Jan. 20, 2010 – The State Senate passed the Family Justice Bill, Senate Bill 203, on Jan. 19 on a voice vote, advancing the bill to the Assembly for a floor vote in that house.
The Family Justice Bill would permit a parent to recover for the loss of society and companionship of an adult child whose injuries are the result of medical malpractice. Current law does not allow a parent to recover for loss of society and companionship if the parent’s adult child dies as the result of medical malpractice. Similarly, an adult child cannot recover for loss of society and companionship if the adult child’s parent dies as the result of medical malpractice. Under SB 203, both the parent and the adult child would be allowed to recover in these situations. The bill was introduced last year by Senator Jeffrey Plale and Representative Jon Richards.
The State Bar’s Board of Governors has a long-standing position in favor of “any legislation which would permit a parent to recover for loss of society and companionship of an adult child.”
On September 15, 2009 the Senate Judiciary Committee recommended the Family Justice Bill for passage on a 3-2 party-line vote. The committee had held a public hearing on the bill on August 18, 2009 at which State Bar President Douglas W. Kammer testified in favor of the legislation.
“Senate Bill 203 is about fairness and accountability,” Kammer told Senate members in a memo prior to the vote. “It will make the law more consistent as to who can recover and will ensure that a negligent health care provider can be held accountable when a family loses a loved one due to that provider’s negligence.”
In September, the Assembly Committee on Judiciary approved the Assembly version of the bill, Assembly Bill 291, on 6-4 vote.
In addition to the Family Justice Bill, a second major civil justice reform bill supported by the State Bar, Senate Bill 127, is expected to receive a committee vote in the Senate in the near future.
Under current law, injured patients must notify the state or other governmental body of a potential malpractice claim within 180-days if they were treated by physicians or other health care professionals at a health facility operated by a governmental body and medical malpractice results in injury or death to a family member. Privately run health systems are subject to a three-year statute of limitations for the same claims.
Introduced by Senator Fred Risser and Representative David Cullen, SB 127 would remove the 180-day notification and would effectively apply the same 3-year statute of limitations for medical malpractice cases currently in place for privately run health systems to state officers and other governmental bodies.
“This unequal treatment is problematic in several respects,” President Kammer told the Senate Judiciary Committee in written testimony submitted at an August hearing on SB 127. “Most people do not know about the 180-day period for state-run facilities since no one is legally obligated to inform patients of the length of the statute of limitations, creating a trap for the unwary. Victims of medical malpractice should not be penalized by losing their right to proceed in court for failure to know about the notice requirement and comply within 180 days. Wisconsin families should be afforded fair and equal protection under the law, regardless of which hospital or doctor they use.”
On Jan. 19, the Assembly also gave final passage by a 62-32 bipartisan vote to Senate Bill 182, which is supported by the State Bar’s Litigation Section, sending the bill on to Gov. Jim Doyle for his signature. That bill, introduced by Senator Jim Sullivan and Representative Kelda Helen Roys and passed by the Senate in October, increases the statute of limitations for bringing an action for an intentional tort from the current two years to three years. The bill conforms the statute of limitations for intentional torts to the three-year statute of limitations that applies to negligent torts.
Continue to monitor WisBar.org and visit the State Bar’s Government Relations page for updated information on this legislation.
By
Adam Korbitz, Government Relations Coordinator, State Bar of Wisconsin
Related articles:
State Bar sections gear up for end-of-session rush - December 1, 2009
State Bar anticipates busy fall legislative session - September 8, 2009
Senate judiciary committee approves Impartial Justice Bill, holds hearing on Family Justice Bill, other issues - August 25, 2009
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