Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

New plan outlined for raising damage limits

CARSON CITY -- County and city governments Wednesday outlined a new plan for increasing the $50,000 damage limit citizens can now collect for wrongs committed against them by government employees.

It has been 20 years since the cap was raised and state legislators and others say citizens are not being adequately compensated for injuries they suffer at the hands of government.

The county-city proposal calls for raising the limit to $75,000 in October 2001.

But it also imposes restrictions on collecting for multiple counts. In one case, the state had to pay out some $450,000 to the mother of a boy who was sexually assaulted nine times while in a state mental facility. That's $50,000 per incident. The local government plan would put a limit of $150,000 a citizen could receive.

A new twist would be added to the present law -- setting up a special fund to pay for those who suffer catastrophic injuries due to misconduct by government. The individual would be able to receive up to $250,000 to pay medical bills and reimbursement for loss of wages.

A legislative subcommittee, which held its fourth meeting on the subject Wednesday, could not agree on what action to take and will convene again May 19 in an attempt to make a recommendation to the 2001 Legislature.

"We're clearly at an impasse," said Assemblyman Bernie Anderson, D-Sparks, the chairman of the subcommittee. Other members agreed. And the lack of a quorum prevented them from taking any votes on a variety of proposals.

"I would like to see the cap moved forward," Anderson said. "We are not meeting the needs of the public." But he added he was concerned about the financial impact on government.

The city-county plan was outlined by Bob Hatfield, executive director of the Nevada Association of Counties and by Bill Isaeff, special assistant to the Sparks city manager. And they have found a source of money to finance the special catastrophic injury fund without raising taxes.

At present counties collect 1 1/2 cents on the property tax rate to be used to pay hospital bills for indigents injured on the highways. The proposal calls for reserving one-quarter of one cent of that fund to pick up the tort awards for those who have catastrophic injuries. That one-quarter of one cent would generate about $1.1 million a year.

Isaeff said there doesn't have to be a tax increase to finance a 50 percent jump in the tort limit. However, the plan would require the state to also kick in to the tort claim with an equal amount of $1.1 million.

Another proposal came from the Nevada Trial Lawyers Association, whose members represent many of the injured citizens in these cases. It proposed raising the cap to $125,000 and continue the practice of allowing an individual to collect on an unlimited number of claims or incidents.

Bill Bradley, a Reno lawyer who is a member of the association, said he was happy the local governments have found a source of money without raising taxes to pay for the catastrophic injury plan. He suggested that citizens who are wronged also be able to collect for pain and suffering.

Anderson's subcommittee was budgeted for four meetings but may have enough left in its budget for a fifth meeting to finally reach a consensus.

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