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Malpractice ordinance passes

The Carbondale City Council avoided another tie on its medical malpractice ordinance issue by passing Mayor Brad Cole's proposal 4-1 Tuesday night.

In its current form, the ordinance limits the amount rewarded in a case to three times the amount of economic damages and keeps cases that occurred in Carbondale in Jackson County.

Councilwoman Sheila Simon's absence from the meeting meant the Council had to vote on the proposed malpractice ordinance with only six members present, in a similar scenario as the June 15 council meeting when the vote ended in a 3-3 tie.

But this time around, the ordinance was passed by four council members, many of whom agree the ordinance is not without flaws.

Steven Haynes, Chris Wissmann and Corene McDaniel all joined Cole in voting in favor of the ordinance.

"Passing this ordinance would be a symbolic gesture," said Wissmann, who voted against the ordinance at a June 15 meeting. "I'm willing to let this go because, in value, I think it is symbolic."

Councilman Lance Jack abstained from voting on the matter, although he did question whether it would cost the city money to defend if later challenged in court. City Manager Jeff Doherty rebutted by saying the city's attorney was capable of handling such a case and it would cost the city no extra money.

Like Wissmann and Simon, Jack voted against the ordinance previously. He said he believed the ordinance should not pass because of too many differing opinions on the malpractice issue.

The only vote against the ordinance was from councilwoman Maggie Flanagan.

The malpractice ordinance ended in uncertainty at the June 15 meeting when Flanagan's absence resulted in a tie vote from the council.

"I do believe we must do something," Flanagan said. "There's much discomfort in the community about this."

Flanagan said she believes there are other ways the Council can send a message to state lawmakers.

"We can seek a solution that every Council member can get behind," Flanagan said. "My judgment tells me this ordinance is not it."

At the June 15 meeting, council members listened to close to two hours of comment from concerned citizens, but the public was not given a chance to speak on the subject at Tuesday's meeting.

Carbondale community members like Cleveland Kimbrugh, who came to the meeting to discuss the issue, were upset by the decision to not allow the public to voice their opinion. Kimbrugh said he wanted to ask the Council what exactly they believed caused insurance rates to increase and was offended when not given the chance to talk.

"I think it's an insult to the citizens of Carbondale, especially if I wanted to address the issue," Kimbrugh said.