(3/16/2004) -- SB 9 has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee, chaired by Dennis M. O’Brien (R-Phila.). If passed, the bill would begin the process to amend the Pennsylvania Constitution to permit the legislature to enact caps on jury awards in medical malpractice cases. The Senate narrowly passed the bill last week. 

Any proposal to change the Constitution must pass both the House and the Senate in two successive two-year sessions of the Legislature, and then receive voter approval.

The Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association is against this bill because it unfairly restricts the rights of victims of medical mistakes who seek civil redress.