Wyo. voters to consider permitting damage caps

Wyoming voters will decide this November on a constitutional amendment allowing the state to limit noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases. All six states bordering Wyoming have established some form of limits on medical liability, but Wyoming's constitution prohibits the state from doing so too. Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal on Saturday signed a resolution to bring the constitutional amendment to voters, after it passed the House and Senate. If voters approve the amendment, the Legislature could vote on setting damage caps as early as next February. "One problem we have in Wyoming is that we're an island," said Robert Monger, president of the Wyoming Medical Society. "Recruiting and keeping physicians is difficult when we pay so much for rates." Doctors only have to cross the border to significantly reduce their insurance costs, he said. Monger said he expects damage limits, if set, would be in line with those of neighboring states. -- by Susanna Moon