WASHINGTON STATE SENATE PASSES TORT REFORM BILL.

The Washington State Senate passed a comprehensive tort reform bill Feb. 10 by a vote of 27-22, limiting liability of doctors, builders, governments and manufacturers in a variety of ways.

The Republican-dominated Senate passed similar legislation a year ago, but it died in the Democrat-controlled House.

House Judiciary Chairwoman Pat Lantz (D) said the House will take up legislation affecting liability this week. But some of the measures are notably different.

One bill, HB 2326, would adopt a "three strikes" policy for doctors, nurses and other health care providers who commit serious offenses. It would also grant the state Department of Health the power to investigate and sanction providers, instead of leaving discipline to professional boards.

The Liability Reform Coalition, which backed the Senate bill, SB 5728, is looking for better results this year, largely because of rising premiums for malpractice insurance.

"There are some counties in this state where there's no doctors left to deliver babies," Senate Majority Leader Bill Finkbeiner (R) said before the bill passed.

"We're saying: 'Here's a solution to a very serious problem'," he said.

The state's largest professional liability insurer, Physicians Insurance, has promised a 10 percent reduction in medical liability insurance by the year 2005 if the reform is enacted.

SB 5728 includes a $350,000 cap on non-economic damages, which would require a constitutional amendment. In addition, provisions affecting malpractice litigation would require advance notice of a claim, allow evidence of income from collateral sources such as insurance to be introduced into evidence, require arbitration of disputes, allow periodic payments of future damages and set a three-year statute of limitations unless there is evidence of fraud.

Some of the other provisions would restrict judgments against state and local government and offer various levels of liability relief to insurers, builders, employers giving references for former employees, public hospitals and professionals licensed by the state.

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