Doctors Demand Special Session On Malpractice

HARTFORD (AP) –– Doctors from across Connecticut urged state legislators Monday to call a special session to deal with a burgeoning medical malpractice insurance problem.

Tim Norbeck, director of the Connecticut State Medical Society, said many physicians will begin receiving medical malpractice insurance renewals on August 1. Some, he said, will be unable to pay increased rates and ultimately be forced to close shop or move out of state.

Some doctors said they have been forced to pay rate increases of up to 600 percent over the past five years. Obstetricians and gynecologists have been among the hardest hit by rate increases.

“We need a special session to deal with this crisis and pass reform,” Mr Norbeck said.

Legislation on malpractice insurance died in this year’s session of the General Assembly. Legislative leaders, who created a working group to examine the issue, were optimistic that something could be done during a summer session.

But lawmakers and Governor John G. Rowland are now bogged down in a budget dispute. Legislative leaders have focused much of their attention on reaching a budget deal.

Speaker of the House Moira Lyons, D-Stamford, said she hopes a compromise among the doctors, trial lawyers, and patients rights groups will be ready for the fall.

“There’s no point of having a special session until we have a solution,” she said.

The doctors, who have lobbied for $250,000 caps on noneconomic damage awards from juries, said they want action sooner.

Andy Groher, past president of the Connecticut Trial Lawyers, said lawmakers tried to pass a bill during the regular session and should now focus on reaching a budget deal.

“At this point, our perspective is, there is no need to rush,” he said, adding that a well-thought-out solution is necessary.