Story Published:
Nov 8, 2005 at 7:36 PM PDT
Story Updated:
Aug 31, 2006 at 2:07 AM PDT
OLYMPIA - A record-setting spending blitz couldn't
convince voters to overhaul Washington's medical malpractice
system, and trial lawyers and doctors looked to the Legislature for
another round in their bitter battle.
Voters rejected the state medical association's attempt to limit
jury awards and lawyers' fees in malpractice cases on Tuesday. A
rival measure supported by trial lawyers that focused on problem
doctors fared no better.
With 62 percent of the expected vote counted in unofficial
returns, doctor-backed Initiative 330 failed 46 percent to 54
percent, 502,517 votes to 589,470 votes. The trial lawyers'
Initiative 336 went down 41 percent to 59 percent, 441,245 votes to
639,220 votes.
Taken together, the campaigns raised about $15 million and set a
state record for initiative spending. The old mark was about $7
million spent on both sides of Microsoft Corp. co-founder Paul
Allen's successful bid for a new NFL stadium in Seattle.
Washington State Medical Association chief executive Tom Curry
said it was money well spent despite the loss of I-330.
"The physicians drove their message home," Curry said. "They
ran a great campaign and the margin of victory for the other side
was less than what it might have been otherwise."
I-336 spokesman Dylan Malone had mixed feelings but was
heartened that I-330 was defeated.
"The stage is now set for getting real patient safety measures
through in Olympia," he said. "Heck, a year ago, nobody even knew
what the medical disciplinary boards were."
Doctors, hospitals, insurers and drug companies waged a combined
campaign to pass I-330 and defeat I-336.
Trial lawyers split their efforts into separate committees, but
the pro-336 effort took a back seat to defeating I-330.
I-330 would have capped pain-and-suffering jury awards and
plaintiff's lawyer fees in malpractice cases. It also would have
allowed doctors to refuse treatment if patients declined to resolve
malpractice claims out of court.
Supporters argued that the changes were needed to rein in
expensive jury awards they claimed had driven up insurance rates,
pricing doctors out of risky specialties.
I-336 focused on disciplining problem doctors and would have
revoked the license of any who lost three malpractice verdicts in
10 years. It also would have established a state-run supplemental
insurance pool and increased the number of public representatives
on a state watchdog panel.
Opponents of I-330 denied that malpractice rates were out of
control and said limiting court awards would not ease insurance
rate hikes.
After casting her ballot at a church in Tacoma, Judy Gann, 54,
said she followed doctors' advice by voting for I-330 and against
I-336.
"I'm so sick of these lawyers. Even though they represent you,
they take a big cut out of what you get," Gann said.
Emmett Linton Sr., 58, of Tacoma, disagreed, saying he voted
against I-330 because capping patients' damage awards seemed
unfair.
"If you're going to limit what I can get for my injuries,
you're limiting what life itself is worth," Linton said.
Some influential voices - including state Insurance Commissioner
Mike Kreidler - urged voters to reject both initiatives.
Kreidler was a particularly staunch critic, calling both
measures "fatally flawed" and citing studies by his agency that
indicated there was no malpractice insurance crisis in the state.
Kreidler's opposition to both measures centered on a belief that
the Legislature should resolve the question, although lawmakers'
reluctance to do so in recent years eventually drove the battle
onto the ballot.
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