Texas Voters Approve Proposition 12

[TexasStooge]

Austin, Texas -- Texans gave doctors their coveted election victory Saturday by approving a proposition to allow some caps on awards in medical malpractice and other civil lawsuits, one of 22 constitutional amendments decided by voters.

With 99 percent of precincts reporting, 51 percent, or 784,897 voters, cast ballots to approve Proposition 12, the lawsuit limitation amendment, and about 49 percent, or 708,726, were against it.

Texas Secretary of State Geoffrey Connor predicted about 9 percent of the state's 12 million registered voters would participate in the election, since there were only amendments on the statewide ballot. But as votes streamed in Saturday night, the total topped 11 percent.

"Texans voted to protect doctors and nurses, to improve our civil justice system, and to preserve access to quality health care by passing Proposition 12," said Republican Gov. Rick Perry, who campaigned aggressively for passage of the amendment. "This is a much-needed victory for ... health care providers whose services have been jeopardized by frivolous lawsuits and skyrocketing medical liability rates."

Opponents weren't ready to admit defeat in the tight election.

"It's been a close fight," said Craig McDonald, spokesman for Texans Against Prop 12. He said the group would make a statement after all the votes were in.

Donald J. Palmisano, president of the American Medical Association, said the amendment was "desperately needed to help curb lawsuit abuse in Texas."

"There will inevitably be challenges to the new law by zealous trial lawyers, but today's victory demonstrates how patients and physicians can succeed despite tremendous odds," Palmisano said. "The nation was watching Texas, and Texas showed how to do things right."

A new state law that went into effect Sept. 1 allows lawmakers to set caps in medical malpractice cases. Proponents viewed the constitutional amendment as a guard against legal challenges to the law.

Proposition 12 became a big-money battle pitting doctors against plaintiffs' lawyers as both sides tried to rally voters to their cause. Supporters and opponents of the ballot measure raised at least $13 million for the fight.

The lawsuit amendment sets a $750,000 cap on non-economic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits and empowers lawmakers to enact caps in all types of lawsuits. Awards against individual doctors will be limited to $250,000.

Doctors and business groups argued it would stop frivolous lawsuits and jury verdicts they called out of control. Trial lawyers, consumer advocates and some anti-crime groups said the proposition would restrict the role of juries and allow negligent people or corporations to escape accountability.

Dr. Evelyn Tobias-Merrill of Corpus Christi predicted Texas physicians will soon see lower medical liability premiums and patients will have more access to doctors and medical specialty treatment.

She appeared in "Yes on 12!" television commercials because she said she was forced to give up her general family practice after her liability costs rose by 300 percent, even though she had never been sued.

"(The) victory restores balance to our medical liability system and improves Texans' access to affordable medical care," Tobias-Merrill said.

Prop 12 proponents said in their ads that 86 percent of all medical liability claims in Texas are unsuccessful, yet they cost thousands of dollars, time and energy to defend. In the past decade, non-economic damage awards, a major component in medical liability verdicts, quadrupled, proponents said.

For patients, the result has been reduced access to care as licensed physicians curtailed their practices, especially high-risk procedures like obstetrics and neurosurgery, the ads claimed. Fewer than half of all Texas counties have a licensed obstetrician, the proponents said.

Between 2001 and 2002, 6,500 doctors in Texas lost their medical liability coverage, and in the past three years, the number of medical liability insurance carriers authorized to practice in Texas dwindled from 17 to four, proponents said.

Along with Prop 12, all the other amendments on the ballot won passage.

Voters overwhelmingly approved propositions to allow home equity lines of credit and the refinancing of a home equity loan with a reverse mortgage.

They also approved amendments to allow wineries to sell their products on premises, even in "dry" counties, and to allow issuance of up to $250 million in bonds for loans to defense communities trying to stave off base closures.

[streetsoldier]

IMHO, it's about time the states began placing limits on "real and punitive damages"; the trial lawyers have had things their way for far too long, and they are the biggest beneficiaries of tort suit "windfalls".

Your spiralling health costs and insurance rates will drop and ultimately benefit YOU, the consumer, if this gains national attention. As it should.

[opera ghost]

Thank goodness- coming from both ends of the debate. My MIL died by an accidental overdose approved by her doctors... very sudden and unexpected. We're not pursuing it though- money won't bring her back, and would only hurt the doctors involved. Some would say they needed to be hurt- and we have a very strong case in our defense... HOWEVER- it was an honest mistake. They did not realize that her losing 40 pounds in 6 months would change the dosage so drastically. (Liver failure from a tylenol overdose- already damaged liver)

Dead is dead though. And the important thing is honoring her memory- not taking her doctors to court and squeezing every penny out of them that we could get for her surviving family and dependants.

But I also work for doctors- cancer doctors who have had thier premiums raised so quickly that they're not sure they would be able to stay in bussiness in another 3 years if the rates continued to raise. They're pioneers in their fields- doing research that is making real breakthroughs in radiology... but all of that research stops, and all of the help and the choice given to Houstonians in thier cancer doctors dissapears with every jacked up premium. (We're one group of only two)

I'm thrilled. Really

[Stephanie]

Something had to give before we see a total collapse of the health care industry. When you think about it, there could be two medical malpractice lawsuits that are identical but are being handled by different attorneys and judges in different states with two totally different monetary outcomes. I understand that alot is based on "potential earnings lost", etc., but the judgements end up being so arbitrary and outrageous.

[Guest]

Texans voted to protect doctors and nurses, to improve our civil justice system, and to preserve access to quality health care by passing Proposition 12," said Republican Gov. Rick Perry, who campaigned aggressively for passage of the amendment. "This is a much-needed victory for ... health care providers whose services have been jeopardized by frivolous lawsuits and skyrocketing medical liability rates

I am so excited about caps finally being passed. This is long overdue. Hopefully the rest of the states follow suit soon. Thank you good Lord. Our healthcare system really needed this.

[coriolis]

this will be a good experiment to see if it really makes a difference.

[southerngale]

I'm a little late replying....but I voted for it!

[GalvestonDuck]

A few nurses and doctors at UTMB were discussing voting against it, citing the argument that it would cause health care costs to go up and that it wouldn't have any bearing on the cost of their malpractice insurance (it wouldn't get any cheaper). Of course, some were for it.

I voted on all 22 propositions, although a couple of them were ridiculous. It's no wonder the TX constitution is thicker than a Times Square crowd on New Year's Eve.

[Guest]

Have this law here in Ohio....................Pretty much agree with it..........................Delaware was considering one as well......................Dont know if they got one or not yet............