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2004 Budget Session
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HB 193 proposed specific monetary limits to the amount of non-economic damages a person could receive in a medical malpractice case.
In an action for personal injury or wrongful death arising from medical negligence of practitioners, HB 193 would have limited non-economic damages to $500,000 per claimant. No practitioner could be liable for more than $500,000, no matter how many claimants were named. In the case of death, the claimant could receive a maximum of $1 million from all practitioners sued. In cases that did not result in death, the patient who was injured could receive up to $1 million if the trial court found that a manifest injustice would occur if non-economic damages were limited to $500,000, or if the defendant's negligence caused a catastrophic injury to the patient. Manifest injustice and catastrophic injury were not defined in the bill. Finally, there would be a total aggregate maximum of $1 million received by all claimants from all defendants.
In an action for personal injury or wrongful death arising from medical negligence of a health care facility, the caps were somewhat higher. Non-economic damages could not exceed $750,000 per claimant. In the case of death, the claimant could receive up to $1.5 million from all health care facility defendants. In cases that did not result in death, the injured patient could receive up to $1.5 million if the trial court found that a manifest injustice would occur if non-economic damages were limited to $750,000, or if the defendant's negligence caused a catastrophic injury to the patient. The total aggregate maximum that could be received by all claimants from all defendants would be $1.5 million.
HB 193 would have strengthened reporting requirements for insurers who issue medical malpractice insurance in the state. In quarterly reports, for all claims filed insurers would have to report the specialty coverage of the insured, the nature and substance of the claim, what the final disposition was (judgment, settlement or otherwise), and how much was paid for medical costs, economic damages, non-economic damages, and legal expenses.
HB 193 would have slightly modified existing statutes that refer to medical review panels. The required use of medical review panels before filing a malpractice complaint is presently unconstitutional, because of the Wyoming Constitution's prohibition on limiting a citizen's right to recover damages in civil actions.
HB 193 specifically recognized that it would only take effect if and when the electors of the state approved a constitutional amendment permitting limitation of damages and the required use of medical review panels.
Supporters of HB 193 believe that the lack of limits on the amount of damages a victim can recover causes medical malpractice insurance rates to go up, and that increasing insurance rates are causing some doctors to stop practicing in Wyoming or to stop offering certain high-risk medical specialties. They noted that some states that have legislatively capped damages have seen less sharp increases in medical malpractice rates for doctors.
Opponents argued that there is no evidence that limiting non-economic damages keeps insurance rates down, that there are many other factors that influence insurance premiums, and that different rates of insurance rate increases between states cannot be attributed to any single cause.
Opponents argued that, especially in Wyoming, there is no apparent connection between malpractice insurance rates and legal settlements in malpractice cases. They pointed out that the number of malpractice claims and the amount paid per claim has remained stable at the same time that insurance rates have risen dramatically. Opponents also pointed out that limits on non-economic damages discriminate against individuals whose earning power is low or nonexistent (i.e., children, senior citizens and women). Since these people's economic position was poor when the injury or death occurred, their economic damages may be quite small, despite a life-changing injury. If their potential non-economic damages are also minimized, they easily may end up with little compensation in total.
Finally, opponents argued that it was premature to offer HB 193, since caps are unconstitutional now. They believed that discussing the specific level of caps as long as the subject is unconstitutional simply confuses the issue.
HB 193 passed the House vote for introduction, 40-18 (1 excused, 1 conflict-of-interest). It was subsequently defeated in the House Judiciary Committee without a recorded vote.
The votes listed below are the House votes for introduction.
A YES vote means the Representative wanted to consider establishing specific monetary limits to the amount of non-economic damages a person could receive in a medical malpractice case, even though such limits are unconstitutional
A NO vote means the Representative did not want to consider setting monetary limits for non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases.
| Bighorn Basin Legislators | House Intro 2/12/04 |
|
| S 18 | Hank Coe (R) | |
| H 24 | Colin Simpson (R) | Yes |
| H 50 | Pat Childers (R) | No |
| S 19 | Laness D. Northrup (R) | |
| H 25 | Alan Jones (R) | No |
| H 26 | Elaine Harvey (R) | Yes |
| S 20 | Gerald E. Geis (R) | |
| H 27 | Jane Wostenberg (R) | Yes |
| H 28 | Micheal Baker (R) | No |
| Casper-Area Legislators | House Intro 2/12/04 |
|
| S 27 | John Barrasso (R) | |
| H 35 | Roy Cohee (R) | Yes |
| H 36 | Liz Gentile (D) | Yes |
| S 28 | Keith Goodenough (D) | |
| H 56 | Tom Walsh (R) | Yes |
| H 57 | Thomas A. Lockhart (R) | Yes |
| S 29 | Bill Hawks (R) | |
| H 37 | Steve Harshman (R) | Yes |
| H 59 | Mary Gilmore (D) | No |
| S 30 | Charles K. Scott (R) | |
| H 38 | Bob Brechtel (R) | Yes |
| H 58 | Ann Robinson (D) | No |
| Cheyenne-Area Legislators | House Intro 2/12/04 |
|
| S 4 | April Brimmer Kunz (R) | |
| H 7 | Tony Ross (R) | Yes |
| H 41 | Becket Hinckley (R) | Yes |
| S 5 | John Hanes (R) | |
| H 8 | Larry Meuli (R) | Yes |
| H 42 | Pete Illoway (R) | Yes |
| S 6 | Rich Cathcart (D) | |
| H 9 | Wayne Johnson (R) | No |
| H 10 | Rodney "Pete" Anderson (R) | Yes |
| S 7 | Kathryn Sessions (D) | |
| H 11 | Wayne Reese (D) | No |
| H 43 | Ed Prosser (R) | Yes |
| S 8 | E. Jayne Mockler (D) | |
| H 12 | Layton Morgan (D) | No |
| H 44 | Floyd Esquibel (D) | No |
| Gillette-Area Legislators | House Intro 2/12/04 |
|
| S 23 | John Hines (R) | |
| H 31 | Jene Jansen (R) | Yes |
| H 52 | George McMurtrey (R) | Yes |
| S 24 | Richard A. Erb (R) | |
| H 32 | Jeff Wasserburger (R) | Yes |
| H 53 | Frank Latta (R) | No |
| Lander/Riverton-Area Legislators | House Intro 2/12/04 |
|
| S 25 | Cale Case (R) | |
| H 33 | Harry Tipton (R) | Excused |
| H 54 | Del McOmie (R) | Yes |
| S 26 | Robert A. Peck (R) | |
| H 34 | Frank Philp (R) | No |
| H 55 | David Miller (R) | Yes |
| Northeast/East Central WY Legislators | House Intro 2/12/04 |
|
| S 1 | C.L. Townsend (R) | |
| H 1 | Mark Semlek (R) | Yes |
| H 2 | Ross Diercks (D) | Yes |
| S 2 | Jim Anderson (R) | |
| H 5 | James C. Hageman (R) | Yes |
| H 6 | Dave Edwards (R) | Yes |
| S 3 | Curt Meier (R) | |
| H 3 | Deborah Alden (R) | Yes |
| H 4 | Edward A. Buchanan (R) | Yes |
| Sheridan-Area Legislators | House Intro 2/12/04 |
|
| S 21 | Bruce Burns (R) | |
| H 29 | Jerry Iekel (R) | Yes |
| H 51 | Rosie Berger (R) | Yes |
| S 22 | John Schiffer (R) | |
| H 30 | Jack Landon (R) | No |
| H 40 | Doug Osborn (R) | Yes |
| South Central WY Legislators | House Intro 2/12/04 |
|
| S 9 | Mike Massie (D) | |
| H 13 | Jane Warren (D) | No |
| H 45 | Lorna Johnson (D) | No |
| S 10 | Irene Devin (R) | |
| H 14 | Phil Nicholas (R) | Yes |
| H 46 | James Slater (R) | Yes |
| S 11 | Bill Vasey (D) | |
| H 15 | George Bagby (D) | No |
| H 47 | Kurt Bucholz (R) | Yes |
| Southwest WY Legislators | House Intro 2/12/04 |
|
| S 12 | Rae Lynn Job (D) | |
| H 48 | Marty Martin (D) | No |
| H 16 | Pete Jorgensen (D) | No |
| S 13 | Tex Boggs (D) | |
| H 17 | Fred Parady (R) | Yes |
| H 60 | Bill Thompson (D) | No |
| S 14 | Larry Caller (D) | |
| H 18 | Mick Powers (R) | Yes |
| H 39 | John Hastert (D) | Yes |
| S 15 | Ken Decaria (D) | |
| H 19 | Owen Petersen (R) | Yes |
| H 49 | Saundra Meyer (D) | Conflict |
| West Central WY Legislators | House Intro 2/12/04 |
|
| S 16 | Delaine Roberts (R) | |
| H 20 | Stan Cooper (R) | Yes |
| H 21 | Randall Luthi (R) | Yes |
| S 17 | Grant Larson (R) | |
| H 22 | Monte Olsen (R) | Yes |
| H 23 | Clarene Law (R) | Yes |
See Southwest Region for H 16 and S 12 | ||