Guinn won’t commit to tort reform

Ed Koch and Cy Ryan

Thursday, March 21, 2002 | 10:47 a.m.

A top aide to Gov. Kenny Guinn said today that despite doctors' recent demands for tort reform to resolve the malpractice insurance crisis, Guinn is not ready to commit to any single long-term solution.

Marybel Batjer, Guinn's chief of staff, said the governor would work with the Legislature on malpractice issues but added there is more than a single issue, including tort reform.

"One fix is not enough," said Batjer, who said the governor already has "taken extraordinary steps" by creating an emergency insurance system earlier this month that should ensure that all doctors can get malpractice insurance, albeit still at higher rates than in past years.

The state's medical malpractice screening panel, which reviews all malpractice claims before they go to court, also must be examined and insurance law must be studied, she said.

Six University Medical Center trauma surgeons, affiliated with Desert West Surgery, have said they may pull out of UMC if the governor does not support tort reform that would cap jury awards on malpractice suits, UMC spokesman Rick Plummer said.

A pullout of six of the 11 doctors could force the trauma center to close for certain periods, but center Director John Fildes said he would work to prevent that.

"I will make a personal commitment to avoid interruption of service," Fildes said.

Doctors and hospital officials say physicians are moving out of Nevada because of a rise in insurance premiums after two insurers, St. Paul Cos. and Chicago Insurance, dropped coverage. The companies, which together covered 60 percent of the state's doctors, cited the high cost of jury awards and settlements in malpractice cases.

Fildes said he is not surprised that Guinn will not commit to tort reform, noting, "everything needs to be kept on the table at this time as we frame our discussions on a long-term solution.

"But the frustration of these six doctors reflects the frustrations of doctors throughout Southern Nevada," Fildes said.

The Nevada State Medical Association, though understanding the frustration, supports Guinn.

"I think the governor has been very responsive by keeping everything on the table," the group's executive director, Larry Matheis, said before the start of today's Legislative committee hearing on malpractice insurance.

"Civil justice reforms are part of a proposed package we will present today -- but it is just one of a number of solutions that needs to be explored."

The Nevada Trial Lawyers Association has said lawsuits haven't caused insurance rates to rise -- since 1996 only 22 jury verdicts in Clark County malpractice suits have favored plaintiffs. They blame insurance companies' mismanagement, poor underwriting practices and bad investments for rising costs.

This is the second scare involving the possible closing of the trauma center this year. Earlier this month, Clark County commissioners voted to place part-time trauma surgeons under county insurance, which carries a $50,000 cap for patients who win malpractice judgements, to avert closure.