduced malpractice
exposure, ... many have cut back on their insurance,
making it harder for plaintiffs to collect damages,"
according to the Times.
Comments
N. Alex Winslow, executive
director of consumer group Texas
Watch, said, "We've lost our system of legal
accountability. Just having more doctors doesn't make
patients safer. It remains to be seen who is coming to
our state."
Paula Sweeney, a liability lawyer in
Dallas and a past president of the Texas Trial
Lawyers Association, said, "A lot of legislators are
aware they went too far in 2003." However, many doctors
and other supporters believe the limits have improved
conditions in Texas.
Timothy George, a pediatric
neurosurgeon who in part credits the limits with
attracting him to move from North Carolina to Austin,
said, "Texas made it easier to practice and easier to
take care of complex patients" (New York
Times, 10/5).
