Doctors' malpractice cure fails; smoking ban passes

Voters ignored doctors' orders Tuesday, turning down a controversial ballot measure that would have capped jury awards in medical-malpractice cases.

Though the doctor-backed measure won across much of the state, it lost by a wide margin in the Puget Sound area.

Tom Curry, spokesman for the doctors' campaign, conceded defeat late Tuesday night.

Voters also rejected a competing measure sponsored by trial lawyers that had been aimed at cracking down on bad doctors.

And voters overwhelmingly approved two other measures — one imposing one of the nation's strictest public-smoking bans and another authorizing performance audits of government agencies.

Medical malpractice

Barb Flye, spokeswoman for the lawyer-financed No on I-330 campaign, called Tuesday's vote a "victory for patients."

"Voters are clearly rejecting an unfair and unconstitutional cap on damages," said Flye.

Curry said doctors would keep pressing for medical-malpractice reform, though he said he didn't have high hopes for finding fixes in the Democrat-controlled Legislature.

"This problem is only going to get worse," he said.

Doctors and lawyers have long been at war over medical malpractice. But this year's battle was the fiercest in this state.

Though both sides qualified initiatives, from the outset most attention was on I-330, the doctors' plan for reining in malpractice legal costs.

The two sides poured more than $14 million into the I-330 fight — more than double the old record for an initiative campaign.

The doctors ran scathing attacks against trial lawyers, with television ads showing "greedy" trial lawyers puffing cigars and stuffing wads of cash into their pockets.

Lawyers countered with ads showing patients injured by botched medical procedures. On election eve, the No on I-330 campaign inundated voters with a recorded phone message from U.S. Sen. John Kerry, the last Democratic presidential nominee.

I-330 supporters contended that "jackpot" jury awards are forcing some doctors to leave the state or give up high-risk procedures such as delivering babies.

I-330 would have limited attorney fees and imposed a $350,000 cap on pain-and-suffering damage awards.

Trial lawyers didn't dispute that malpractice-insurance costs have soared, but they said the doctors' claims about runaway jury verdicts were unfounded and argued that I-330 would have done nothing to cut insurance costs or prevent injuries.

Lawyer-sponsored Initiative 336, rather than limiting jury awards, was aimed at disciplining bad doctors and imposing new regulations on insurance companies.

Smoking ban

Initiative 901, which expands the state's Clean Indoor Air Act, was approved with comfortable margins in all 39 counties.

"I think this is a clear sign that Washington voters are demanding the right to breathe clean air," said Peter McCollum, Yes on I-901 campaign spokesman.

The measure bans smoking in buildings and vehicles open to the public and in places of employment, including within 25 feet of doorways, windows and ventilation openings. Violators can be fined $100 for each infraction.

I-901 had enormous support from the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Lung Association and more than 400 people, all contributing more than $1.3 million total. There was only token opposition.

Performance audits OK'd

Tim Eyman's Initiative 900 will give the state Auditor's Office sweeping new powers to do performance audits of government agencies.

A jubilant Eyman said Tuesday this was the first time one of his initiatives won in King County, a liberal stronghold. "It's a really neat victory," said Eyman.

Unlike past Eyman initiatives, which were widely opposed by newspapers and Washington's political establishment, I-900 won numerous endorsements statewide.

Under I-900, the Auditor's Office can do performance audits of any state or local government agency, including school districts or entities such as Sound Transit or the Seattle Monorail Project. I-900 steers about $12 million a year in sales-tax collections to the Auditor's Office.

Ralph Thomas: 360-943-9882