Judiciary Committee Postpones Medical Malpractice Debate

John Rice

Contributor

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On a day that began with reports of a compromise on medical malpractice legislation, the Senate sponsor of SB2001, Mark Norris, R-Collierville, was granted leave to defer consideration of the bill for another week.

Early this morning, the Nashville Post.com reported that compromise legislation was in the works. Sources involved in the negotiations confirmed that an agreement had been reached on pre-certification of case merit, exoneration or expungement of records when cases are non-suited, changes to pre-litigation interviews to address the holding of the Givens case, liberalization of the locality rule, and continuation of reporting by malpractice carriers. Reports also indicated that caps on non-economic damages, limits on attorney's fees and mandatory periodic payments were off the table.

The TBA opposes arbitrary caps on damages and limits on attorney's fees, and supports efforts to address issues raised by the holding in Givens