Senate OKs Liability Bill; Dole Plans Broader Reform
Ending a bitter political standoff, the Senate granted final approval Wednesday to a sweeping product-liability bill, and Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.) said afterward that he intends to bring up other measures aimed at broader tort reform.
Specifically, Dole cited a proposal championed by the nation’s physicians that would, among other things, impose a $250,000 limit as the maximum that a victim of medical malpractice may receive in compensation for “pain and suffering.”
The medical-malpractice provision and several other proposals to limit punitive damage awards in civil litigation were discarded by the Senate during the last two weeks. Dole said that such measures, standing alone, might fare better.
The Senate bill, long sought by manufacturers and other business interests, limits punitive damages in product-liability cases to no more than twice the amount of compensatory damages or $250,000--whichever is greater. But it would allow a judge to increase punitive damages above the cap.
The bill, passed on a 61-37 vote, would give plaintiffs only two years to file a product-liability lawsuit, starting from the time when they “reasonably” should have discovered both an injury and its cause.
Among the bill’s other provisions:
* A manufacturer would have a near-absolute defense if a plaintiff is found to have been under the influence of illegal drugs or alcohol at the time of injury.
* A defendant’s liability would be limited if a victim misused or altered a product in an “unforeseeable manner.”
* A legal concept known as “joint and several liability” would be abolished as applied to non-economic damages. No longer could a single defendant be held liable for all monetary damages if that defendant were responsible for only a part of the injury. The new law would require victims to sort out each defendant’s responsibility before recovering any damages.
The bill must now be reconciled with House legislation that calls for much broader changes in tort law.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) voted for the bill; Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) voted against it.
