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Member, Beacon International Group, Ltd.
MADISON, Wis.Wisconsin lawmakers have given final approval to a bill that would restore caps on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases.
The bill, A.B. 766, came in response to the state Supreme Court's July 14 decision that struck down the state's 10-year-old inflation-adjusted cap on noneconomic damages in certain medical malpractice cases on the grounds that the caps violated the equal protection guarantees in the state constitution (BI, July 18).
A.B. 766, which won the approval of the state Senate on Tuesday, would create a two-tiered cap on noneconomic damages. The cap would be $450,000 for adults and $550,000 for minors under 18 years of age. The measure had previously passed the state Assembly.
The American Insurance Assn. hailed the move. "The recent Supreme Court ruling invalidating caps on noneconomic damages was troubling, and the Legislature took the right step by passing A.B. 766 in an attempt to prevent a medical malpractice insurance crisis like those that have plagued other states," said John Birkinbine, Chicago-based assistant vp for AIA's Midwest Region, in a statement released Wednesday.
Mr. Birkinbine's statement said that AIA "strongly" urges Gov. Jim Doyle to sign the bill into law.