WISCONSIN GOVERNOR HAS CAJONES

Pleased to see that Governor James Doyle, governor of our neighbor Wisconsin, vetoed a bill last week that would have capped the amount of money that medical malpractice victims can win in court for non-economic damages[i.e. "pain and suffering"]. The bill set limits of $450,000 for adults and $550,000 for children. The law had been drafted by Republican lawmakers who were in a snit because an earlier version of a caps bill had been ruled unconstitutional by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The Supreme Court, in so ruling noted that the earlier bill had no rational basis for the caps. So the Republicans, who apparently can't help themselves, promptly drafted another bill proposing caps with no rational basis. And Governor Doyle had the stones to veto what amounted to nothing more than a retread of the earlier bill, with some modification of the numbers. Of course the Republicans won't go quietly. Assembly speaker John Gard, R-Pestigo vowed to override the veto. Doing so may be difficult however - a veto requires a two-thirds majority vote in both the House and Senate and the Republican party doesn't control two-thirds of either chamber. And, if the override fails, Gard has indicated he will "demand" that the Governor give them a number he thinks the Court will uphold.(?) Maybe Gard should take a deep breath before he puts on his Overrider outfit. The flaw in the bills isn't the numbers. The flaw is that the legislation creates two classes of victims: those who are not as seriously hurt who can obtain fair compensation, and those victims who are more seriously injured and cannot obtain fair compensation. Big thumbs up for Doyle for having the guts to chuck the bill.