Tort reform amendment qualifies for Arkansas ballot

A proposed constitutional amendment that would allow the Legislature to set limits on non-economic damages and would limit attorneys’ fees has collected enough signatures to qualify for the ballot.

In a letter to attorney Dan Greenberg, the secretary of state’s office confirmed that an “An Amendment to Limit Attorney Contingency Fees and Non-Economic Damages in Medical Lawsuits” has qualified. The office confirmed that backers had collected 92,997 signatures of registered voters, more than the 84,859 required.

The amendment would direct the Legislature to set a cap of at least $250,000 for non-economic damages in medical injury lawsuits and would limit trial lawyer contingency fees at 33 1/3 percent after expenses. The amendment would not affect economic or punitive damages and would not apply to workers’ compensation cases.

Supporters of the effort, Health Care Access for Arkansans, reported raising $293,500 in June and spending almost $350,000, most of it for signature gathering. The group is comprised of doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, legislators and others.

The initiative’s executive director, Chase Dugger, released a statement saying, ”Arkansans are concerned about our state being one of the 10 worst states in the nation for lawsuit abuse, and the impact predatory attorneys have on patients’ health care, medical professionals, hospitals, and clinics in our state. Now, they will have an opportunity to address this concern in November.”

The Arkansas Trial Lawyers Association was contacted but did not return a call for comment. Martha Deaver with the Committee to Protect AR Families, which was formed to oppose the effort, released a statement saying, “Arkansans have a constitutional right to hold corporate wrongdoers of the healthcare industry accountable when they abuse and neglect our loved ones, and we are going to work hard to preserve that constitutional right.  We will vigorously oppose the corporate nursing home owners’ efforts to devalue human life.”

The Arkansas Health Care Association has donated $330,000 to the effort as of the latest campaign finance filing with the Arkansas Ethics Commission July 7. Rachel Davis, AHCA executive director, said, “This is an important step towards Arkansans getting the opportunity to increase access to health care and return the focus to giving patients the best care possible. We have long supported this type of reform because it benefits Arkansans, the medical community and our members.”

David Wroten, executive vice president with the Arkansas Medical Society, said his group, which represents physicians, voted to support the effort in April and will offer its support both organizational and financially, though he wasn’t yet sure how. “We’ll certainly be informing our membership and encouraging our physicians to get out and vote and support it,” he said.

He said other states, including Tennessee and Texas, have instituted some form of caps and that the state is disadvantaged in attracting and retaining physicians.

“I can’t tell you that we’re losing physicians right now, but I can tell you that the malpractice laws in the states are one of the things that physicians look at when they’re looking for a move,” he said.

Wroten said the amendment would not affect Arkansas that much because the cap only applies when a judgment has been made, and few cases go to a jury. Still, he said, “There’s going to come a time in Arkansas where we have another medical malpractice crisis like we did in 2000, and having a cap in place, regardless of what the cap is, just having the cap in place, puts some stability in the medical malpractice insurance market.”