Editorial: Session must fix crisis now

Monday, July 15, 2002 | 8:43 a.m.

Anxiety caused by the closing of University Medical Center's trauma center has been suspended, thanks to an agreement worked out Friday. The orthopedic surgeons whose resignations triggered the closure agreed to come back temporarily after receiving guarantees from the state and Clark County. They are private surgeons who serve on the trauma center's volunteer roster. The 45-day agreement says that for all operations and follow-up treatment they perform related to the trauma center, they will be considered employees of UMC. As employees of the county hospital, they will be protected in the event of a malpractice suit against any jury award of more than $50,000.

The surgeons claimed their resignations were forced principally because Nevada has no cap on jury awards in medical malpractice lawsuits. This resulted in decisions by insurance companies to either not cover their high-risk operations at all, or triple their rates but still not cover them enough to be protected against financial ruin in the event of a large jury award. Although Clark County, which runs UMC and the trauma center, had tried to prevent their resignations by offering protection under the hospital's cap, they resigned anyway, saying the rush offer contained legal holes, which were fixed under the current agreement. Although our view is unchanged about their walk-out -- they should never have placed the public at such grave risk -- we're relieved that they have worked out an agreement, albeit temporarily.

The agreement will extend through the end of the special session of the Legislature, which Gov. Kenny Guinn is expected to call at the end of this month to deal exclusively with the medical malpractice crisis. The doctors say they will settle for nothing less than tort reform, which means a cap on the pain and suffering awards that juries can award in malpractice lawsuits. For their part, lawmakers should settle for nothing less than legislation that will fix this recurring crisis once and for all.