Counterpoint: Malpractice proposals tip scales of justice

The scales of justice in Jefferson City are swinging wildly out of balance.

Proposals by Gov. Matt Blunt and legislative leaders will bias the court system heavily in favor of large corporations, professionals and the well-to-do and against the interests of average Missourians and their families.

While disabled Missourians have been stunned by the proposed budget's Medicaid cuts, they find similar, grim tidings that legislative leaders want to reduce Missouri's current cap in medical malpractice cases to $250,000.

Although Gov. Matt Blunt talks about this cutback in terms of "frivolous lawsuits," state data shows it mainly will affect malpractice victims who have been left dead, quadriplegic or severely brain damaged with terminal diagnoses or the need for lifetime care. The victims and their families do not consider such damage frivolous.

Reducing the non-economic damages cap from $579,000 to $250,000 also will limit, if not eliminate, the access of almost 800,000 senior Missourians on Medicare to the courts if they are the victims of negligent or incompetent health-care providers.

Because the elderly and children have little or no economic "value" in the courts and expert witness and other legal expenses can approach $250,000 to pursue a case, the smaller cap will force attorneys to turn down virtually all these cases. That's why the AARP in Texas opposed malpractice caps that are not as draconian as the Missouri proposal.

The House proposal (House Bill 393) would:

• Give the same legal privileges to big drug companies and medical equipment manufacturers that now are enjoyed by our community hospitals and physicians. These large corporations would have to pay no more than $250,000 for non-economic damages.
• Provide special legal favors to nursing homes that too often have track records of shoddy care and patient neglect.
• Reduce punitive damages for willful, wanton misconduct to $250,000 or three times the award for actual damages -- in any litigation. These penalties are designed to make wrongdoing unprofitable and improve the behavior of firms like Enron and auto manufacturers that knowingly sell exploding gas tanks.
• Reduce compensation to injury victims if one or more of the perpetrators cannot pay. At least since the Civil War, Missouri has required all wrongdoers to share responsibility for making sure the victim's full damages are paid.

Remember: Once special interests control the courts, Missourians will lose the ability to protect themselves against serious injuries.

Gary C. Robb, a Kansas City lawyer, is president of the Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys.