Group seeks change in medical malpractice law in Wisconsin

By Jeff Wilford

Wednesday, March 3, 2004 12:00 AM CST

RACINE - Looking to close a loophole in state law that they say gets too many doctors off the hook for medical malpractice, representatives of the group Family Justice Network spoke out Tuesday morning in support of a bill in the State Senate that would do just that.

The Family Justice Bill would give parents the right to sue for malpractice for their adult children, and adults to sue for their single parents. They can't do that as Wisconsin law stands.

Roger Bybee, an attorney with the Wisconsin Academy of Trial Lawyers, called it an "incredible double-standard in the law." The academy also backs the bill.

With Bybee was Jim Zachar, 46, of Union Grove, whose mother died when doctors misdiagnosed a severe blood clot; and Sherry Ellis, 44, of Oak Creek, whose mother died from mistakes made during a pacemaker procedure. Both their parents were single. Both were surprised to learn they had no legal recourse.

"There's a double standard right now," Bybee said. "The courthouse door is closed for families like Jim and Sherry."

Senate Bill 187, as the Family Justice Bill is also known, has been stuck in the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Bybee blamed Sen. Cathy Stepp, R-Yorkville. He said Stepp alone has withheld support for the current bill because it needs rewriting. Bybee, Zachar and Ellis chose the Racine County Courthouse for their statement to send Stepp a message.

Stepp's office in Madison had a different view.

Scott Manley, Stepp's chief of staff, denied Stepp is against the bill and even if she was, her lone opposition could not keep it bottled up in committee.

Manley said the bill does need some revision, otherwise it will go the way of past similar bills and die in the Assembly.

The Wisconsin Medical Society, on the other hand, opposes the bill. When he testified before the judiciary committee on Feb. 17, general counsel Mark Adams said the current law wasn't a loophole, but was a conscious effort to keep health insurance costs in check.

If the bill became law, he warned, insurance rates for doctors, hospitals and clinics will rise. Then the cost of medical care would rise. Then everyone's health insurance costs would rise. Then fewer people will be able to afford health coverage.

But Bybee, Zachar and Ellis said changing the law wasn't about winning large malpractice lawsuits.

"It's not about suing anybody, it's about accountability," Zachar said. Without the ability to sue, they have no way to find out whether doctors were negligent. They criticized the state Medical Examining Board for how it handles negligence claims.

Bybee said the clock is ticking on Senate Bill 187. The legislative session ends on March 11.

A compromise on the bill may be possible.

Manley said that Sen. David Zien, R-Eau Claire, the chairman of the judiciary committee, has summoned the Family Justice Network, Academy of Trial Lawyers and Wisconsin Medical Society to meet with him today, in hopes of reaching a compromise.

Manley said Stepp would vote for a compromise bill. "She would like to see some type of change in the law that allows these families to have their day in court."

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