The doctors want their counterparts throughout the state to join in, but whether any will do so is uncertain.

So, too, is whether the local doctors will go through with the one-day slowdown. Nevertheless, that they're even thinking of such a step, which may bring attention to their issue but also risks alienating some patients, is indicative of the frustration many feel about rising premiums.

"That's it in a nutshell," said Dr. Chris Hawk, a Charleston surgeon. "We need for the public to understand that we have a problem. The lawyers say there's not a problem, but they're not the ones whose malpractice rates are up 800 percent in the last eight years."

The South Carolina Medical Association plans to hold a "white coat rally" at the Statehouse on Feb. 17. The rally would be similar to one held last year, when 200 doctors descended on Columbia.

But this time, the doctors want to point out what they see as critical flaws in two tort bills the House approved last month.

Specifically, doctors feel that neither piece of legislation goes far enough in capping non-economic damages.

One of the bills includes a $2 million cap on non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering and economic distress, in all sorts of tort cases. The other focuses on medical malpractice and has a cap of $300,000 on pain and suffering but with several exclusions, such as whether the patient was permanently disabled or disfigured, that doctors believe makes the cap pointless.

"There's no point in passing a bill, from our standpoint, if it isn't going to lower rates," Hawk said. "Both those bills in my mind are unacceptable."

The state's two biggest malpractice insurers, the Joint Underwriting Agreement and the Patients Compensation Fund, raised rates 24.1 percent last year on top of rates that already had been skyrocketing.

Many say the rate increases are correcting historically low premiums. A Clemson University study last year blamed rate increases on prior mismanagement of the state-operated insurers. The study found jury awards have only been keeping up with health care inflation.

Another study, this one by consumer watchdog group Public Citizen, said malpractice damages dropped 15.7 percent in 2002.

Doctors, who have seen these increases at a time when reimbursements for patient care have been stagnant, blame large jury awards for the rate increases.

They cite the example of California, which approved a strong cap in 1976. Since then, according to the American Medical Association, premiums nationwide have risen three times as fast as they have in California.

Local physicians would like to see many more doctors than 200 of their ranks attend the upcoming rally. To encourage attendance, some Charleston-area doctors are suggesting each clinic leave behind just one physician to handle urgent problems.

Doing so may be the only way to get a lot of doctors to Columbia on a day when the General Assembly meets.

"They meet Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays," said Dr. Alex Ramsay, a Charleston urologist. "They don't meet on weekends. One day is not going to significantly alter anyone's health."

The Charleston County Medical Society plans to meet next week to discuss the issue among its members, said Kaye Wallen, the society's executive director.

Some specialties may see higher participation than others. Neurosurgeons, who pay the highest malpractice rate at an average of $48,697 a year, and obstetricians, who pay $37,597, may be more likely to attend than a psychiatrist, for instance, who pays $5,371.

Charleston County has 107 obstetricians-gynecologists. It has 17 neurosurgeons and 108 general surgeons. It has 1,937 physicians altogether, according to state figures. Dorchester has 66 doctors. Berkeley has 50.

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