Senate approves medical malpractice bill
By Doug Nadvornick, Spokane Public Radio
The Washington state Senate today (Wed) moved quickly in unanimously approving a compromise medical malpractice bill. The vote on the Senate floor came just a few hours after a Senate committee acted on the same legislation and two days after Governor Chris Gregoire proposed it.
It was perhaps the closest 48-to-nothing vote in Washington Senate history.
Usually a bill that wins that kind of margin gets great praise. Not on Wednesday.
“I’m gonna vote for this bill, but I do not believe, as the proponents say, it does much to advance patient safety. Quite the opposite and we need to keep working in that regard.”
That comes from a member of the bill’s sponsoring party, Democrat Brian Weinsteen from the east Seattle suburbs.
When Weinsteen finished, a fellow east King County Senator, Republican Cheryl Pflug, took the microphone.
“But time is going to tell whether or not we actually, with the passage of the few good things in this bill, and there are a few good things and they’re certainly worth voting for, but they’re not monumental.”
Indeed, the Senate vote seemed more a giant sigh of relief than a rousing endorsement. Lawmakers have, for several years, vigorously debated medical malpractice, but never agreed on a specific bill. Last year, the public endured a long election campaign waged by supporters of two competing medical malpractice initiatives, and then defeated them both.
So when Governor Chris Gregoire announced on Monday an agreement by the major players in the malpractice debate, Bellingham Republican Senator Dale Brandland was ready to give in.
“I gotta tell ya, folks, in the four years that I’ve been here dealing with med mal, I’m tired of saying no. I’m very pleased to be able to stand up before this body and say ‘yes’ to something that will move us in a positive direction.”
The bill flew through the Senate, going from a hearing in committee on Monday to a vote in committee on Wednesday morning to a vote in the Senate before lunch on Wednesday. The House will get the bill next.