Nevada Malpractice Caps to be Reevaluated
Four months ago a three-year shield that prevented the Nevada Legislature from touching a medical malpractice cap law expired. Now, a health scare caused by unsafe syringe use in a Nevada clinic is triggering a reevaluation of current malpractice award caps. Lawmakers and lawyers are calling for a review of the punitive damages caps. Not many are suggesting the pain and suffering caps at $350,000 should be removed, but perhaps reinstating exemptions for gross negligence or extreme cases. They say the hepatitis C outbreak linked to unsanitary syringe use at a Las Vegas clinic that sickened six people and put at risk 40,000 more is a prime example of an extreme case for which victims need better compensation. Proponents of reexamining the caps argue that doctor immunity fails to deter unsafe practices. They also argue that $350,000 is a paltry sum for someone who contracted a chronic life-threatening disease because of a doctor's negligence. Since finding the unsafe practices at the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada, state health officials have started inspecting 50 surgical centers across the state and have so far uncovered unsafe infection control practices at more than half a dozen other clinics. Changing the caps would be politically difficult. Regardless of lawmakers being loath to go against the will of the people, a change would be difficult to get through the Republican-controlled state Senate and past Gov. Jim Gibbons.
