Government
Washington state doctors file liability reform ballot initiative
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted July 12, 2004
Washington state physicians are trying to force state lawmakers' hand by filing an initiative to put medical liability reform on the ballot in fall 2005 if legislators don't act on the issue before then. The group responsible for the effort, Doctors for Sensible Lawsuit Reform, must gather 197,734 signatures by the end of this year to get the question on the ballot.
Washington is one of 20 states the American Medical Association says is experiencing a medical liability insurance crisis. Doctors believe reforms, such as capping attorney fees and allowing large awards to be paid over time, will help ease the problem.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2004/07/12/gvbf0712.htm.